Episodes

  • Shana Stein — Directing The Testaments, The Boys, and Finding Hope Through Youth Rebellion

    Shana Stein — Directing The Testaments, The Boys, and Finding Hope Through Youth Rebellion
    Jun 24 2026
    Director and executive producer Shana Stein joins Sparkle On to trace her path to directing some of television's most politically charged series, including Hulu's The Testaments, Amazon's The Boys, Power, 56 Days, Jack Ryan, and The Lincoln Lawyer. She shares how youth rebellion became the beating heart of her work on The Testaments (sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale) — a story about young women born into oppression who discover their power, rather than women who had freedom taken from them. Shana walks us through how she thinks as a director: approaching each show as its own puzzle, finding the DNA that keeps fans coming back while bringing something new, and treating violence, movement, and color as tools to build tension rather than spectacle. Her signature, she explains, is giving showrunners more of what they love while quietly elevating it. This conversation also reaches beyond the set — into the privilege of saying no, the power of mentorship, and the leap of faith it took to leave a fast-tracked agent career at William Morris and betting on herself at AFI. Shana reminds us that the stories we tell can shape the next generation, and that sometimes the most radical act is playing make-believe for a living. Follow Shana Stein: https://www.instagram.com/shanasteindirect/?hl=en Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:00:45 The Process of Being Chosen for Major TV Shows 00:02:31 Meeting on The Testaments After the 2024 Election 00:05:59 Youth Rebellion and The Testaments' Hopeful Energy 00:07:35 Entering Different Worlds and Embodying Dystopia 00:09:49 Working with Young Actors and Creating Safety on Set 00:12:53 Different Styles: The Testaments vs The Boys 00:15:21 Building Tension and Becka's Pivotal Arc 00:22:41 Research, Meditation, and Staying Open to Ideas 00:24:07 Color Grading, LUTs, and the Made-for-Hulu Look 00:28:14 Improving Your Craft and Cracking Each Show's Puzzle 00:31:49 The Four-Year-Old Who Wanted to Move to Hollywood 00:32:57 The Awakening: Theater Camp and Seeing Broadway 00:37:40 Quitting the Agency and Betting on Film School 00:39:25 The Path from Producing to Directing 00:40:49 The First Directing Opportunity and Taking the Leap 00:42:48 Betting on Herself 00:45:13 Saying No and Choosing Family Over Fear 00:48:19 Raising the Next Generation and Mentorship 00:50:27 Closing Thoughts and Sparkle On
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    51 mins
  • Grace Hong — How Creativity Became Her Corporate Exit Strategy

    Grace Hong — How Creativity Became Her Corporate Exit Strategy
    Jun 18 2026
    Grace Hong (Nolo Grace) joins Sparkle On to share how creativity became her corporate exit strategy and why building a life aligned with your artistry is worth the decade-long journey. As the founder of Parasol Music, an artist-driven agency and music label with placements in Disney's Moana, Avengers Doomsday, and Avatar Fire and Ash, Grace reveals the winding path from Wall Street to songwriting, production, and vocal direction for projects like the Olympics Closing ceremony with Kate Hudson. From crying in Bali to releasing a single with Sean Kingston, Grace walks us through her transformation into an artist. She shares why leaving her corporate career to travel the world was the only way to deprogram and stop running from her true creativity. She reminds us that false starts aren't failures, rejection is part of the process, and sometimes it takes 10 years of feeling lost before everything clicks into place. Her story proves that the creative journey is never linear, and the only way forward is to trust yourself, collaborate with intention, and keep building even when you can't see the finish line. Follow Grace Hong / Nolo Grace: https://www.instagram.com/nolograce/?hl=en Parasol Music: https://www.parasolmusic.com Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:00:40 First Memories of Music and Early Creative Blocks 00:01:48 Journaling as Creative Expression and Escape 00:03:56 Discovering Musical Ancestry and Breaking Through Fear 00:06:21 The Corporate Path and the Illusion of Struggle 00:07:26 Burnout, the Leap, and the Metamorphosis 00:08:47 The Slow Rebirth: Teaching Herself Music from Scratch 00:14:23 Meeting Her Producer Husband and Finding Her Voice 00:18:13 Relationships as Mirrors and Creative Containers 00:23:52 Collaborating with Kate Hudson, Ludacris, and the Olympics 00:28:31 Giving Notes Without Crushing the Artist 00:31:20 From Negative Self-Talk to Love Is Worth It All 00:34:14 Writing Truth: Pain, Beauty, and the Song Called Mother 00:36:29 Turning Fragments into Songs Through Collaboration 00:38:35 Community, Wealth, and the Nomad Journey 00:41:23 Building the Ultimate Creative Project 00:43:53 Ten Years of False Starts and the Album I Exist
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    46 mins
  • Alanna Bennett — Crafting Teen Stories In Hollywood from XO Kitty to The Education of Kia Greer

    Alanna Bennett — Crafting Teen Stories In Hollywood from XO Kitty to The Education of Kia Greer
    Jun 10 2026
    Author and screenwriter Alanna Bennett joins Sparkle On to discuss her debut novel The Education of Kia Greer, her work on Netflix's XO Kitty, and why teen stories remain some of the most powerful narratives in Hollywood. From her journalism days at BuzzFeed News to breaking into the writers' room, Alanna shares how she carved out a career telling young adult rom-com stories that center young Black women, queer characters, and the messy, beautiful crossroads of girlhood. Alanna reveals how a pandemic rewatch of Keeping Up with the Kardashians sparked the idea for The Education of Kia Greer, a novel about a 16-year-old reality TV star who dreams of a normal life. She explains how she researched narcissistic family dynamics, the dehumanization of young women in the public eye, and the specific terror of growing up famous without choosing it. This episode explores the vulnerability required to be a full-time artist, the constant negotiation between authenticity and commercial demands, and why Alanna believes that losing a job for staying true to your values is better than selling a piece of your soul. She reminds us that rejection never stops, and that the only way forward is to stop avoiding the writing and start putting yourself out there. Alanna's work proves that the stories we're most afraid to tell are often the ones that matter most. Read The Education of Kia Greer: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739902/the-education-of-kia-greer-by-alanna-bennett/ Follow Alanna Bennett: https://www.instagram.com/alanabennett Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:01:04 Finding Her Story Beat: The Young Adult Rom-Com Niche 00:02:27 Convincing Hollywood That Teen Stories Matter 00:03:59 Playing Pretend and the Power of Jenny Han Characters 00:09:34 The Twilight Between Childhood and Adulthood 00:11:41 Casting, Representation, and Fighting for Characters 00:14:01 Knowing When Not to Compromise 00:16:39 The Birth of Kia Greer: A Pandemic Rewatch and Kylie Jenner 00:19:25 Dehumanization, Celebrity Culture, and Online Discourse 00:21:55 Making It Her Own: Beyond Kardashian Fanfic 00:24:43 Researching Complex Relationships and Narcissistic Mothers 00:27:24 One Wild and Precious Life: Mary Oliver and Agency 00:29:21 The Three E's: Exploration, Expression, and Elation 00:31:54 The Rat King Metaphor: Collaboration in the Writer's Room 00:34:08 Kitty's Exploration and the Yuri Crush 00:35:17 Advice for Young Writers: There's No Exact Path 00:39:33 Overcoming Fear: The Day She Stopped Being Afraid to Write 00:43:46 Stepping Into the Light Every Day 00:45:58 What's Next and Where to Find the Book
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    47 mins
  • El Rose — Writing Rage, Mythology, and Sexuality Through Music

    El Rose — Writing Rage, Mythology, and Sexuality Through Music
    Jun 3 2026
    Being fierce has always been part of her presence. El Rose joins Sparkle On to share her journey from being a bedroom musician to a performer who has learned to channel rage, mythology, and sexuality through music. Her former identity left little room for creative exploration—until a lonely period in San Francisco led her to a guitar shop, a louder voice, and eventually Austin's thriving music scene. El unpacks her Gothic noir aesthetic and femme fatale persona, drawing inspiration from biblical figures such as Mary Magdalene and mythological goddesses such as Circe. She explains how female sexuality has been weaponized throughout history, and why her music reclaims that power with unapologetic rage. This episode dives into the chokehold of creation, the isolation of being misunderstood by those closest to you, and why playing electric guitar in public for the first time is exactly the kind of intensity that fuels her art. El reminds us that we are all meant to create — and that magic happens when we stop overthinking and let it out. Follow El Rose: https://www.instagram.com/elrosemusic__ New Single Technicolor: https://open.spotify.com/track/6robqey5ABEDaaJAybGruR?si=yNFH8bwuQmOTDglfT_GI5w Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:01:00 The Hidden Identity: From Soccer to Songwriting 00:02:45 The San Francisco Turning Point and Moving to Austin 00:04:26 Fashion, Expression, and the Femme Fatale Aesthetic 00:09:49 Writing Rage: Mythology, Goddesses, and Scorned Women 00:11:09 Catholic Upbringing and the Absence of Women 00:13:30 Mary Magdalene, Sexual Shame, and Reclaiming Power 00:16:23 Sexual Energy as Creative Energy 00:21:03 Crafting Sound Through Mood Boards and Movie References 00:27:58 The Late Bloomer Advantage and Breaking the Rules 00:38:40 The Chokehold of Creation and Letting Go 00:46:39 Feeling Everything: The Artist's Role and Magic of Creation
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    51 mins
  • Sarah Wang — New Skin: A Mother-Daughter Story of Plastic Surgery's Dark Side

    Sarah Wang — New Skin: A Mother-Daughter Story of Plastic Surgery's Dark Side
    May 29 2026
    Named one of Apple's Best Books of May, debut novelist Sarah Wang joins Sparkle On to discuss her novel New Skin — a visceral exploration of plastic surgery addiction, immigrant identity, and an intense mother-daughter relationship set in Los Angeles. Sarah reveals how she spent over a decade crafting a story that uses the world of reality TV and botched plastic surgery as a lens to examine class and debt in America. Sarah shares her process of rewriting entire subplots even after selling the book, from navigating rejection with determination to knowing when to protect the beating heart of a story while staying open to critique. She proves that you only need one yes, and that the stories we're most obsessed with are the ones worth telling. Read New Skin: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sarah-wang/new-skin/9780316607704/?lens=little-brown Follow Sarah Wang: https://www.instagram.com/daikonoclast/ Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:01:10 LA, Plastic Surgery, and the Spark for New Skin 00:02:50 Not a Cautionary Tale: Addiction, Class, and Debt in America 00:04:46 The Ten-Year Journey and Internal Pressure 00:06:47 Plot Building Through Revision and Rewriting 00:08:21 The Power of Community and Workshopping 00:13:39 Writing Is Not Therapy: Universal Truths in New Skin 00:16:46 Crafting Dialogue and Character Through Revision 00:18:02 Research, Reality TV, and Avoiding Replication 00:22:56 COVID, Scapegoating, and Game Theory on Reality TV 00:26:35 Writing From What Keeps You Up at Night 00:28:12 Letting Go and Embracing Reader Interpretations 00:29:52 Determination, Rejection, and Only Needing One Yes 00:31:36 Holding Onto the Core and What's Next
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    35 mins
  • Solo Devi Jags Episode — Building Sparkle In Public, The Vision, & The Punk Rock Era

    Solo Devi Jags Episode — Building Sparkle In Public, The Vision, & The Punk Rock Era
    May 27 2026
    Devi Jags flips the mic and lets herself be interviewed for the first time, revealing the raw, unfiltered origin story of Sparkle On. From surviving violent events in college and rediscovering her fire through writing, Devi unpacks how creativity became her lifeline and why she refuses to let anyone define themselves by a single identity. This solo episode dives into the messy, relentless, punk rock era of building a movement from scratch. Devi gets honest about the loneliness of wearing every hat, and what she's building behind the scenes beyond the podcast, and how the Sparkle movement is for that young girl who once felt like nothing. She reminds us that magic exists, flying is possible, and the only way forward is to journal, lose control, and try, even when you're terrified of failing. This is Sparkle On at its most vulnerable, and defiant. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:00:50 The Origin Story of Sparkle 00:03:25 The Accidental Podcaster 00:06:41 The Reality of Podcasting 00:11:41 When Writing Works But the Podcast Doesn't 00:13:52 The Art of the Interview and Capturing Sparkle 00:15:06 Following Obsessions and Trusting Your Taste 00:17:58 Season Three and Doubling Down on Creativity 00:19:07 The Punk Rock Era: Rebelling Against Templates 00:22:41 Why This Movement Matters 00:25:42 Living in Alignment and Finding Purpose 00:29:56 Who This Podcast Is Really For 00:34:00 Inspiration, Action, and Believing in Magic 00:35:55 Building Something Bigger in Public 00:37:56 The Power of Songwriting and Storytelling 00:39:49 Journal Every Day
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    42 mins
  • Joy Melan — Finding Songwriting Freedom Through Fantasy

    Joy Melan — Finding Songwriting Freedom Through Fantasy
    May 20 2026
    Singer-songwriter Joy Melan joins Sparkle On to share how fantasy and intentional melancholy fuel her transcendent old pop sound. From discovering her voice at 17 through poetry to performing with her band, The Wild, across Austin's collaborative music scene, she describes the delicate art of writing songs that help her listeners safely revisit their pain. From Lady Gaga's unapologetic expression to the fashion rebellion of early 2000s movie heroines, Joy's style is entirely tied to her sound. In this episode, she explains how she dresses for the vision of her music, how she navigates a song’s story, and why her newest creative challenge is learning to write from a place of happiness rather than tragedy.
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    34 mins
  • Brian Menke — Painting His Way To Healing

    Brian Menke — Painting His Way To Healing
    May 13 2026
    Brian Menke joins Sparkle On to share his journey from depression to healing through painting and music. A college friend of Devi's from Xavier University, Brian, opens up about the dark years when he lacked emotional outlets, turning to partying and self-destructive patterns. Years later, Brian discusses how creativity became his lifeline, teaching us that art is “expression, not perfection.” He shares the interplay between his painting and songwriting, how Austin's collaborative creative community gave him permission to fully embrace his authentic self, and proves that our deepest wounds can become our most beautiful work. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:00:54 College Depression and Early Struggles 00:04:00 The Creative Superpower and Self-Destruction 00:06:28 The Paintbrush Moment 00:08:34 Music and Painting as Different Expressions 00:11:10 Moving to Austin and Finding Permission 00:12:51 Toxic Masculinity and Embracing Feminine Energy 00:20:22 Expression Not Perfection: Teaching Art 00:18:17 The Blank Canvas and Trusting the Process 00:32:49 Vulnerability, Snapshots, and Helping One Person 00:36:36 What's Next and Touch the Art Show
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    40 mins