Mayim Bialik has seemingly done it all: she became a beloved teen star on Blossom, earned a PhD in neuroscience, then returned to TV to play a neuroscientist on The Big Bang Theory. She’s written books, hosts a popular podcast, and is a mother of two. But after a lifetime of slipping in and out of different roles since the time she was 11, Mayim is taking a step back and asking herself a fundamental question: When you strip away all the identities you’ve performed, who are you really?

In this episode, Mayim shares the soundtrack behind her complicated family history, the angst that shaped her teen years in Hollywood, and the significance of her latest role in the upcoming film Father Mother Sister Brother. It’s a wide-ranging conversation about finding love, loss, reinvention, and finding what grounds you. Here are her songs.

1. Bob Dylan, “Abandoned Love”
2. Bing Crosby, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”
3. Violent Femmes, “Kiss Off”
4. Elvis Costello, “Suit of Lights”
5. Neko Case, “Hold On, Hold On”
6. Jay-Z and Kanye West, “No Church in the Wild, featuring Frank Ocean and The-Dream”
7. MC Yogi, “Heaven Is Here, featuring Matisyahu”

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John Grant’s music is known for its brutal honesty – songs about desire, rage, and shame. But the story behind that voice is even more extraordinary.

Raised in a religious household where being gay meant losing your family and being rejected by society, John grew up believing he deserved the violence and hostility he faced.And yet, what stands out most when John tells his story is not the pain but the persistence – his ability to keep showing up, to find joy in small moments, and to let music crack open something hopeful inside him.

In this episode, John shares the seven songs that shaped his life, the artists who showed him new worlds, and the acts of kindness that helped him survive. He reflects on healing from self-hatred and why, despite everything, he still considers himself an optimist. Here are his songs.

1. Abba, “Eagle”
2. Yello, “Sometimes (Dr. Hirsh)”
3. Nina Hagen, “Antiworld”
4. Throwing Muses, “Dirty Water”
5. Colder, “To The Music”
6. Jenny and Johnny, “Animal”
7. Asha Puthli, “Space Talk”

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From the outside, Nico Rosberg lived every young racer’s dream: born to a Formula One world champion, raised with a go-kart track in his backyard, and the Monaco Grand Prix roaring outside his bedroom window. But behind the glamour was a different story: one of a sensitive young man dealing with crushing pressure and a bitter friendship-turned-rivalry with Lewis Hamilton that pushed him to his limits.

In this episode, Nico talks about the secret mental training that helped him survive the intensity of Formula One, the final-lap showdown that resulted in his world title, and his decision to retire just five days later, at the peak of his career. He reflects on rebuilding his identity, finding meaning off the track, and teaching his daughters to do the same. Here are his songs.

1. Elton John - Can You Feel the Love Tonight
2. Avicii - Levels
3. U2 - Beautiful Day
4. Queen - We Are the Champions
5. Robbie Williams - Something Beautiful
6. Myles Smith - Stargazing
7. Klingande - Jubel

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Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi didn’t set out to become a dessert icon. She just knew that if there was one thing she’d like to do every day for the rest of her life, it was baking cookies. That instinct led her from the world of New York City fine dining to the early days of Momofuku, where David Chang pushed Christina to pursue her passion for baking.

Since then, Milk Bar has become synonymous with cereal milk ice cream and compost cookies, and Christina herself has won two James Beard awards, written numerous cookbooks, and turned Milk Bar into a cultural phenomenon.

In this episode, recorded live at the Charter Workplace Summit in NYC, Christina shares the ingredients behind Milk Bar’s success: a strong work ethic inherited from her parents, a sense of childlike wonder that she’s never lost sight of, and a soundtrack – from Bob Marley to LCD Soundsystem – that reminds her to lose herself, find herself, and keep creating.

Here are her songs:

1. The Beatles, “A Hard Day’s Night”
2. Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know”
3. Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Waiting in Vain”
4. LCD Soundsystem, “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House”

Listen to Christina Tosi’s ⁠full playlist on Spotify⁠. Find the transcript of this episode at ⁠lifeinsevensongs⁠.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠.

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Michael Schur is the creative force behind some of the most beloved comedies of the past two decades: The Good Place, Parks and Rec, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and most recently, A Man On The Inside, starring Ted Danson.

If Mike’s face looks familiar, it might be from his scene-stealing performance as Mose Schrute on The Office, on which Mike was also a writer. Mike’s shows have a distinctive signature: they don’t just make you laugh – they make you think about morality and what it means to be human. Along the way, they might just make you cry.

In this episode, Mike charts the songs and milestones that turned him into the writer he is today – from the Neutral Milk Hotel album that taught him to wear his heart on his sleeve, to the fender bender that sparked an existential crisis that would become The Good Place, to the Taylor Swift song that pulled him out of a creative rut during the pandemic. It’s a conversation about how art teaches us to feel, and how those feelings become the stories we tell. Here are his songs.

1. “Weird Al” Yankovic, “Eat It”
2. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life”
3. Indigo Girls, “Kid Fears”
4. Neutral Milk Hotel, “Ghost”
5. Derek and the Dominos, “Key to the Highway”
6. Arvo Pärt, “Spiegel im Spiegel”
7. Taylor Swift, “gold rush”

Listen to Michael Schur’s ⁠⁠full playlist on Spotify⁠⁠. Find the transcript of this episode at ⁠⁠lifeinsevensongs⁠⁠.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠.

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Pacific Standard Time is smart, surprising weekly podcast about California’s future—and why what happens here matters everywhere and to everyone. Hosted by SF Standard culture editor Emily Dreyfuss and enterprise reporter Jesse Alejandro Cottrell. New episodes Wednesday mornings, beginning Nov. 19.

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When Andrew Ahn’s family rented “The Wedding Banquet” in the early 1990s, they didn’t realize it was a queer film. They also had no idea that 30 years later, Andrew would write and direct his own version of the film.

For many years, Andrew felt his queer and Korean American identities were in conflict. But reconciling those parts of himself has helped Andrew become one of the freshest filmmakers working today – directing the Emmy-nominated “Fire Island” and several episodes of “Bridgerton.”

In this episode, Andrew talks about coming out to his family through his art, the song that still gets him to rush the dance floor at a gay club, and the music that guided his journey towards wholeness. Here are his songs.

1. Simon & Garfunkel, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Maps”
3. Cascada, “Everytime We Touch”
4. Aimee Mann, “Ray”
5. Camille Saint-Saëns, “Symphony No. 3 (“Organ Symphony”)”
6. Frank Ocean, “Self Control”
7. Hikaru Utada, “Hanataba Wo Kimini”

Listen to Andrew Ahn's ⁠⁠⁠full playlist on Spotify⁠⁠⁠. Find the transcript of this episode at ⁠⁠⁠lifeinsevensongs⁠⁠⁠.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠.

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Long before he became the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara was a first-generation Indian immigrant, listening to Bollywood music in his childhood home outside of Asbury Park, New Jersey. It’s no surprise that Bruce Springsteen became one of Preet’s heroes – though it was a surprise when ‘The Boss’ gave Preet a personal shoutout at a 2012 concert.

In this episode, Preet talks about his work fighting Wall Street corruption and organized crime, how his family’s American dream unfolded across decades, and his unashamed patriotism in an era when expressing love for America can feel complicated. Plus, Sophie (almost) gets the former prosecutor to sing along to one of their shared seven songs. Here are his songs.

1. Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road”
2. Kishore Kumar, Mahendra Kapoor, and Shailendra Singh, “Amar Akbar Anthony”
3. Queen, “Another One Bites the Dust”
4. U2, “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For”
5. Daniel Rodriguez, “God Bless America”
6. Darius Rucker, “Wagon Wheel”
7. Zeshan B, “O Say, Can You See”

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Pepi Sonuga always knew she would become a performer. Even as a little girl in Lagos, Nigeria, watching “Barney” tapes that her flight attendant mother brought home, Pepi felt certain that someday, she’d be the one onscreen. That childhood conviction helped Pepi survive the culture shock of moving to Los Angeles at age 10, teen bullying, and years of grinding in an industry that tried to tell her, over and over, that she was replaceable.

With her star now on the rise – with roles in Tyler Perry’s “The Six Triple Eight” and Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” – Pepi joins Sophie to reflect on her journey so far, the songs that defined her girlhood, and her ultimate dream: to lift up the country she came from and “the little girl just like me who deserves everything she dreams about, too.” Here are her songs.

1. "I Wanna Be a Rockstar" – Barney
2. "You Gotta Be" – Des’ree
3. "This Is What Makes Us Girls" – Lana Del Rey
4. "The Only Exception" – Paramore
5. "Dreamer" – Charli XCX
6. "Ready" – Tems
7. "Ojuelegba" – Wizkid

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Miss Peppermint wears a lot of hats (and wigs): drag queen, first openly trans woman on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Broadway actress, Traitors contestant – and through it all, vocal trans rights activist.

She’s also hilarious, fabulous, and unapologetically herself.

In this episode, Peppermint dishes on her early queer icons (think Prince and Amadeus), the danger and drama of the ’90s NYC nightclub scene – and why she’s always wanted to be anything but “basic and predictable.” Here are her songs.

1. Prince - 7
2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K. 385 “Haffner”
3. Lenny Kravitz - Believe
4. Bush - Glycerine
5. Deborah Cox - Nobody's Supposed To Be Here
6. Stars On 54 - If You Could Read My Mind
7. Ariana Grande - no tears left to cry

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As the host and creator of numerous hit culture podcasts, Sam Sanders is known for having a finger on the pulse of pop culture. But growing up strictly Pentecostal in Texas, non-religious music was forbidden – so Sam got resourceful, smuggling CDs into the house in his underwear and watching MTV in secret.

At 18 years old, just as he was getting ready to leave for Stanford, Sam’s life was turned upside down. Both of his parents suffered major health crises in the span of a few months, resulting in Sam becoming their caregiver. Years later, Sam would face another devastating double-whammy with the death of his mother followed a month later by a crushing breakup.

In this episode, Sam opens up about the music that carried him through – from Janet Jackson videos to soaring gospel tunes to revenge-fueled breakup anthems – and why today, he’s savoring the freedom he’s been chasing his whole life. Here are his songs.

1. Janet Jackson, “Love Will Never Do (Without You)”
2. Stevie Wonder, "Don't You Worry ‘Bout A Thing"
3. Richard Smallwood, "Total Praise"
4. John Mayer, “Stop This Train"
5. Labelle, "Isn't It a Shame"
6. Caroline Rose, “The Kiss”
7. Fleetwood Mac, “Silver Springs”

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