QUESTION EVERYTHING

Co-Founder of Betches, the hugely popular female-founded and led media and entertainment brand, Sami Sage is here to share her story from how Betches went from an idea one night in college to a full blown media company. She shares: How to start a company with friends Where the idea for Betches came from and what it was like in the early days of the brand.  Why they have never taken money from investors. Why trial + error is important when you are building a business.  Why she is so passionate about politics and the decision to create the Betcher Sup vertical to help inform others.  Sami’s pop-culture predictions on Kanye, Pete Davidson, Harry & Megan and more.

Actor, dancer, choreographer and star of the hit Starz drama P-Valley, Nicco Annan is bringing his magic to PRETTYSMART today. The Detroit-born actor refused to conform to a Hollywood template and instead has made a name for himself by embracing his individuality and following his intuition.  His portrayal of Uncle Clifford (the revolutionary + beloved character) has earned him critical acclaim as well as nominations from the NAACP and independent spirit awards. Danielle + Nicco discuss: The meaningful lesson he learned in high school + how that has carried him in life.  How being told he was too big to be a dancer helped him in the long run.  Why it’s important to use all of your gifts when trying to achieve your dreams.  How he was held at gunpoint at 14 years old.  How P-Valley is helping change how we view sex workers and strippers.   The role of intimacy in playing Uncle Clifford and how Nicco approaches the masculine/feminine qualities of the character. What he’s learned from playing Uncle Clifford and how he knows this role is bigger than him. (and why his character is so beloved + impactful) Why it’s important that P-Valley has all female directors and the male gaze.

As the Editor-In-Chief of Cosmopolitan, the largest young women’s media brand in the world, Jessica Giles oversees the editorial for all of Cosmo's efforts across print, digital, video, and emerging platforms. Today she’s sharing her journey in the publishing industry and offers up helpful and practical advice to help you get to where you dream of being in your own career. She shares: 3 specific tips to help you get promoted. Why passion is crucial in your career.  Her number one tip to help you on future interviews. Why self education is so important on the job.  What surprised her most about working at Vogue. What she’s learned about leading and managing well.  How Cosmo has evolved over the years and modernized its view of sex.  Why asking for critical feedback (and being okay receiving it) is vital. What she’s learned from the Cosmo readers and what she hopes her legacy to be. The best parts of working in a female driven environment.

Mimi Bouchard is a meditation teacher, wellness influencer, and founder of Superhuman App. Listen to this walking meditation (and conversation with Mimi) to manifest the energy of your future— “you are a lucky person”.

In 2017, the former US Surgeon General called loneliness a public health epidemic. It’s been compared to a crisis on the scale of opioids or obesity. Some studies equate the health effects of loneliness with that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Julie Schechter is helping to fight the loneliness epidemic. She is the CEO and co-founder of  Present and Small Packages, two companies focused on building stronger relationships and connections in a digital world. She provides insight on the modern paradox of technology: how something meant to bring us closer together has led to a lonelier population. Julie explains: How our everyday lives have lost the traditional structures that made us feel connected Why our relationships are typically dictated by proximity How the pandemic forced “hustle culture” to come to a halt and the lasting impact of pandemic loneliness Why technology has made us all feel lonely How losing your oldest friendships has the health impact equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day What kinds of technology can work to make us feel closer Why the simple act of noticing something in someone is so powerful

Love Wellness founder + former star of Laguna Beach and The Hills Lo Bosworth is here to share her wellness journey and how it inspired her to help others do the same. She shares: -Where do our 'happy hormones" come from? -The chronic health problems she faced + how it took 18 months for her to get a proper diagnosis. -How healing her gut healed her anxiety, depression and many other health issues (vitamin deficiencies can result in anxiety + depression) -How our gut health is connected to our vaginal and brain health.  -Supplements 101 - where to start if you want to heal your gut.  -How being on MTV turned out to be a blessing (even if it made her cry). -The struggles she faced being a reality TV star.  -Why she was inspired to start her company Love Wellness   Purchase Love Yourself Well: https://tinyurl.com/4vu2492d Shop Love Wellness: https://likeshop.me/lovewellness Follow Lo: https://www.instagram.com/lobosworth/

Atsuko Okatsuka is a standup comedian who was named one of the Top 10 Comics to Watch in 2022 by Variety. Her hilarious videos on social media have garnered her millions of views and her HBO special premieres on December 10th. Today she joins the pod and shares:   What it was like living immigrating from Japan and living in a garage with her mom and grandma from age 10-17. How an earthquake helped her rise to fame. Why she feels the things we didn’t like about ourselves as kids are really our superpowers (and how to harness them).  Why she thinks comedy is a part of the service industry. How she started the viral #Dropchallenge.  Her special relationship with her grandmother (and how she got to 18,000 Twitter followers!) Why she believes getting married is more “childlike” than being single. Why she thinks the key to life is knowing what you’re not into.

Marcy Blum and Jess Conroy have each revolutionized the wedding industry in their own exceptional ways. Marcy is an internationally sought-after event planner and entertaining expert with 30 years of experience throwing innovative and ground-breaking events. Jess is the founder and CEO of Carats & Cake, a financial operating system created for the events industry. These women each have tackled a different piece of the $60 billion-a-year wedding industry pie, but their creativity and uniqueness have earned them both respect in their field. Today we cover:  Wedding/Party/Event Do’s + Don’ts  The biggest waste of money when it comes to weddings  Why you shouldn’t be a chill host  How to create meaning at events and parties (weddings) Setting the right tone for a party  Over 2 million couples get married a year. A wedding can be one of the largest purchases a couple makes in their life…how can we make it more meaningful?  How Marcy + Jess transformed the events industry  Building a brand and noticing the white space in your industry  Advice for seeking investors  Raising money as an entrepreneur and the power of storytelling 

The Kardashians are in the business of “getting us talking”— also known as the business of being famous. How have they impacted our society + culture? Has it been a net positive or net negative? And is that ‘power’ waning? Writer and cultural critic, Kimberly Nicole Foster joins the podcast to break it all down with me. We discuss many aspects— race, gender, greed, parenting, business, hair + makeup + fashion trends. We discuss: Why she believes the cultural power of the Kardashians is waning  The impact the Kardashian’s have had on the beauty industry Why she thinks Kim and Khloe are now trying to slim down after years of embracing their curves. Why she thinks the Kardashians tried to appeal to Black men - and why that’s changing now.  How white Americans and Black Americans view the idea of the Kardashians getting us to embrace our curves differently Why the Kardashians are a representation of American culture and where it is going.  Her thoughts on how Kim is using her children to expand her brand and keep herself in the culture zeitgeist. The problem with the mentality of always needing more, more, more. 

Olivia Culpo and her sisters Aurora and Sophia are about to become America’s newest reality TV family, in their TLC show “The Culpo Sisters.” Today they’re sitting down together to share:  The hardest moments to watch each other go through. Why Sophia and Aurora decided to make their lives public after seeing Olivia do it. Why Olivia thinks pageants are empowering (and what Aurora hopes pageants will change in the future). Who has the best taste in men - and the worst! Why they decided to do a reality show with their family and what they hope to show people. Their must-have beauty products of the moment. Their favorite wellness trends that are worth the hype.