On this week’s episode, Ilana sits down with Andrew Rea, the self-made YouTuber behind two of the platform’s largest and most influential cooking shows—BINGING WITH BABISH and BASICS WITH BABISH—claiming over 10.5 million subscribers. Andrew shares the radical personal transformation that followed his discovery of anti-depressants as well as mushrooms, boosting his self confidence, and prompting the creative a-ha moment where he began producing YouTube videos by combining his two life long lo...

On this episode of It’s Open, Ilana sits down with friend and colleague Jay Jurden — a powerhouse, rising star comic whose first comedy album JAY JURDEN, Y’ALL debuted at #1 on iTunes, his debut stand-up special YES MA’AM is streaming on HULU, and you can catch him around the country on his NOTHING SPECIAL tour or at his London debut in August. Jay and Ilana dig into the fraught cultural landscape of the stand-up comedy and podcast scenes, sorting out the divide between creators that are soci...

Join us today to get hyped on Gen-Z leadership because it rocks. We sit down with the spectacular Elise Joshi, a progressive political organizer, climate activist & journalist who has been lighting up digital media with clear, hard-hitting content since she was 17. Elise discusses how—growing up during COVID, California’s wild fires, and the emergent climate crisis—she learned to question authority, found the grassroots coalition through making digital content, and went on to help found a...

Today, Ilana was thrilled to meet and talk with actor, comedian, singer John C. Reilly. For decades, and through his unique expression of sincerity and comedy, John’s performances have shaped the impact of American movie classics—like Chicago, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Step Brothers. Ilana and John discuss his current and recent projects: a one-man-plus-band musical performance MR. ROMANTIC and the surreal Italian-American Western feature film HEADS OR TAILS. John discusses his love for si...

Today Ilana sits down with the award-winning actor and cultural leader for queer rights, self-discovery, and truth: Elliot Page. Ilana and Elliot cover his new documentary SECOND NATURE, about queerness in the animal kingdom, the book Sex at Dawn, which was influential in both of their sexual developments, and the feeling of being in love 😍. In this generous and open discussion, Elliot describes learning to move beyond the societal pressures to conform (that we are all subject to) and discove...

Today Ilana sits down with Reshma Saujani, best known as the founder of Girls Who Code. Reshma’s an entrepreneur, social leader, and activist fighting to reshape the economic landscape for American mothers. llana and Reshma get right down to it, looking at depravity in America today, the enduring construct of “race,” and the manufactured rage-baiting that attempts to separate different groups of women from organizing as one. They discuss Reshma’s debut documentary film NO COUNTRY FOR MOTHERS,...

This week on It’s Open, Ilana sits down with Jacob Tierney. Best known as the writer and director of Heated Rivalry— the TV adaptation of Rachel Reid’s hockey romance that positively rocked the culture in 2025— Jacob is a staple in Canadian television. He created the beloved series Letterkenny and its spin off Shorsey, and now Jacob discusses his personal career journey from Canadian child-actor through his teenage years, against the dark backdrop of Miramax in the 90s, to the present, where ...

Matt Bernstein (aka @mattxiv) is a force to be reckoned with. A 27-year-old, progressive political commentator who has cultivated a 2M+ following by combining clear-eyed, heartfelt, sharp-witted cultural discourse with gorgeous glam and a calm, confident delivery. His video podcast, A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein, has become a touchstone in the digital landscape as a rational, ethical, and hilarious voice calling for political and social accountability and standing up for basic human rights...

It’s Open partners with More Perfect Union, the ground breaking and progressive non-profit news organization, to highlight the vital local coverage that is helping Americans stay informed and stay connected. Join us as MPU spotlights—and Ilana reacts to—the toxic fallout from mass data center installations nationwide. And then witness the wave of nonpartisan action welling across American towns RIGHT NOW to fight this escalating affront to citizens’ basic human rights. Enjoying It’s Open wit...

Ilana’s dream comes true as she interviews the U.S. Congresswoman from New York, the luminous progressive brawler, the one-and-only… Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC shares about her personal experience growing up Puerto Rican American in the Bronx and Westchester, New York. She unfolds the myth of capitalism, the unyielding profit monsters that uphold it, and its tragic reinforcement of our lesser impulse to alienate and vilify the most vulnerable people in our communities. To break this corros...