Karen Grassle is the beloved actress who played Ma on Little House on the Prairie and author of a new candid memoir, Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love from Little House’s Ma. In this candid memoir, Grassle reveals her journey to succeed as an actress even as she struggles to overcome depression, combat her own dependence on alcohol, and find true love. With humor and hard-won wisdom, Grassle takes readers on an inspiring journey through the political turmoil on ’60s campuses, on to studies with some of the most celebrated artists at the famed London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and ultimately behind the curtains of Broadway stages and storied Hollywood sets.

In this episode, Jennifer and Karen discuss their battles with addiction and recovery, their lives as mothers and actresses in Hollywood, and other obstacles placed in front of women in the arts. Karen talks about the financial struggles of the early days in acting and standing up for herself and others looking to receive the equality deserved as an actress on a top-rated show. She also opens up about her personal struggle with alcoholism, getting sober, and her journey to motherhood through independent adoption. Finally, Karen talks about her project bringing awareness and advocacy to domestic violence through her platform and a movie-of-the-week, Battered.

Gabrielle Zuccaro is the founder and CEO of Bleu Clothing, a local store based in Los Angeles that values excellence and customer service above all else. Gabby was born to work in fashion and it certainly shows. As a child, Gabrielle was fortunate enough to spend plenty of time traveling and living between Los Angeles and Brindisi, Italy. Her experience abroad cemented her love for color, femininity, and fashion. These influences eventually inspired her to start her own business, Bleu Clothing. Gabby believes that women can do anything, all while looking put together. She stands behind the thought that feeling good walking into the world is a very powerful tool. While Gabby is the ultimate feminist, she loves to look beautiful for her husband. She gives her all to her son, Mars, her husband, Fred, her friends, her clients and anything else that crosses her path. She anticipates great things for both herself and her business in 2020.

In this episode, Jennifer and Gabby talk all about the origin story behind Bleu Clothing. Gabby speaks to her belief that a woman should feel great about the way she looks every day. As a local business owner herself, Gabby is a proponent of shopping local and encourages everyone to do so more often in order to support communities and families rather than corporations. Jennifer and Gabby bond over their shared experience as mothers of young boys with hectic schedules. Gabby speaks to how she has successfully and gracefully taken on the challenge of balancing her business and her family life. She credits her best friend and husband, Fred, as a major reason why she has been able to maintain that balance. Finally, Gabby talks about her goals for 2020 and beyond.

Full show notes: https://milfpodcast.com/85

Lara MacGregor is the founder of Hope Scarves, an organization she created to turn heartbreak into hope after her breast cancer diagnosis at 30 years old and 7 months pregnant. Under her leadership, ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarves’ has sent over 14,000 Hope Scarves around the globe and invested over $500,000 in Metastatic Breast Cancer Research. Lara has received many awards for her work, including being named to ‘The 100’ most influential people fighting cancer from Mass General Hospital, Small Business of the Year People’s Choice Award for Greater Louisville Inc., 40 Under 40, Citizen Laureate by Younger Women’s Club and Louisville Charity of the Year. She was Louisville’s Most Admired Woman of 2018 and featured in many national publications, including Good Housekeeping and Cure Magazine.

In this episode, Jennifer and Lara talk all Lara’s incredibly moving and inspirational story, one that involves tragedy, hope, resiliency, and an indomitable will to live life. Lara opens up about her initial breast cancer diagnosis which she received while she was seven months pregnant with her son, Bennett. She details the struggles of balancing treatment while keeping her unborn son healthy. Lara shares the origin story of Hope Scarves and how it has morphed into a community based on support, kindness, and love. Lara chronicles her second cancer diagnosis and what made this one different from the first. She recalls how she and her husband guided their children through this dark time. Finally, Lara talks openly about finding her path as well as her desire to enjoy every day with a positive and loving attitude.

Full show notes: https://milfpodcast.com/84

Elsie Escobar is an influencer, podcasting mentor, advocate, pundit, and co-host of She Podcasts and The Feed. Elsie works in the cross-section of technology, digital media and holistic living with a heavy bias on podcast strategy and creative use of audio. A podcaster since 2006, she was one of the first female indie podcasters using audio to teach yoga. In fact, her first podcast, Elsie’s Yoga Class, has now been downloaded over 4 million times! She is currently the only female pundit in the podcasting space with expert insight into indie podcasters’ impact, influence, and power. Her obsession for podcasting got her a job working with Libsyn, the leading podcast host and distribution network, and has been there since 2007. Elsie has worked to cultivate a strongly engaged community through The Feed: The Official Libsyn podcast, which she both co-hosts and produces. The Feed’s sole focus is keeping people podcasting. She also co-runs the largest community for women in podcasting with a corresponding podcast called She Podcasts. Their sole mission is to empower women to continue to share their voices while creating a safe community of podcasting education and support.

In this episode, Jennifer and Elsie talk all about the pains and joys of motherhood and finding a balance between being a mother and a creator. They open up about their shared experiences breaking into the entertainment industry and the difficulties they both encountered. Elsie shares her podcasting origin story and discusses her podcasts, She Podcasts and The Feed. Finally, Elsie speaks to the incredible growth and success of her podcasts as well as her goals for the upcoming year.

Full show notes: https://milfpodcast.com/83

Miriam Feldman is an artist, writer, and mental health activist who splits her time between her Los Angeles atelier and her farm in rural Washington state. She is a mother to four adult children, including her 34-year-old son Nick, who has schizophrenia. With an MFA in painting from Otis Art Institute, Miriam founded Demar Feldman Studios, Inc., a wildly successful mural and decorative art company, in 1988. With a clientele of business and entertainment elite in Los Angeles and abroad, her work can be found everywhere from Wolfgang Puck’s Spago Beverly Hills to Jay Leno’s Beverly Hills home. When her son Nick was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2004, Miriam became an activist and a writer. With first-hand knowledge of the woeful state of our mental health system, she decided to be an advocate for those who have no voice. Miriam is active in leadership at NAMI Washington and her story is featured on the cover of their current national newsletter. She is a frequent guest on mental health podcasts and is active on Instagram where she is building a community of family and loved ones dealing with mental illness. She currently resides in Washington with her husband Craig.

In this episode, Jennifer and Mimi talk about Mimi’s journey as a mother and mental health advocate as well as the inspiration behind her book, He Came in With It, a memoir chronicling Mimi’s experience having a child who suffers from schizophrenia. They talk about the stigma surrounding mental illness and ways to eliminate the taboo nature of how society views this crucial issue. Jennifer opens up about her own struggles with depression as well as her son’s ADHD diagnosis. Finally, Mimi talks about her son Nick’s beautiful artistic ability and the ways her family used art as a form of therapy during the most harrowing times in their lives.

Full show notes: https://milfpodcast.com/82

In this episode of MILF Podcast, Jennifer takes a moment to wish the audience a Happy New Year. She also provides an update on the book she’s been working on over the past six years. This January, she will be flying to New York to meet with publishers and others who will be able to help turn her manuscript into a published novel! As the new year beckons, Jennifer encourages all listeners to find your path and follow your dreams. It’s all about taking that first step and initiating a plan of action. Whether it’s an art class, a novel, law school, a new program, ballet, or any other creative outlet, Jennifer reminds the audience that you are capable, competent and more powerful than you believe. Finally, Jennifer encourages listeners to check out the writing summit she’s put together as well as the two companies she’s collaborating with, My Tee Girls and Fluide. Make 2020 the best year it can be.

Full show notes: https://milfpodcast.com/81

In this very special bonus episode of MILF Podcast, Jennifer welcomes and interviews her son, Blumes Liam Tracy. Jennifer and Blumes partake in a lovely conversation where they discuss cars, gaming, movies, and Blumes’ passion for World War II history. Blumes talks about what he enjoys most about the Christmas season, including family, gifts, and Christmas jazz! Jennifer and Blumes discuss the plot, setting and main characters from the film, JoJo Rabbit. Blumes shares his thoughts on outrage culture, the affect that video games have had on his generation, and his experience having two very contrasting sides of his family. Finally, Jennifer and Blumes talk about the reciprocal eternal love and appreciation they have for one another.

Full show notes: https://milfpodcast.com/80

Erica Messer has been an accomplished showrunner, executive producer, writer and creator of dramatic television series for over twenty years. Erica recently served her ninth and final year as Executive Producer, Showrunner and Head Writer of Criminal Minds, a series that consistently ranked as TV's number one suspense thriller and is listed among a select few shows to have broadcast 300+ episodes over fourteen seasons. In 2018, Erica completed her first documentary feature film, The Biggest Little Farm, after six years of painstaking hard work. The documentary had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in September and has gone on to win many awards at various film festivals, including seven nominations for the Critics' Choice Awards for Documentary Films. Erica is a working mother and very familiar with juggling the demands of Hollywood with those of parenthood. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her family.

In this episode, Jennifer and Erica talk about Erica’s incredible journey as a television writer, executive producer and showrunner. They share their experiences and talk about the difficult challenges they’ve both faced as female writers. Erica speaks to how she and her husband Kenny have been able to balance a hectic work life schedule. Erica talks about some of her more recent projects, including her documentary, The Biggest Little Farm, which is now available on iTunes and Hulu. Finally, Erica provides some sage advice to aspiring writers everywhere and encourages each of them to fulfill that burning desire to tell their own story.

Full show notes: https://milfpodcast.com/79