LIZ’S COFFEE CONNECTION

Liz sits down virtually with Mayor Daniel Rickenmann of Columbia, South Carolina, a mayor who says residents just want their garbage picked up, their neighborhoods safe, and their potholes fixed. Daniel shares what makes Columbia’s small-town feel and big-city momentum unique, how his years as an entrepreneur shape the way he runs a city, and why mayors across the country trade ideas and learn fro...

Liz sits down for a virtual coffee with Rabbi Noa Kushner, founding rabbi of The Kitchen in San Francisco and author of Pretend You Believe: How to Enter Religion. Noa traces her lifelong conversation with God back to an apple-picking childhood in Sudbury, Massachusetts, and to the teacher who left a two-word note on her desk that she never forgot. She explains how her years at Brown made her want...

Liz sits down with Shira Efron, senior fellow and distinguished chair of Israel policy at RAND, for a clear and human guide to Israel’s election. Shira explains why Israelis vote for parties instead of people and how a party that misses the 3.25% threshold can make thousands of votes disappear. She also explains why no one will know who leads the country on election night. She breaks down the Neta...

Liz sits down with her “nephew” Etienne Maurice — actor, filmmaker, and founder of the nonprofit Walk Good — for a deeply personal conversation about service, survival, and community. Etienne traces his instinct to serve back to his grandparents, his mother, his father, and his stepfather, shares how the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor led him to gather more than 400 pe...

Before October 7th, Jonah Platt was a Broadway leading man — he starred in Wicked, booked TV and film roles, and built a career in entertainment just like his father before him. Then everything changed. Liz sits down with Jonah, now host of the #1-ranked Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, to talk about the moment he realized his effort belonged somewhere else. Jonah opens up about growing up a natural...

Todd Gloria is San Diego’s first mayor of color and first openly gay mayor — a legacy rooted in a grandfather who wore a three-piece suit every day, even to mow the lawn, just to be seen as a man worthy of respect. In this conversation with Liz, Todd opens up about the shy kid who found his voice, why he’d rather tell people what they need to know than what they want to hear, and how he’s tackling...

Liz sits down with East LA-born painter Francisco Palomares in his downtown LA studio for a conversation about art, migration, and belonging. Francisco walks through paintings inspired by childhood car rides with his mom through the fashion and flower districts, his 2022 piece “City of Inmates,” and the piñata paintings that explore both celebration and what it feels like to be “the other.” He sha...

Liz sits down with LA-based contemporary artist and muralist Charlie Edmiston for a conversation about creative freedom, mentorship, and the pull of home. Charlie traces his path from a childhood spent constantly drawing, through Otis College where he found his way from graphic design into fine arts, to the years he spent supporting his art practice with freelance design work so he could paint wit...

Liz visits the Los Angeles studio of painter Jonah Elijah, whose work reimagines childhood memory, Black history, and identity through portraiture, assemblage, and sculpture. Jonah walks through a globe sculpture series exploring the history of the term “Globetrotter,” an assemblage piece built around a spinning bicycle wheel from his old Houston neighborhood, and an ongoing “Prayer Series” rooted...

Liz sits down with Lindsay Pinchuk for a conversation about leadership, Jewish advocacy, storytelling, and the power of community. Lindsay reflects on how summer camp shaped her confidence and independence, how growing up in Detroit’s Jewish community gave her a foundation of tradition and belonging, and how October 7th became a turning point in her public voice. From building Bump Club and Beyond...

Liz sits down with former Tennessee Senator and Governor Lamar Alexander for a conversation about leadership, family, music, and what public service is really supposed to look like. From growing up in a small Tennessee town with a piano lesson and a library card, to serving alongside ten U.S. presidents, Lamar reflects on the values that shaped him, the importance of relationships across political...

Liz sits down with Dr. Asif Mahmood — physician, immigrant, humanitarian, and Vice Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom — for a deeply personal conversation about service, faith, immigration, and human connection. Born in a remote village in Pakistan and raised in humble circumstances, Asif shares how his journey to America shaped his belief in compassion, digni...

After three years apart, this is the first Mother’s Day Yael Alexander will spend with her son Edan back home. For 584 days, Yael lived with uncertainty, going through Mother’s Day 2023, 2024, and 2025 without him, holding onto hope when it felt almost impossible, showing up for her family, and fighting every single day. Now, in 2026, she shares what it means to finally have him home. In this powe...

Liz sits down with Hunter Biden for an honest and deeply personal conversation about loss, addiction, recovery, and redemption. Hunter reflects on growing up after the tragic loss of his mother and sister, the unwavering love of his family, and the profound impact of his father’s example. He shares his journey through addiction, the moment he chose to live, and how art became both a refuge and a p...

Liz sits down with Pennsylvania State Representatives Jared Solomon and Jesse Topper for a conversation about friendship, public service, and what it really takes to work across political difference. One is a Democrat from one of the most diverse districts in Pennsylvania; the other is a Republican from one of the most conservative and least diverse districts in the state. Yet together, they have...

Holocaust survivor Herta Amir joins Liz for a rare and deeply personal on-camera conversation—her first time publicly sharing her story. Though Liz has known Herta most of her life as a family friend and community leader, Herta remained silent for decades, like so many survivors. In this episode, she recounts her childhood in Czechoslovakia, the rise of anti-Jewish restrictions, years spent in hid...

Liz sits down with Mayor Karen Goh of Bakersfield, California, for a conversation about service, resilience, faith, and leadership. From being born in India and moving through London before arriving in Bakersfield as a child, to building a career in music education, publishing, nonprofit leadership, and public service, Karen reflects on the extraordinary people and experiences that shaped her life...

Liz sits down with Pastor Ryan Warren, a unique voice blending faith, hip hop, and community leadership. From dancing in studios across the country to serving as a pastor in Dallas, Ryan shares how his passions for worship and movement became one mission: connecting people. He reflects on loving those who are different, building trust with the Jewish community, and why staying true to yourself is...

Liz sits down with former San Francisco Mayor and legendary California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. From growing up in Mineola, Texas during segregation to becoming one of the most influential leaders in California history, Brown reflects on the values that shaped his life—education, discipline, service, and listening. He shares how his mother and grandmother instilled a sense of responsibility...

In this episode, Aliza Sokolow shares how food builds health, community, and confident, curious kids—and why nourishing ourselves is inseparable from caring for one another.

In this episode, Liz Hirsh Naftali sits down with Ambassador Ryan Crocker, a six-time U.S. ambassador whose service took him to Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. From growing up in an Air Force family and traveling internationally as a child, to building a career in some of the world’s most dangerous diplomatic posts, Ambassador Crocker reflects on what diplomacy really is:...

Rabbi Sharon Brous joins Liz Hirsh Naftali for a deeply personal conversation about leadership, grief, curiosity, and the urgent need to rehumanize one another. Rabbi Brous reflects on growing up in New Jersey, discovering Jewish learning later in life, falling in love with Talmud, and why community is built through presence—not agreement. Together, Liz and Sharon explore loneliness, loss, unlikel...

Liz sits down for a virtual coffee with Congressman Gabe Amo of Rhode Island. Rep. Amo reflects on his journey as the son of West African immigrants, his path into public service, and what it means to be the first person of color to represent Rhode Island in Congress. From lessons learned on the football field to helping his mother study for her U.S. citizenship test, this conversation explores le...

Rahm Emanuel reflects on public service, parenting, and the national education emergency he believes America can’t ignore. From dinner-table debates to Chicago school reform, this is a candid conversation about leadership, family, and what it takes to compete—and care—for the next generation.

Liz sits down for a virtual coffee with James Talarico, a Texas leader shaped by faith, service, and a deep commitment to “love thy neighbor.” James shares how his granddad’s teaching—love God and love neighbor—became the foundation of his public service, first as a public school teacher in San Antonio and later in the Texas House. He reflects on growing up with a single mom, the life-changing lov...