06: Jenny Yang

Sara sits down with writer-director Heather Fink (who is also an actress, comedian, and sound professional for film and TV - she does it all!) to talk about growing up in New Jersey as the daughter of a Jewish American scientist father and a Dutch immigrant construction boss mother. These friends of many years (12? 13?) discuss growing up in the shadow of two cities (NYC and Philly), being a woman in a man-dominated industry, and the challenge of living a creative life with multiple gigs far away from one's family. Heather is the daughter of a stroke survivor, and she talks a bit about that as well. Thank you so much to the Patreon famiglia helping keep this show alive! Patreon.com/SaraBenincasa

Sara talks to chef-owner David Graham Wilcox of Hail Mary Pizza in Los Angeles, CA. He's a very talented dude and has done a lot of jobs, including bread baker, volunteer organic farmhand, semi-hippie drug dealer, and more! He's also a single dad to a very smart son, a music enthusiast, a motorcycle owner, and much more. He speaks openly about tragedy, loss, grief, and the power of work from which one derives real meaning and value. Learn more about David at Instagram.com/HailMaryPizzaLA and Sara at Instagram.com/SaraJBenincasa. You can support this podcast via Patreon at Patreon.com/SaraBenincasa. Thanks to our awesome Patreon community!

Sara talks to talented food writer Esther Tseng (Eater, Vice, LA Times and more) about life as the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants in New Berlin, Wisconsin (that's "New BER-lin," by the way); why she walked away from a full scholarship for violin studies at the University of Wisconsin in favor of UCLA; the science of cheese curds; pop-up restaurants; why she doesn't cook a whole lot; and how much you'd have to pay her to move back to her hometown. Food-oriented praise is lavished upon Chef Ludo Lefebvre, artist/author/producer/songwriter/musician/food dude Questlove, writer Lucas Kwan Peterson, and comedian/TV host Karl Hess. Thanks to Heather Fink and Guy Opochinski for production support. And thanks so much to Patreon supporters at Patreon.com/SaraBenincasa.

Actress Emily Robinson (Transparent, Eighth Grade, Virgin Territory) is one of the most grounded humans Sara has ever met - which is wild, because Emily is only 20 years old. A successful actress, writer, director, producer, activist and eyebrow-haver, Emily talks to Sara about her love for Elsie K. Fisher, Bo Burnham's ace directorial skills, auditioning, studying creative writing, how Gaby Hoffman helped her with research before a childbirth scene,  juggling school and work, her life as a student at Columbia, the fun/drama of social media, and trying to listen to people with compassion, even when it's tough. Say to Emily at Twitter.com/Emily_Robinson and Instagram.com/Emily_Robinson. You can support this podcast via Patreon at Patreon.com/SaraBenincasa.

Rachel Antonoff, design genius and fabulous tiny fairy of a human, sits down with Sara to talk about clothes, family plays, transgenerational trauma, the magic of Long Beach Island, grief, healing, friendship and more. Thanks to all the Patreon supporters who help make this show possible. You can contribute to the show at Patreon.com/SaraBenincasa or via Anchor. Thanks to Betaworks Studios, editor Guy, and John Lagomarsino of Anchor. At the end, Sara mentions the memorial fund for Lyra McKee of Northern Ireland, available at https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-lyra-mckee. Please take good care of yourself and each other.

Molly Jong-Fast is the author of three books (soon four books!). She's also a progressive gal, a writer, a Twitter favorite, a badass friend, a mother, a wife, and a delightful human person. She talks to Sara about how she's not actually Dutch or Chinese, how she grew up on the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side, running into random Trumps at social events, being hated by the religious right as a pro-abortion radical even though she's never had an abortion, and Sara's encounter with Molly's very groovy divorced parents, who Sara thinks are really cool (Molly finds that hilarious, and loves her parents). Thanks to John at Anchor and Editor Guy! Support this podcast via Patreon at Patreon.com/SaraBenincasa or right here on Anchor.

Season 2 begins with stand-up comic Corinne Fisher, co-host of the wildly popular podcast "Guys We F*cked." This native of Union, New Jersey talks to Sara about growing up near The City (a.k.a. Manhattan) as opposed to out in the boonies of rural NJ like Sara did; acting; singing; music; hecklers; never having been in a physical fight; the lessons in tolerance and love she learned from her dad; having a teacher for a mom; being a true weirdo in high school AND in the allegedly glamorous NYC environs; and more. You can support this podcast via Patreon.com/SaraBenincasa and by subscribing right here! Thanks to all our kind Patreon supporters plus editor Guy Opochinski, John Lagomarsino at Anchor, and the folks at Betaworks Studios.

Thomas Sadoski (Life in Pieces, The Newsroom) talks to Sara about being a rebel, finding himself through community theatre in College Station, TX, evangelical Christian '90s teen groups, Young Life, punk music, acting, Amanda Seyfried's joyful approach to life, PUPPIES, BABIES, disappearing into a role, and finally feeling at home in NYC. You can support this podcast via Patreon.com/SaraBenincasa or via Anchor. 

Jenny Yang, comedian and writer for "Busy Tonight" on E!, talks to Sara about how much she loved high school in Torrance, CA; her background in politics and labor; how she stood up to her dad by proving that she was a well-behaved kid; being the family translator at a very young age; starting a comedy festival with Asian-American comics; adjusting to college life in chilly PA by wearing shorts at inappropriate times of year; and much, much more. Support the podcast through Anchor or via Patreon at Patreon.com/SaraBenincasa.

Adam Pally and Sara talk about his upbringing in Livington, NJ and the origin of his non-Livingstonian accent, how everyone thinks they went to camp with Adam or Sara (and why), stalking 50 Cent, Adam's musical parents, dating your high school sweetheart, UCB, Adam's expanded career as show co-creator and executive producer, Judaism, fashion, Judaism, '90s hip hop influencing suburban kids, parents who stay together, Judaism, getting in trouble in school, the great Sam Richardson and their new YouTube series CHAMPAIGN ILL. No WASPs were involved in the recording of this episode. You can support this podcast via Anchor or at Patreon.com/SaraBenincasa.