The debut of ‘Playa Dust in My Soul’ made Sarah Marshall a newly minted author late in the seventh decade of her life. The shortcomings of her first draft initiated a writer’s journey that took over twenty years to learn how to carve a story from a mountain of information.

As a Burning Man village leader for over twenty years, Sarah has witnessed firsthand how temporary communities catalyze permanent transformation. As a trans woman she had the experience of the event's grace in welcoming her in from outsider to enthusiastic participant. As a business professional with many past lives (military, martial artist, firefighter, engineer, adventurist, spiritual seeker, community activist), she bring lived experience to stories about reinvention and what happens when broken people find belonging in one of the most intense environments on earth. The novel explores second chances, radical acceptance, and the crucible of transformation that is the playa.

This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com.

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Yuehan is a designer by day and an improv nerd by evening. Originally from Shanghai, China, and now based in Stockholm, Sweden.

She is the founder of English improv community - Fika Improv Group in Stockholm, where she's committed to connecting improvisers and sharing our passion for improv in a welcoming space. Graduated from Second City, she has also been training with teachers from different schools around the world like Jay Sukow, Liz Allen, Susan Messing, Aretha Sills and Billy Merritt. Yuehan is half of the Scandinavian Asian duo "Herring & Chopsticks", is a performer at BIT Comedy Network, teaches and performs at several international improv festivals as well as locally.

Through her performances and teaching, Yuehan strives to create a fun, connected atmosphere and is passionate about spreading the joy and freedom that improvisation brings.

Yuehan brings joy to everything she does. Don't miss this one!

This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ophira Eisenberg is a standup comedian, writer, and podcast host (NPR, CBS, CNN, The Moth, HBO, Comedy Central, iHeart) who headlines theaters and comedy venues across the world, tours regularly with the Moth Mainstage, and hosts the weekly parenting-comedy podcast Parenting is a Joke (Webby Finalist for Best Host).

She also hosted NPR’s trivia comedy show Ask Me Another for 9 years.

Her breakout memoir Screw Everyone: Sleeping My Way to Monogamy (Seal Press) has been optioned for a television series, and her solo show Leaving A Mark: A Comedy About Scars won Women in the Arts & Media Award for Solo Show Scripts and just finished a successful European tour.

We talked about parenting with night time jobs, handling hecklers and so much more. Give this a listen! For more information, go to ophiraeisenberg.com.

This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com.

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Monte Schulz received his M.A. in American Studies from University of California, Santa Barbara. He published his first novel, Down by the River, in 1990, and spent the next twelve years writing a novel about the Jazz Age. His most recent novel, award winning Metropolis, was published in 2022. His father is the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz.

Building on the world Schulz created in his highly successful book Metropolis, Undercity collects the voices of brave survivors, of those who’ve refused to submit to the indignities of eugenical persecution, the horror of gas chambers, and relentless warfare in rural provinces. Some of these stories demonstrate the moral disaster of eugenics, while others tell of courage and love and that indomitable magic of the human spirit that refuses to be silenced in the face of unspeakable crimes. This sweeping tale is a warning to us, as well, that what we might think is unimaginable needs only apathy and inattention to arise.

We discussed writing, music and so much more. Don't be a blockhead! Listen to this!

This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com.

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John Lutz is an actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing J. D. Lutz on the sitcom 30 Rock, and for his work as a writer on the NBC series Saturday Night Live for seven seasons. In 2014, he joined the writing staff of the NBC late-night talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Lutz began his professional career as a writer-performer with Chicago's ImprovOlympic and The Second City theaters. He was hired at Saturday Night Live in February 2004 after spending three years touring with Second City.

We discussed life on the road and in Chicago, struggling with the Harold and succeeding with its structure, and so much more. Don't miss this one!

John will be performing in 2SQUARE with Peter Grosz at Del Close Marathon (DCM) 26, Sunday, June 14, at 7:30 PM at the Theater for the New City, Stage Two. For tickets, go to https://ucbcomedy.com/dcm.

This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexandra is an artist, educator, and somatic guide working with movement as a way to access creative authority, embodied clarity, and deep personal voice. Her work supports artists, teachers, activists, facilitators, and guides to strengthen their inner compass while leading, creating, and communicating. She is fascinated by how decision-making lives in the body: how gesture holds belief, habit becomes pedagogy, and intuition is a fluent language.

She is a choreographer, director, and educator working at the intersection of dance, theater, and somatics and was a member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company from 1995–2001. She founded Alexandra Beller/Dances in 2002, creating more than forty dance-theater works across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Her theater credits include Off-Broadway productions of Sense and Sensibility (Folger Shakespeare, A.R.T., Portland Center Stage; Helen Hayes Award, Lortel nomination), How to Transcend a Happy Marriage (Lincoln Center Theater), and The Mad Ones, as well as regional work with Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, La MaMa, La Jolla Playhouse, Milwaukee Rep, and The Goodman Theatre. Her directing credits include Macbeth (Theater Row) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (92Y).

She has taught at institutions including Barnard, SUNY Purchase, Rutgers, UC Santa Barbara, the University of Michigan, The New School, and Princeton University, where she taught for seven years. Alexandra currently serves on faculty at the Laban Institute for Movement Studies and Gibney Dance Center and teach internationally through residencies and master classes. Her forthcoming books are The Embodied Conductor: A Somatic Approach with Laban and Bartenieff (Meredith Music, 2025) and The Anatomy of Art: Unlocking the Creative Process for Theater and Dance (Bloomsbury, 2026). You can get her books at alexandrabellerdances.org.

This was an inspired episode. Give it a listen!

This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet Dr. Peter B. Cotton, a renowned gastroenterologist and professor with a five-decades-long career, who has touched the lives of thousands, including royalty and celebrities. In his second act, he has become an award-winning children’s book author, captivating young minds with his tales.

His latest book, “What Fred The Snake And Friends’ Learn About The Chinese Zodiac – And The Great Race,” introduces young readers to the Chinese Zodiac, blending education and entertainment. This book is part of a beloved series featuring Fred the Snake, inspired by the flexible instruments Dr. Cotton used in his medical procedures.

Dr. Cotton has done a gazillion interesting things, and we only had time for half that in this episode! Check it out!

This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brad Elder is an award-winning author and attorney, living in Texas. Prior to writing his action thriller, Recoil of Justice, his writing credits

Included millions of emails and text messages, and a couple of dozen witty social media posts.

When not poking fun at himself, Brad spends his days in Lubbock, TX, with his wife, Ashton, and his two children, Lauren and Jake.

We talked about the hero's journey of his protagonist, Ryan Wolfe, and how he wrote his first novel. Don't miss it!

This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.