The Anita Podcast

You know her as @rachevren. She's the hot geek who went from dancing with a lightsaber in a bikini to being the only female creator in the world to interview Anthony Mackie for Captain America: Brave New World. She hosted a Wednesday Netflix live stream to 40 million viewers with no teleprompter, screaming fans (us), an earpiece in... and she nailed it. This week's guest is a media presenter, ente...

Natasha Lee on the eating disorder that nearly killed her as a fourteen-year-old TV star, and what her story means for how we're all talking about Ariana Grande right now. Ariana just confirmed she's stepping back from public life after years of her body being picked apart online. Natasha lived the opposite version twenty years ago on the set of Always Greener, disappearing in plain sight while no...

Mikaela Copland on flipping tall poppy syndrome into a talent agency — and the One Direction Tumblr blog she never told her school friends about. 35K followers. Self-taught HTML. A model nobody thought would get into Melbourne Fashion Week. One email, sent on pure audacity, that landed her artist a festival slot everyone said was out of reach. And the year One Direction fandom stopped being fun. T...

Layne Beachley is a surfing legend. Seven world titles. Six of them back to back — a record nobody in the sport, male or female, has ever come close to touching. But the real story is everything inside, out and in between. Adopted at birth, and later learning the truth of how she was conceived, Layne spent years quietly deciding she'd only be lovable if she became a champion at something. In this...

Wesley Senna Cortes was one of three leads on the final season of The Bachelor Australia, and trust me, there's a lot more to him than what made the final cut. We get into the moment reality TV producers asked him for his "character trajectory" (yep, that's a real thing they say), what it actually cost him mentally to come back from filming, and a casting director scandal he ended up blowing wide...

In this Quick Hit episode, Anita sits down with Steve Toussaint from HBO's House of the Dragon . In town to promote Season 3, we chat about the wigs that turn him into Corlys Velaryon, imposter syndrome, and the film he just wrote that changed everything. We also got real about his acting process, what it costs to stay vulnerable, and what he's learned in his 30 year career. Our chat was only 10 m...

This is the first Culture Deep Dive on The Anita Podcast Trigger warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of murder, pregnancy loss, infant death, and graphic crime scene details. Listener discretion is advised. If you've watched Netflix's Maternal Instinct — or lived through the phenomenon that was The Crash — you already know how deep a true crime documentary can get under your skin. M...

⚠️ This episode contains adult themes and language. Not one for the kids. ⚠️ Josh Partington started posting comedy content in August 2024. Within months he had over a hundred thousand followers and four million views on a single video. In this episode of The Anita Podcast, Anita sits down with the Melbourne-based content creator behind @keepingitjosh — the TikTok account making Australians feel d...

She wanted to be the next James Nachtwey. She ended up being the internet's favourite pop culture girl. And honestly? We think she won. Aicha Robertson — fashion blogger, beauty creator, movie critic, and pop culture commentator behind The Fashion Heist and now Aichark — is the very first guest in The Anita Podcast's content creator series. And she did not come to play. We talk about what Aicha Ro...

Before he was third billing on Paramount+'s Dutton Ranch alongside Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, Finn Little was a softly spoken kid from Brisbane who liked fishing in the river, was obsessed with magic, and had no idea that a School Zone TV commercial at age five would lead to sharing a set with some of the greatest actors of our generation. Geoffrey Rush. Angelina Jolie. Nicolas Cage. Kevin Cost...

⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of domestic violence, coercive control, emotional abuse, financial abuse, and intergenerational trauma. Please take care of yourself while listening. If you or someone you know needs support, contact the 1800RESPECT national helpline on 1800 737 732 — available 24/7. This episode is not suitable for kids. I sat down with Jasmin Tarasin — directo...

In this engaging interview of The Anita Podcast, actor Ana Thu Nguyen shares her inspiring journey from childhood in Sydney's Shire to becoming a rising star in Hollywood. She discusses her cultural roots, the importance of authenticity in acting, and the serendipity behind her role in Mortal Kombat II, offering valuable insights for aspiring actors and fans alike. This week's key takeaway: Trust...

If you know Justin Hill, you know he's the guy who shows up to an interview in a Schiaparelli-inspired suit covered in brooches just to break the ice with Nicola Coughlan — and it worked. Spectacularly. Justin is one of Australia's most recognised entertainment reporters, host of Loud and Proud on Hayu and Drag Race Down Under: The Podcast for Stan, and the man whose Wicked interview went so viral...

You think you know her but after this conversation, you'll know her a little differently. In the very first episode of The Anita Podcast, host and entertainment journalist Anita sits down with Poh Ling Yeow — MasterChef Australia Season 1 runner-up, TV host, painter, and now judge on MasterChef Australia Season 18. They go deep on navigating chaos in television production, dealing with online hate...