Natiiv Facilitation, LLC, Chicago, IL (2025)

06/26/2023

Chad Hancock, host of Wackadoo! A Bluey Podcast for Grown-ups, joined Leah to introduce her to the new blue dog popular with kids and parents alike. Chad shares how he and his family started watching family, why it's an important piece of children's media and some of his favorite episodes. We also compare notes on hosting food podcasts, Chicago vs. San Francisco, and puppets on stage.
Follow Chad online
Wackadoo: A Bluey Podcast for Grown-Ups
You Tried Dat
Instagram
Show Notes
Coldest Winter Mark Twain?
Bluey.tv
Maple Poffertjes at Trader Joe's
Caillou
Bluey Tour
How to play jinx
Sleepytime
Keepy Uppy
Grandad

06/19/2023

Author and MFA student Allison Stalberg joins host Leah Jones to talk about niche, independent RPG games, obscure TV and movies from the 80s, the impact of Tumblr and her current writing projects.
Follow Allison online
Twitter
Tik Tok
Sor Anime on Tumblr
Show Notes
The Candle W***h (page 43)
Wander
Faerie Tale Theatre
YouTube Playlist of Faerie Tale Theater
The Polar Bear King
Alphonse Mucha
The Last Unicorn
Ib
Chicory Game
Get Played podcast
Disco Elysium
Story of Seasons
Selkies

06/12/2023

Dana Kaye, a Chicago-based book publicist, loves the creative outlet of stand-up comedy. She also loves a good memoir, so first we compare notes on audio memoirs we've been listening to before diving into how she uses open mics and stand-up comedy as a creative writing outlet.
Follow Dana Kaye online
https://kayepublicity.com/
Instagram
Show Notes
You could make this place beautiful by Maggie Smith
Educated: A Memoir
The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey Wilson
I'm Glad My Mom Died
https://www.chirpbooks.com/
Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the unmaking of America
Mike Nichols: A Life
Not my father's son by Alan Cu***ng
Ali Wong: Dear Girls
The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
The Last Black Unicorn
Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
I'm judging you: the do better manual by Luvvie Ajayi
Not Funny by Jena Friedman
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Take a Shot Open Mic
Second City Brunch
Instagram .openmics
Please rate and review five stars on Apple Podcasts or Goodpods today to help more people join in the Finding Favorites fun.

06/05/2023

Stacey Agdern, author of B'nai Mitzvah Mistake, joined Leah to talk about the intersection of writing romance, being joyfully Jewish, and her love of hockey. In her fourth romance novel with Jewish characters, Stacey brings together professional hockey and Jewish traditions.
Follow Stacey online
StaceyAgdern.com
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Tule Publishing: B'nai Mitzvah Mistake
Bookshop B'nai Mitzvah Mistake
Going All In on Bookshop (Vegas night)
Chippy Chicks on Youtube

Show Notes
Twice a Quinceñera
Paul Scheer & Hockey Romance
Love's Sweet Arrow
Linda Cohn - Chance of a lifetime
EBUG
Zamboni driver as ebug
Shane Mcanally
Joe Buchanan
Bo Burnham Spider
The Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Zach H***n jersey in Hebrew
Zach Hyman speaks up about antisemitism
Zach Hyman is going viral over pride night interview
Leah performed at Miss Spoken this week. The month's theme was Fangirls Forever, so it was time to share Five Rules for being a fan of HDTGM

05/28/2023

Christina Meyer, a musician and practicing physican, joined Leah to talk about her love of NKOTB. We talk NKOTB Cruises, Joey's solo shows, fandom friends and getting ready for BlockCon happening this weekend in Chicago. (In fact, both Christina and Jen - who was on the podcast to talk NKOTB in 2021 - were both at BlockCon this weekend!)
Follow Christina online
DrMetalMusic.com
Instagram
Twitter
Show Notes
NKOTB Cruise
BlockCon 2023
The Block album
Remember Betty
NKOTB Funko Pops

05/21/2023

Laura and Annie are childhood best friends who both became mental health professionals. During peak COVID lockdown, they created the BFF Sticker Club. It's an online community for adults who love stickers, so we are talking all about stickers and stickies!
BFF Sticker Club
Instagram
Etsy for thebffstickerclub
Show Notes
Camp GUCI
Camp BFF (Sold out for 2023)
St. Elmo's steakhouse in Indianapolis
Everything Smells
Social Distancing All Stars
Paper Treat Shop

05/14/2023

Phil Gomes joins Leah this week to reminisce about the early days of blogging and his dedication to the Brazilian spirit cachaca. Phil is the CCMO of Bloq and is currently based in Rio de Janeiro with his family.

Follow Phil online
PhilGomes.com
Twitter
Substack
Show Notes
Instagram Cachacagora
Cachacagora.com
Werneck Cachaca apprenticeship
Wikipedia
Bagaceira
September 13
Rabo de Gala
LeBlon
Novo Fogo
Jequitiba wood
Please rate and review Finding Favorites on Apple Podcast or your podcast app of choice. Email Leah at findingfavoritespodcast [@] gmail.com

05/07/2023

Phillip Mottaz, author of The Psychic Barber mystery series, is on Finding Favorites to talk about CCIW colleges (Go Knox! Go Millikin!), early aughts Chicago improv and The Ramones.

Follow Phillip on Twitter and check his website for updates
The Murderous Haircut of the Mayor of Bel Air: A Psychic Barber Mystery
The Homicidal Hairstyle of the Viral Video Vixen (Book #2): A Psychic Barber Mystery
Definition of a cozy mystery
Rita Mae Brown
Lillian Jackson Braun
GP Gottlieb: Whipped & Sipped
Ramones of the Day podcast
Alphabeatical podcast
The Ramones and CBGB
Rock and Roll High School
Why the Ramones Matter
Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone
Phil's 70s into Ramones playlist
Rocket to Russia
Ramones Live
Thank you to Jesse and Chris at Upper Middlebrow for the kind shout out this week. Please remember to rate and review Finding Favorites.

05/01/2023

Author Nicole Zelniker (she/they) joined Leah to talk about Broadway shows, writing and their love of cats. (Cats the animal, not Cats the musical, but maybe also Cats the musical). Nicole is the EIC of Knee Brace Press and her latest book, Until We Fall, available wherever books are sold.
Follow Nicole online
Tik Tok
Twitter
Instagram
NicoleZelniker.com/
Kneebrace Press
TheNasiona.com
Mixed
Last Dance
Letters I'll Never Send

Show Notes
Wicked
Six
Hamilton
Moulin Rouge
Rent: 25th anniversary tour
Sweeney Todd
Natasha & Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
Hadestown
Aladdin
Sim Kern & the Trans Rights Read-a-thon
Fibromyalgia
Peachy by Camri Kohler
Survivor's Notebook: Poems by Dan O'Brien
The Spoon Theory
Finding Favorites on Bookshop

04/03/2023

Chris Bagg, co-host of Upper Middlebrow, joins Finding Favorites to talk about Dungeons & Dragons and the greater universe of table top role playing games. He shares how he started playing D&D, what he plays now and a brief explanation of why 50,000 D&D players and creators cancelled their memberships.
Keep up with Chris online
Twitter
Instagram
ChrisBagg.com/
Listen to Upper Middlebrow podcast
Show Notes
One Shot Podcast
Daemon by Daniel Suarez
Freedom TM by Daniel Suarez
Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook
The Arrest
Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus try DND with Brennan Lee Mulligan
Critical Role
HASBRO and Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast reporting by Linda Codega
Forged in the Dark
Eclipse Phase
Lancer
Paranoia
Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America

03/27/2023

Laurel Snyder, an Atlanta-based author, joined Leah to talk about the music and marriage of Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires. From Jason's early career in the Drive By Truckers to current collaborations with his wife Amanda Shires, their music was the soundtrack to Laurel's pandemic life.
Laurel's new book The Witch of Woodland is available for pre-order now and is a perfect gift for tweens preparing to prepare for their b'nai mitzvah.
Keep up with Laurel on LaurelSnyder.com
Show Notes
Little Shop of Stories (order signed books)
https://18doors.org/
JasonIsbell.com
AmandaShiresMusic.com
Tiny Desk Concert
The Nashville Sound
Amanda Shires Youtube
Jason Isbell Instagram
Amanda Shires Instagram
Hope the High Road
Elephant
Something More than Free
Jeff Tweedy and Ezra Klein
The Triggering Town

03/20/2023

Abby Stewart, a Bay Area author, loves artists journals and queso. She joined Leah fresh from AWP in Seattle to talk about her new novel Foundations, writing and publishing during lockdown, and her love of diaries and journals written by artists. We also talk about the best ways to improve Velveeta queso dip.
Keep up with Abby online
HelloAbigailStewart.com
Twitter
Instagram
Whiskey Tit
The Drowned Woman
Foundations

Show Notes
AWP
Sunset Magazine
Piper Cub Forum: Leah Jones
Leah Jones (piper cub)
The Folded Clock
Daybook: The Journal of an Artist
Anne Truitt
Self Portrait by Celia Paul
No 91/92
Jenny Lawson
Diary of a Provincial lady
The Forbidden Notebook
My Faraway One (selected letters from Georgia O'Keefe)
What are hatch green chiles?
Queso Blanco with roasted corn
15 Veggies to mix into your queso

03/05/2023

Leah was sick with COVID this week, which meant no energy for new interviews. However, mountains of Candy Chat Chicago epsiodes were in the hopper waiting to be edited and it happens to be Jocelyn's birthday. So happy birthday Jocelyn, here is a crossover episode of Candy Chat Chicago!

02/27/2023

Jesse Dukes, co-host of the podcast Upper Middlebrow, loves the Richard Lester movies from 1973 and 1974: The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers. We also talk about the Neal Stephenson deep dive on Upper Middlebrow.
Follow Jesse online

UpperMiddlebrow.com
Show Notes
Blank Check Podcast
Strange Days
The Hunt for Red October
M3gan
Klara and the Sun
Her
Curious City
Three Musketeers
The Four Musketeers
Sword Stuff with Sean Ellis
Pirates of the Caribbean
After 3 years of successful pandemic mitigation, COVID has come home to roost. This episode is brought to you by Paxlovid, Advil and five pounds of cough drops

02/19/2023

Cameron MacKenzie returns to talk about places that feel like home that aren't home and we try to find the thread that connects Kamakura in Japan, The Nation in Washington DC, The Presidio and Washington Square Park in San Francisco, and Fergies Bar in Philadelphia.
CameronMacKenzie.org
Facebook
River Weather stories
Show Notes
The Nation in DC
Reddit thread - do you remember Nation Night Club?
That 90s Show - Rave
Trainspotting Soundtracks
Trainspotting on Blank Check with Griffin and David
Kamakura, Japan
Guide to Kamakura
Storytelling Traditions in Japan
How to deal with Culture Shock
Fergie's in Philly
Fergie's events
Live in the Presidio
Washington Square
Tony Niks
Durango Diner
Why Smells Trigger Such Vivid Memories

02/13/2023

Marty Beckerman, an LA-based author, comedian and new dad, is on the podcast this week to celebrate the launch of his new book The Time Meowchine: A Talking Cat’s Y2K Quest to Save the World and talk about the 90s. The 1990s, that is. We talk about how he started going to the gym as a joke and accidentally got swole, legally being able to tell dad jokes, and the 1990s.
Keep up with Marty online and buy his books!
MartyBeckerman.com
MartyBeckerman.com/
The Time Meowchine: A Talking Cat’s Y2K Quest to Save the World
Show Links
What is a borg?
High and Mighty: Being Fat with Mike Mitchell
90s Con
9/11
Alternative Histories
Iraq War
Weapons of mass destruction
Man in the High Castle
Gore vs Bush debate, 2000

02/05/2023

Lyndsey Little, creator of OniGirl comic, joined Leah to talk about her love of monsters, the monster boarding school where her comic is set, and the best foods for nostalgia day!
Support Lyndsey's kickstarter to bring glorious color to OniGirl
Follow Lyndsey on Instagram and Tik Tok
Show Notes
Stories to Dismember podcast
Most Oreo Oreo
Godzilla Movie Monster Evolution
Biblically Accurate Angels
Rivkah Reyes on Friday Night Movie Podcast
Beauty and the Beast
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Frankenstein
The Blackcoat's Daughter

01/30/2023

Shai Korman, co-host of the Friday Night Movie Podcast, is back and we are talking about music movie moments. Opening and closing credits, soundtracks, movies about bands and more.
https://www.frinightmovie.com/

Signal Awards for Excellence
What Does It Eat
Bandcamp Fridays for 2023
The Wrong Cat Died
https://www.monkees.com/
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-rem-song-inspired-by-the-monkees/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Commitments_(film)
That Thing You Do
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098635/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117951/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8580274/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14402316/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8178634/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mrr3UNALww
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1p2_sSRRUo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cyzCReoNgU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3wMesI8aiw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MqJ3iGBdOo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uHTZhTuVh4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raEbrKPBoyQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Xi3ioasik
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120836/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Natiiv Facilitation, LLC