Where Ya From?

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.