Ep. 431: Navigating New Hollywood With Tepper
Happier in Hollywood
The Onward Project
4.8 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 14 August 2025
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Liz and Sarah talk to social media star Kristen Tepper about navigating Hollywood from the point of view of a writer who’s kicking ass and making a name for herself while working toward her first big break as a screenwriter. How did she get her current job as a Showrunner’s assistant? How should reluctant writers approach the use of social media? Then, in The Craft (& Fain), they talk about why you can’t game the system — no matter how much you’d like to. This week’s Hollywood Hack (inspired by Liz’s recent closet purge) comes from listener Laurie: try the clothing swap app Lucky Sweater. Finally, Sarah recommends the (very dark) podcast Root of Evil.
Sign up for Liz and Sarah’s free weekly newsletter at https://happierinhollywoodpod.substack.com.
Get in touch on Instagram: @Sfain & @LizCraft
Get in touch on Threads: @Sfain & @LizCraft
Visit our website: https://happierinhollywood.com
Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/HappierinHollywood/
Happier in Hollywood is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Happier with Gretchen Rubin, and Side Hustle School . If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and tell your friends!
LINKS:
Tepper Talks on Substack:
Hollywood Hang podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hollywood-hang/id1805490059
Lucky Sweater:
Root of Evil podcast:
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Lemonada. |
| 0:05.7 | I have a huge, loud fly in my office. |
| 0:09.6 | I have a sick wheezing dog, but I'm hoping the noise will be canceled. |
| 0:15.0 | She's just sleeping. |
| 0:16.3 | She does seem marginally better today. |
| 0:18.4 | Oh. |
| 0:19.1 | Like she got up and wagged her tail. |
| 0:21.2 | Shocking. |
| 0:21.8 | That's good. |
| 0:27.0 | Hi, and welcome to Happier in Hollywood, the podcast about how to be happier, healthier, |
| 0:33.7 | saner, more creative, more successful, and more productive, in a backbiting, superficial, chaotic, |
| 0:40.0 | unpredictable, fundamentally insane world. I'm Liz Kraft, a TV writer and producer living in L.A., |
| 0:46.5 | and with me is my high school friend and writing partner, Sarah. That's me, Sarah Fane. On this |
| 0:51.6 | podcast, we talk about being writers in Hollywood, how we balance a career and friendship and how to survive the war of attrition that is life in Los Angeles. |
| 1:00.4 | Today, we are so excited. We're going to talk to Kristen Tepper of the substack Tepper Talks and the podcast, Hollywood Hang, about the state of Hollywood from the point of view of a writer |
| 1:12.0 | who's kicking ass and making a name for herself while working toward her first big break. |
| 1:18.1 | Then we have a craft and fain about following your passion because you cannot game the system. |
| 1:24.2 | And this week's Hollywood hack comes from a listener. Finally, Sarah has a podcast |
| 1:28.6 | recommendation for those looking for something a little darker. Okay, but first, Sarah, we have an |
| 1:34.2 | update. We want to remind everybody about a new video feature that we have over on substacks, |
| 1:41.1 | starting in September. It's called the first five. |
| 1:45.1 | And it's for annual subscribers. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 7 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Onward Project, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Onward Project and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.