Quarantine Creatives with Heath Racela

Alejandra Ramos is a chef, food writer, and television personality who hosts the new PBS competitive cooking series The Great American Recipe.  Alejandra joins Heath to discuss the filming of her new show during the pandemic, the evolving definition of American food, plus her journey to sharing recipes on TV and her work as a contirbutor to TODAY.

Elizabeth Almeida is the founder and owner of Fat Moon Mushrooms, a certified organic grower in the Boston area.  She joins Heath to discuss how she kept her mushroom farm afloat during the pandemic, the importance of a resilient local food system, and the wisdom waiting to be discovered in the forest.

Jennifer Reitman founded DAME Magazine as a woman-owned and operated online publication with smart features about contemporary issues.  She joins Heath to discuss the challenges of running an independent media company, how she finds and cultivates talented writers, dealing with the exhaustion that many readers feel from the news, and the role of social media and self-publishing platforms on our information ecosystem

For more than 30 years, Wally Feresten has played an important role in iconic comedy shows like Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and the Amber Ruffin Show, where he leads the team that writes and holds the cue cards for every episode.  Wally joins Heath to discuss the technical aspects of the job, what it's been like appearing in frequent cameos during A Closer Look, and the business he started when shows couldn't work in person during the pandemic.

Dr. Steven Gundry was a cardiothoracic surgeon before focusing his practice on how diet can cause or prevent certain autoimmune diseases.  He joins Heath to talk about Heath's experience with the Plant Paradox diet over the last sixth months and he also shares research from his new book Unlocking the Keto Code.

UK-based puppeteer Warrick Brownlow-Pike is best known in the US for playing Gonger on Sesame Street, but he's also had a long career on CBBC playing Dodge the Dog and other characters.  Warrick joins Heath to discuss puppeteering at home durng the quarantine, plus how he developed his craft from an early age, and how he got to Sesame Street.

After a long hiatus, Heath returns for a conversation with maker Jimmy DiResta to discuss his new Netflix series Making Fun.  Jimmy talks about how the show originated with an Instagram post, the challenges of getting it made during the pandemic, and his thoughts on being his own boss and living on a farm in Upstate New York.

House flippers and renovators Jon Pierre and Mary Tjon-Joe-Pin return to HGTV this month with their new series Two Steps Home.  They join Heath to discuss filming the show during the pandemic, giving up their full time jobs to become house flippers, their path to HGTV stardom, and working with Erin and Ben Napier on Home Town Takeover in Wetumpka, Alabama. 

Richard Lui has covered breaking news as both a reporter and anchor for NBC News, MSNBC, and CNN.  He's also taken on the role of caregiver to his father in San Francisco, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  Richard joins Heath to discuss juggling a career and family obligations, being one of the few employees allowed at 30 Rock during the pandemic, and his new book Enough About Me about what he has learned about the power of selflessness.

Singer-songwriter Jesse Terry's seventh album When We Wander looks at life as a new parent and the lessons learned on the open road, where he has spent the past decade.  Jesse joins Heath to discuss his writing process, musical influences, and how life changed for him as a working musician during COVID.

Actor Scott Foley was the first guest ever on Quarantine Creatives.  He joins Heath to mark the one year anniversary of the podcast and reflect on all that has happened since May, 2020.  Scott chats about RVing across the country with his family, hosting and judging Ellen's Next Great Designer for HBOMax, his own interest in furniture design, and shooting a pilot for The Big Leap on Fox, which took more than year to complete because of COVID. 

Tom Jennings brings his background in journalism to all of his documentaries by telling a story without any narration or newly produced interviews.  He joins Heath to discuss acquiring the rights to private tapes for Diana: In Her Own Words, scoring films with Hans Zimmer, and hunting for the perfect piece of archive footage, which became especially problematic during the pandemic.  His latest project The Real Right Stuff is streaming now on Disney+.

Arun Rath has worked in many roles across public media during his career, including as a producer, reporter, editor, and these days as an on-air anchor.  He joins Heath to discuss hosting WGBH's All Things Considered and his local pandemic show In It Together, broadcasting from his basement for more than a year, and his candid thoughts on the future of public media.  

In their new film for HBO "Our Towns," Boston filmmakers Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan look at how small towns across America are reinventing themselves.  The husband and wife team join Heath to discuss their working relationship, how the focus of the film shifted after the pandemic, and their partnership with reporters James and Deborah Fallows, who are featured in the film.  

Amelia Pang is an investigative journalist whose new book Made In China looks at the forced labor system in Chinese manufacturing plants.  She joins Heath to discuss her writing process and style, the ethical challenges Western consumers face when shopping, and how the mass detention of Uyghers could be the beginning of another mass genocide akin to the Holocaust.\r\n

Patric Richardson has devoted his career to teaching people how to wash their clothes in a way that is safe for the fabric and better for the environment.  He joins Heath to discuss the origins of his new show The Laundry Guy on Discovery+, plus the challenges of filming during the pandemic.  He also shares insights from his book Laundry Love and talks about how his roots in rural Kentucky inform his approach to cleanliness.\r\n

Michael G Long has been studying marches and protests for a long time, authoring books on figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, and Bayard Rustin.  He joins Heath to discuss his new book Kids on the March, which looks at the role of children in protest movements from the early 20th century to today.  It\'s also his first book geared towards children.  Michael explains why he wanted to reach kids and how COVID has affected the way we protest.\r\n

Eric and Rashi Wiese are the new hosts of the CBS show Lucky Dog, which helps train and place rescue dogs in new homes.  They join Heath to talk about filming their first season of the show during the pandemic, plus what they\'ve learned about the best ways to train a dog, and how Rashi\'s background in human psychology and sociology helps her understand canines in a different way.\r\n

In 1992, Andre Comeau and six other strangers moved into a New York City apartment and had their lives taped for the first season of MTV\'s The Real World.  29 years later, that same cast reunited in the same loft for The Real World Homecoming, which is now streaming on Paramount+.  Andre joins Heath to discuss the reunion, the bonds he shares with his fellow cast, and the impact of The Real World on popular culture.\r\n

Michelle Zamora began her career in puppetry by making VHS videos with her toys as a child.  She and her husband founded Viva La Puppet in Los Angeles and she puppeteers Waffles in the new Netflix kids\'s show Waffles + Mochi.  She talks with Heath about making the show just before the pandemic hit, the challenges of \"eating\" with a puppet, and working with Michelle Obama and celebrity chefs.\r\n