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Two weeks before podcaster Anna Stoecklein was set to interview Cherie Blair, international human rights lawyer and wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, she made a bold request.

Stoecklein asked if Blair would text one of her close friends to see if she would do the interview along with her.

The gamble paid off: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would be joining Blair on Stoeckleins podcast, The Story of Woman.

Stoecklein had never done an in-person interview before. Her podcast about womens long march to equality, how we got here and what still needs to be changed was barely a year old with fewer than a hundred subscribers on YouTube. So, how did this former ER nurse from St. Charles nab an exclusive interview with two of the worlds most influential women?

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Stoecklein, 32, has been remaking her own life in recent years. She was born and raised in St. Charles, graduated with a nursing degree from the University of West Florida, came back to work in St. Louis and, within a year, moved to New York City with her boyfriend. They married a year later.

She worked as an ER nurse in Manhattan for a few years overworked and burned out until she realized her job had become untenable and dangerous.

I spent all my days off Googling nonclinical nursing jobs, she said. She landed a position in the medical device sales industry. A few years later, her husband was offered a job opportunity in London, and the couple jumped at the chance to live abroad. Stoecklein found another position in medical device sales, then moved to a health tech startup.

During the pandemic, she started reading nonfiction books centered around gender and feminism. She said she had never really thought about how the world was designed by and for men.

It was the first time I was exposed to some of these ideas, she said. Reading these types of books really blew my mind.

This new knowledge gave her the words to understand her own experiences and ideas. She felt compelled to share what she was learning with others. Around the same time, she was realizing that her marriage was no longer working, despite the couple still loving and supporting each other. She quit her job to start her podcast, moved out a few months later and took on freelancing work to pay the bills.

When something doesnt feel right, I feel like I have to change, even when I dont know exactly where Im going, she said.

But wasnt it daunting to tackle so much life-altering change at once?

My parents instilled in me a belief and confidence in myself, she said. They taught her that she could figure things out on her own. She credits that with her ability to adapt and thrive in the midst of uncertainty.

So when her podcast caught the ear of a friend who worked at Blairs foundation, Stoecklein put together a proposal for an interview and persisted for months to lock it down.

Once she nabbed her high-profile guests, she reread their autobiographies, watched Clintons documentary and prepared for the interview around the clock. The day of the interview, she was full of emotions.

I felt the enormity of the weight of history in the room, she said. Clintons warmth and kindness put her immediately at ease. The conversation between Blair and Clinton flowed like banter between good friends.

They had this incredibly beautiful energy, Stoecklein said.

She used the moment to launch a series of woman changemakers on her show. In addition to world leaders, shes interviewed Nobel Laureate and Yemeni journalist Tawakkol Karman, Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, and several bestselling authors, CEOs and global activists.

Stoeckleins passion for her work is evident when she talks about her own journey.

Shes living proof that big ideas can transform lives.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Aisha Sultan discusses how readers influence her work.

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Sultan: St. Charles native lands exclusive interview with Hillary Clinton - St. Louis Post-Dispatch