In this week’s Wednesday 5: The world’s oldest yoga teacher is a 94-year-old woman; can black women ‘Lean In’ like Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg?; the women of TIME’s 100 most influential people; women are not the only ones to blame for being their worst critics; and a hilarious clip of when TV anchors get a case of the giggles.

As the goodbyes and tribute shows roll out, we’ll keep an ear open to how Barbara Walters plans to use “retirement,” once she’s free of that punishing weekly schedule of ‘The View.’ Something almost entirely new is about to be created. And Walters will probably teach us what “reinvention” means.

The objectification of women in men’s magazines infuriates us—but how about looking critically at magazines supposedly meant for the female gaze?

Ford wants us to “Leave Our Worries Behind” in (another) sexist ad; Tina Fey responds to her Internet critics with a hilarious comeback; the women have been “leaning in” for centuries before Sheryl Sandberg; Aretha Franklin turns 71; and Helen Mirren champions women in film, behind the camera.

Ashley Judd’s determination to ignore partisan signaling and focus on rarely addressed, important issues is why her run for the Senate is causing the political establishment to go mildly berserk.

Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean in” has sparked a firestorm of controversy, as every feminist should. We round up some highlights from this week’s dialogue, and hope you’ll join us in keeping it going.

Where are the women on Wikipedia?; a riveting image of stillness in a time of war; a campaign for one million men to rise up against violence against women; Picasso’s never-before-exhibited “Portrait of A Lady”; and Dame Maggie Smith talks aging.

The constant barrage of scrutiny and criticism that women anchors and reporters face; Tina Fey runs the world (in case you didn’t know); male writers still outnumber female writers in major literary publications; an end to Women’s History Month?; and Sandra Day O’Connor on the high stakes of her history-making appointment to the Supreme Court.

Mary Moss Greenebaum knew, to her regret, that “the world sees Kentucky as a hopeless state.” She had a galvanizing idea—to set up a nationally recognized Author Forum, bringing the world’s great authors and thinkers to Louisville and matching them with equally distinguished interviewers. “I knew right away that each session should be interviews between two great minds,” she tells us. But the “powers that be” said it couldn’t be done.

In this week’s Wednesday 5, we ponder whether criticism of Kate Middleton’s official portrait is inherently sexist; hope for a black female heroine we can relate to in “Django Unchained”; marvel at (and also try to understand) Jodie Foster’s Golden Globes speech, feel incredibly inspired by one woman’s idea to create father-daughter dances in prison; and applaud Justice Sonia Sotomayor for making history (again!).

Judith Ross reminds us that holiday traditions aren’t just for kids; notable women who have died are less likely to make the obituaries than notable men; a reminder that Jane Austen’s novels were about women’s empowerment; Susan Brownmiller reflects on changing the discourse on rape; and Barbara Walters asks Hillary Clinton about her hair.

Amelia Earhart’s bold views on marriage; Helen Mirren on sexism in Hollywood; women science fiction writers still encouraged to use male pseudonyms; Phiona Mutesi uses chess a pathway out of poverty in Uganda; and the documentary on Mutesi’s journey from the slums in Kampala to the international stage of chess champions.

Global women gather for a TEDxWomen event to share ideas on “the space between”; three global women philanthropists pour funds into unusual projects; Judy Wach on bliss after an affair; Sally Field takes on Mary Todd Lincoln and flirts with Oscar #3.

The media-created smackdown between the “wily temptress” and the “boring, betrayed wife” in the Petraeus scandal; is television annihilating women over 40?; men speak out on roles for women over 40 in Hollywood; the multiple jeopardy of being an African woman; and the Thanksgiving table as a work of art.

Patt Morrison says goodbye to Southern California talk radio; the war on suffragist women, waged in postcards; women fare worse in post-revolution Egypt; Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one of “Glamour” magazine’s Women of the Year; and one man struggles to persuade the United Nations that rape is not “just” a woman’s issue but a global security issue.