Dr. Marcia Sirota MD hosts Reel Mental

Dr Marcia Sirota MD

From a medical perspective, Reel Mental looks at mental health through the lens of film and storytelling — hosted by psychiatrist and author @DrMarciaSirotaMD Reel Mental is a podcast hosted by Dr. Marcia Sirota MD, a psychiatrist and cinephile. Each episode features lively discussions with directors, actors, writers, and film critics. Together, they delve into how contemporary films portray psychological issues and mental health in society, offering insightful analysis and diverse perspectives.

  1. Oct 20

    45 - Josh Loeb Discusses In Spite of Ourselves

    JOSH LOEB – Director, Writer, Producer   Josh Loeb’s two professional passions are film and food. After majoring in English and Film at UC Berkeley and working in his early twenties as a script reader and magazine editor, Josh came to the realization that he was not quite ready to write screenplays with the depth of character that he loved in the films he grew up on. Josh took a detour into his other passion, food, and in 2006 opened his first restaurant Rustic Canyon, which turns 20 this year and has received numerous awards and acclaim including a Michelin Star. Josh went on to meet his longtime collaborator and now ex-wife Zoe Nathan at Rustic Canyon, and together they opened eight more restaurants that form the well revered Rustic Canyon Family of Restaurants. Despite his restaurant success, Josh maintained his passion for film and storytelling and his desire to return to that career goal. He began writing scripts again and based on the script for In Spite of Ourselves was signed by WME where he is repped by Hannah Davis and Nancy Josephson. In 2024 Josh decided to take on the challenge of directing, shooting In Spite of Ourselves in Portland with good friend and talented Cinematographer Gabe Mayan. Josh completed In Spite of Ourselves in 2025. He currently lives in Ojai, California and remains close personally and as business partners with Zoe, and most importantly they joyfully raise their three children together. Josh’s plans are to continue to make films and television as well as form a production company to work collaboratively with others on the creation of unique, honest and commercially successful creative content. His favorite films are from the 80’s and 90’s and he wants to be a part of bringing those kinds of stories back onto the big screen.

    45 - Josh Loeb Discusses In Spite of Ourselves
  2. Aug 28

    41 - Rowan Haber Discusses We Are Pat

    Director Rowan Haber is an aesthetically-driven writer and director of narrative, documentary and commercial content. An MFA graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Rowan's work has earned recognition as a Sundance Momentum Fellow, as well as a Sundance New Frontier Lab and Art of Practice Fellow. They've also been selected for the Universal Pictures Directing Lab, AFI's Directing Workshop, Film Independent's Episodic Lab, and Outfest's Screenwriting Lab, with a shadowing stint on FX's Pose. Rowan was named to The Alice Initiative's 2018 list of directors poised to helm studio films and is featured in Indiewire's list of 8 Best Trans Directors Working Today. They have been a fellow at McDowell, Yaddo, UCross, Millay, and Marblehouse artist residencies. Their award-winning series New Deep South garnered a GLAAD nomination, while Braddock, PA (Topic) received critical praise from The New York Times and The New Yorker. Rowan's diverse body of work includes directing Stonewall Forever for Stink Studios, Celestial for Tribeca Studios x Bulgari. Rowan's documentary We Are Pat, about trans comedy and the cult SNL figure It's Pat, is (executive produced by Alan Cumming and Lilly Wachowski) premiered at Tribeca in June 2025, earning them Best New Documentary Director Special Jury Mention. The film was written up in Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, is being distributed by Tribeca Films and will be streaming this summer. They directed the finale for the Gotham and GLAAD-nominated series Pride for FX and Killer Films. Rowan is also directing the modern feminist horror Shell.ai and is attached to adapt Brontez Purnell's Whiting Award winning book Since I Laid My Burden Down into a feature film. They are part of the artist collective Talk to Me About Water, and are currently working on a 16 mm installation based project called Two Bodies with artist and friend Amelia Winger-Bearskin. They co-created and co-run the literary reading series Word Spa LA.

    41 - Rowan Haber Discusses We Are Pat

About

From a medical perspective, Reel Mental looks at mental health through the lens of film and storytelling — hosted by psychiatrist and author @DrMarciaSirotaMD Reel Mental is a podcast hosted by Dr. Marcia Sirota MD, a psychiatrist and cinephile. Each episode features lively discussions with directors, actors, writers, and film critics. Together, they delve into how contemporary films portray psychological issues and mental health in society, offering insightful analysis and diverse perspectives.