Willoughby Hills with Heath Racela

Richard Lui has covered breaking news as both a reporter and anchor for NBC News, MSNBC, and CNN.  He's also taken on the role of caregiver to his father in San Francisco, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  Richard joins Heath to discuss juggling a career and family obligations, being one of the few employees allowed at 30 Rock during the pandemic, and his new book Enough About Me about...

Singer-songwriter Jesse Terry's seventh album When We Wander looks at life as a new parent and the lessons learned on the open road, where he has spent the past decade.  Jesse joins Heath to discuss his writing process, musical influences, and how life changed for him as a working musician during COVID. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acces...

Actor Scott Foley was the first guest ever on Quarantine Creatives.  He joins Heath to mark the one year anniversary of the podcast and reflect on all that has happened since May, 2020.  Scott chats about RVing across the country with his family, hosting and judging Ellen's Next Great Designer for HBOMax, his own interest in furniture design, and shooting a pilot for The Big Leap on Fox, which too...

Tom Jennings brings his background in journalism to all of his documentaries by telling a story without any narration or newly produced interviews.  He joins Heath to discuss acquiring the rights to private tapes for Diana: In Her Own Words, scoring films with Hans Zimmer, and hunting for the perfect piece of archive footage, which became especially problematic during the pandemic.  His latest pro...

Arun Rath has worked in many roles across public media during his career, including as a producer, reporter, editor, and these days as an on-air anchor.  He joins Heath to discuss hosting GBH's All Things Considered and his local pandemic show In It Together, broadcasting from his basement for more than a year, and his candid thoughts on the future of public media.   This is a public episode. If y...

In their new film for HBO "Our Towns," Boston filmmakers Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan look at how small towns across America are reinventing themselves.  The husband and wife team join Heath to discuss their working relationship, how the focus of the film shifted after the pandemic, and their partnership with reporters James and Deborah Fallows, who are featured in the film.   This is a public...

Amelia Pang is an investigative journalist whose new book Made In China looks at the forced labor system in Chinese manufacturing plants.  She joins Heath to discuss her writing process and style, the ethical challenges Western consumers face when shopping, and how the mass detention of Uyghers could be the beginning of another mass genocide akin to the Holocaust. This is a public episode. If you...

Patric Richardson has devoted his career to teaching people how to wash their clothes in a way that is safe for the fabric and better for the environment.  He joins Heath to discuss the origins of his new show The Laundry Guy on Discovery+, plus the challenges of filming during the pandemic.  He also shares insights from his book Laundry Love and talks about how his roots in rural Kentucky inform...

Michael G Long has been studying marches and protests for a long time, authoring books on figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, and Bayard Rustin.  He joins Heath to discuss his new book Kids on the March, which looks at the role of children in protest movements from the early 20th century to today.  It's also his first book geared towards children.  Michael explains why he wan...

Eric and Rashi Wiese are the new hosts of the CBS show Lucky Dog, which helps train and place rescue dogs in new homes.  They join Heath to talk about filming their first season of the show during the pandemic, plus what they've learned about the best ways to train a dog, and how Rashi's background in human psychology and sociology helps her understand canines in a different way. This is a public...

In 1992, Andre Comeau and six other strangers moved into a New York City apartment and had their lives taped for the first season of MTV's The Real World.  29 years later, that same cast reunited in the same loft for The Real World Homecoming, which is now streaming on Paramount+.  Andre joins Heath to discuss the reunion, the bonds he shares with his fellow cast, and the impact of The Real World...

Michelle Zamora began her career in puppetry by making VHS videos with her toys as a child.  She and her husband founded Viva La Puppet in Los Angeles and she puppeteers Waffles in the new Netflix kids's show Waffles + Mochi.  She talks with Heath about making the show just before the pandemic hit, the challenges of "eating" with a puppet, and working with Michelle Obama and celebrity chefs. This...

Jim McKelvey is a glass blower in Saint Louis who turned his frustration about accepting credit cards into the innovative payment business Square, which he cofounded with Jack Dorsey.  Jim joins Heath to discuss his book The Innovation Stack, which looks at what makes entrepreneurial ventures succeed.  He also discusses the innovation he's observed during the pandemic and Square's recent acquisiti...

After experiencing her own burnout in the legal profession, Paula Davis founded the Stress and Resilience Institute, which helps companies and individuals address burnout risks.  Her new book Beating Burnout at Work offers a scientific approach to fighting burnout.  She joins Heath to discuss her writing process during COVID, how workplaces are evolving because of the pandemic, and her own experie...

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee stars in the CBC comedy Kim's Convenience about a family of Korean immigrants that run a corner store in Toronto, which streams on Netflix as well.  He joins Heath to discuss returning to shoot Season 5 during COVID and the challenges that went along with that.  He also shares behind the scenes stories from his role as Captain Teva on The Mandalorian, plus his interests in cospl...

Paul Rugg provides the voice and some puppeteering for the new Jim Henson show Earth to Ned, which streams on Disney+.  He joins Heath to talk about the complex puppetry that goes into making an alien like Ned come alive, plus his career writing and providing voices for classic animated shows like Animaniacs and Freakazoid!  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other su...

For more than four decades, Sonia Manzano played Maria on Sesame Street in front of the camera and served as a writer on the show behind the scenes.  She joins Heath to talk about her new book A World Together, which explores our shared humanity despite our differences.  She also discusses her experience on Sesame Street and previews her upcoming PBS Kid's series Alma's Way. This is a public episo...

Ray Smiling is both a creative director for ad agencies and a director on his own films.  His latest project is the anthology series Khaki Is Not Leather, which looks at the role of technology in sex and intimacy during the pandemic.  Ray joins Heath to discuss the technical challenges of creating this project fully remotely, his own views on how technology affects our personalities, and how worki...

Don Hahn was the producer behind classic Disney films like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, has authored several books, and has produced and directed many documentaries.  His latest film Howard looks at the life of lyricist Howard Ashman.  Don joins Heath to discuss some of the creative choices he made in Howard, working on classic Disney movies, and what he thinks drives creative people. T...

In her new documentary The Antidote, Kahane Cooperman (and her co-director John Hoffman) explore stories of kindness, decency, and the power of community.  Kahane talks with Heath about some of the unique creative choices that make the film impactful, why kindness makes us feel good, and her own optimism in spite of the state of the country.  She also discusses her 18 years as a producer at The Da...

PBS American Portrait attempts to answer the fundamental question of what it means to be an American today using self-shot videos submitted from all over the country.  The centerpiece of this project is a four part docuseries now running on PBS.  Craig D'Entrone is the show runner of the project, and he joins Heath to discuss the challenges of making a documentary without a filming crew, how quara...

Maureen McCormick is best known for playing Marcia Brady on The Brady Bunch, but her passion for old houses, handcrafted vintage furniture, and antiques has made her a great fit at HGTV.  Along with her fellow Brady castmates, she helped renovate the Brady Bunch house in 2019, and her latest home renovation show Frozen In Time is now streaming exclusively on Discovery+.  Maureen joins Heath to tal...

In August, school teacher Emily Jacobsen uploaded a sixteen second video to TikTok about Remy, the cooking rat from Pixar's Ratatouille, which unexpectedly sparked a movement on TikTok.  Emily joins Heath to discuss how her video inspired creators all over the world, getting to tour the new Ratatouille ride at Epcot before it opens, and Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, a one-time streaming event w...

As President and CEO of Kaufman Astoria Studios in Astoria, Queens, Hal Rosenbluth manages the oldest studio in New York City.  He joins Heath to discuss how COVID-19 has changed how they do business.  He talks how state government tax incentives have increased the amount of capital being spent on production.  He also describes the role that Kaufman Astoria has played in driving development and re...

Anthony Rudel grew up in the classical music business, and he has served as Station Manager at WCRB in Boston for 7 years. He talks with Heath about the formatting that he translated from rock and roll stations to classical, how he has leveraged automated programming software, and his push during the pandemic to recreate the concert hall experience, including keeping the 166 year old tradition of...