How Do You Do? Podcast

This episode was recorded on April 13th in the Clubhouse room, How Do You Do? Pod LIVE, where Ben moderated a panel discussion and Q&A on Allyship & Combating Anti-Semitism. Panelists included:

• RABBI SARAH BASSIN - Associate Rabbi at Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills and Board Member (prev. founding exec. director) at NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change.
• RACHEL NILSON RALSTON - Executive Director at SF Hillel.
• DR. MARK ROTENBERG - VP of University Initiatives & Legal Affairs at Hillel International.
• STEPHEN D. SMITH, PhD - Executive Director at USC Shoah Foundation and host of The Memory Generation podcast.

How Do You Do? Pod LIVE convenes on Clubhouse. Follow the club to be notified of future events: https://www.joinclubhouse.com/club/how-do-you-do-pod-live

Dixon Junliang Lu is Associate Partner at MAD Architects’ Los Angeles Office. This is Dixon’s second stint with MAD, having acted as Head of Operations for their Beijing office from 2008 to 2011. Dixon helped to conceptualize and organize the firm’s installation in partnership with Olafur Eliasson for “Feelings are Facts” at UCCA. Since returning to MAD in 2014, Dixon has project managed the firm’s first US Project, Gardenhouse, a commission for mixed-use complex with luxury condominiums in Beverly Hills. He is the Los Angeles office’s leader, managing operations, projects, and overall strategy.

In this episode of How Do You Do? Podcast, Ben asks Dixon to share insight into the design of Gardenhouse, which features America's "largest living wall" (2:04); how the firm integrates nature into an urban project (12:08); how he and his colleagues approach brainstorming architecture (17:58); and more.

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Dixon Junliang Lu: @madarchitects

How Do You Do? Podcast: @hdydpod

Ben Hannani: @benhannani

Website: www.hdydpod.com

Our guests' jams can be found on the "HDYD Jams" playlist on Spotify!

Tehran Von Ghasri is an Iranian-American comedian, actor, host, and television & radio personality. Born in Washington D.C. to an Iranian father and African-American mother, Tehran has done stand-up comedy all over the world and frequently hosts shows at The Laugh Factory. He also co-hosts the podcast, Back to School with Maz Jobrani. 

In this episode of How Do You Do? Podcast, Ben asks Tehran about his approach to interacting with crowds (7:20), how fellow Iranian-American comedians Maz Jobrani and Max Amini influenced Tehran's pursuit of comedy (14:00), why Tehran's uniform consists of a bathrobe and "TEHRAN" cap (19:20), and more.

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Tehran Von Ghasri: @iamtehran

How Do You Do? Podcast: @hdydpod

Ben Hannani: @benhannani

Website: www.hdydpod.com

Our guests' jams can be found on the "HDYD Jams" playlist on Spotify!

Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA, and author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. His work appears nationally in the online, print, and digital video space, and you can follow him around the internet at his handle, @overoverunder. He's also the guy from that Tiny Hamsters Eating Tiny Burritos video. 

In this episode of How Do You Do? Podcast, Ben asks Farley about how he identifies as a "food writer, not food critic" and what that distinction means (1:30), how he decides what to cover in L.A.'s bustling food scene and been able to keep Eater LA as a must-read source in an increasingly competitive food media landscape (13:25), what excites him about L.A.'s food scene right now (21:10), and more.

Follow us!

Farley Elliott: @overoverunder

How Do You Do? Podcast: @hdydpod

Ben Hannani: @benhannani

Website: www.hdydpod.com

Our guests' jams can be found on the "HDYD Jams" playlist on Spotify!

Vivian Lee is a TV writer who's written on LOST IN SPACE, THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE, and the upcoming COWBOY BEBOP on Netflix. Originally from Loveland, Colorado, Vivian spent most of her childhood either working in her parents' Chinese restaurant, or being stuck at home, watching a bunch of TV shows as a latch-key kid with her little brother. Fascinated by the human psyche at an early age, Vivian was determined to become a psychiatrist. However, fate dealt her a cruel hand during freshman year in college when she got an F in Quantum Physics, after which she immediately course corrected her life and became a film major. Vivian currently lives in Los Angeles with her screenwriter husband and their three-year-old son.

In this episode of How Do You Do? Podcast, Ben asks Vivian to share how she approaches script notes from showrunners and development execs (2:50), how she goes about pitching ideas in writers rooms (15:56), advice on how to respectfully stand up for nuanced storytelling with diverse characters (20:15), and more. 

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Vivian Lee: @theviv86

How Do You Do? Podcast: @hdydpod

Ben Hannani: @benhannani

Website: www.hdydpod.com

Our guests' jams can be found on the "HDYD Jams" playlist on Spotify!

Travis Levius is a writer, editor, content creator and hospitality consultant. After quitting his teaching job in Atlanta to pursue the unknown across the pond, he somehow stumbled upon a career that's brought him on Indonesian yachts, face-to-face with Easter Island's mysterious moai and in "Prince William and Princess Kate honeymooned here" villas in the Seychelles. His writing has appeared in Conde Naste Traveler, Travel + Leisure, CNN, Lonely Planet, Vogue, National Geographic Travel, and others.

In this episode of How Do You Do? Podcast, Ben asks Travis to share the preparation he does before visiting a destination and rituals he does upon arrival (1:40), his writing process (7:24), how one can get good at travel writing (13:28), and more.  

Follow us!

Travis Levius: @misterlevius

How Do You Do? Podcast: @hdydpod

Ben Hannani: @benhannani

Website: www.hdydpod.com

Our guests' jams can be found on the "HDYD Jams" playlist on Spotify!

Starting comedy in Atlanta, GA and now based in Los Angeles, Neel Nanda has performed all over the country with some of comedy's biggest acts. Neel has most recently performed stand up on ABC's JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE and has acted & performed on COMEDY CENTRAL's ADAM DEVINE'S HOUSE PARTY. In 2018 he was a featured comedian on AMAZON PRIME’S INSIDE JOKE with Asif Ali. Neel has also made notable appearances on MTV and on IFC's GARKUNKEL AND OATES SHOW. Other networks where you can catch his stand up comedy include HULU's COMING TO THE STAGE and several episodes of the series FLOPHOUSE for VICELAND directed by Lance Bangs.

In this episode of How Do You Do? Podcast, Ben asks Neel to share how he develops his material (1:16), what it was like doing a set on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (13:15), how social media has influenced his creative process (19:40), and more.

Follow us!

Neel Nanda: @neelnanda

How Do You Do? Podcast: @hdydpod

Ben Hannani: @benhannani

Website: www.hdydpod.com

Our guests' jams can be found on the "HDYD Jams" playlist on Spotify!

Suehyla El-Attar was born in Mississippi to Muslim parents, who migrated from Egypt before becoming naturalized American citizens. She is an actor-writer-director who has learned to embrace a hyphenate existence, and lives happily with her fiancé and their two cats in Decatur, Georgia.

In this episode of How Do You Do? Podcast, Ben asks Suehyla to break down auditions for audiobook narration (5:07), how she prepares for narrating audiobooks and what her recording process looks like (10:50), how she gets into a creative headspace (22:20), and more. 

Follow us!

Suehyla El-Attar: @suehylaelattar

How Do You Do? Podcast: @hdydpod

Ben Hannani: @benhannani

Website: www.hdydpod.com

Our guests' jams can be found on the "HDYD Jams" playlist on Spotify!

Kat Hong is a LA staff writer for The Infatuation. She was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, a small, beautiful town that has maybe 3-4 restaurant openings a year, max. Now living in Los Angeles, Kat likes to fill her time with marveling at the wonder of flight, listening to podcasts, applying for Mensa, getting rejected from Mensa, and perpetually existing on the brink of joining a pyramid scheme. Her work has been featured on Whetstone Magazine’s Point of Origin podcast, Earios’ Filling The Void and The Margaret Cho, Real Food Real Stories’ The Curious Eater, and The Infatuation’s Notcast.

In this episode of How Do You Do? Podcast, Ben asks Kat to share how she writes restaurant reviews in The Infatuation's accessible tone, navigates the fine line between harmless sarcastic humor versus hurtful criticism, explores the booming L.A. pop-up scene, and more. 

Follow us!

Kat Hong: @prosciuttogirl69

How Do You Do? Podcast: @hdydpod

Ben Hannani: @benhannani

Website: www.hdydpod.com

Our guests' jams can be found on the "HDYD Jams" playlist on Spotify!

Jordan Banafsheha is the founder of icepop, a digital marketing firm helping great products and companies grow. He previously worked in Product at Tinder and was a part of the founding team at Verishop. He studied Computer Science and Business Administration at USC.

In this episode of How Do You Do? Podcast, Ben asks Jordan about the role that data plays in his approach to digital marketing (7:00); how he differentiates his approach depending on his client's industry and whether their brand is new, traditional, or trendy (14:10); big changes taking place in the digital advertising industry and what they mean for consumers, (26:01); and more. 

Follow us!

Jordan Banafsheha: @jordanbana

How Do You Do? Podcast: @hdydpod

Ben Hannani: @benhannani

Website: www.hdydpod.com

Our guests' jams can be found on the "HDYD Jams" playlist on Spotify!