Meet Rebecca Handler: Humor is the Best Medicine

Meet Rebecca Handler: Humor is the Best Medicine

Author: A Julie Sunshine Production May 14, 2026 Duration: 18:09

Rebecca Handler has one of those laughs that is truly contagious. And better yet, she's so darn funny that she gets you laughing, too. Whether chatting about the joy she gets from swimming with her brother Daniel or her very unpleasant year dealing with breast cancer, she somehow finds humor in it all. We talk about identity, becoming a writer, and how the Dolphin Club women helped her heal.

Most importantly, her second novel, In the Round, is coming out in Fall of 2026 and you can pre-order it today, wherever books are sold...online and off.


The cold, swirling waters of the San Francisco Bay are a character in themselves, but the true heart of this place beats within the 2000 Stories from the Dolphin Club. This podcast, an intimate production from A Julie Sunshine Production, isn't about athletic feats, though they happen daily. It's about the people. Each conversation pulls back the curtain on a unique, saltwater-stung community, revealing the personal histories and unexpected motivations that draw individuals to this iconic, challenging stretch of water. You'll hear from lifelong rowers with hands like weathered driftwood and newcomers confronting their fears one stroke at a time. The stories collected here form a mosaic of human experience-tales of loss, resilience, quirky routines, and quiet camaraderie forged in the fog. It’s a deep dive into the journals of daily life, exploring how a shared, almost ritualistic engagement with the natural world shapes culture and identity. Listen to this podcast for unvarnished, often humorous, and profoundly human accounts from inside the clubhouse and out on the open bay, where every member has a tale worth hearing.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 59

2000 Stories from the Dolphin Club
Podcast Episodes
Meet Marty Machado: The Art of Water [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:33
There are many artists at the Dolphin Club, but I think Marty Machado may be the only one who draws inspiration from his time spent working on container ships and fishing for salmon in Alaska. Hear about the joys and cha…
Meet Jeff Hanak: Serving Up Hospitality [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:33
Jeff Hanak is the consummate San Francisco restaurateur with a host of successful restaurants on his resumé like Chow, Park Chow, Nopa, Nopalito, Liholiho Yacht Club, and Good Good Culture Club. It's not been an easy roa…
Meet Laura Vartain Horn: Balancing Work, Home, and Swimming [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:00
Laura Vartain Horn served for 12 years in the U.S. Attorney's Office as a federal prosecutor before moving to the private sector -- reluctantly because she absolutely loved her job, but not her public service salary. Her…
Meet Joseph Omran: Living the best day of his life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:21
Ask Joe Omran how he is on any given day and he'll always reply: "It's the best day of my life." Joe is truly living by those words, even in the midst of sorrows, struggles, the war in Palestine, and the chaos (especiall…
Meet Rusa Chiu: Living with Gratitude [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:26
Interviewing a therapist is no easy task, and a Jungian analyst at that, but luckily I had more than 50 minutes to get to know Rusa Chiu's amazing life story. It began in China and moved to Taiwan, Japan, Berkeley, Paris…
Meet Peter Molnar: A Keeper of the Bay [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:16
Peter Molnar doesn't just swim in the Bay, he helps keep it clean through his work as a board member of San Francisco Bay Keeper. And he takes it one step further, combining his non-profit work with his career in wine by…
Meet Kalani Leifer: Feeling Lucky [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:37
Kalani Leifer doesn't take his luck in life for granted. That's why he has spent the last 10 years building COOP Careers, a nonprofit working to overcome underemployment for first generation college students. In this epi…
Meet Deb Sullivan: Tending Bar, Art & Tides [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:07
Is the tide ebbing or flooding? Thanks to Deb Sullivan, the Dolphin Club's resident tide chart keeper, it's easy to find out. But that's just one small aspect of Deb's rich life, filled with painting, bar owning, swimmin…
Meet Joby Bernstein: Never Standing Still [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:08
It's election time, so who better to profile than Joby Bernstein who, at the ripe old age of 28, had the crazy idea to run for Congress. He didn't win...this time...but he's winning in lots of other places in his life, i…
Meet Margaret Keenan: Finding Happiness & Trinkets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:34
Margaret Keenan makes the most of the Dolphin Club and the Bay, swimming, rowing, paddling, piloting and volunteering, always with a smile on her face. It's her happy place. In this episode of 2000 Stories hear about her…