Pondersations with Lilan Bowden

Santina Muha (Freakier Frieday, One Day at a Time, Dollhouse ) joins Lilan Bowden on the balcony for hibiscus drinks, honey-roasted macadamia nuts, and a conversation that wanders exactly where it needs to. They get into the universal need to feel seen, what it's like to carry the burden of self-awareness, and why disability representation in reality TV is so glaringly, inexcusably absent (and what it would take to fix it). Also they get into food intuition as a love language and why sometimes the most generous thing you can do for a friend is just point out the cute, funny things they do.  Ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more pondery goodness at backdrop.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TV writer, comedian, and deeply introspective friend Alex Song Xia joins Lilan Bowden for one of those unplanned conversations that somehow becomes the best day. They wander through overextending and under-communicating in love, what it means to let people be disappointed in you (and survive it), and how art can transform a mess of feelings into something another person can actually keep. Plus: ADHD identity, reparenting yourself while TikTok astrologers narrate your season, and why sometimes the most honest version of you is the one holding the microphone.Ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more pondery goodness at backdrop.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spencer Williams and Lilan Bowden go way back. Improv troupe, poetry workshops, each other's childhood homes... This week, they follow the thread from college to craft, exploring what it means to pursue a vocation versus a title, how poetry workshopping taught them to let work speak without the maker in the room, and why Spencer's experiential theater gives audiences something most art never does: something wholly, concretely their own to keep.Ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more pondery goodness at backdrop.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two sensitive souls tumble into thoughts of being generous and believing in something more. Comedy writer, rapper, and deep feeler Lamar Woods joins Lilan Bowden for a conversation that wanders from ADHD self-diagnosis and OCD immersion therapy fears to how we feel spiritual and how religion, or the lack of, shapes that for us. Ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more pondery goodness at backdrop.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pro-skater and Photographer Kim Newmoney and Lilan Bowden talk about enduring the weight of the world, what it’s like to find joy in the days and also hold in mind the suffering of so many around the world right now. A poem by a Palestinian poet sparks an exploration of the hate and love we carry in our hearts, and how we forgive each other. Ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more pondery goodness at backdrop.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean to feel like a mother, a coworker, a sister, and a friend to the same person? Peyton Elizabeth Lee (Andi Mac, Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.) and Lilan Bowden have the relationship. What began on the set of Disney Channel’s show Andi Mack continues today as they reminisce about sleepovers in Utah and behind the scenes moments, discover how acting techniques apply to their every day lives, and explore how to keep going when the chaos of the world feels overwhelming.Ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more pondery goodness at backdrop.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lilan Bowden is a talker. Devin Kawaoka (Shrinking, Chicago Med) is a listener. This week, they ponder the quiet skills that shape creative lives. They get into how clowning exposes the soul, what the difference is between just listening and truly hearing someone, and how our childhood roles like peacemaker, performer, or observer shape our craft of acting, directing, or teaching, and what it mean to be fully present.Ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more pondery goodness at backdrop.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lilan Bowden and Luke Tennie (Abbot Elementary, The Pitt, Jade) first met while acting on Shrinking, but it’s this pondersation that reveals their shared love of family, siblings, and partners, and how those relationships inspire them to build a better world for their children. Together, they revisit the shows and movies that shaped them, exploring how those early influences now drive their desire to create work that feels lasting rather than loud. Ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more pondery goodness at backdrop.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Lilan Bowden for Pondersations, a sharp, curious conversation series where half-formed thoughts and big questions get talked through with smart, funny friends—no agenda, no rush, just seeing where the idea actually leads. Ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more pondery goodness at backdrop.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices