Second Life

This week, we are giving a second listen to our very special episode with Andrea Beaty. Beaty is an award-winning children's author. Before she became known for her curious and clever characters in Rosie Revere, Engineer and Ada Twist, Scientist, she was on track for a career in STEM. In college, Beaty studied biology and computer science and then went on to work at a software company. It wasn't until she volunteered to write a tech support newsletter for a customer audience that she honed her skills as a writer and copy editor. She first tried her hand at fiction by writing stories inspired by the books she read to her kids before eventually getting published in the 2000s. Since then, Beaty's work has landed her on the New York Times Best Sellers list multiple times and has even been adapted into an award-winning Netflix animated series. She often credits her time as a technical writer as what gave her the skills to break down big concepts and life lessons for kids. Now, more than 20 years after writing her first book, Beaty shows no signs of slowing down. Since this episode's original release, Beaty released The Questioneers: What's That Color? in March of 2026 and her next book, The Questioneers: How Many Is That?, is slated to release in October of 2026.

This week, Hillary Kerr chats with celebrity hairstylist and Creative Director of haircare brand Virtue Labs Adir Abergel. Abergel works with the likes of Kristen Stewart and Nicole Kidman, but today, he's here to talk about Charlize Theron's The Odyssey press tour looks. From styling her gravity-defying bob to the exact products he uses on his clients' hair to achieve such flawless results, they cover it all.

Watch this episode on our new YouTube channel⁠⁠⁠⁠, and be sure to subscribe!

This week, we are giving a second listen to our very special episode with Renee Montgomery. Montgomery is the vice president and part owner of the WNBA team the Atlanta Dream. Before owning the team, Montgomery was a WNBA player on teams including the Dream, Minnesota Lynx, and Connecticut Sun. Before that, she played division one college basketball at the University of Connecticut. After 11 years as a professional WNBA player, Montgomery opted out of the 2020 season to focus on social justice and activism before retiring from the WNBA in 2021. Shortly after retiring, Montgomery became the first former WNBA player to be an owner and vice president of a team. Today, Montgomery continues to serve as part owner and vice president of the Atlanta Dream and runs her own clothing brand, C Suite 21, and the media production company Think Tank Productions.

This week, Hillary Kerr chats with celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger about crafting Lupita Nyong'o's looks for The Odyssey press tour. Erlanger shares how she drew inspiration from Greek mythology and Nyong'o's two characters in the film (Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra) to determine the perfect silhouettes and color palette for her looks. Plus, she chats all about her Emmy nomination for The Kelly Clarkson Show and everything that goes into styling for live TV.

Listen to Erlanger’s Second Life episode!

Watch this episode on our new YouTube channel⁠⁠⁠⁠, and be sure to subscribe!

This week, we are giving a second listen to our very special episode with Claudia Sulewski. Sulewski is the founder of Cyklar, a bodycare brand that bridges the gap between luxurious self-care and efficacious formulas. Before becoming a beauty founder, Sulewski was one of the original beauty YouTubers. She started her YouTube channel when she was just 13 years old, under the name BeyondBeautyStar, posting makeup tutorials, vlogs, and other lifestyle content. By the time she graduated high school, she’d grown a massive following that allowed her to monetize her content as an official YouTube partner and make her hobby her full-time job. Sulewski’s status as an internet sensation reached new heights when Teen Vogue tapped her to host the publication’s YouTube channel as a red carpet correspondent. Her years of experience shooting and editing her own content and using herself as talent for her creative vision were also crucial when she expanded into traditional acting and directing. She’s gone on to lead a successful career on and off camera since getting her start on YouTube, booking roles for hit shows like Shrinking and directing music videos for her fiancé, Grammy Award–winning artist Finneas O’Connell. Her career has now come full circle with Cyklar after years of filming GRWM videos and self-care routines for her millions of loyal followers. Since Sulewski was on the show, Cyklar has officially launched in Sephora and gone viral on social media several times over.

Be sure to check our Instagram, @secondlifepod, for updates on our return date.