Side by Side
Welcome to Side by Side, a podcast where I, Robert Kuang, take you inside conversations with artists, creatives, healers, and warriors taking the charge in their transformational story.
Episodes
In this final episode of 2025, we are discussing the Canadian hockey romance TV series Heated Rivalry, with returning guests Tara Edwards, Erika Smith, and Eri Zhang. Leading up to the season one finale, we deep dive inside the TV adaptation and book series, and explore the potential impact of their success for queer stories, and the film and TV media landscape.
Spoiler warning: Most of us have read the books and do make general...
Today’s guest is kids’ TV writer and creator, Margaret Hoffman.
She has written for Sesame Workshop (Esme and Roy, Sesame Street Digital), Netflix (The Cuphead Show!), Sid & Marty Krofft (Mutt & Stuff), Lilypad Library, and Hellosaurus. She's also developed new shows with 9 Story Media, Sesame Workshop, and Sutoscience. When not writing for TV, Margaret creates videos for her preschool YouTube channel, Giggle Time, or wr...
Today’s guest is Mordy Levine, the co-author of The Beginner’s Guide to Karma: How to Live with Less Negativity and More Peace alongside Lama Lhanang Rinpoche.
Lama Lhanang Rinpoche was born in the Amdo region of historic Tibet and received a traditional monastic education and later studied under several respected Tibetan lamas. Today, he teaches Vajrayana Buddhism at the Jigme Lingpa Center in San Diego, California. Mordy is an ...
Today’s guest is Léa Taranto, a disabled Chinese Jewish Canadian writer who lives with OCD and comorbid disorders, and the author of the debut YA novel A Drop in the Ocean.
In this episode, we explore how she transformed her early experiences and diaristic writing into autofiction, unpack harmful tropes about mental health and treatment, and get a glimpse into her upcoming projects.
Today’s returning guest is pop culture commentator, Twitch streamer, and cybersecurity analyst Tara Edwards. In this episode, we discuss two films that have come out this year, both of which carry a culturally specific lens centered around demons, sinners, and music: “Sinners” and “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” We dive inside both films to compare and contrast their thematic elements, usage of music and spirituality, and their impact withi...
Today’s returning guest is Paul Silva, aka the Creative Alchemist. He is a guide, coach, and collaborator that blends intuition, creativity, and spiritual insight to help multi-passionate entrepreneurs and creatives break through barriers and create meaningful lives and businesses. Through his work, he helps people clarify their ideas, navigate creative blocks, and move from stuck to in-motion with curiosity, discipline, and presen...
Today’s guest is the incomparable multidisciplinary theatre-maker, musician, performer, and writer Diana Oh. They were known for combining experimental theatre, art installation and ritual to create deeply communal and transformative spaces, which include signature projects like “My Lingerie Play,” “The Infinite Love Party,” “My H8 Letter to the Gr8 American Theatre,” and “Art Chxrch.” They can be heard on the audio drama “Give Me ...
Today’s returning guest is writer, editor, and my friend Tara Edwards. In this episode, we dive inside the hit television medical drama “The Pitt,” and analyze the storytelling elements that make the show one of the television breakout hits of 2025.
Today’s guest is multi-disciplinary writer, producer and dramaturg Aisha Josiah, from London. She is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who has also written for publications such as Media Diversified, The Upcoming, and Mouthlondon. She has served as the editor of the independent theatre blog Fringebiscuit since 2014.
In this conversation, we dive inside Aisha’s nomadic and multicultural upbringing, her passion for explo...
Today’s returning guest is Sol Smith, the author of “The Autistic’s Guide to Self-Discovery” and a certified autism specialist who is autistic, dyslexic, and living with ADHD. He spent more than two decades as a college professor before shifting his professional focus to coaching other autistic and ADHD people to gain autonomy in their lives. Sol’s speaking skills have earned him a following of hundreds of thousands on TikTok and l...
Today’s “Side by Side” guest is Billy Wynne, the author of “The Empty Path: Finding Fulfillment through the Radical Art of Lessening.” As a student of Buddhism and mindfulness for 30 years, he received his meditation teaching certification under Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, and his lay Zen Buddhist ordination from the Zen Center of Denver, where he teaches classes and serves on the board.
In this conversation, we unpack the pr...
Today’s guest is Elena Armijo, a Master Certified Coach and former professional opera singer who specializes in executive and leadership coaching for high-performing clients. She is the founder of the C-Suite Collective, an executive coaching agency offering in-depth, customized programs for high performers, and, she is the host of The Collective Corner, a podcast where badass, inspiring, and compassionate conversations get to flou...
Today’s “Side by Side” guest is Phil Ginley, a filmmaker, programmer and writer based in Brooklyn, NY. Having produced several short films, Phil is currently a programmer at the microcinema Spectacle Theater, where they've moderated Q&A’s with filmmakers such as Dylan Mars Greenberg for her film SPIRIT RISER. They are currently promoting a posthumous retrospective for the films of experimental theater auteur Antero Alli.
In ...
Today’s “Side by Side” guest is Kate Rose, the author of “Written in the Stars: The Astrology of Soulmate, Karmic, and Twin Flame Relationships.”
As a therapist, relationship expert, spiritual Intuitive and astrologer, Kate uses the stars to help her clients clarify their purpose and recognize the blocks that are keeping them from living the life they are destined to live.
In this conversation, we dive inside universal relation...
Today’s guest is Jane Shi, a poet, editor, and the author of her debut poetry collection echolalia echolalia. She is an alumnus of Tin House Summer Workshop, The Writer's Studio Online at Simon Fraser University, and StoryStudio Chicago. In this conversation, we explore Jane’s early connection to poetry and wordplay, the ethos behind her collection, and the illusory nature of writer’s block.
Living on the stolen and occupied land...
Today’s guest is Happy Ali, the author of “The Intuition Bible: How and Why to Tap Into Your Inner Wisdom.” With a B.A. in psychology from UCLA, he is a prophetic dreamer, certified master NLP practitioner, certified master clinical hypnotherapist, and host of the “Happy Insights” podcast. Happy’s spiritual journey began in 1995 when he dedicated his life to the exploration of metaphysical disciplines after a near-death experience ...
Today’s guest is award-winning writer and editor Erika W. Smith, who has been working in the media industry for over a decade, covering the latest in sex and relationships, entertainment, travel, and astrology. She’d previously held staff positions at Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, BUST magazine, with additional writing published at VICE, Allure, and Vulture.
In this conversation, Erika shares some of her insights and experiences as ...
Today’s guest is Wendy Baird, the owner and Creative Director of Insight180, a brand consulting and design firm for b2b businesses, non-profits, and those who “sell the invisible.” She has been advising companies on positioning strategy, name development, brand identity, design, differentiation, and strategies for growth for more than 25 years.
Wendy has written and spoken on topics such as social responsibility, authentic brandi...
Today’s guest is Becca Powers, the author of "A Return to Radiance" and "Harness Your Inner CEO." A Fortune 500 high-tech sales executive, keynote speaker, and CEO of Powers Peak Potential, she has worked with industry giants Cisco, Dell, Royal Caribbean International, and Office Depot. With an impressive record of leading large teams and hitting $500 million in annual revenue, Powers has earned the coveted President’s Club award s...
Today’s conversation was held as part of the multidisciplinary writing workshop led by me and former “Side by Side” guest, Ashley Griggs. We invited special guests into the space, where workshop participants got to ask questions about the industry and the craft of writing. Today’s conversation spotlights television writer Ashley Sims.
Born and raised in Marietta, Georgia. She received her Bachelors in Journalism from the Univers...
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