Lead with Kindness

About Lead with Kindness

Lead with Kindness, hosted by showrunner Melinda Hsu, is a podcast where we talk about how kindness and inclusion, and intentionally fostering both in your environment, leads not only to better business results and higher standards of professionalism but PS - is the right thing to do. Melinda Hsu is a TV writer-producer who was the showrunner of NANCY DREW as well as the showrunner/co-creator of TOM SWIFT; currently, she is in a development overall at ABC Signature. A lifelong genre geek, she started writing at age 8, when she authored a Star Trek fan fiction novella series on a stack of spiral notebooks in her childhood bedroom in Bangor, Maine. Her TV credits include LOST, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, THE GIFTED, FALLING SKIES, STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, MEDIUM, and one-hour pilots for Amazon, Netflix, NBC and Lifetime. For her work on LOST, she was nominated for an Emmy and a Writers’ Guild Award. She is an alum of the Warner Bros. TV Drama Writers' Workshop as well as an alum of and presenter for the WGA Showrunner Training Program. She mentors writers and producers through the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, helped found the Asian American Writers’ Brunch, and also serves on the Executive Board of the Sarah Jones Film Foundation, which fosters set safety through awareness and accountability. Her podcast, Lead With Kindness, is aimed at changing the culture of Hollywood; this series of ten 30-minute conversations is available on Apple Podcasts (IG: @leadwkindness). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Ninth Planet Audio

Category

business · tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Oct 2023

Latest episode

10 Jan 2024

Latest episodes

11 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Jan 2024

   Service is Transformational w. Ann Blanchard and Rachel Colwell

   In our season finale, Melinda is joined by CAA agent Ann Blanchard and First Nations actress Rachel Colwell to discuss the personal benefits of service to others as well as how service is incredibly additive to the health and business of a workplace team. Additionally, they discuss the causes that are meaningful to them, and share how they mentor others in their communities. Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bayzdi95fst96zfmqqe26/LWK_EP10_Transcript.pdf?rlkey=fvrwhikyyxn9m7ri6cibe3xcb&dl=0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   3 Jan 2024

   Safety Is Essential w. DJ Barton and Rorelee Tio

   This week, Melinda is joined by script supervisor DJ Barton and stunt coordinator Rorelee Tio to discuss the importance of safety as an element of collaborating with kindness. They discuss incidents where safety was not a priority and how those situations harmed the filming crew and overall production. Additionally, Melinda shares the strategies of the Sarah Jones Film Foundation in fostering set safety throughout the film and television industry. For more information on the Sarah Jones Film Foundation please visit: https://www.safetyforsarah.com/the-foundation (https://www.safetyforsarah.com/the-foundation) Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/n1um5bb6gr95cy3wsbgvu/LWK_EP9_Transcript.pdf?rlkey=3ygwuejv4misg8flsxid1696y&dl=0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   27 Dec 2023

   Accountability Prompts Change w. Liz Hsiao Lan Alper and Birgit Zacher Hanson

   This week, Melinda is joined by Liz Hsiao Lan Alper, who co-founded Pay Up Hollywood to advocate for fair wages for Hollywood assistants, and executive coach Birgit Zacher Hanson, leader of Heads Up Performance. They share insights on how to hold people accountable in the workplace and how to manage commitments by using the tool of “Who will do what by when?” Additionally, they discuss the abuses and inequities that assistants in Hollywood experience and how we can advocate for more humane treatment in the workplace. Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lxlexxkvpoe23pap4lyld/LWK_EP8_Transcript.pdf?rlkey=q2vxx08kozji09aewkbwis1ng&dl=0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

4. 

   20 Dec 2023

   Work-Life Integration Elevates Results w. Erika Harrison and Alex Taub

   This week, Melinda speaks with writer-producers Erika Harrison and Alex Taub, who share their experiences in finding work-life integration while being in charge of the creative and personnel management of writers' rooms. We also discuss raising kids as TV writers and how it can improve profitability to intentionally foster a culture where work-life balance is prioritized. Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/j9x669hoge9ote0r8q8zc/LWK_EP7_Transcript.pdf?rlkey=baf254y71479y69279qmdicl9&dl=0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

5. 

   13 Dec 2023

   Transparency Neutralizes Bullies w. Akima Brown and Bradley Marques

   This week, Melinda is joined by Akima Brown, founder of Reel Families For Change, and writer-producer Bradley Marques to talk about developing a culture of kindness in Hollywood and how we can pivot away from aggression. We discuss some doable and effective action items to help listeners address bullying behavior in dysfunctional and toxic work cultures that they may find themselves in. Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kobq3e2uumhn5bro7e1c6/LWK_EP6_Transcript.pdf?rlkey=mk78vikptyj6a52keh4lxc36s&dl=0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

6. 

   6 Dec 2023

   Calm Breeds Success w. Andi Behring and Jonathan Brody

   Our focus in this week's episode is calm and how maintaining calm in high-pressure situations can lead to great success. I'm joined by Director Andi Behring and Post Supervisor Jonathan Brody who share some of the ways they keep calm when a situation becomes demanding, as well as how some of their past negative experiences informed the way they would act now that they find themselves in leadership positions. Stay tuned for the end of the episode where we have a chat and meditation with mindfulness coach Dr. Christiane Wolf. Episode Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1oouphb0p4gdlu3jhge0l/LWK_EP5_Transcript.pdf?rlkey=c6hh8lcxh0j7e62ssn3u2czpq&dl=0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

7. 

   29 Nov 2023

   Love the Sea (in Order to Become a Great Shipbuilder) w. Cameron Johnson and Noga Landau

   Noga Landau and Cameron Johnson (co-creators and showrunners of NANCY DREW and TOM SWIFT) join Melinda this week to talk about how toxic work cultures in their past experiences forged their determination to foster humane, healthy and respectful environments on their own shows – which paid off in highly motivated creative collaborators who achieved terrific results. Episode Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/k1coi5q4n8120stzrjalu/LWK_EP4_Transcript.pdf?rlkey=lzc225582v1r9w8hyfnzf9k0m&dl=0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

8. 

   22 Nov 2023

   Trust = Performance w. Andrea Thornton Bolden & Malek Mouzon

   This week, Melinda is joined by showrunner Andrea Thornton Bolden and writer Malek Mouzon to discuss how to acknowledge and address dysfunctions ranging from quiet microagressions to overtly hostile behavior in the workplace. The good news is that it’s possible to re-establish trust, and to embrace vulnerability as a bridge to community and improved performance. Episode Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/o7n13fg3juww356ew3a7h/LWK_Ep3_Transcript.pdf?rlkey=s6tw56pyq6u533g979id9xkrx&dl=0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

9. 

   15 Nov 2023

   Kindness Comes From the Top w. Kennedy McMann and Tian Richards

   This week, we speak with Kennedy McMann and Tian Richards, who played Nancy Drew and Tom Swift respectively on their CW shows. They give us the secrets of how to raise performance levels by creating a kind, inclusive and nurturing environment while being number one on the call sheet. Episode Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vdt2gzawixsu0sahc1doo/LWK_Ep2_Transcript.pdf?rlkey=mhpi4vh9l759ym1tdk9vioqv1&dl=0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

10. 

    8 Nov 2023

    Inclusion Changes The Game w. Ruben Garcia and Kristin Killey

    In our first episode, Melinda speaks with director Ruben Garcia and line producer Kristin Killey, who both came up through the ranks of the AD department on set. They share cautionary tales and tell us how they turned their experiences around with inclusion and intention when they built their highly effective teams on Tom Swift and Nancy Drew. Episode Transcription: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1s7sctsr5zv2o1kxyadni/LWK_Ep1_Transcript.pdf?rlkey=mgx13ihssev5oz09ma2hfavfe&dl=0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

11. 

    18 Oct 2023

    Lead with Kindness Trailer

    Episodes coming soon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Contact Lead with Kindness

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.