What do a trad-wife time travel thriller, influencer culture, motherhood, nostalgia, and the deep human need to be seen have in common?

In this episode of The Spark File Podcast, Laura shares a spark inspired by the bestselling novel Yesteryear—a story about a modern trad-wife influencer who suddenly finds herself living in the 1850s - a life she’s been romanticizing online. What follows is a fascinating conversation about the stories we tell ourselves, performative identities, digital personas, internalized misogyny, motherhood, and the seductive pull of a "simpler" past.

Along the way, Susan and Laura explore a provocative question: What happens to us when we're constantly being watched—or when we desperately want to be? From social media and influencer culture to acting, creativity, and the neuroscience of being seen, this spark leads to an unexpected and moving discovery about how our sense of self is formed—and how it can be restored.

If you've ever wondered whether you're fully living your life or somehow watching it from the sidelines, this conversation may put a few sparks in your file.