Host of the Tastemade Travel docuseries, India Bites on Apple TV, Chef Shrim Chakraborty transcends the “chop and chat” model by placing her own stamp on the food travel show genre. From being a talk show host, to honing her culinary craft in graduate school in Manchester, to opening her own restaurant, Calcutta Street, in Britain after a series of pop-ups, Shrim uses her versatile talent to shed light on a range of issues like the Indian middle class; the stereotypes present among Indian food; ...
Feb 03, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 33
Maureen Ryan is a veteran producer who has made a number of seminal, impactful films throughout her versatile career. Her several documentary collaborations with acclaimed British director James Marsh (The Theory of Everything) are among them, and began with Wisconsin Death Trip (1999). Constructed with a film-noir grittiness, the film surveyed a series of grizzly murders which took place in Black River Falls, a small remote town, in the 1800s, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. She herse...
Jan 20, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 32
Avy Kaufman’s filmography includes projects which changed the landscape of cinema. The three-time Emmy winning casting director has worked on over 300 films and television shows including The Sixth Sense, Artificial Intelligence, Brokeback Mountain, American Gangster and Capote. In television, she has cast acclaimed shows including Succession, Mare of Easttown, Damages and Dopesick. In our conversation, we discussed her Atlanta upbringing and concurrent interest in ballet; working with Steven Sp...
Jan 14, 2023•55 min•Ep. 31
As a globally renowned television and radio personality, broadcaster, filmmaker and activist George Stroumboulopoulos believes retaining credibility in the creative process is an important tenet to live by. Throughout the past 30 years, he has forayed successfully into his vast endeavors in entertainment and beyond, transcending “pop-culturehood” by sustaining a household name armed with the man he knows most intimately — himself. After carving a reputation as a stellar interviewer through his s...
Dec 10, 2022•56 min•Ep. 30
Anna Maria Cianciulli pushes the boundaries of filmmaking as an actress, director, writer and artist. Her acclaimed performance as Queen Gertrude of Denmark in Hamlet/Horatio, a feature film adaptation, was released theatrically in the summer of 2021 and is now streaming on all the major film platforms. The film has received Best Film awards at Los Angeles Film Awards, New York Cinematography Awards and Southeast Regional Film Festival; and Best Experimental Film at the Rome Independent Prisma A...
Nov 24, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 29
As an acclaimed novelist, essayist and author of short stories, writer Sam Lipsyte knows what it’s like to push the boundaries of form in the context of bold, irreverent and iconoclastic situations. In each of his literary masterpieces, he provides a glimpse into the humanity which surrounds the complex experiences which inform the foundation of their characters. He authored his debut publication, Venus Drive, in 2000, which consisted of a hilarious collection of short stories which demonstrate ...
Nov 19, 2022•56 min•Ep. 28
Hilary Brougher writes and directs films which blend the mechanics of original storytelling with gritty development of character. Through incisive dialogue; emotional harbingers of hope followed by inevitable glimpses of realism, Hilary’s projects each carry with them a distinct piece of the era in which they were constructed. Growing up in Catskill, NY, she would frequent the cinema every week to catch a taste of the latest auteur to be featured, such as Fellini. Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee, Gillia...
Nov 15, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 27
Madeline Taylor knew she wanted to become an actress from an early age, and she transferred drive toward action in a swift series of steps at the age of 8. As a 10 year old, she made her feature film debut in The Girl Next Door (Blanche Baker; Mark Margolis; Blythe Auffarth) as the sister of a teenager severely abused by their caretaker aunt and a neighborhood gang of boys. Madeline played a character who has polio; has to wear a leg-brace; and is subject to witnessing the gravity of the trauma ...
Nov 13, 2022•58 min•Ep. 26
Andrew Hafitz is a veteran editor who has worked on some of the most unique films of all time. After graduating from Yale, and parleying a foray into copywriting, the New Jersey native gained experience in apprentice and assistant editor roles on several films, including Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility. He edited multiple feature films prior to working on Whit Stillman’s 1998 film Last Days of Disco (Chloe Sevigny; Kate Beckinsale; Matt Ross; Robert Sean Leonard), with whom he later collaborated...
Nov 05, 2022•53 min•Ep. 25
Acclaimed screenwriter and novelist Stephen Molton has amassed a lauded portfolio of impactful credits in several media. After breaking into television through writing screenplays for the Paul Newman-produced PBS's Children's Television Workshop, Stephen wrote his first novel, Brave Talk, which was published by Harper & Row in 1987 and provided a riveting, multi-angled introspective portrait of life in the Navy. He served as a creative executive for HBO, Showtime and MTV in the years which f...
Oct 25, 2022•58 min•Ep. 24
David Soldier has achieved a rare distinction — not only is he an accomplished Columbia University neuroscientist with over 200 papers and publications, several research grants and numerous prestigious awards to his credit, he is an equally successful and prolific musician in almost every genre of music. His musical undertakings include his work with the Soldier String Quartet (since 1984), a punk chamber group which has recorded with Guided by Voices, Rick Ocasek (Frontman for The Cars), Elliot...
Oct 12, 2022•59 min•Ep. 23
Kevin Isola is a self-described journeyman actor, who has experienced great longevity in several media, including theatre, television and film. The Pasadena native attended Duke University, and consequently studied acting at NYU-Tisch, where he discovered the value of being freed-up creatively through faculty who mentored and pushed his creative strengths. We discuss a major moment in his career, which came when he played Rev in the hit 1997 play, The New Bozena, alongside friends and Tisch clas...
Oct 08, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 22
Writer and director Jeremy Robbins was Story Editor for two seasons of the Blumhouse horror anthology series — The Purge — based on the successful film franchise (grossing $500M+ worldwide) of the same name; he worked closely with James DeMonaco, creator of the franchise, in allowing viewers to explore a time in which all crime is declared legal for a 12 hour period. The show aired on USA Network and Hulu, and has featured actors including Gabriel Chavarria, Lee Allen Tergesen, Derek Luke and Wi...
Oct 07, 2022•55 min•Ep. 21
Prolific writer David Klass has explored his unique, exquisite talent for storytelling throughout his career in a plethora of literary media. Since his debut publication, The Atami Dragons , David’s 20 novels have navigated the nuances of themes which include complicated father-son relationships; differences between eco-terrorism and environmentalism; and team dynamics. David’s own significant athletic background nearly always seems to make its way into his novels, which enhances the medium thro...
Sep 18, 2022•58 min•Ep. 20
As Head of Classics, Drawings & Archives at Avery Library of Columbia University, Teri Harris holds an important responsibility as it relates to upholding the legacy of legendary architects and artists. While she was earning her B.A. in Art History at Williams College, Teri took a class which changed her life, and established a bent toward architecture. It led her to move to New York City from the rural landscape she had been living in to work at an architectural nonprofit, where she became ...
Sep 17, 2022•55 min•Ep. 19
Seemab Gul is the writer and director of the universally-acclaimed short film, Sandstorm, which recently qualified for Academy Awards contention after winning in categories at both the HollyShorts and Flickers’ Rhode Island International film festivals this year. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival; follows a young Pakistani girl’s story when she is blackmailed by her virtual boyfriend after sending him a provocative video of herself dancing; and participated in, after being invited b...
Sep 08, 2022•54 min•Ep. 18
Writer-Director Ben Kegan always knew he had a strong passion for character, film and storytelling. His growing up in a John Hughes-esque Chicago suburb is apt considering his eventual exploration of the sex-quest genre of teen movies in college. His evolution through the wrestling biopic short, Team Taliban, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival; the complicated love-triangle surveyed in Commencement, which he shot at Whitman College, his alma mater; the Hypocrite; and After Christmas fe...
Aug 24, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 17
Chair of Film at Columbia University, Jack Lechner is a veteran development executive, writer, producer and lyricist behind some of the most iconic films of our time. As head of development at Miramax between 1996-1999, Jack worked on incredibly impactful films such as Good Will Hunting, Guinevere and The Cider House Rules. In 1999, he wrote Can't Take My Eyes Off of You : One Man, Seven Days, Twelve Televisions, which chronicled his experience of being fully immersed into cable and network tele...
Aug 20, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 16
Studio photographer and visual artist Elisheva Gavra creates art which challenges the boundaries of realism; explores the power of spirituality; and investigates the dynamic experience of questioning discord. The latter is a concept with which she has familiarity, growing up in a small Israeli town subsumed by a strong sense of cultural identity and framework. During the pandemic, she paralleled a focus aimed at exploring manifestations of what it means to manipulate reality, which she had exper...
Aug 05, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 15
Actress Anita Abdinezhad tells stories which capture life and all its trimmings. After earning her MFA from Columbia, she entered her Broadway debut, POTUS: OR behind every dumbass are seven women trying to keep him alive, which has with met rave reviews, understudying for such seasoned performers as Rachel Dratch, Julliane Hough and Lilli Cooper. Her versatility encompasses a unique array of both comedic and dramatic performances in works like Sideways Smile, Eradication, Repetence and Amaceing...
Aug 02, 2022•58 min•Ep. 14
Artist Vivian Vivas trancends trivialization. Her immense work in several genres, encompassing moving image, performance art, stop motion and installation work pushes the boundaries of what many deem possible. An MFA candidate at Columbia University, she is a finalist for the 2022 Frankenthaler Climate Award, and has an upcoming group show: In Response: Jonas Mekas at the Jewish Museum . She was the recipient of the 2018 Kodak Award from the San Francisco Art Institute and received the Best Expe...
Jul 30, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 13
Today’s difficult SCOTUS ruling has bearing on several aspects of our society. Reflect back on the directors who made five films that inspired my understanding about the relationships between women; the impact of choices on policy decisions; and the factors guiding their process of filmmaking, including their decisions, which highlighted integral, unique snapshots of women as they live through each day. Opening Credits: Irama Gema - Nepalese Gurkha; Closing Credits: Lahcen Akil - 5-Awnza...
Jun 25, 2022•58 min•Ep. 12
Artist Scheherezade Junejo’s exploration of complex topics in her work is a thematic tenet which permeates her art throughout the spectrum of several solo shows, 70 group shows, and significant global recognition. Her unique story is shaped by factors like her familial upbringing in Pakistan; the influence of other boundary-pushing auteurs like Magritte; an anatomically-inspired approach toward portraying the human body through the lens of respect and social cognition; and intrinsic drive shaped...
Jun 19, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 11
The value of friendships is a significant pillar many hope to achieve in life and practice. Discover how a missed opportunity to connect with friends led to an ultimatum, and which changes manifested stemming from the experience. Intro/Closing Track: Don't Go by Diego Nava
May 09, 2022•49 min•Ep. 10
Joe Knight is the President & CEO of InnAVasc Medical, Inc., a medical device company founded by Duke University surgeons and scientists, which designs and develops products for vascular access for hemodialysis. He holds an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, where he also a Professor, as well as a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Dr. Knight was previously in various roles at Medtronic as well as serving as Founder and CEO of Medic...
May 01, 2017•44 min•Ep. 9
The Academy Awards is a ceremony often televised to a crowd of 80M people. Why all the hype? Hear what Eric Huh and Jon Penn Junejo have to say about it in a conference room at Duke University, The Fuqua School of Business. Opening Track: Podington Bear - Trailways; Closing Track: Podington Bear - Skeptik.2
Mar 01, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 8
Venture into the impact of external factors with regard to releasing media.
Jun 01, 2016•18 min•Ep. 7
The determination of whether larger movies qualify as films, according to credibility and industry priorities, is discussed using free-form perspective.
May 28, 2016•9 min•Ep. 6
How Did Woody Harrelson Get There? Find out now.
May 11, 2016•13 min•Ep. 5
How Did Jonathan Levine Get There? Find Out Now. (Musical consideration brought to you by Broke For Free - Calm the F*** Down (Intro Theme) and People Like Us - Eve of Sunshine (Closing Theme)
Apr 14, 2016•18 min•Ep. 4
