Theater and TV actor Aya Cash joins host Chloe Aftel to discuss her past and present projects and reflect on an acting career that has been 20 years in the making. She talks about having artist parents, growing up in the Bay Area, and what that taught her about not compromising on a creative vision. She also highlights the importance of instinct in acting, her thoughts on the collaborative nature of filmmaking, and the impact of good writing.

Highlights

• How she understands and embodies evil characters, from Gretchen Cutler on You’re The Worst, to playing a nazi as a Jewish woman on The Boys (plus additional fan theories on Stormfront);
• Her background in Shakespeare and passion for live theater;
• Aya's experience with celebrity and managing fame, and the privileges of not looking like her characters.

Aya Cash is an American actress known for her wide range of characters in film and television. Born in San Francisco, she has gained widespread recognition for her role as Gretchen in the critically acclaimed series You're the Worst. Cash has also appeared in notable projects like The Boys and This Is Us. With a strong background in theater, she has showcased her talent across various genres, earning praise for her comedic timing and dramatic depth. You can watch Aya in the 2024 HBO series The Franchise, streaming now.

Chloe Aftel has spent her career working in commercial photography, photojournalism, and film. She’s an established name in modern photography with work featured in The New York Times, Mother Jones, Playboy, Dazed & Confused, Vogue Germany, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue & more. Chloe has photographed victims of sexual violence, reported on Covid’s impact on the trans community, and gained access as the first reporter in the Covid wards of the West Coast’s hardest hit hospitals. She has covered underground abortion providers, the impact of gender pronouns on daily life, and clergy abuse. Her first book, “Outside and In Between,” is an award-winning anthology covering gender non-conforming people across America.

Support The Other Pod on Patreon for episode extras and The Other Questions lightning round!
Follow Chloe on Instagram @chloeaftel to stay up to date on new work.
Find all episodes of The Other Pod here.

Through his graphic novel works like Sweet Tooth (now a Netflix original), Black Hammer, Gideon Falls, Essex County, and more, Jeff Lemire creates new worlds with distinct styles while representing a myriad of identities and experiences.

In this month's episode of The Other Pod, Jeff gets candid with host Chloe Aftel about his career, from making up stories as a child in rural Ontario, to writing Essex County during the day while working night shifts as a cook in Toronto, to now expanding his creative world into film and television with international acclaim. He shares about the process of having his work translated from art to live action in Sweet Tooth and creating the miniseries Essex County. Coming of age is a strong theme throughout his work, and the pair discuss the ways Jeff's own coming of age continues to be reflected in his work as he navigates recent parenthood in works like "Underwater Welder."

Highlights:
- Jeff's process for world-building and creating relatable, multi-faceted characters;
- Writing for DC and Marvel comics and having two careers;
- Jeff's artistic influences.

Special content from the Lightening Round is available through Patreon!

Keep up with Jeff on Instagram and with his Substack newsletter, available here.

About the host: Chloe Aftel has spent her career working in commercial photography, photojournalism, and film. She’s an established name in modern photography with work featured in The New York Times, Mother Jones, Playboy, Dazed & Confused, Vogue Germany, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue & more. Chloe has photographed victims of sexual violence, reported on Covid’s impact on the trans community, and gained access as the first reporter in the Covid wards of the West Coast’s hardest hit hospitals. She has covered underground abortion providers, the impact of gender pronouns on daily life, and clergy abuse. Her first book, “Outside and In Between,” is an award-winning anthology covering gender non-conforming people across America.

Support The Other Pod on Patreon for episode extras and The Other Questions lightning round!
Follow Chloe on Instagram @chloeaftel to stay up to date on new work.
Find all episodes of The Other Pod here.

Author Rachel Kushner and host/visual artist Chloe Aftel first met after the success of Rachel’s first novel and have worked collaboratively ever since. Now, the pair reunite for the latest episode of The Other Pod to discuss her new novel, Creation Lake, and dive into everything creative process and ideation. They discuss the way their artistic processes align and differ across mediums, the journey to capture shifting perspectives, and the kinetic, alive energy that comes with creating.

Highlights:

• Rachel reflects on the tricky balance and ultimate catharsis of writing first-person characters whose thoughts and judgments are antithetical to her own;
• How a writing exercise with her husband led to a crucial breakthrough in the story structure of Creation Lake;
• The lessons she’s learned in this career regarding ego, self-perception, dissociation, and staying monkish when it comes to praise;
• Rachel’s unique, instinctual connection to her characters and crafting story.

Rachel Kushner is an author long-listed for the Booker Prize, responsible for the widely loved novels Telex from Cuba, The Flamethrowers, and The Mars Room. Her latest novel, Creation Lake, releases September 4, 2024. You can keep up with Rachel on her website and find all her written work here.

Chloe Aftel has spent her career working in commercial photography, photojournalism, and film. She’s an established name in modern photography with work featured in The New York Times, Mother Jones, Playboy, Dazed & Confused, Vogue Germany, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue & more. Chloe has photographed victims of sexual violence, reported on Covid’s impact on the trans community, and gained access as the first reporter in the Covid wards of the West Coast’s hardest hit hospitals. She has covered underground abortion providers, the impact of gender pronouns on daily life, and clergy abuse. Her first book, “Outside and In Between,” is an award-winning anthology covering gender non-conforming people across America.

Support The Other Pod on Patreon for episode extras and The Other Questions lightning round!
Follow Chloe on Instagram @chloeaftel to stay up to date on new work.
Find all episodes of The Other Pod here.