Instead of unpacking the week, we are making space to commemorate three years since COVID first hit the U.S. Shoes Off: A Sexy Asians Podcast co-hosts Susie An and Esther Yoon-Ji Kang of WBEZ help us to reflect on what we learned about ourselves during the past three years and what we hope to keep with us in the future.

Plus, actor Mae Whitman tells us about starring in the new Hulu musical Up Here. You may remember Mae as Anne Veal from Arrested Development (her? Yes, her.), or from her roles in Parenthood and Good Girls. In Up Here, Mae plays Lindsay, an aspiring writer who upends her life to move to New York. She has a lot to contend with, though, given the cast of characters in her head who are telling her all the wrong things. We chat about treating yourself gently, the power of vulnerability, and how Mae got the courage to take on her first singing role.