When Rumors Spread Like Wildfire About the Fire Commissioner

Laura Kavanagh knew she would encounter challenges as the first female fire commissioner of the FDNY. But she didn’t anticipate the false rumors that she slept her way to the top — or the nastier rumors about her supposed pregnancy. Now, for the first time, she shares what was actually going on in her reproductive life when she ran the fire department. … Recommendations from the archive • Listen to Eggs Over Freezy for more about the process of freezing your eggs. • Curious about IVF? Check out One Woman, 3 Kids, 15 Rounds of IVF. … Episode resources • Laura Kavanagh wrote an op-ed for Fortune about her time as FDNY commissioner, and how to change the workplace for the better. … Sponsors (using our links supports the show!) … • Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe! •

You can listen to When Rumors Spread Like Wildfire About the Fire Commissioner online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

When Rumors Spread Like Wildfire About the Fire Commissioner is an episode from The Longest Shortest Time by Hillary Frank | Realm.

This episode is 41:08 long.

This episode was published on Apr 15, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Longest Shortest Time when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.