Claim OwnershipAspire: The I Have The Right To Podcast
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© 2026 I Have the Right To
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Join the I Have the Right to team and thought leaders as we Aspire to eradicate sexual assault. Inspired by Co-Founder Chessy Prout’s courageous voice and memoir, I Have The Right To- A High School Survivor’s Story of Sexual Assault, Justice and Hope, co-authored by investigative journalist Jenn Abelson, our mission is to create an ecosystem of respect, education, and support for all students!
Aspire is meant to be a beacon of hope and opportunity for growth -- by offering a forum for dialogue - about issues affecting our culture and the way we live, interact, love, learn and grow.
Real Men, Real Conversations: Aspire touches on both sides of the coin; Co-Founder of I Have the Right To and father of Chessy Prout, Alex Prout, and High School Student Leaders and Co-Hosts, Hugh Eastman and Gabriel Viscogliosi, share their voices with discussions about what it means to be a man- does it mean being aggressive, stoic, and not taking no for an answer? Or giving your buddy a hug and telling him you love him? Alex, Gabriel, and Hugh share how, across generations, common masculinity tropes impact us all, and how we can inspire the future to act with "aspirational masculinity". They interview guests to get their perspectives, while discussing how rigid gender norms can create harmful barriers for all. All this, and more, in “Real Men, Real Conversations”.
Survivor Advocacy: In the “Survivor Advocacy” segment, Co-Founder and mother of Chessy Prout, Susan Prout, and Executive Director of I Have the Right To, Katie M. Shipp, highlight the power of survivor voices in driving meaningful change. These episodes —deeply inspired by Chessy’s unwavering courage to speak out despite attempts to silence her— amplify powerful survivor stories, engage with experts, and explore the path forward in the fight for justice and safety. Listeners will gain insight into where we’ve been, where we need to go, and how we can collectively create lasting impact. Together, we’ll explore diverse perspectives to drive meaningful, lasting advocacy and build a safer, more just future for all.
We amplify survivors’ voices and address the root causes of sexual violence by creating open dialogue around its causes. Each episode features a variety of guests discussing survivor experiences, the aftermath of sexual assault, healthy masculinity, and the future we envision - free from sexual assault.
Let’s explore, learn, and aspire together.
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Send a text In this week’s episode of Aspire, hosts Alex Prout and Gabriel Viscogliosi are joined by special guest Derrick Hurley, a father of three, retired retail technology executive, and author of Antiguan Justice: A Father’s Fight. Derrick shares the story of his eldest daughter, who while studying in Antigua, was drugged and raped by an off-duty UK police officer. Derrick talks about the moment he and his wife first learned what had happened, and how he moved from a rush of rage and a ...
Send a text In this week’s episode of Aspire, hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout are joined by guest co-host Maria and special guest Ashley-Lauren Elrod, a multi-assault survivor, Emmy-nominated producer, and nationally recognized leader in survivor advocacy and child safety education. Ashley-Lauren is the founder of Visionary Woman Productions and the creator of Maya’s Magic Word, a new children’s book and prevention platform designed to teach body autonomy and consent to kids in a non-fear-...
Send a text In this week’s episode of Aspire, hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout are joined by student intern Kalaya Hudziec-Leiva and special guest Dr. Charlotte Markey, a renowned psychology professor and leading expert on body image. Dr. Markey discusses the updated edition of The Body Image Book for Girls and explores the critical intersection of body appreciation, mental health, and personal safety. The conversation delves into how caregivers can move past the “cringe factor” to have hon...
Send a text Today on Aspire, hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout are joined by communications director Maria Villegas and student intern Jonas Wahl, along with this week’s guest, author and advocate Leora Tanenbaum. Leora is a pioneering writer on slut shaming, sexual agency, and young women’s rights whose latest book, Sexy Selfie Nation, explores how young people are navigating an increasingly toxic, sexist, and hyper-digital culture. Leora shares how reading a 1993 report on sexual harassme...
Send a text Today on Aspire, hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout are joined by student interns Jonas Wahl and Kyleigh LeBoutillier, along with this week’s guest, Laura Dunn. Laura is a nationally recognized civil rights attorney, survivor advocate, Congressional candidate, and the attorney who represented Chessy in her sexual assault case. Laura shares how her own experience of campus sexual violence led her away from prosecution and toward representing survivors directly, challenging institut...
Send a text This week’s episode of Aspire is a grounded conversation about dismantling male supremacy, reclaiming women’s anger, and building a consent-based culture amid political backlash and digital threats. Hosts Chessy Prout and Susan Prout are joined by intern Co-host Meghan Boudreau and award-winning author and activist Soraya Chemaly, whose new book All We Want Is Everything examines how patriarchy shapes our daily lives and the high cost of supremacist systems to everyone. Together,...
Send a text In this week’s episode of Aspire, co-hosts Karen Udall and Chessy Prout are joined by Stacey Balducci, a longtime health educator at Syosset High School, along with her Adelphi University students, Gabriela Cataldo and Anthony Capozucca. Together, they explore how practical, experience-based health education can shape future generations and foster environments rooted in respect and consent. Professor Balducci shares her nontraditional approach to teaching, one that moves beyond t...
Send a text This episode of Aspire explores what effective, inclusive sexual assault prevention can look like when it is shaped by research, technology, and deep empathy for survivors. Hosts Katie Shipp and Ray Epstein are joined by Dr. Adrienne Baldwin-White, a social worker, researcher, and professor whose work focuses on preventing gender-based violence and transforming the systems survivors encounter. Dr. Baldwin-White shares how her work as a rape crisis advocate led her to focus on prev...
Send a text This week’s episode of Aspire offers a grounded conversation about empowered sexual health, consent, and agency in a world where young people are often navigating confusing or harmful messages about sex and relationships. Hosts Katie M. Shipp and host Chessy Prout, along with student co-host Maria Halter, welcome registered nurse, certified midwife, and author Dena Moes, whose book It’s Your Body provides a judgment-free, inclusive guide to puberty, birth control, STIs, pregnancy ...
Send a text This week's episode of Aspire is a conversation about making “good trouble” for gender equity, and how friendship, courage, and voice drive lasting change. Co-founders Susan and Chessy Prout, are joined by Georgetown student and intern co-host Maria Halter. They welcome guests Bari Harlam and Meredith Curran, the duo behind Trouble and proud “troublemakers for good.” Bari and Meredith reflect on years in male-dominated spaces and how being “the only woman in the room” shaped thei...
Send a text In this week’s episode of Aspire, Hosts Katie M. Shipp and Chessy Prout, joined by student Co-host Maria Halter, speak with Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic, who discusses the new blueprint “Understanding and Preventing Sexual Misconduct and Abuse by K-12 School Employees”. She explains the continuum from low-level misconduct to criminal abuse, the visual, verbal, and physical forms these behaviors take, and why grooming appears in every case. The conversation dispels myths about “stranger da...
Send a text This week’s episode of Aspire features a deeply reflective conversation with retired Allegheny College professor and longtime Bonner Program mentor Dr. Dave Roncolato. He joins host Alex Prout and student host Gabriel Viscogliosi to explore what it truly means to grow into a whole, authentic man in a culture that often narrows masculinity to roles like “warrior,” “athlete,” or “breadwinner.” Drawing on his upbringing, campus ministry, and decades of work with Bonner service schola...
Send a text In this episode of Aspire, co-hosts Chessy Prout and Katie Shipp, joined by student co-host Maria, sit down with Tracy DeTomasi, CEO of Callisto and a longtime leader in the movement to end gender-based violence. Tracy traces her journey from supporting youth and survivors to creating Callisto’s encrypted platform, which discreetly connects people harmed by the same perpetrator so they can explore legal and healing options together, on their own terms. The conversation explores wh...
Send a text In this week’s episode of Aspire, hosts Hugh Eastman and Gabriel Viscogliosi talk with multifaceted artist, composer, rapper, and producer, Benjamin Maffa. Known in the music industry as Maffa, he talks about his journey from nationally-ranked student athlete to creative storyteller in the studio and on stage. Ben shares how his early passion for tennis gave way to making music, blending classical roots, hip hop, and honest emotion into a style all his own. Ben discusses the chal...
Send a text In this episode of Aspire, Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout welcome Erica Thompson, Assistant Head of School for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School, and her seventh-grade student Annalise. Erica shares how she uses hair, a public, personal, and changeable part of identity, as an approachable way to teach young students about boundaries, respect, and consent. Through stories, literature, and real-life examples, Erica’s workshops help students connect ...
Send a text In this week’s episode of Aspire, co-hosts Alex Prout and Hugh Eastman sit down with three juniors from Georgetown Day School (GDS) in Washington, D.C., Eli, Nathan, and Aaron, who are actively challenging outdated views of masculinity and building healthier school cultures. The group shares stories of how key experiences and educational initiatives helped them move from passive listeners to proactive leaders on issues like consent, identity, and social pressure. The conversatio...
Send a text This week’s impactful episode of Aspire features keynote speaker and resilience expert Trish Kendall, who shares her journey from childhood abuse and addiction to healing and redefining success. Hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout speak with Trish about surviving the trauma and addiction that nearly ended her life by age 20. Through her story, Trish explains the five critical choices that brought her hope, trust, and a life centered on love and belonging. Trish highlights the imp...
Send a text In this week’s episode of Aspire, former NFL defensive end James Smith Williams joins Gabriel Viscogliosi and Hugh Eastman for a powerful discussion about masculinity, accountability, and what it means to be a "good man" on and off the field. Known for his advocacy work through Set the Expectation and partnerships with survivor advocate Brenda Tracy, James has made it his mission to challenge the culture of silence and complacency around sexual and domestic violence. James shares...
Send a text Violence prevention expert and author Meg Stone joins hosts Katie Shipp, Chessy Prout, and Gabriel Viscogliosi for an unforgettable conversation about reclaiming safety, autonomy, and resistance. Drawing from her new book The Cost of Fear, Meg exposes how traditional “safety” advice, rooted in fear, control, and sexism, has changed little since the 1970s, and why it continues to harm more than it helps. Meg challenges outdated, compliance-based models of personal safety that bur...
Send a text On this week’s episode of Aspire, hosts Alex Prout, Hugh Eastman, and Gabriel Viscogliosi welcome Jack Spiegel, a recent graduate of Quinnipiac’s media and journalism program, accomplished photographer, and new podcast producer, for an inspiring conversation about storytelling and advocacy. Jack shares how his upbringing and core value of “repairing the world” led him to a career centered around truth-telling, accountability, and using media for positive impact. Reflecting on his ...
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