The Lighter Side with Jay

Sara Benincasa wrote a book called "Agorafabulous", all about her adventures in mental health. As you would imagine, Sara has been training her whole life for a quarantine, and she is dominating by putting out stellar episodes of her podcast, "Well, This Isn't Normal" , which blends one-on-one interviews with relaxation techniques. Go listen to it. After you listen to this. She wrote more books too. It's all here. 

Constantine Maroulis has a new album, Until I'm Wanted. He is my friend, but that does not influence me at all when I say that it has an old-school rock vibe that will melt your face off. It's available wherever you get your music. We talked about the record, the tragic loss of his good friend Nick Cordero, and how he has pivoted to some interesting live stream events during the pandemic. 

We didn't talk about American Idol or Broadway, because we covered all of that the last time he was here. 

Shauntelle is a black trans woman living in Richmond, VA, where she is blazing trails in the Recovery world by forming Peter’s Place RVA, the first LGBTQIA+ centered recovery house organization in Richmond, VA. She puts a very human voice to the phrase "Black Trans Lives Matter" 

Danielle Moodie is the Warrior Queen of the Resistance. Her daily podcast, Woke AF, is a much needed reality check on the news of the day. That's just one of the many amazing things Danielle is doing as an activist and a journalist. We spoke in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, and Danielle gave me advice on being an ally that I have kept in my mind ever since. 

Lauren Duca is a journalist and author. She releases a weekly newsletter called "Pancake Brain" which you should subscribe to. We had an open conversation about her experiences with Teen Vogue, Fox News, and the political war in her own home. She is awesome. Read all her things. 

Eileen Shaklee is the "Mama Fry" behind the popular blog, "Autism with a Side of Fries", in which she chronicles her daily life with her autistic son. Her no-nonsense , raw approach makes it easy to see why so many people find comfort in her musings. 

Andrea D'Oria is a dietician with decades of experience. Her interview stands out to me because she is easily the most accessible and empathetic nutritionist I've spoken with. You should check out her website. She's awesome. 

Stacey Lentz is part owner of The Stonewall Inn, and she gave me a fascinating history lesson on the origins of the Pride movement and the Stonewall Riots. She also told me all about her organization, The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, as well as the story of how she went from being born in the middle of Kansas, to being part of the fabric of the LGBTQ+ movement. 

At the start of the pandemic, actor Adam Pally sat down with me from his basement to talk about the pandemic, his time on Happy Endings, parenting, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Since the show aired, Adam and the rest of the cast of Happy Endings got together to do a reunion show for charity. Adam is a genuinely good guy and I enjoyed the talk. 

Gabe Clay is a chef in North Carolina, where he has lived for his entire life. I really enjoyed hearing about his experiences growing up as a "nerdy black kid" in the South as well as his newly found love of gardening.