I’m completely honored to have Olivia Lichtenstein in conversation. Olivia is a recognized, celebrated, award-winning documentary filmmaker, and a published author.

Over the course of her career, she’s produced or directed numerous feature length documentaries, and documentary series television episodes, published not one but two novels, and now: is training to be a psychotherapist...a move that she tells us is not all together uncommon among documentarians… and she will tell us why.

It all began in an unexpected place: a unique year spent studying abroad in the Soviet Union at —perhaps— the height of the Cold War. Olivia then moved from Leningrad to Los Angeles in the 1980s, where she joined ABC News, and then the BBC, where she began directing and producing documentaries.

The theme here is stories: Uncovering them. Telling them. And ultimately writing our own. 

This episode is full of insights about layering experiences on top of one of one another to build a durable and multifaceted career… about truth, and about following your instincts.  

Tremendous, tremendous thanks are due to Olivia Lichtenstein, for elevating this podcast, and for demonstrating how telling other people’s stories… can help us write our own. All this to say, you are in for a fascinating conversation about how films —and careers— can unfold in the most unexpected of ways.

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