Ericka Andersen

Bethany Mandel has been outspoken since I met her. She's blunt, to the point and has a lot of strong opinions. She's been able to make use of those as a freelance writer, publishing opinions on everything from vaccines to guns to privacy issues and more on impressive outlets like the New York Times, the Atlantic and the Washington Post. In today's interview, we dig into the vaccine debate (she's pro-vaxx) and a couple of other issues she's written about. She also fights fiercely for North Korean refugees and is a crunchy momma who's into things like natural births and she dabbles in free-range parenting. Shortly after our interview, Bethany gave birth to her fourth baby. It wasn't quite as exciting as the third, who was born in a car on … [Read more...]

In 2012, I prepared to take a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help continue a building project at an orphanage. In preparation, we were asked to read a couple of books -- of them being "Orphanology." It my first deep dive into the world of foster care, adoption and orphan-related readings. Even though I had the great privilege of meeting and spending time with the amazing kids in DRC, I actually felt God drawing me to learn and take action on a domestic level in the United States. I read more books -- "Another Place at the Table" (unbearably heartbreaking but important) and began learning more about my husband's story growing up as an abused and neglected child. I uncovered a world unfamiliar, nothing like the … [Read more...]

S.E. Cupp is one of those people who rarely lets things go to her head. We met years ago, back in the days when hardly anyone had Twitter but us silly folks in the political world. Over that time, S.E. Cupp has gone from an already accomplished writer (she was at the New York Times way back when and published her first book in 2008) to become one of the most familiar faces on network television. She's co-hosted a few different shows on the CNN network, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that she picked up her own show, on their sister network, HLN. The show was so great, it was brought into the regular weekend CNN lineup. Now, she hosts "SE Cupp Unfiltered" on Saturday nights. She's known as a moderate conservative who chose not … [Read more...]

Charlotte Pence has an attitude few can match. She's kind, gracious and welcomes the criticism her family has dealt with serving in public life. She's managed to find a beautiful balance between her personal life as a screenwriter and author and playing the role of Second Daughter, the middle child of Vice-President Mike Pence. In her first non-fiction book, "Where You Go: Life Lessons From My Father," Charlotte reveals her life story and a peek behind the scenes into the Pence family. She talks with me about her Dad's encouragement to pursue her dreams and his ability to put his family first despite everything his job comes with. "He will answer the phone if one of us is calling him, no matter what meeting he's in or whoever he is … [Read more...]