This week we revisit our interview with actor, comedian, improvisor, and director Lennon Parham, on the heels of her recent amazing directorial work with Somebody, Somewhere on HBO (the last two episodes dropped on Sunday).  

Lennon created and starred in Best Friends Forever and Playing House (with Jessica St. Clair) and has had recurring roles in Veep, Bless this Mess, Minx, and the animated series Little Demon. 

She has made a number of memorable appearances on television including Curb Your Enthusiasm, Netflix's Lady Dynamite, AMC's Mad Men, ABC's Schooled, and NBC's Parks and Recreation.

On the feature side, Lennon had supporting roles in The House, Horrible Bosses 2, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and Other People.

Heidi and Ellen welcome the beautiful sign of Gemini. It is the season of connection, curiosity and intelligence. With the Sun in Gemini, we connect to share information, delight or 10,000 questions. We are here, there and everywhere. Who are you and what do you have to say? Write it. Speak it. Preach it. Converse about it. Let’s grow our wisdom through loving relationship. Heidi and Ellen look at the chart of Michael J Fox, a quintessential Gemini and talk about his new documentary, Still. Heidi reads the poem Never the Same by Rosemerrie Wahtola Trommer.

Heidi and Ellen were thrilled to talk to Abdi Nazemian, tracing the astrological arc of his bountiful career. Abdi is an author, screenwriter, and film and television producer. He has written four published novels, with a fifth, ONLY THIS BEAUTIFUL MOMENT, just released on May 9th, 2023. His first novel, THE WALK-IN CLOSET, was awarded a Lambda Literary Award for Best Debut. His novel LIKE A LOVE STORY won a Stonewall Honor and was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best young adult books of all time. He has also written for three television shows, including ORDINARY JOE, and written six produced films including THE ARTIST'S WIFE and THE QUIET. He has been an executive producer or associate producer on numerous films, including CALL ME BY YOUR NAME and LITTLE WOODS. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, two children, and dog Disco. You can find him on Instagram @abdaddy.

Heidi and Ellen take questions from Jessica and Aurora. Jessica has been a social worker for about 15 years, primarily working with asylum-seeking immigrants and unaccompanied minors. This last year she unexpectedly was faced with intense burnout and health issues and left her job. She feels overwhelmed by exhaustion, and can’t find her way to her next chapter (9:22). Aurora is a working mom that got pummeled by pandemic life. Last summer, she left her job and has been learning about neurodiversity advocacy, and training in the healing art of hypnosis. She loves the work but is scared about moving forward. She wonders if she is cut out for entrepreneurial life (20:25). Ellen and Heidi also talk about the book, ‘Your Brain On Art’ by Susan Magsamun and Ivy Ross; the documentary Judy Blume Forever, the shows Succession, Somebody Somewhere, Bridgerton, and the movie Dune (31:04).

Heidi and Ellen take questions from Samantha and Gretchen. Both women used the downtime during the pandemic to write books. Samantha lost her job in museum education, and devoted her time to research and planning a book Last fall she released the first four (!!) novels. In February, she published the first in a spin-off series. She really wants to financially support her writing and also inspire others. She is considering adding coaching or self-publishing classes to her business. She wonders if she is taking on too much (7:30).  

Gretchen is a college professor and has taught art history for 25 years. During the pandemic, she started writing and within four months had a book! In her Young Adult novels, the main character travels through a painting or work of art and lands at the time of its creation. The characters learn about these historical periods and themselves. She wants to write a series of these books and also create curricular materials for high school teachers. She wonders if this idea has good potential (15:36).  

Heidi and Ellen also talk about the second season of Somebody, Somewhere and also the wonderful book by Maggie Smith,  You Could Make This Place Beautiful (27:26).

Heidi and Ellen take questions from Rikki and Jacqueline. Rikki has been an educator for over a decade. This year, she plans to finally make a big and long-awaited move with her family to Washington State. She is conflicted about continuing her teaching career or taking a chance at something new She wonders if this is the right time for so many changes (5:15). 

Jacqueline has been in career reinvention for the past 8 years, doing emotional and artistic work with children and parents, fine art and digital art, hypnosis, and end-of-life doula training. Recently, she has been working on a big and exciting project that will not come to fruition for some time. In the meanwhile, she needs to find good-paying work. She is at a crossroads (15:00).

Ellen and Heidi also talk about the TV series The Split, the latest episodes of Succession, The Diplomat, Tiny Beautiful Things, and The Last Thing He Told Me. They also share thoughts about building habits and the book, Atomic Habits by James Clear (25:57).

After a full, feisty, fiery Aries season, Heidi and Ellen welcome the quieter, lush, fertile energies of Taurus. Venus, as the ruler of Taurus, enters the room and magnetizes the beautiful. It's a time to spread out our metaphorical picnic blanket beneath a sturdy tree, read good books, and rest in a splash of sun. 

They look at the birthday of King Charles lll, a Scorpio with a Taurus moon whose historical coronation is on May 6th. Heidi reads the poem August Day by Jane Hirschfield.

Sara Alvarado is a writer, speaker, and fierce advocate for racial equity in real estate. Sara built her real estate business into a successful brokerage with her husband, Carlos. Working in real estate and for racial equity led her to co-creating OWN IT: Building Black Wealth, a groundbreaking initiative working toward eliminating substantial barriers to wealth and homeownership for Black and brown families. She is the founder of Step Up: Equity Matters in the Workplace, Badger Rock Middle School, and Nuestro Mundo Community School. 

Sara recently published her first book, Dreaming In Spanish. She has also written the Racial Justice Toolkit for Real Estate Professionals, a Guide for Change Agents, and numerous articles and essays.bIn the podcast episode they talk about her writing journey as well as her commitment to racial justice and equity. 

Heidi and Ellen, freshly back from the Radiant Life Retreat, talk about the wonderful week they just shared. The time was filled with astrological embodiments, song, poetry, and dance.  It was a feast for the senses! They take questions from Annie and Ellen. Annie is an avid reader and is thinking about writing a fiction book. She wonders: ‘Should I/ Shouldn’t I’?  (Spoiler alert- we say YES! ) (5:37) Ellen is a history teacher and loves her work, but worries about the current political climate that often forces teachers to parse words and limit curricular topics. She asks if we can recommend effective communication strategies so she can better dialog with parents and school officials. (12:38) Heidi and Ellen also chat about the latest episodes of Succession; Ted Lasso; and Shrinking, as well as music producer Rick Rubin’s new book, The Creative Act- A Way of Being.

Happy Astrological New Year! Heidi and Ellen welcome the fiery sign of Aries. Under this sign, we reset, start afresh, plant seeds, and launch ourselves into a whole new astrological cycle. Aries offers us fire, passion, vitality, and boldness. Aries takes action and gives us the chance to begin again. They do a deep dive into the astrological chart of the passionate journalist and social activist, Gloria Steinem. Heidi reads the poem growth, glory by J. Sullivan.