Performer (and recent Tony winner) André De Shields on growing up in Baltimore (he calls himself “lucky number nine”), a career spanning five decades “on the precipice of the abyss” (i.e. as a performer) and the secret to his longevity: “I exercise vigorously, I eat judiciously, and I pray constantly.”

Soul and R&B singer Eli “Paperboy” Reed on surviving in the record business, standing behind your choices, grappling with ambition, playing in juke joints, and reaching the age where you’re not new anymore.

Food writer Melissa Clark on managing the commercial realities of writing and marketing recipes (“I feel like I am constantly walking on that line”), making friends with ingredients (“the anchovy is my bad boyfriend”), dealing with anxiety (“my way of coping with it is to be very very busy”), falling in love with your teachers, what makes food a way that we can change the social structure of the world, why deadlines are lifelines, how much of her personal experiences to reveal in her writing, and when to walk away from the cookie dough.

Singer-songwriter /  web series superstar Anya Marina how her Russian mother never taught her how to say the word “water” correctly, why she’s committed to “experiencing something together with my audience,”  what makes her a good storyteller, and that “when a thought becomes an obsession, that’s when you know you’ll make a change”.