Mothering Heights

We are so lucky and so thrilled to welcome Alison Bennett to Mothering Heights! Alison is a writer and producer and has written on shows like (Leonora’s fave) You’re the Worst and the Emmy-nominated Doogie Kamealoha, MD. We dive into the real nitty gritty of launching a successful writing career here, as well as how to navigate ooky situations with friends, how we raise siblings - one of us is an only child and one is not and we discuss how different our experiences are, and so much more. This is a hilarious episode full of lots of laughs and lots of wisdom. To learn more about Alison, please visit https://www.alisonbennett.com/. Thank you in advance for sharing and loving Mothering Heights! You’re doing a great job.

What a genuine thrill to welcome dancer, choreographer, filmmaker, and educator Nicole Riviere to Mothering Heights! Nicole has danced on shows like America’s Got Talent and for artists such as Death Cab for Cutie, Peaches, and Elvis Costello. She has a combined 30 years of experience teaching yoga and dance, and she is a filmmaker who directs music videos and her own piece - Woman, Mother, Sister, Friend, currently in post-production. This episode is so special - Leonora and Nicole discuss coming back to your great love after a spell away (in our cases: dance), grief and mourning, and advocating for yourself. It’s a beautiful episode with a beautiful human being. Also, everyone’s favorite: Leonora gets regretfully vulnerable in the opening! Whoops! Please check out Nicole’s work at https://nicole-riviere.com/, don’t forget to review and share this podcast, and remember: you’re doing a great job.

What an absolute thrill to welcome actress, writer, ceramicist, and podcast queen Busy Philipps to Mothering Heights! Busy and Leonora are old old friends (youthful YOUTHFUL old friends) and we are so happy to be celebrating Busy’s many wins this springtime. We talk about this season of Girls 5Eva dropping on Netflix, the re-boot of her wonderful late night talk show (with producer and episode 57 guest) Caissie St. Onge, Busy This Week, coming in May to QVC+, how we raise daughters, how we reset when things are tough, and so much more. This episode is a joy, just like being friends with Busy is a joy. Please check out Girls 5Eva streaming on Netflix now, keep an eye out for Busy This Week coming soon, and keep up with Busy on her IG at https://www.instagram.com/busyphilipps/?hl=en and subscribe to her and Caissie’s podcast, Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best, at https://www.bpdoingherbest.com/ - you’re doing a great job!!

This week, we are so grateful to welcome actor, writer, director, filmmaker, and Fitzmaurice Voicework professor, Emily Alpren to Mothering Heights! Emily is a super-smarty-pants and creator, and we discuss experimental theater, remaining creative when motherhood is overwhelming, and how her work as a voice professor at USC informs her work as a director. Incredible stuff. Please read more about Emily here, and don’t forget to share and leave us a review! You’re doing a great job! https://dramaticarts.usc.edu/emily-alpren/

This week, we are thrilled to welcome actress, writer, improviser, and all-around hilarious and silly person Anne Gregory to the podcast! Anne has had a really interesting career, from her and Rebekka Johnson’s triumphant run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to owning the Lyric Hyperion Theater, doing about a thousand commercials, being a cast member of Punk’d (!!) and even teaching host Leonora Pitts’s son Murphy improv! This is a wonderful episode if you love to laugh. And bonus for long-time listeners: Leonora cries!

This week, we thrillingly welcome big shot movie producer Beatriz Sequeira to Mothering Heights! Calling in from the pre-production set of her next film with Blumhouse Productions, Wolfman, Bea gives us the skinny on producing films like Get Out, Us, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and The Invisible Man, how she and her DP husband, Lyn Moncrief, balance their careers with parenthood, and why women and especially mothers make such incredible producers. Bea is a true powerhouse, and this episode is as dynamic and wise as she is. Please visit Blumhouse to see all the goodies coming out: https://www.blumhouse.com/ And please remember to like and share this episode! Tell all your friends or one of the villains from a Blumhouse movie will come get you?

This week we are honored and excited to welcome actress and writer and educator Terryn Westbrook to Mothering Heights! Terryn has been working in the biz for twenty-five years, and in our conversation we discuss what it was like to work with David Lynch (again and again) and how she got the gig (great story), what it was like to work with Christopher Guest (again and again), and I bet you can’t even hear the envy in Leonora’s heart. Truly, this episode is rife with great anecdotes and advice and wisdom, and Terryn’s humor and warmth shine through. Thank you to all who’ve tuned in! Please share and rate and review and follow the show! Check out Terryn at the links below: https://www.terrynwestbrook.com/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1382044/

What a true treat and honor to have the hilarious actor, improvisor, director, and writer Rebekka Johnson on Mothering Heights! On this episode, we talk about how she came to direct her first feature, Step Aside, starring Arden Myrin and Tara Copeland, her brilliant new podcast with the equally funny and warm Anne Gregory, Non Drinking Buddies, her important and long-standing collaborative friendships, and how much Advil it really took to get through those wrestling scenes on G.L.O.W. Plus: Leonora promises a return to weekly episodes as soon as she can get her act together with regards to grad school. Please be sure to check out all of Rebekka’s amazing work at all the links below! Rebekka’s website: https://www.rebekkajohnson.com/ Step Aside on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CPSQDM81/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r Non Drinking Buddies: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/non-drinking-buddies/id1721677857

This week, Leonora hosts herself for a quick discussion on small joys and systems that make life a little easier. Thank you for tuning in and sharing and leaving a review: you’re doing a great job.

In our first ever return-engagement, we welcome Kate Anthony back to Mothering Heights. Kate is celebrating the release of her highly anticipated book, The D Word: Making the Ultimate Decision About Your Marriage. Kate is so many things to so many people: a divorce coach, a community builder and leader, an advocate, a sage. We dive right into the hard and fun and complicated world of marriage and divorce, narcissists, toxic masculinity, and sisterhood. We also invent a word that we really hope catches on! Kate is incredible, and this conversation is unsurprisingly fantastic. To order Kate’s book, please visit the link below. You can read there how to order the book without your spouse finding out, if that is a consideration for you. You can also explore the site to find all the ways you can connect with Kate yourself! https://kateanthony.com/dword/ You’re doing a great job.

This week we are so thrilled and honor to welcome the Executive Producer and Chief Creative Officer of the Try Guys and 2nd Try Productions, Rachel Cole, to Mothering Heights! Rachel is a true example of a powerhouse creative, and is a real survivor to boot. In this episode we discuss her pageant life (Miss Vermont!!), her journey through a difficult cancer diagnosis in her 20s to being a mother of twins, and the path that led her to this incredible career with the wonderful Try Guys! Rachel is a director and creative, best known for her work in the digital space. She started her entertainment career in television, working on multiple seasons of Portlandia and piloting shows for FX. She went on to produce commercials, music videos, and branded content before launching 2nd Try in 2018 with The Try Guys. In the five years since, Rachel has lead the company through exponential growth and presently serves as Chief Creative Officer and Executive Producer - developing and producing all content for one of the foremost creators on YouTube. You can check out Rachel’s terrific work with the Try Guys on their YouTube channel, along with their 8 million followers here: https://www.youtube.com/c/tryguys, and watch Leonora’s episode coaching the guys on their Shakespeare work here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhL8J-HMF2MA

This week, we are deeply honored to chat with dancer, dance teacher, choreographer, and artist, Jasmine Albuquerque. Jasmine has worked with towering figures such as Joey Solloway, Ryan Heffington, Mike Mills, and Beck, and in spaces like the Hammer, the MOCA, and the LACMA. In 2022, Jasmine and her mother, the legendary and iconic artist Lita Albuquerque, exhibited their collaborative film, Liquid Light, at the Venice Biennale. This is an extraordinary conversation with an extraordinary artist, in which Leonora and Jasmine discuss their relationship to dance and their own bodies, Jasmine’s unique and freedom-filled childhood in the mountains, and what it’s like to be a daughter who becomes a mother. Beautiful stuff. To learn more about Jasmine, please visit https://jasminealbuquerque.com/ and remember: you’re doing a GREAT job.

This week, we are truly honored to be joined by Yoga Nidra guide and healer, Sydney Cutler Abich! Sydney and Leonora have been in mom-community for eons, and we are so grateful she’s here to share her deep and hard-won wisdom. Sydney has a masters degree in social work and worked for years as a medical social worker. After her own health took a turn, she discovered the layered and deep benefits of Yoga Nidra meditation, and became certified, completing a 200-hour certification with Yogala and and further 100-hour certification in the Bihar Tradition with Hilary Jackendoff. In this conversation, we dive deep on REST and how hard it is to invite restoration when we are pouring so much of ourselves into our families. We also discuss Sydney’s life as a kitchen witch! Beautiful wisdom herein. To learn more about Sydney, including how to connect with her for your own deepest possible rest, please visit https://anandameditation.com/about and remember: you’re doing a GREAT job.

It’s a real honor to welcome writer, novelist, memoirist, and the host of the Forever 35 podcast, Kate Spencer to Mothering Heights! Kate and Leonora discuss being ADHD moms, what it’s like raising teenagers and being the elder stateswomen/crones/RBGs of their mom community, Leonora tells a WILD story of going to the opening of Kate’s husband’s Broadway show Gutenberg, grief, and of course: SKINCARE. Kate and Doree Shafrir’s podcast Forever 35 is an essential listen. Check it out anywhere you get your podcasts. Her memoir, The Dead Moms Club, and her novel In a New York Minute, are available everywhere. https://forever35podcast.com/about Thank you as always for listening! Please follow, recommend, tell everyone you know about Mothering Heights and remember: you’re doing a great job.

What a true honor to have writer, comedy legend, and the co-host of the Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best Podcast, Caissie St. Onge, to the show! Leonora followed Caissie for years online, learning how to be funny and compassionate all at once, and it still feels amazing that they’ve become IRL friends. In this episode, we get the dirt on how Caissie and her husband managed to raise two truly exceptional young men, how she got her start with David Letterman, what it was like to work for Rosie O’Donnell, and much much more. Thank you for listening! Please remember to follow the show and leave us a review. And remember: you’re doing a great job.

This week, Leonora is thrilled to welcome writer-director-creative Terrie Samundra to Mothering Heights! Terrie’s debut feature, Kaali Khuhi, a Netflix Orginal Film, premiered in 2020, and she has participated in just about every Sundance Lab that’s out there. In this episode, we discuss how she’s paying forward all her experiences in the various filmmaking labs, her daily creative routine, how GenX is raising our kids, and what it’s like to have been a mama for 28 years (she was a very very young mother!). To find out much, much more about this incredible filmmaker, please visit http://terriesamundra.com and remember: you’re doing a great job.

Finally, after about two dozen loving mentions on this podcast, we are joined by actress, storyteller, and MFT Jennifer Seifert! Jen has weathered chronic illness and pain and come out the other side, and now utilizes her own healing experiences with creativity as a licensed marriage and family therapist. We discuss her and my different grad school experiences, how we’ve both benefited from her world-famous Artist’s Way workshops, and what she’s planning next with her vast community. Thank you for listening! Please be sure to share with everyone you know, follow us, give us a rating and a review, it really helps. To learn more about Jennifer, please visit https://www.jenniferseifert.com/?r_done=1 and https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jennifer-michelle-seifert-pasadena-ca/1096948 And don’t forget: you’re doing a great job. Books mentioned in this episode: The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott Walking in the World, Julia Cameron It's Never Too Late to Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond, Julia Cameron Romancing the Ordinary, Sarah Ban Breathnach Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Lori Gottlieb The Midnight Library, Matt Haig

This week, we are revisiting a classic episode with author and coach Samara Bay. Samara’s book, Permission to Speak, has been redefining what power sounds like since its release in February 2023. This conversation with Samara sparked so many messages of WOW when we first aired it, and I’m excited for you all to listen again - or for the first time - now that Samara has been featured on NBC News, CBS News, the New York Times Magazine, Slate, Town&Country, Vulture, and in conversation with Deepak Chopra! You can (and should) get Samara’s book anywhere you buy books, and you can follow her on Instagram at @samarabay or at her website http://samarabay.com! And remember: you’re doing a great job.

This week, Leonora is honored to host educator, sexual health and wellness expert, somatic bodyworker, healer, and coach Pamela Clare Wylie Samuelson (she/they) to Mothering Heights. Pamela found her way into this incredibly rich and rewarding career space through her earlier life as a dancer and aerialist, through injury, into healing. She now brings her deep and intuitive understanding of physiology and consciousness into her work, while inviting everyone with a body to find agency and a clear path to healing. We get into it! Sexy stuff! You can find out more about all of Pamela’s important work at her website: https://embodyworkla.com/ And find all that plus some of the best memes on the internet at her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embodyworkla/ For our regular listeners, we are working toward finding the best way to bring you the weekly new episodes you are used to and we appreciate your grace and patience!

This week we are thrilled to welcome actor, voice artist, and host of the Making it After 40 podcast, Lisa Rodriguez! The two of us reference each other’s podcast all the time, so it only makes sense that we’d share this great interview, which we did for Lisa’s one year anniversary. In this inspiring episode, we talk about how to trust that you are enough, trusting our intuition, navigating and healing from co-dependecy, and embracing our goofiness! Be sure to follow Lisa’s podcast Making After 40, and then leave us BOTH a review, and then never forget: you’re doing a great job.