Asked By Ayana

I'm thrilled to be joined by Felicia Pride ( @feliciapride ) today! She is an author turned award-winning filmmaker and TV writer who has written for shows like Queen Sugar and Grey's Anatomy. She's also won accolades for directing tender, a short film, and producing Really Love, which debuted on Netflix as a Top 10 movie. Felicia moved to Los Angeles when she was 35 to pursue a scr...

This week, I'm chatting with Janina Santillan. She's the director of creative marketing and brand strategy at East Olivia, a creative agency specializing in large scale floral installations. She shares what it was like to start her career in theater and how she ended up where she is today, advice for handling rejection, and the benefits of working for a small, women-led business. Follow...

I’m joined by Carmen James ( @thegoodcarmablog ) for today’s episode! She’s the assistant principal at a Montessori school and a blogger. We talk about how education is becoming politicized (critical race theory, Florida’s “don’t say gay” bill, and more). She explains common misconceptions about Montessori education, and we also discuss how she became a blogger. Follow her below: instagram.com/the...

This week, I'm chatting with Zara Hanawalt, a full-time freelance writer who's been published in publications like Glamour, Parents, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, The Huffington Post, and many more. We discuss how she became a successful freelance writer, what it's like to be underrepresented as a South Asian woman, how to pitch and find story ideas, and how to deal with rejection. Sh...

Happy Wednesday! I'm joined today by Austen Tosone (@austentosone), a fashion and beauty content creator, consultant and entrepreneur.  We discuss it all — how she survived print magazine layoffs, what it's like to be consistent across multiple social media platforms, how to get over imposter syndrome when creating educational content, and how she's created streams of passive income...

Today I'm joined by Malarie Burgess, better known as @thejockscientist! They use humor and compassion to educate folks about the downfalls of diet culture and benefits of health at every size. We discuss her day job as an exercise physiologist, advice she has for people entering the industry, and the benefits of exercise that have nothing to do with weight. We also chat about how she deals wi...

I’m joined today by the fabulous Nicole Lapin (@nicolelapin), who you may know from the Money Rehab podcast or from one of her best-selling books! We talk about tons of good stuff: how she started her career as the youngest anchor in CNN’s history, becoming a financial expert even though she didn’t have a good relationship with money growing up, and why she’s passionate about teaching women how to...

Pumped to have my friend Ali Bonar ( @alibonar ) on the podcast today! We discuss how eating disorder recovery led her to co-found Oat Haus, a brand that makes *incredible* granola butter. She shares what it's like to bootstrap a company, how she handles burnout, what Shark Tank is really like, and her thoughts on whether being an influencer is hard. Follow her + find Oat Haus below: instagra...

Kar Brulhart ( @karbrulhart ) is on the show today! Kar is a coach, speaker, and Instagram expert. She's had the coolest career experience, including working at the United Nations World Food Programme. We talk about her becoming an Instagram strategist and starting her own biz in early 2020, how she went from 0 to 45,000 followers in a matter of months, and the importance of advocating for yo...

Thrilled to be joined today by Raven Gibson, founder of Legendary Rootz ( @legendaryrootz ) — one of my favorite small businesses.  We discuss how the push to support Black businesses in summer 2020 felt overwhelming at the time, how she built a cohesive clothing brand without graphic design experience, and how non-Black allies can support Black businesses. Follow Legendary Rootz below: legendaryr...

Happy New Year! Our first 2022 episode features a chat with Carmen Renee ( @carmenreneeblog ). She's been blogging for about a decade and has the most fun tips and thoughts on hosting, fashion, home decor, and family life. We talk about how to know your worth as a creator of color, how she batches content strategically, and building a community online.  Follow Carmen below: carmenrenee.com in...

Cassy Joy Garcia ( @fedandfit ) is on the show today! She's a New York Times   bestselling author and recipe creator who makes meal prep less overwhelming. We talk about struggling with cooking at home and how to get over it, shifting from a full-time job to entrepreneurship, and why it's important to outsource things. Follow her below: Web: fedandfit.com   IG: instagram.com/fedandfit Co...

Arielle Greenleaf,  chief education officer and co-founder of Restfully, joins me today to talk about sleep coaching. She's a certified pediatric sleep coach and began her sleep consulting journey after struggling with her daughter's sleep schedule. We discuss her scientific approach to baby sleep, how people can find the right method, and why sleep training gets such a bad rap. If you&a...

Happy Wednesday, pod squad! Today, I'm joined by Sacia Matthews ( @saciamatthews ), an award-winning wedding photographer who started her career as a high school teacher. We talk about what it's like to work in a creative field as a woman of color, why she left education to become a full-time photographer, setting fair prices to make sure she's getting the compensation she deserves,...

So pumped to welcome Stephanie McNeal ( @stephemcneal ) to the pod today! She covers internet culture and influencers for BuzzFeed News and took the time to share her thoughts on a few topics. Stephanie talks about how she decides which controversies to write about,  why influencers get a bad rap, her predictions for the future of the industry,  and her thoughts on snark forums like GOMI. Follow h...

This week, I’m joined by Christie Catan, who’s the co-founder of Tails of Connection, which is an online dog training community. Christie has an incredible story about how she landed where she is currently, and I'm so glad she took the time to share it with me. We discuss how health problems in college changed her career trajectory, taking a leap of faith to start a company and being okay wit...

It's the 25th episode, so it's time for something special! My husband Vagner is on the pod today to chat about our respective career journeys. When we got married, he was a full-time worship leader at a church, and he now works at a software company. I never dreamed of being an influencer and thought I'd work in newspaper journalism my whole career. We talk about what it's like...

Excited to welcome Elizabeth Holmes, bestselling author of HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style and creator of the SMT Instagram Story series, to the podcast today. We talk about her decision to walk away from her prestigious title at the Wall Street Journal and how she started chronicling the outfit choices of the Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton) and the Duchess of Sussex (aka Meghan Mar...

Hi there! New York Times bestselling author Kate Baer is today's podcast guest! I love her work and find it so moving, so I'm thrilled to have her. We discuss her writing process, how she started with erasure poetry, the work she did before coming a full-time writer, and the complicated emotions surrounding "mom guilt" as a working parent. Follow her and check out her work belo...

I'm hanging out with Rachel Mansfield ( @rachlmansfield ) for today's episode! She's an incredible cookbook author and recipe creator who has a really cool story. We talk about how she didn't get into cooking until she was an adult and how she found a love for it while recovering from an eating disorder, why getting fired from a job made her decide to work for herself, and her...

Author and podcast host Caroline Moss is on the pod today, and our conversation is a treat! We talk about the pressure to always be productive and how to handle it, what it's like writing children's books, and how much authors actually make (hint: less than you think). Caroline also talks about how her podcast Gee Thanks, Just Bought It! came about. Thanks for listening! Buy Hey Ladies!:...

Today, I’m joined by the one and only Lisa Respers France. She’s a longtime journalist who has worked at CNN for over a decade as a senior entertainment writer. She’s the queen of all things pop culture and graciously agreed to share her journey to her dream job with me. We talk about how she became a writer (the story involves Oprah!), her most memorable celebrity encounters, her tips for young j...

This week, I’m joined by Emily Amick, better known as @emilyinyourphone . She shares nuanced political opinions from a partisan perspective on her Instagram account, and I love learning new things from her. We discuss her time serving as counsel to Senator Chuck Schumer, going to law school and becoming an attorney for terrorism victims, and what daily average news consumption looks like. Thanks,...

I’m thrilled to welcome Rep. Anna Eskamani to the pod today! If you’re not familiar with her, you should be — she’s a progressive leader in Florida making a huge difference both in our state and our country. We talk about why she ran for office and flipping her seat in 2018, what it’s like to balance a full-time job with public service, and how she handles the racism and misogyny she faces. Thanks...

Hey, friends! I’m back with another episode of Asked By Ayana, this time featuring Arielle Estoria (@ arielleestoria ). She’s a poet, speaker, author, actor, and model whose words bring me so much joy, and I’m honored to have her here. We talk about how she struggled at the beginning of her career, what content creation looks like for her, and how she’s navigated faith and deconstruction. Thanks f...