Explore every episode of the podcast Life in Parallel with Matt Marr and Kenneth Suarez

At 18, Stacy Solodkin had a scholarship to the Art Institute of Chicago. She didn't go. In her family, art was a hobby. You got a real job. So she got one.

Stacy spent 25 years building a talent agency that started with a fax machine and a pager. Then came stage III cancer, a comeback, and one question she couldn't shake. Now she's an experimental builder working in raw porcelain and fiber, with her artwork in six galleries. We talk about:

• why negotiating is a creative act
• Beth Stein, her agent alter ego
• why she doesn't teach classes, and what to do instead (it costs about $20)

Her plan for age 80 is a museum show. She calls that delulu. We call it a plan.

Know a do-lover? Someone building an extraordinary life just outside your social media zip code? Nominating yourself counts. Email us at hello@lifeinparallelpod.com.

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Find Stacy: stacysolodkin.com · Instagram

Mentioned:

• The KonMari Method
• School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• Sanford Meisner
• The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
• Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

Walkout songs (she couldn't pick one):

• "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
• Any Prince song
• "I'm Alive (Life Sounds Like)" by Michael Franti & Spearhead

Breaking the algorithm: Florence Given, "a portal of permission."

At 28, Dr. James Q Simmons walked away from a six-figure job at PepsiCo to become a nurse. His dad's first question was about the pension.

Matt's longtime friend grew up in Omaha, survived a hate campaign in college and went viral in 2014 answering the health questions everyone Googles at 2 a.m. Now he's a nurse practitioner. We get into the one free thing that will improve your health tonight.

This episode includes discussion of homophobic harassment, suicidal thoughts in childhood, and HIV.

If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US). LGBTQ+ young people can reach The Trevor Project.

Know a do-lover? Someone building an extraordinary life just outside your social media zip code? Nominating yourself counts. Email us at hello@lifeinparallelpod.com.

Enjoying the show? Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. (Thank you, sugars.)

Watch on YouTube · Follow us on Instagram · TikTok · Bluesky · lifeinparallelpod.com

Find Dr. James: drjamesqsimmons.com · YouTube · Instagram · TikTok

Mentioned:

• Artemis II
• CDC diabetes resources
• Sugarland and The Chicks
• For the record: The Sound of Music and Oklahoma!

Walkout songs (he couldn't pick one):

• "Million Dollar Bill" by Whitney Houston
• "Take Your Time (Do It Right)"
• Pickleball: "Big Bad Wolf"

Breaking the algorithm:

• Dr. Jonathan P. Higgins, author of Black. Fat. Femme. · Black Fat Femme podcast
• Jocelyn Fuller, James's best friend

Is there one perfect person out there for you? Damona Hoffman has been married for 19 years, hosted a dating podcast for 13, and wrote F the Fairy Tale. Her answer: no. "The one" is a unicorn. (Matt is still processing.)

Damona was a Northwestern theater kid who didn't get the callback, then an NBC and Syfy executive. We talk about straightening her curls for TV, and the morning she stopped. Why your dating profile is a headshot and your first date is an audition.

Know a do-lover? Someone building an extraordinary life just outside your social media zip code? Nominating yourself counts. Email us at hello@lifeinparallelpod.com.

Enjoying the show? Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. (Thank you, sugars.)

Watch on YouTube · Follow us on Instagram · TikTok · Bluesky · lifeinparallelpod.com

Find Damona: damonahoffman.com · Instagram · TikTok

Mentioned:

• F the Fairy Tale
• Dates & Mates with Damona Hoffman
• Cake Mix
• for colored girls who have considered suicide
• Man's Search for Meaning
• The Gottmans' Four Horsemen
• Veronica Alweiss, life coach
• Durand Bernarr: "I don't need to be confident. I'm convinced."

Walkout song: "This Is Me" from The Greatest Showman

Breaking the algorithm: Rebecca Benenati, yoga teacher, doula and somatic coach. wellbornlifestyles.com · @rebeccabenenati

Austria. Not Australia. (There are no kangaroos. Please look at a map.)

Astrid LaMarche grew up in her parents' café, bakery, and grocery store in Upper Austria. Then a stranger said hello on the San Diego harbor. Yep, she married him.

Today she runs Austrian Cravings, where hundreds of thousands watch her stretch strudel dough. We talk about:

• overthinking her first Instagram post for six months (it was a loaf of bread)
• why American grocery store bread isn't up to her standard
• what happens when retirees see their mother's recipe on their phone

Know a do-lover? Someone building an extraordinary life just outside your social media zip code? Nominating yourself counts. Email us at hello@lifeinparallelpod.com.

Enjoying the show? Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. (Thank you, sugars.)

Watch on YouTube · Follow us on Instagram · TikTok · Bluesky · lifeinparallelpod.com

Find Astrid: Austrian Cravings Instagram · Facebook · Book a cooking class with Astrid

Mentioned:

• 1. April 2000, Astrid's must-watch comedy
• Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man by Sam Keen, the book Kenny poorly paraphrases
• Altenberg, Bad Leonfelden, Vienna, Bad Ischl and the Zillertal

Walkout song: "Der Kommissar" by Falco. The intro counts.

Breaking the algorithm: Leni vom Bichlhof, a Zillertal farmer who mows mountain pastures by hand.

We can't wait to share this labor of love with you! Be sure to subscribe. The first three episodes drop TOMORROW, 10/22. And then a new episode every Wednesday.

Know a do-lover? Someone building an extraordinary life just outside your social media zip code? Nominating yourself counts. Email us at hello@lifeinparallelpod.com.

Enjoying the show? Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. (Thank you, sugars.)

Watch on YouTube · Follow @lifeinparallelpod on Instagram and TikTok · @lifeinparallelpod.bsky.social on Bluesky · lifeinparallelpod.com