It's Open with Ilana Glazer

On this episode of It’s Open, Ilana sits down with friend and colleague Jay Jurden — a powerhouse, rising star comic whose first comedy album JAY JURDEN, Y’ALL debuted at #1 on iTunes, his debut stand-up special YES MA’AM is streaming on HULU, and you can catch him around the country on his NOTHING SPECIAL tour or at his London debut in August. Jay and Ilana dig into the fraught cultural landscape of the stand-up comedy and podcast scenes, sorting out the divide between creators that are socially responsible and those that are socially (and politically) reckless and unaccountable. Jay Jurden is dazzling, sharp, and can spar with the best of them, and he is a fierce advocate for his black, queer, and trans community! Let’s go in - it’s open!

Host: Ilana Glazer
Producers: David Rooklin, Annika Carlson, Madeline Kim, Kelsie Kiley, Glennis Meagher
Video Producers: Lexa Krebs, Louise Nessralla
Audio Producers: Nicole Maupin, Rachel Suffian, Rebecca O’Neill
Lighting Director: Kevin Deming
Editor: Tovah Leibowitz
Graphics: Raymo Ventura
Outro Music: Don Hur

All Things It’s Open: linktr.ee/itsopenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsopenpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsopenpod

Join us today to get hyped on Gen-Z leadership because it rocks. We sit down with the spectacular Elise Joshi, a progressive political organizer, climate activist & journalist who has been lighting up digital media with clear, hard-hitting content since she was 17. Elise discusses how—growing up during COVID, California’s wild fires, and the emergent climate crisis—she learned to question authority, found the grassroots coalition through making digital content, and went on to help found and then executive direct Gen-Z for Change. Now, Elise is reporting and producing groundbreaking local news coverage from within the Emmy-award winning nonprofit More Perfect Union, and is launching More Perfect University, a national project that aims to train and spotlight young local reporters across the country. Get a glimpse of a near-future progressive USA! Come on in, it’s open.

Enjoying It’s Open with Ilana Glazer? The best way to support the pod is also the easiest: Subscribe! It tells the platforms what we’re doing, which helps us grow, and ensures you never miss an episode. Loving it? Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Thank you for being a part of our community.

Host: Ilana Glazer
Producers: David Rooklin, Annika Carlson, Madeline Kim, Kelsie Kiley, Glennis Meagher
Video Producers: Lexa Krebs, Louise Nessralla
Audio Producers: Nicole Maupin, Rachel Suffian, Rebecca O’Neill
Lighting Director: Kevin Deming
Editor: Tovah Leibowitz
Graphics: Raymo Ventura
Outro Music: Don Hur

All Things It’s Open: linktr.ee/itsopenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsopenpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsopenpod

Today, Ilana was thrilled to meet and talk with actor, comedian, singer John C. Reilly. For decades, and through his unique expression of sincerity and comedy, John’s performances have shaped the impact of American movie classics—like Chicago, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Step Brothers. Ilana and John discuss his current and recent projects: a one-man-plus-band musical performance MR. ROMANTIC and the surreal Italian-American Western feature film HEADS OR TAILS. John discusses his love for singing love songs, his belief that kindness is absolutely everything, and nature-vs-nurture when both your sons are working models. Come on in, it’s open.

Enjoying It’s Open with Ilana Glazer? The best way to support the pod is also the easiest: Subscribe! It tells the platforms what we’re doing, which helps us grow, and ensures you never miss an episode. Loving it? Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Thank you for being a part of our community.

Host: Ilana Glazer
Producers: David Rooklin, Annika Carlson, Madeline Kim, Kelsie Kiley, Glennis Meagher
Video Producers: Lexa Krebs, Louise Nessralla
Audio Producers: Nicole Maupin, Rachel Suffian, Rebecca O’Neill
Lighting Director: Kevin Deming
Editor: Tovah Leibowitz
Graphics: Raymo Ventura
Outro Music: Don Hur

All Things It’s Open: linktr.ee/itsopenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsopenpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsopenpod

Today Ilana sits down with the award-winning actor and cultural leader for queer rights, self-discovery, and truth: Elliot Page. Ilana and Elliot cover his new documentary SECOND NATURE, about queerness in the animal kingdom, the book Sex at Dawn, which was influential in both of their sexual developments, and the feeling of being in love 😍. In this generous and open discussion, Elliot describes learning to move beyond the societal pressures to conform (that we are all subject to) and discover an authentic, personal sense of masculinity and the deep comfort he has found in being his true self. Come on in, it’s open.

Enjoying It’s Open with Ilana Glazer? The best way to support the pod is also the easiest: Subscribe! It tells the platforms what we’re doing, which helps us grow, and ensures you never miss an episode. Loving it? Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Thank you for being a part of our community.

Host: Ilana Glazer
Producers: David Rooklin, Annika Carlson, Madeline Kim, Kelsie Kiley, Glennis Meagher
Video Producers: Lexa Krebs, Louise Nessralla
Audio Producers: Nicole Maupin, Rachel Suffian, Rebecca O’Neill
Lighting Director: Kevin Deming
Editor: Tovah Leibowitz
Graphics: Raymo Ventura
Outro Music: Don Hur

All Things It’s Open: linktr.ee/itsopenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsopenpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsopenpod

Today Ilana sits down with Reshma Saujani, best known as the founder of Girls Who Code. Reshma’s an entrepreneur, social leader, and activist fighting to reshape the economic landscape for American mothers. llana and Reshma get right down to it, looking at depravity in America today, the enduring construct of “race,” and the manufactured rage-baiting that attempts to separate different groups of women from organizing as one. They discuss Reshma’s debut documentary film NO COUNTRY FOR MOTHERS, her two ground-breaking political runs for U.S. congress, and her nonprofit MOMS FIRST. Finally, they share about the all-too-common feelings of insecurity and self-doubt women feel, finding mirrors of ourselves in other people, and the empowering practice of telling the truth.

Enjoying It’s Open with Ilana Glazer? The best way to support the pod is also the easiest: Subscribe! It tells the platforms what we’re doing, which helps us grow, and ensures you never miss an episode. Loving it? Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Thank you for being a part of our community.

Host: Ilana Glazer
Producers: David Rooklin, Annika Carlson, Madeline Kim, Kelsie Kiley, Glennis Meagher
Video Producers: Lexa Krebs, Louise Nessralla
Audio Producers: Nicole Maupin, Rachel Suffian, Rebecca O’Neill
Lighting Director: Kevin Deming
Editor: Tovah Leibowitz
Graphics: Raymo Ventura
Outro Music: Don Hur

All Things It’s Open: linktr.ee/itsopenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsopenpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsopenpod

This week on It’s Open, Ilana sits down with Jacob Tierney. Best known as the writer and director of Heated Rivalry— the TV adaptation of Rachel Reid’s hockey romance that positively rocked the culture in 2025— Jacob is a staple in Canadian television. He created the beloved series Letterkenny and its spin off Shorsey, and now Jacob discusses his personal career journey from Canadian child-actor through his teenage years, against the dark backdrop of Miramax in the 90s, to the present, where his professional prowess and creative energy is impacting the culture. He and Ilana discuss writing queer stories in the industry today, the yearning of a weekly release, and his submitting to the connectivity of the universe. 

Enjoying It’s Open with Ilana Glazer? The best way to support the pod is also the easiest: Subscribe! It tells the platforms what we’re doing, which helps us grow, and ensures you never miss an episode. Loving it? Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Thank you for being a part of our community.

Host: Ilana Glazer
Producers: David Rooklin, Annika Carlson, Madeline Kim, Kelsie Kiley, Glennis Meagher
Video Producers: Lexa Krebs, Louise Nessralla
Audio Producers: Nicole Maupin, Rachel Suffian, Rebecca O’Neill
Lighting Director: Kevin Deming
Editor: Tovah Leibowitz
Graphics: Raymo Ventura
Outro Music: Don Hur

All Things It’s Open: linktr.ee/itsopenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsopenpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsopenpod

Matt Bernstein (aka @mattxiv) is a force to be reckoned with. A 27-year-old, progressive political commentator who has cultivated a 2M+ following by combining clear-eyed, heartfelt, sharp-witted cultural discourse with gorgeous glam and a calm, confident delivery. His video podcast, A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein, has become a touchstone in the digital landscape as a rational, ethical, and hilarious voice calling for political and social accountability and standing up for basic human rights for all. Ilana and Matt discuss right-wing grifting, his innate passion for politics, and the privilege and joy of simply getting to live as one’s true colorful self.

Enjoying It’s Open with Ilana Glazer? The best way to support the pod is also the easiest: Subscribe! It tells the platforms what we’re doing, which helps us grow, and ensures you never miss an episode. Loving it? Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Thank you for being a part of our community.

Host: Ilana Glazer
Producers: David Rooklin, Annika Carlson, Madeline Kim, Kelsie Kiley, Glennis Meagher
Video Producers: Lexa Krebs, Louise Nessralla
Audio Producers: Nicole Maupin, Rachel Suffian, Rebecca O’Neill
Lighting Director: Kevin Deming
Editor: Tovah Leibowitz
Graphics: Raymo Ventura
Outro Music: Don Hur

All Things It’s Open: linktr.ee/itsopenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsopenpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsopenpod

It’s Open partners with More Perfect Union, the ground breaking and progressive non-profit news organization, to highlight the vital local coverage that is helping Americans stay informed and stay connected. Join us as MPU spotlights—and Ilana reacts to—the toxic fallout from mass data center installations nationwide. And then witness the wave of nonpartisan action welling across American towns RIGHT NOW to fight this escalating affront to citizens’ basic human rights.

Enjoying It’s Open with Ilana Glazer? The best way to support the pod is also the easiest: Subscribe! It tells the platforms what we’re doing, which helps us grow, and ensures you never miss an episode. Loving it? Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Thank you for being a part of our community.

Host: Ilana Glazer
Producers: David Rooklin, Annika Carlson, Madeline Kim, Kelsie Kiley, Glennis Meagher
Video Producers: Lexa Krebs, Louise Nessralla
Audio Producers: Nicole Maupin, Rachel Suffian, Rebecca O’Neill
Lighting Director: Kevin Deming
Editor: Tovah Leibowitz
Graphics: Raymo Ventura
Outro Music: Don Hur

All Things It’s Open: linktr.ee/itsopenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsopenpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsopenpod

Ilana’s dream comes true as she interviews the U.S. Congresswoman from New York, the luminous progressive brawler, the one-and-only… Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC shares about her personal experience growing up Puerto Rican American in the Bronx and Westchester, New York. She unfolds the myth of capitalism, the unyielding profit monsters that uphold it, and its tragic reinforcement of our lesser impulse to alienate and vilify the most vulnerable people in our communities. To break this corrosive pattern of barbarism in America, AOC emphasizes our need to form broad bipartisan coalitions, but she asserts that, in fact: the people will always have the power.

Enjoying It’s Open with Ilana Glazer? The best way to support the pod is also the easiest: Subscribe! It tells the platforms what we’re doing, which helps us grow, and ensures you never miss an episode. Loving it? Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Thank you for being a part of our community.

Host: Ilana Glazer
Producers: David Rooklin, Annika Carlson, Madeline Kim, Kelsie Kiley, Glennis Meagher
Video Producers: Lexa Krebs, Louise Nessralla
Audio Producers: Nicole Maupin, Rachel Suffian, Rebecca O’Neill
Lighting Director: Kevin Deming
Editor: Tovah Leibowitz
Graphics: Raymo Ventura
Outro Music: Don Hur

All Things It’s Open: linktr.ee/itsopenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsopenpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsopenpod

Today Ilana sits down with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a PhD marine biologist, leading climate conservationist and policy expert, and author of WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT, which Rolling Stone calls “The most helpful book on the planet right now for… anyone concerned with Earth’s rising temperatures”. Ayana and Ilana discuss the alarming scarcity (but desperate need for) climate crisis messaging in politics and culture. In fact, we already have the renewable energy solutions we need to fight climate change, restore the environment, and create jobs, but if men say they feel emasculated by simply carrying a reusable canvas bag… are we doomed? 🤦

Enjoying It’s Open with Ilana Glazer? The best way to support the pod is also the easiest: Subscribe! It tells the platforms what we’re doing, which helps us grow, and ensures you never miss an episode. Loving it? Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Thank you for being a part of our community.

Host: Ilana Glazer
Producers: David Rooklin, Annika Carlson, Madeline Kim, Kelsie Kiley, Glennis Meagher
Video Producers: Lexa Krebs, Louise Nessralla
Audio Producers: Nicole Maupin, Rachel Suffian, Rebecca O’Neill
Lighting Director: Kevin Deming
Editor: Tovah Leibowitz
Graphics: Raymo Ventura
Outro Music: Don Hur

All Things It’s Open: linktr.ee/itsopenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsopenpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsopenpod