Women in Entertainment

Before she was an award-winning actress, Octavia Spencer wanted to be a producer, and that instinct to build, solve, and champion meaningful stories still guides her every move.

In this candid and inspiring conversation, Octavia opens up about balancing genres, from comedy and horror to true crime, and why she gravitates toward projects that resonate deeply rather than simply spotlight her performance. As executive producer and voice behind Feds and Lost Women of Alaska, she shares how both series act as powerful bookends: one honoring the voices of underserved women whose stories were overlooked, the other spotlighting the real-life “Avengers” working to bring justice to victims. For Octavia, producing isn’t about control; it’s about assembling the right storytellers and ensuring important narratives are told with care and intention.

She also reflects on her early days as a casting assistant, the mentors who shaped her career, and the importance of staying grounded in an industry that can easily pull you off-center. Her advice to the next generation? Embrace the discomfort. That’s where evolution lives.

Listen to learn:
- Why Octavia chooses entire stories, not just roles
- How producing allows her to create opportunities for others
- The intentional balance behind Feds and Lost Women of Alaska
- Why discomfort is essential to artistic growth
- How community and mentorship shaped her career

The Women in Entertainment Podcast presents thoughtful conversations with leaders across entertainment from film and television, to media and gaming, and everything in between; as we talk about what it takes to make your mark in the industry, lessons these incredible people have learned along the way, and how they have found their way in an ever-changing environment.

With in-depth conversations and pre-submitted listener questions, each episode provides candid advice for navigating today’s entertainment industry, giving listeners an inside look at how key players got their start, and guidance for building the necessary toolkit to bring careers to life in film, TV, music, theater, graphics, writing, animation, and beyond.

Listen on Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/5AfPfPQ...
Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast..
Listen on Audible: ⁠https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a85..

#OctaviaSpencer #WomenInEntertainment #WomenInFilm #WomenInHollywood #ExecutiveProducer #Storytelling #Feds #LostWomenOfAlaska #FilmIndustry #TVIndustry #EntertainmentPodcast #ProducerLife #HollywoodCareer #CreativeLeadership #WomenInMedia #MentorshipMatters #CareerInFilm #ArtisticGrowth #EmbraceDiscomfort #BehindTheScenes #WomenSupportingWomen #FilmAndTelevision #IndustryInsights #PodcastInterview

What happens when the story you thought had ended still has more to say?

Bestselling author Laura Dave opens up about the evolution of her breakout hit The Last Thing He Told Me and its powerful sequel, The First Time I Saw Him. Sparked by the Enron scandal and written over the course of a decade, Laura reveals how she unknowingly crafted two books at once and why making her heroine a survivor, not a victim, was non-negotiable. She shares the surreal experience of partnering with Hello Sunshine, developing the series for Apple TV+, and watching Jennifer Garner bring Hannah Hall to life on screen.

From researching Fisher Island to finding creative clarity in the medieval streets of Èze, France, Laura reflects on the themes that define her work: redemption, second chances, and the witnesses who hold up mirrors to our truest selves. She also shares insights into her Netflix adaptations of The Night We Lost Him and The Divorce Party, her 5 a.m. writing rituals, and the song that soundtracked each novel.

Listen to learn:
- How a real-life corporate scandal sparked a decade-long creative journey
- Why writing the sequel felt riskier than the original bestseller
- What it’s really like collaborating with Jennifer Garner and Reese Witherspoon
- Laura’s “day book/night book” reading method
- The grounding rituals that keep her focused eight books in

The Women in Entertainment Podcast presents thoughtful conversations with leaders across entertainment from film and television, to media and gaming, and everything in between; as we talk about what it takes to make your mark in the industry, lessons these incredible people have learned along the way, and how they have found their way in an ever-changing environment.

With in-depth conversations and pre-submitted listener questions, each episode provides candid advice for navigating today’s entertainment industry, giving listeners an inside look at how key players got their start, and guidance for building the necessary toolkit to bring careers to life in film, TV, music, theater, graphics, writing, animation, and beyond.

Listen on Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/5AfPfPQ...
Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast..
Listen on Audible: ⁠https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a85..

#LauraDave #WomenInEntertainment #AuthorInterview #BestsellingAuthor #BookToScreen #AppleTVPlus #JenniferGarner #ReeseWitherspoon #WritingLife #CreativeProcess #ScreenAdaptation #WritersOfYouTube #StorytellingPodcast #BehindTheScenesBooks #NovelToSeries #AuthorLife #WritingRituals #CreativeJourney #PodcastEpisode

What does it take to modernize a story people already love without losing its soul? Writer-producer Rachel Shukert joins Women in Entertainment for a warm, hilarious, deeply craft-forward conversation about building female-led worlds that feel timeless and true.

From overlapping NYU memories (and the oddly permanent “NYU smell”) to her early career writing sharp, personal essays in the pre-social-media internet, Rachel shares how quiet time helped shape her voice. That work led to books, options, and a leap into TV right as the industry’s early-2010s boom opened doors for writers outside the traditional track.

Rachel breaks down her approach to adaptation, whether it’s The Baby-Sitters Club or The Burbs, by focusing on what she calls the core “North Star.” She also reflects on the meta magic of the GLOW writer’s room, new-mom energy in Hollywood, and how her real life echoed storylines she helped write.

Listen to learn:
- How Rachel identifies the “non-negotiable” heart of an adaptation
- Why you can’t “talk yourself into” the right project
- The difference between story (emotional arc) and plot (the engine)
- How she builds character from life-wants, not episode-wants
- What she’s developing next—and why her default protagonist is a woman

The Women in Entertainment Podcast presents thoughtful conversations with leaders across entertainment from film and television, to media and gaming, and everything in between; as we talk about what it takes to make your mark in the industry, lessons these incredible people have learned along the way, and how they have found their way in an ever-changing environment.

With in-depth conversations and pre-submitted listener questions, each episode provides candid advice for navigating today’s entertainment industry, giving listeners an inside look at how key players got their start, and guidance for building the necessary toolkit to bring careers to life in film, TV, music, theater, graphics, writing, animation, and beyond.

Listen on Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/5AfPfPQ...
Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Listen on Audible: ⁠https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a85..

#RachelShukert #WomenInEntertainment #TheBabySittersClub #GLOW #TheBurbs #TheHandmaidsTale #Peacock #Netflix #DisneyPlus #JudyBlume #SummerSisters #NYU #TVWriting #Showrunner #Adaptation #WomenLedStories #WritersRoom #Screenwriting #HollywoodMoms #StoryVsPlot

Sara Bareilles has always known there’s a difference between writing songs because it’s fun, and writing songs because it’s how you make it through the day. In this episode, Sara opens up about the pivotal moments that shaped her path: a high school experience that shut her down creatively for years, the loneliness of studying abroad in Italy that revealed music as a lifeline, and the slow-build grind of open mics, MySpace hustle, rejection, and eventual breakthrough.

From there, Sara reflects on the “left turns” that kept her career expansive, especially her move to New York and the leap into musical theater with Waitress, a decision she says she was naive enough to say yes to before fully understanding the scale of the commitment. She also shares why vulnerability is her favorite quality in people, how anxiety can blur into intuition (especially for women), and why speaking the truth out loud can be “medicinal.”

The conversation circles grief and the profound power of comedy, too, including Sara’s time on Girls5eva.

Listen to learn:
- How music became Sara’s coping mechanism and career compass
- What rejection taught her about identity as an artist
- Why Waitress changed everything (and what she didn’t know going in)
- How she approaches vulnerability, anxiety, and intuition
- Why grief can create connection and performance can become catharsis

The Women in Entertainment Podcast presents thoughtful conversations with leaders across entertainment from film and television, to media and gaming, and everything in between; as we talk about what it takes to make your mark in the industry, lessons these incredible people have learned along the way, and how they have found their way in an ever-changing environment.

With in-depth conversations and pre-submitted listener questions, each episode provides candid advice for navigating today’s entertainment industry, giving listeners an inside look at how key players got their start, and guidance for building the necessary toolkit to bring careers to life in film, TV, music, theater, graphics, writing, animation, and beyond.

Listen on Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/5AfPfPQ...
Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Listen on Audible: ⁠https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a85...
#SaraBareilles #WomenInEntertainment #Waitress #Broadway #Songwriting #WomenInMusic #GriefAndHealing #Vulnerability #Girls5eva #ComeSeeMeInTheGoodLight #CreativeProcess #MentalHealthInTheArts

Costumes aren’t just clothes; they’re storytelling, psychology, and world-building stitched into every scene. In this episode, three iconic designers - Lyn Elizabeth Paolo, Marylin Fitoussi, and Amy Parris - take us inside the real work behind the looks that audiences obsess over. From unexpected beginnings to defining “magic moments” on set, they share how a career in costume design is built: on grit, curiosity, and trust.

They talk process, starting with the script, diving deep into research, and collaborating with directors, producers, and actors to build characters that feel lived-in. They also pull back the curtain on the job’s biggest misconception in the fact that it’s not glamorous; it’s early calls, long hours, constant problem-solving, and being a therapist, firefighter, and leader all at once. Additionally, they cover AI and what it means for creativity, and why protecting the human, intuitive “library” inside a designer’s mind matters more than ever.

Listen to learn:
- How designers translate words into a visual world through research
- Why “costume is psychology” (and how collaboration really works)
- The truth about managing budgets, teams, and on-set chaos
- How to handle social media criticism—and still trust your gut
- What gets newcomers hired: passion, curiosity, and a can-do attitude

The Women in Entertainment Podcast presents thoughtful conversations with leaders across entertainment from film and television, to media and gaming, and everything in between; as we talk about what it takes to make your mark in the industry, lessons these incredible people have learned along the way, and how they have found their way in an ever-changing environment.

With in-depth conversations and pre-submitted listener questions, each episode provides candid advice for navigating today’s entertainment industry, giving listeners an inside look at how key players got their start, and guidance for building the necessary toolkit to bring careers to life in film, TV, music, theater, graphics, writing, animation, and beyond.

Listen on Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/5AfPfPQ...
Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Listen on Audible: ⁠https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a85...

#WomenInEntertainmentPodcast #CostumeDesign #WomenInFilm #TVandFilm #BehindTheScenes #CreativeLeadership #StorytellingThroughStyle #FashionInFilm #FilmCraft #Mentorship