Episodes

Dominic Lim is back on the show this week! Dom is an author, singer, & storyteller . His debut novel All the Right Notes was named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the best new books of the summer. Dom is a member of the Writers Grotto and a co-host of the Babylon Salon reading and performance series in San Francisco. He studied psychology at Oberlin and got his masters from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. As a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association he's performed Off-Broad...

Jessica interviews Dominic Lim, an author & singer & storyteller . Dominic's debut novel ALL THE RIGHT NOTES , a queer Asian rom-com, will be released in June 2023. Dom is a member of ⁠The Writers Grotto⁠ and is a co-host of the ⁠Babylon Salon⁠ reading and performance series in San Francisco. He studied psychology at Oberlin and got his masters from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. Dom has sung with numerous professional early music and choral ensembles. As a proud member of the ⁠Ac...

Jessica speaks with Dr. Simran Thadani: Rare Book expert; People & Culture leader, & textile artist . Sim earned her PhD in English from the University of Pennsylvania, and has researched and lectured in libraries across the US and Europe. In her work as a People Ops leader, she's advised leaders and designed initiatives across the employee lifecycle including recruiting, onboarding, and engagement. Sim also works as a quilter and crocheter and is known for her eye for color. Are you a high achi...

This week Jessica speaks with Vivien Straus: Writer, Performer, & Small Farm Advocate . Vivien is known for her one-woman shows exposing her “interesting” life choices. She’s worked in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. She was part of the New York sketch comedy group “BOB” and has had roles on film and TV with directors such as Francis Coppola and Oliver Stone. You might have seen her in films like Peggy Sue Got Married, plus she's acted in numerous plays and commercials. She wrote ...

Jessica chats with Newton Cheng, Google executive, mental health advocate and speaker, & world champion powerlifter . Newton is a husband and father to two amazing daughters via adoption. He's a world champion powerlifter who holds multiple world records. He is also Director of Health + Performance at Google where he’s spent 14 years developing, launching and scaling global programs aimed at helping Googlers to thrive. He takes a special interest in the intersections of human performance and spi...

This week, Jessica interviews Beth Carr, brand & marketing expert and a classically trained actor who sings. Beth spent 15 years working as an actor on Broadway. On the marketing side, she's led branding and marketing initiatives for nearly two decades at companies like Nestle, Booksy, and Vendini. Beth started her own firm, Fortified Branding in 2019. She's a certified StoryBrand Guide and works with companies and entrepreneurs to stand out in the minds and hearts of their customers. You can le...

This week, Jessica talks with Dr. Sloka Iyengar, neuroscientist & Bharatanatyam dancer who is passionate about relieving suffering through science and the arts. For her Ph.D. and postdoctoral work, she studied the circuits in the brain that lead to the generation and propagation of epileptic seizures. She's worked with adults and children with epilepsy to develop better therapeutic strategies. Sloka is also an award-winning Bharatanatyam performer and practitioner who has created productions tha...

This week, Jessica interviews Matt Toy, a Movement Trainer, & Cooperative Business Owner / Baker. Matt Toy is a movement trainer who helps students move better in their yoga practice, athletic pursuits, and daily lives, all while creating a culture of mindfulness & mastery through movement. He's also co-owner and lead baker at the Cheese Board Collective, a workers cooperative bakery and pizzeria in Berkeley, CA that regularly has lines around the block. With a black belt in Freestyle Martial Ar...

Jessica interviews Brad Balukjian, Entomologist & Journalist. Brad studied journalism and island biogeography at Duke University and earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Science from UC Berkeley. Brad founded the Natural History and Sustainability program at Merritt College, where he teaches today. In 2020, his first book, The Wax Pack , reached #7 on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list and was named one of NPR's Best Books of the Year. He's now working on a new book, The Six Pack , to be publish...

Jessica once again talks with Liron Lavi Turkenich, typeface designer & productivity expert — and a self-described multi-passionate. Since graduating from the University of Reading with a masters degree in typeface design, Liron has been designing custom multilingual typefaces for global companies specializing in Hebrew. She is the founder of Aravrit, a hybrid writing system that merges Hebrew and Arabic, and has received wide recognition for its ingenuity and scope. She's spoken at TedX Vienna,...

This week, Jessica talks with Vasu Panicker, Music Maker & Business Strategist. Growing up as an arts kid in New York City, Vasu did his undergrad and grad music studies at City University of New York and then built and directed Face the Music, the country’s only youth music program dedicated to works by living composers. He himself is a creative composer and sound designer specializing in contemporary and experimental genres. On the business side, Vasu got his MBA from Berkeley Haas and now wor...

This week, Jessica interviews Veronique Kherian, a San Francisco-based photographer, cheese evangelist, & classical singer. Vero studied Economics and French at Wellesley, and taught English in Normandy, France. After returning to the US to earn her JD, she grew her law practice focusing on intellectual property, when a life-altering stint as a cheesemonger brought her into the forefront of artisan cheese with her blog, Miss Cheesemonger. Currently, she manages the social media for a local San F...

This week, Jessica chats with Percy Liang, Computer Scientist & Classical Pianist . Percy is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University. He got his Bachelor's from MIT and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. His research is on artificial intelligence, more specifically foundation models that can generate text, images, and music. Percy has been playing piano since he was 8 years old. He's won several contests, including the Phoenix Young Musicians Competition, the MIT Concerto Competit...

In Season 2, Ampersand Jessica Wan, leadership coach & classical singer , interviews people who, similarly, have led "double lives" for decades and succeed in two completely different worlds. This show explores how their two worlds – different as they may seem – collide, integrate, and fuel each other. Jessica's goal is to celebrate, elevate, and normalize these stories. Through these interviews, the goal is to co-create the Ampersand Manifesto, principles for leading our multi-passionate lives...