Today’s guest is kids’ TV writer and creator, Margaret Hoffman.

She has written for Sesame Workshop (Esme and Roy, Sesame Street Digital), Netflix (The Cuphead Show!), Sid & Marty Krofft (Mutt & Stuff), Lilypad Library, and Hellosaurus. She's also developed new shows with 9 Story Media, Sesame Workshop, and Sutoscience. When not writing for TV, Margaret creates videos for her preschool YouTube channel, Giggle Time, or writes for the theater, where her plays have been performed at the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival (New York, NY), Rita Goldberg Theater (New York, NY), and CultureDC’s Source Theater (Washington, D.C.).

In this episode, Margaret and I retrace her journey arriving in New York City to study writing, her foray into TV writing and puppetry work, and unpack insights and advice for writers and creatives navigating industry transitions and professional uncertainty.

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Today’s guest is Léa Taranto, a disabled Chinese Jewish Canadian writer who lives with OCD and comorbid disorders, and the author of the debut YA novel A Drop in the Ocean.

In this episode, we explore how she transformed her early experiences and diaristic writing into autofiction, unpack harmful tropes about mental health and treatment, and get a glimpse into her upcoming projects.

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Today’s returning guest is pop culture commentator, Twitch streamer, and cybersecurity analyst Tara Edwards. In this episode, we discuss two films that have come out this year, both of which carry a culturally specific lens centered around demons, sinners, and music: “Sinners” and “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” We dive inside both films to compare and contrast their thematic elements, usage of music and spirituality, and their impact within their respective cultural spheres.

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