Anyone who has seen Julianne Nicholson in "Mare of Easttown" or "Janet Planet" knows she is really good at portraying grief. In her new show "Paradise," she plays Sinatra, a heartbroken tech billionaire trying to micromanage the end of the world. She's an evil genius who is also a little bit funny. She shares with Rachel an early memory of "outhouse beauty" and her secret to social situations.

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Elizabeth Olsen is most famous for her role as Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But she says her own taste is reflected in indie films she's starred in like "His Three Daughters" and the new sci-fi thriller "The Assessment." She shares with Rachel why she's terrified of dying but is fascinated with death and the joy of idle people watching.

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John Green keeps busy – from authoring blockbuster young adult novels like "The Fault in Our Stars," to running a YouTube empire with his brother Hank, to publishing his latest nonfiction book, "Everything Is Tuberculosis." His projects share one key goal: to make the world "suck less." John talks to Rachel about how he battles despair and why he's unconcerned with the question of God's existence.

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From a young age, Uzo Aduba's parents taught her that she could do anything. That confidence has led to some iconic performances – from Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in "Orange Is the New Black," to Shirley Chisholm in "Mrs. America," to her lead role in the newest Shonda Rhimes production, "The Residence." Uzo talks to Rachel about how motherhood shaped her and why she's made peace with mortality.

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Natasha Rothwell can't help but collaborate. She honed her improv skills at the Tokyo Comedy Store which led her to roles in memorable ensemble casts on "Insecure" and "How to Die Alone." Now, her character Belinda is back in the new season of "The White Lotus." Natasha talks with Rachel about bringing her own ideas to the show, the spiritual power of improv and what she's learned about love.

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London today is very different from the one Zadie Smith grew up in and the one she wrote about in her debut novel "White Teeth." That is just one of the things Smith is grappling with 25 years after her best-selling book's debut. She talks to Rachel about the difficulty of revisiting the first few pages of "White Teeth," the wisdom only teenagers possess, and fighting despair with crème brûlée.

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This week we're revisiting our episode with comedian Bowen Yang. The "SNL" cast member and "Las Culturistas" podcast co-host had a big year between being in the film adaptation of "Wicked" and the "Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary special. He talked with Rachel last spring about living too much in the present, the risks of being real and why the afterlife will definitely have roller coasters.

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When Natalie Morales was a kid growing up in Miami, she didn't just have a mango stand, she ran an entire mango monopoly. She's dreamed big ever since, finding success as an actor ("Parks and Recreation," "No Hard Feelings") and director ("Language Lessons," "Plan B"). She chats with Rachel about her new film, "My Dead Friend Zoe" and the important life lesson she learned from her dog, Taco.

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Comedian Ronny Chieng's original path wasn't to become a correspondent on "The Daily Show." Plan A was to be a lawyer in Australia. But when he couldn't get a job in law, he turned to comedy as a backup. He talks to Rachel about his path to success and how he's more like his parents than he realized. His new stand-up special is "Ronny Chieng: Love to Hate It."

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Ke Huy Quan was born in Vietnam, but his family fled the country and eventually settled in the U.S. as refugees. Not long after arriving, Quan was cast in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "The Goonies." He then struggled for years until "Everything Everywhere All at Once" came along. Quan talks to Rachel about his new action film, "Love Hurts," self doubt and love at first sight.

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