You don’t see this — but it shapes how you think, what you believe, and how you see the world.

In this episode of Catch the Upswing, Jessica Espinoza sits down with Luba Kassova — researcher, journalist and co-founder of the audience-strategy consultancy AKAS, and author of the Missing Perspectives Series — to explore how the stories we see (and don’t see) shape our understanding of the world.

From losing and reclaiming her own voice to leading groundbreaking research on the “Missing Perspectives of Women” in the news, Luba reveals how systemic bias operates in ways most of us don’t even notice — and what it means for leadership, media, and society.

This conversation goes beyond media — it’s about power, visibility, and the forces that shape whose voices are heard and whose are not.

🎙️ In this episode, we explore:

• Why women’s perspectives are still largely missing from the news
• How that shapes the stories we hear — and the ones we don’t
• Why we often don’t even notice the bias around us
• What this does to confidence, ambition, and opportunity
• How AI is repeating the same patterns at scale
• What it takes to find your voice — and use it

🎯 Explore Luba’s work:

Website:https://www.lubakassova.com/en

Substack(Lubascope — social commentary with heart and fact): https://lubakassova.substack.com/

MissingPerspectives of Women reports (available on her website)

🔗 Referenced in the episode:

Edith Eger (psychologist, Holocaust survivor, author of The Choice)

⏱️ Chapters:
00:00 Intro

00:47 Luba Kassova: The Writer Giving Voice to the Unheard

02:17 I Made Myself Obsolete and Invisible

06:14 The Warning Signs of a Midlife Crisis

08:06 Why So Many Women Never Get Access to the Right Tools

10:00 The Voice That Says: Stay Small

11:47 How Girls Are Socialised to Disappear

14:37 Where That Inner Critical Voice Comes From

16:57 Her Mother’s Advice That Changed Everything

18:05 What It Means to Give Voice to the Voiceless

21:50 The Shocking Truth About Women in the News

26:52 Why Progress for Women Flatlined

29:13 The Grammys Myth: Are Women Really Dominating?

31:47 Why We Don’t Even Notice Male-Dominated Media

37:10 What This Does to Society in Real Life

42:13 AI Is Repeating the Same Biases

46:33 What Happens If Superintelligence Inherits Human Bias?

50:35 What Gives Luba Hope Right Now

53:35 Luba’s Definition of Hope

55:58 How to Turn Outrage Into Opportunity

58:17 Where to Follow Luba’s Work

01:00:03 Never Waste a Good Midlife Crisis

01:00:37 Let’s Crowdsource the Tools That Help

#CatchTheUpswing#Leadership #MediaBias #SystemsChange #WomenInMedia

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