Jo Giese’s mother, Babe, liked to drink, dance, and stay up very late. When the husband she adored went on sales calls, she waited for him in the parking lot, embroidering pillowcases. Jo grew up thinking that the last thing she wanted was to be like her mother. Then it dawned on her that her own happiness was derived in large part from lessons Babe had taught her. Her mother might have had tomato aspic and stewed rhubarb in her fridge, while Jo had organic kale and almond milk in hers, but in more important ways they were much closer in spirit than Jo had once thought.
At a turbulent time in America, Never Sit If You Can Dance offers uplifting lessons in old-fashioned civility that will ring true with mothers, daughters, and their families. Told with lighthearted good humor, it’s a charming tale of the way things used to be―and probably still should be.
- About The Host -
Jo Giese is an award-winning radio journalist, author, teacher, community activist, and global traveler
As a special correspondent Jo was part of the Peabody award-winning team at Marketplace, public radio’s daily business show, and she’s been a contributor to This American Life.
Her non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Los Angeles Review of Books, European Travel & Life, Vogue, and more.
- Radio -
As a special correspondent Jo was part of the Peabody award-winning team at Marketplace, public radio’s daily business show.
Her series Breaking the Mold, which featured women succeeding in male-dominated fields, ran for three years, and was their longest running series. This series won a EMMA—Exceptional Merit Media Award for Exceptional Radio Story from the National Women’s Political Caucus.
For her “superior portrayal of the changing roles of women,” Jo received a GRACIE from the Foundation of American Women in Radio and TV.
The multi-part series she reported at Marketplace included Checking In, How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?, Starting Over, Life on Fire!, and Reinventing Retirement.
For This American Life with Ira Glass, she contributed a half-hour documentary Doctoring the Doctor.
- TV -
In New York City, Jo produced documentaries for PBS, WNET-TV, WNBC-TV, and was Food Editor for WNBC Nightly News. She was also a host for SNC Cable, a consumer reporter for Group W, and a producer for the Family Channel.
- Non-Fiction Writing -
Jo authored A Woman’s Path (Golden/St. Martin’s) and The Good Food Compendium (Doubleday).
She served on the board of PEN CENTER WEST. She taught in the UCLA Extension Writing Program, and at the Skirball Lifelong Learning Center in Los Angeles.
- Community Activist -
As Founder and President of the MalibuGreenMachine she helped raise $750,000 for a landscaping project on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
Previously, in the 90s, as part of the Venice Action Committee, she spearheaded a community effort to plant trees in Venice, California on Rose Avenue. The mature trees, from Main Street to Lincoln Blvd, remain to this day.
She was honored by the Malibu Times as 2005 Citizen of the Year, and was honored in 2008 with a Malibu Way of Life Award.
Jo lives in Southern California and Montana with her husband, Ed Warren.
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