Empty Inside

guest: chrissy metz. topic: perseverance.

guest: chris gethard. topic: resentment + acceptance.

guest: ethan + grayson dolan. topic: the perils of fame.

guest: mike birbiglia. topic: pressure

episode guest: nia dennis. topic: authenticity

guests: mayim bialik + jonathon cohen. topic: mental health

guest: mike dicenzo. topic: aging.

episode guest: mikhaila peterson. topic: morality.

guest: chelsea fagan. topic: relationship to money.

guest: elsie fisher. topic: self-doubt.

guest: lea waters. topic: toxic mothers.

guest: karan brar. topic: child acting.

guest: misha osherrovich. topic: identity.

guest: james robertson. topic: storytelling.

guest: caroline miller. topic: overcoming bulimia.

guests: joshua fields millburn and ryan nicodemus. topic: minimalism.

guest: audrey brianne. topic: mental health stigmas.

guest: anna faris.  topic: fish out of water.

i talk with whitmer thomas (his special “the golden one” is out now on HBO) about our dead moms. how have we processed our grief ? do we feel anger toward our deceased mothers ? what horrific and hilarious memories can we conjure from our mothers’ terminal months ?

i talk with my friend and brilliant comedian daniel sloss (his special “x” is on hbo. his specials “dark” + “jigsaw” are on netflix) about confidence. how can you differentiate between legitimate confidence and false, ego-based confidence ? where does confidence come from and is it possible to fake it ?

i talk with bestselling author / harvard psychology professor susan david about handling difficult emotions. how can we avoid brooding in or bottling up our feelings ? how does knowing our values help us to manage our emotions ? what's the matter with today's increasingly popular happiness movement ?

i talk with comedian/actress esther povitsky (her special Hot For My Name is out on Comedy Central now) about antidepressants. how did getting on antidepressants change esther's life ? what led her to get on them in the first place ? and should i get on them immediately ?!?!?

i talk with best-selling author / life coach christine hassler about the challenges of being in your 20s. how do you start to take accountability for your life ? how can you establish boundaries and healthy family dynamics ? and most importantly, why did no one tell us that our 20s would be such a shit show ? i mean seriously, what is this shit ?

i talk with olympic runner/bobsledder lolo jones about her various olympic experiences as well as her turbulent upbringing that paved the way for her olympic dreams. 

i talk with author / this american life editor / yale graduate susan burton (her memoir empty is out now) about our adolescent experiences with eating disorders . what were our first memories of wanting to change our bodies ? how did we feel when we were on various rungs of the eating disorder “hierarchy”  ? did our eating disorders stem from a fixation on little girlhood and wanting to stay child-like ?

i talk with comedy producer / photographer / my dear friend mandee johnson (her book super serious is out now) about adjusting and how covid has changed our courses in life .

i talk with comedian taylor tomlinson about dating. what are the most important lessons we’ve learned from past relationships ? would we still have chemistry with any of our exes if we met them today ?  in which relationship were we the worst versions of ourselves ?

i talk with comedian/actress arden myrin about humor. when were our senses of humor the cringiest ? when have we used humor as a defense mechanism to mask our pain ? what eventually led us to develop senses of humor that were more genuine to us ? (arden’s book Little Miss Little Compton is out September 29th !! you can pre-order it now at www.ardenmyrin.com).

i talk with influencer / skincare expert hyram yarbro about how he came to terms with his sexuality while growing up in the LDS church, our opposite experiences with our mormon upbringings (for me, church was an escape. for hyram, a prison), and the danger of suppressing our emotions .

i talk with apolo ohno (the most decorated winter olympian of all time) about losing. is a winner made in how they lose ? why does losing discourage some people so much that they never get back up, and yet motivate others ?

i talk with annie lederman (comedian / writer / one of my new favorite people) about our history with alcohol . was trauma the catalyst for our drinking habits ? what tools helped us finally address + work on our issues ? how pivotal was learning to manage our triggers in helping us resolve our drinking patterns ? WARNING: this episode includes explicit details of sexual abuse .

i talk with comedian / writer beth stelling ( her new special “ GirlDaddy ” is out NOW on HBOmax ! ) about codependency . what is our pattern in relationships ? how can we avoid recreating old unhealthy dynamics ? what measures have we taken to work on ourselves in this area ? 

i talk with my friend (and filmmaker !) zane rubin about rejection. how responsible is rejection for putting you on your current life path? at what point does rejection go from being valuable feedback to being a dream killer? what happens when we orient our lives toward avoiding rejection?

i talk with my friend (and designer / illustrator / muralist / author) timothy goodman about art + trauma. is there a social responsibility behind the art you make if it includes trauma ? how do you avoid becoming a caricature of yourself for the sake of maintaining external success ? what do you do when what you want to make is at odds with what your audience expects from you?

in this episode of "empty inside", i talk with my friend (and soon-to-be clinical psychologist) talia mann about where we're at in our eating disorder recovery - plus diet culture, thin privilege, and the sensitivity of the ED community. episode recorded pre-covid.

i talk with my friend david archuleta about our abusive stage parents, growing up mormon, and the cost of being in the public eye before you know yourself. check out david's new album THERAPY SESSIONS, available everywhere !

i talk with my friend juliette goglia about the worst quality we both have in common: jealousy. we talk about where jealousy shows up most in our lives (relationships), what we're doing to work on our jealousy (a nauseating amount of money in therapy), and what the root of our jealousy is (for me, trust issues that stem from a tumultuous upbringing. pin it all on that traumatic childhood!). episode recorded pre-covid.

What is Empty Inside about?  This is an introductory episode for the Empty Inside Podcast.