Jamie Rose is proof that reinvention can be a superpower. After decades as a working actress, she did what most in Hollywood never dare: she pivoted.

First came writing. She landed a Penguin deal for her memoir Shut Up and Dance, diving headfirst into the brutal world of publishing. Then came coaching, where she transformed her 37 years of training with psychiatrist Phil Stutz (of The Tools and Jonah Hill’s Netflix doc Stutz) into a career helping others unlock their potential.

Now she’s tackling her boldest project yet: Facing Madame X: An Initiation into Feminine Power (out March 2026). Part memoir, part self-help, the book distills Stutz’s groundbreaking tools through Jamie’s uniquely female perspective, weaving hard-won lessons of resilience, humor and creativity.

Jamie had to figure out the system for herself. She rode the highs (landing a book deal with a major publisher) and the lows (refreshing Amazon rankings until she nearly lost her mind). She discovered that success wasn’t about fame or money alone—it was about emotional “f-you money,” joy in the process and leaving a legacy that makes people weep (in the best way).

Episode Highlights

• Jamie’s leap from Hollywood (Falcon Crest, The Tonight Show) to published author and coach
• The rollercoaster of her first book Shut Up and Dance—Penguin deal, PR mishaps, Amazon obsession
• Lessons from 37 years with mentor Phil Stutz, now shaping her new book Facing Madame X (2026)
• Redefining “f-you money” as emotional freedom, not just financial security
• Why reinvention, resilience, and joy matter more than chasing external validation

Key Takeaways

• Traditional publishing offers prestige but little control—authors must drive their own success
• Setbacks can spark reinvention and deeper purpose
• Mentorship and long-term practice transform both work and life
• Emotional wealth and detachment create true power
• Books are about legacy and impact, not just sales numbers

Mark Ebner has lived every journalist’s dream. He’s a New York Times bestselling author, Hollywood insider and the guy behind some of the most notorious exposés in entertainment history. But behind the bylines and book deals is a story about an industry that chews up even its most fearless voices—and a writer who found a way to keep telling the truth anyway.

In this conversation, Mark and I talk about everything the publishing world doesn’t want you to know—from missing royalty checks and botched releases to what happens when AI starts scraping your life’s work. He opens up about his unlikely friendship with Andrew Breitbart, the chaos of the book business and how he went from bestselling author to private investigator—while somehow staying one of the funniest, most unflinchingly honest people I’ve ever met.

Episode Highlights

• The truth about what it really means to hit the New York Times list (and why it doesn’t make you rich)
• How HarperCollins mishandled his biggest book deal—and what it taught him about the industry’s dysfunction
• The unexpected camaraderie between a radical leftist and a far-right pundit and how it produced Hollywood, Interrupted
• Why bookstores literally killed one of his bestsellers by shelving it in the wrong section
• The burnout and betrayal that pushed him to leave journalism and launch a private investigation firm
• His take on AI, intellectual theft and the future (or end) of nonfiction writing
• The celebrity scandals, lawsuits and cult investigations that defined his career—and why he’s done telling other people’s stories
• The strange parallels between chasing leads as a PI and chasing truth as a reporter
• The book he still wants to write—and why he might call it Dirtbag

Tom Zoellner has no illusions about fame, sales or the myth of the “life-changing book.” A National Book Critics Circle Award winner and New York Times bestselling author, Zoellner has written nine acclaimed works of nonfiction including Island on Fire: The Revolt that Ended Slavery in the British Empire, which also became a finalist for the Bancroft Prize and the California Book Award. But despite the accolades, he’s learned to see writing not as a climb toward visibility but as a lifelong meditation on curiosity and craft.

In this episode, he and I had a lively debate about such things as whether technology is the death knell of creativity or an amazing opportunity, if one should be writing to build authority or to simply to experience the satisfaction of delving deeply into a topic and even how to pronounce BISAC (not to mention his last name).

We also talk about how I once said a sentence to him summarizing how I feel about book publishing that he quotes back to me all the time.

Tom may be my polar opposite in terms of using a book to strategically advance but I do admire the way he writes, as he says, to add one small spark to the larger fire of human knowledge. Listen in to find where you may lie on the spectrum of creativity and commercialism (and where the two meet).

Episode Highlights:

• Tom recounts his journey from local newspapers in Nebraska to national recognition as an award-winning author.
• The evolution of publishing from thoughtful gatekeeping to chaotic marketing—and why he prefers the old systems where “the rules were known.”
• The strange hazards of traditional publishing, from miscategorized books to tone-deaf cover designs and dismissive editors.
• How his first book, The Heartless Stone, grew out of a broken engagement and a trip to the Central African Republic to investigate the diamond trade.
• His growing frustration with publicity, branding and the myth that every author must be a marketer—and how rejecting that mindset changed his relationship to writing.
• His perspective on authorship as both isolation and immersion—solitary work that still requires a deep engagement with life.

Key Takeaways:

• The best part of writing happens at the keyboard, not on the bestseller list.
• Traditional publishing has lost its certainty but the writer’s task remains the same: contribute something meaningful.
• There’s power in humility, patience and persistence in a field obsessed with visibility.
• A book’s true success isn’t measured in sales or awards but in the moment it adds light to the collective bonfire of ideas.