An Earful of Entertainment

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

The Palisadian-Post has assembled part two in a series about podcasts with ties to Pacific Palisades. Have or know of a podcast? Email mypost@palipost.com for consideration in a future edition.

All the Wiser

After two decades of working behind the camera, Palisadian Kimi Culp made the decision to share all she has learned as creator and host of the “All the Wiser” podcast.

Culp’s intention is to tell stories “with soul” while supporting causes to make the world a better place, according to the show’s description.

“This is a place where you will hear stories of people just like you, confronted with extreme adversity and the wisdom they gained on the other side,” Culp wrote. “From tragedy to triumph, love, loss, addiction, heroic feats and everything in between.”

Culp’s episodes of “All the Wiser” feature different guests, previously noting it is the first one-for-one podcast in the world—meaning that with every episode aired, the show donates $2,000 to a charity of the guest’s choice.

“Our goal is to share 50 extraordinary stories while giving $100,000 to charities around the world,” Culp shared in 2019. “The thing that we are most proud of is our guests, they are categorically brave, inspiring and awesome, and we consider it a privilege to share their stories.”

Culp was interviewed on the show by her friend and “Good Morning America” colleague Holly Gordon.

“I wanted to offer a place for great people to find great stories,” Culp said. “On darker days, these stories have helped me rewire my thoughts toward hope and possibility. It is my greatest hope that you will be inspired by these conversations too; that you will hear how others faced struggle, survived, thrived … and that you will grow all the wiser for listening.”

“All the Wiser” can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

What’s Her Story with Sam & Amy

Hosted by Palisadian Samantha Ettus and Amy Nelson, each episode of “What’s Her Story with Sam & Amy” features a woman at the top of her field sharing her story—both personal and professional—according to the show’s description.

Ettus is a Harvard-educated entrepreneur, author, renowned speaker and host. The last time she caught up with the Palisadian-Post, the El Medio Bluffs resident launched a company to help women achieve financial independence, Park Place Placements, which was founded here in the Palisades.

“People will say to me, ‘This is so unsexy. You used to be on the ‘Today Show’ all the time, and now you’re talking about credit card processing,’” Ettus said in a 2019 interview with the Post. “I’m actually not talking about credit card processing. I’m talking about women’s financial independence, and nothing is sexier to me than that.”

Ettus makes regular appearances on national television, including “NBC News,” “Access Hollywood,” “Good Morning America,” the “Today” show and more.

Her co-host, Nelson, is the founder and CEO of The Riveter, a union of women and allies striving for equity of opportunity. She has raised $30 million in venture capital funding and has been placed among the 200 most-funded women entrepreneurs in America, according to the show’s website.

The podcast is powered by the duo’s companies. The two entrepreneurial hosts have invited a number of guests onto the show, including dermatologist-turned-reality-star Dr. Sandra Lee (also known as “Dr. Pimple Popper”), actress Marcia Cross, author Austin Channing Brown, Padmasree Warrior, Arianna Huffington and plenty more.

A new episode of “What’s Her Story with Sam & Amy” is out every Thursday, and can be found on iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

After 25 years at the “Late Night” desk and 4,000 episodes with celebrity guests, “you would think I have friends,” Palisadian Conan O’Brien said in the first episode of his podcast, “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.”

The show launched in 2018 after his talk show was on hiatus, with the title referring to the podcast’s premise of O’Brien seeking lasting friendships.

“Conan realized that the only people at his holiday party are the men and women who work for him,” according to the show’s description. “Over the years and despite thousands of interviews, Conan has never made a real … friendship with any of his celebrity guests. ‘Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend’ is a weekly opportunity for Conan to hang out with the people he enjoys most and perhaps find some real friendship along the way.”

Each podcast episode opens with the guests stating their names and saying, “I feel __ about being Conan O’Brien’s friend,” sharing how they feel about their relationship with O’Brien.

Since its debut, the podcast has established a star-studded guest list, including current and former Palisadians Adam Sandler, Eugene Levy, Judd Apatow, J.J. Abrams, Tom Hanks and Kate Hudson, as well as Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and more. He is joined by his assistant of nearly 10 years Sona Movsesian.

“It’s a chance for me just to be me, it’s probably a little different than the TV show in that I get to have a really intimate conversation with these people,” O’Brien said ahead of the pilot episode. “I think a lot of people are OK with my personality but would rather not see my face … so podcasts might be the best way to experience me.”

O’Brien might be onto something: His success has been celebrated across a number of publications, including Rolling Stone, Vulture and Variety, which dubbed him “the darling of the podcasting world” and his show “the breakout hit of the audio season” in 2019. The show reportedly gets more than one million downloads per episode.

Weekly episodes of “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.