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Growing up Iranian American, Shima Oliaee found her mother didn’t talk much about where she came from. Watching soccer, though, was a portal to Iran, a place that was in large part a mystery. Shima delves into the stories she didn’t hear growing up: Iran's mandated modernization and how soccer played a role, the women-led 1979 revolution, and her parents’ mistaken-identity love story. Shima and her mom meet Zeinab Sahafy, a young Iranian women and avid soccer fan whose love of the game led to her being named an enemy of the state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every time producer Jordan-Marie Smith would visit her hometown, it seemed as if another person she knew from high school had died of a drug overdose. She went back home to investigate, along with reporter Lenny Bernstein. Read more: Post Reports producer Jordan-Marie Smith always thought of her hometown of Greenville, N.C., as a nice place to grow up. A small city about halfway between Raleigh and the Outer Banks, it was home to a university, beautiful walking trails and lots of local businesses.  But then she started hearing about the drug overdoses.  Every time Jordan-Marie returned home to visit, it seemed as if another one of her high school classmates had died. She started making calls early this year and quickly learned of at least 16 young people who had died of drug overdoses. The group was connected by childhood friendships, a middle school basketball team and a high school.  In a personal story about how a community moves through – and tries to recover from – a string of tragic drug deaths, Jordan-Marie and health reporter Leonard Bernstein connect Greenville to the national drug epidemic. You can read more about Greenville here and watch a video about the toll of drug deaths on a parent and a teacher here. 

Dan Abrams: bourbon on the rocks Bestselling author, journalist and media entrepreneur Dan Abrams discusses an elevator encounter with Wayne Newton, what Keith Olbermann deserves credit for, Kanye West's play for the social media platform Parler, how writing needs to be crafted differently for network news v. cable news v. print journalism, and the secrets to success in working with a co-author. 

Music and acting unite when Trace Adkins and Rob Lowe are behind the mic. In this episode find out why Trace was nervous to work with Susan Sarandon, the difference between "country" and "western," how a hand injury helped stylize Trace's guitar playing, and the unconventional voice preparation Trace does before taking the stage! Got a question for Rob? Call our voicemail at (323) 570-4551. Yours could get featured on the show! 

Today, I am talking to a good friend and celebrity, Selena Gomez. Selena is a globally and culturally celebrated artist, actor, producer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist of her generation. As a recording artist, Selena has sold more than 210 million singles worldwide and has over 45 billion global streams. Her upcoming biographical documentary, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, is out right now. In 2019, she launched her beauty line, Rare Beauty, exclusively with Sephora. As part of the partnership, Selena announced the Rare Impact Fund pledging to raise $100M for mental health services for individuals in underserved communities. Philanthropy and activism have been key pillars of her career and she's used her platform to advocate for many important causes. Selena has raised millions of dollars for charity including Global Citizen and Lupus Research Alliance.    Selena bravely tells her story about her long battle with mental health and how this led to her life mission to help spread mental health awareness around the world and provide mental health services for the less privileged. I get to deeply understand her inner thoughts on topics such as dealing with pressure of being a celebrity and the gossip that comes with it, finding self healing, embracing change, being one with your inner self, and living day by day being content, kind, and full of love to share.  Life isn’t a simple journey, but despite the complications, challenges, and struggles, we can always find it in our hearts to tap into our inner good and be compassionate, especially to ourselves.    What We Discuss: 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:21 Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me documentary 00:06:59 Sharing our darkest secrets with others 00:10:04 Befriending your own inner critic 00:13:39 Learning to be more compassionate towards yourself and others 00:18:59 Taking control of your own story 00:26:04 Getting asked frustrating questions 00:24:39 No one is perfect, even celebrities 00:27:40 How do you deal with imperfections? 00:33:03 Areas in your life that made you who you are 00:35:07 Embracing change 00:39:36 Mental health awareness 00:43:59 You have to be aware of people 00:48:10 How do you deal with fears? 00:51:23 What is your intention? 00:56:13 Sometimes parents project perfection around their children 00:59:57 Pain, suffering, growth 01:06:09 Wondermind - mental fitness 01:09:30 You’ll figure it out, keep going 01:12:18 Missteps parents may have taken 01:23:07 Producing the series 13 Reasons Why 01:27:50 Selena and Mandy on Final Five Episode Resources Selena Gomez | Website Selena Gomez | Facebook Selena Gomez | Twitter Selena Gomez | Instagram Selena Gomez | YouTube Do you want to meditate daily with me? Go to go.calm.com/onpurpose to get 40% off a Calm Premium Membership. Experience the Daily Jay. Only on Calm Want to be a Jay Shetty Certified Life Coach? Get the Digital Guide and Workbook from Jay Shetty  https://jayshettypurpose.com/fb-getting-started-as-a-life-coach-podcast/

To watch the video version of this episode, head over to the YouTube Podcrushed channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUvv82qZ85Q   In this special episode of Podcrushed, Penn answers all of your questions about his Netflix show, YOU — including his favorite moments with each season’s co-lead, and the cringiest scene he’s ever had to film. Fans of YOU, this one’s for… well, you get it.   Follow Podcrushed on socials!  Instagram Twitter TikTok