Podcrushed

In this week’s extra credit YOUR STORY episode, Nayya Hassan opens up about her teenage experience with a forced arranged marriage to her own cousin. Nayya blows the team away with her strength, resilience and courage.Follow Podcrushed on Socials: InstagramTikTokXSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The stand-up comic taking the world by storm, Matt Rife, drops by this week and shares about his first love, his most epic on-stage bomb at 15, how comedian Ralphie May changed his life, and for the first time, shares the full story of how he and his girlfriend met and fell in love. We have a feeling you’re gonna love this one. Stick around! Follow Podcrushed on socials:TikTokInstagramXSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join us this week for our second extra credit YOUR STORY episode, where we devote an entire episode to a conversation with a listener. Today we we talk to our youngest guest ever— 16 year old Sophie Fergi shares about how severe bullying in middle school led to a home-schooling journey that has culminated in a very prominent online presence on social media. She shares what she’s learned about navigating hate, both from peers in real life, and trolls on the internet. Follow Podcrushed on Socials: InstagramTikTokX  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Come join us as Penn falls in love with our guest, Ramy Youssef (award-winning actor, producer, and stand-up comic). Ramy shares what it was like to be a Muslim kid in New Jersey the day after 9/11, why he loves Jesus but won't eff with Santa, and why in middle school he literally would have rather shit his pants than miss out on a good time. **This episode was recorded prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.** Follow Podcrushed on socials:TikTokInstagramXSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join us this week for the launch of our first ever extra credit YOUR STORY episode, where we devote an entire episode to a conversation with a listener. Today we talk to Simran Jeet Singh, a professor, activist, and author, about his first memorable encounter with religious discrimination on a soccer field, and in a boys' locker room, in Texas. Follow Podcrushed on Socials: InstagramTikTokXSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we are joined by the sensational Jada Pinkett Smith. Jada shares about her tumultuous adolescence in Baltimore, how her time in a metal band helped her learn how to shield her heart from bitterness, what she’s learned about healing and forgiveness in family relationships, and why love is only possible when we sacrifice our ego. Follow Podcrushed on socials:TikTokInstagramXSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

World-renowned expert on the science of happiness, Dr. Laurie Santos (host of The Happiness Lab; professor of Yale University’s most popular class in history!) takes the time to answer YOUR most submitted questions on happiness this week. From sharing about the most misunderstood ideas on happiness (hello money!) and the most overlooked aspects of happiness, to whether single people can actually be as happy as married couples, to the fastest way to lift yourself up out of sadness (the answer might surprise you), this episode of Podcrushed will leave you armed with new insights to improve your happiness, in the short and long term. Follow Podcrushed on socials:XTikTokInstagramSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we have not one, but two guests -- Bob Odenkirk, the award-winning actor, writer, and comedic trailblazer whose career has spanned decades, and his daughter Erin Odenkirk, an accomplished multimedia artist and illustrator. Together they co-authored a book of children’s poems and illustrations called ‘Zilot & Other Important Rhymes”, which manages to entertain while also encouraging children to write their own poems. Bob tells us why he still sometimes feels like a fourteen-year-old, Erin tells stories of growing up in the uber-creative Odenkirk household, and the hosts finally discover what exactly a "zilot" is.  Follow Podcrushed on socials:XInstagramTikTokSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Geri Halliwell-Horner — the singer you may know best as *the* Ginger Spice from the Spice Girls — joins us to talk about her first experiences navigating fame as a Spice Girl, her lifelong journey with spirituality, and her NYT best-selling fantasy novel for young readers “Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen."  Follow Podcrushed on socials:TikTokXInstagramSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

**This episode of Podcrushed was recorded prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.** Today we're joined by James Scully, the actor you may know from shows like Titans and Heathers, or from characters like Forty Quinn from Penn's show You. Coincidentally, James just so happened to be taught by Nava when he was in ninth grade. Yes, that's right -- Nava was James Scully's teacher when he was in high school. James shares his favorite memories from Nava's class, gets candid about growing up as a theater kid in Texas, and recalls his favorite moments working alongside Penn on set.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.