He helped turn something the whole country started talking about into art: highway signs, a 9,000-pound monument, a statewide pizza movement — and somehow, it all started with one slice.

In this episode of Mostly Together, I sit down with Michael Pollack, the artist behind New Haven Pizza Club, live from the Yale Innovation Summit 2026.

Michael is one of the creative forces who helped bring Connecticut’s “Pizza Capital of the United States” movement to life visually and culturally — a campaign originally spearheaded by the state’s then-chief marketing officer, Anthony Anthony.

But Michael’s story was never really just about pizza.

Sixteen years ago, Paula Reid and I were interns at CBS News — walking through the same newsroom, swapping stories, taking in the history around us, and wondering where this industry might take us.

Today, Paula is CNN’s Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent, covering some of the biggest legal and political stories in the country.

Hollywood character actor Don Stroud has lived the kind of life that sounds scripted — except every word of it is real.

From surfing in Hawaii to the Sunset Strip, the Whiskey A-Go-Go, Universal Pictures, and more than four decades in film and television, Don’s story moves through some of Hollywood’s most iconic corners. His credits include Coogan’s Bluff and Joe Kidd with Clint Eastwood, The Buddy Holly Story, The Amityville Horror, the James Bond film Licence to Kill, and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.

Dr. Rachel Goldman — known as Dr. Rachel — is a nationally recognized clinical psychologist, NYU professor, speaker, and author specializing in the mind-body connection. She’s been featured in The New York Times, TIME, and CNN, appeared as an expert panelist with Oprah, been a guest on The Mel Robbins Podcast, and her new book, When Life Happens, is out now.

Jenny Hubbard and I have known each other for several years — first through interviews on my former lifestyle show, then through the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation, where I've had the honor of co-emceeing the Butterfly Party alongside Scot Haney.

Over time, I've come to know Jenny not just through her story, but through the way she continues to carry it forward.

Jenny is a mother, advocate, and the founder of the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary in Newtown, Connecticut. Her life changed forever on December 14, 2012, when she lost her 6-year-old daughter, Catherine, in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Jackie Bruno and I go way back — she got her start at WWLP in Springfield, the same station where I landed my first job out of college. We’ve stayed connected over the years, watching each other navigate different chapters of this industry; so sitting down for this conversation felt less like an interview and more like two women finally saying the quiet parts out loud.

Jackie is a three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, former Boston news anchor, Miss Massachusetts USA 2008, and the founder of Newsmaker Marketing. On paper, she had everything. But behind the scenes, she was running on empty — until she made the difficult decision to step away and put her mental health first.

MaryAnn DiMarco’s mentor was a friend of a family member — which means we were always just one degree apart. She’s a Long Island girl, and my family’s roots are there too. Somehow, our paths never officially crossed until now.

Coincidence… or divine timing?

MaryAnn is a renowned psychic medium and author who has spent years helping people reconnect with something she believes we all carry — intuition, inner knowing, and a deeper sense of self.

My husband was watching a CrossFit instructional video one day when I glanced at the screen and said, “Wait—I went to high school with that guy!”

That guy was James Hobart — a CrossFit Games legend. He is a nine-time CrossFit Games competitor and three-time Affiliate Cup champion—winning at the highest level of the sport! Reconnecting after all these years, both of us in completely different chapters of our lives, was something I didn't see coming — and I'm so glad it happened.

What happens when the career you’ve built no longer fits the way it used to?

On this episode of Mostly Together, I sit down with Jacalyn Clark — a longtime national news anchor and licensed therapist — for a conversation about career transitions, personal growth, and what it really looks like to evolve without starting over.

What if taking a step back is actually the way forward?

On this first episode of Mostly Together, I sit down with Neha Ruch — author and creator of The Power Pause. We have a candid conversation about identity, ambition, and what happens when the life you built no longer feels aligned.

Official Podcast Trailer