Life in Seven Songs

“Life in Seven Songs” is a new podcast from The San Francisco Standard. In each episode, host Sophie Bearman brings you closer to influential figures through the music that has shaped their lives. “Life in Seven Songs” premieres on June 18, with new episodes released every other Tuesday.

Music producer and musician D’Wayne Wiggins has mentored superstars like Beyoncé, Kehlani and Zendaya, all while touring with his own Grammy award-winning band Tony! Toni! Toné!. In this episode, D’Wayne reveals how he found his sound and helped others do the same. These are his songs.

1. Hot Fun in the Summertime - Sly and the Family Stone
2. Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix
3. Strawberry Letter 23 - The Brothers Johnson
4. Imagination - Earth, Wind & Fire
5. The Jam - Graham Central Station
6. Be Thankful for What You Got - William DeVaughn
7. What's Really Going On (Strange Fruit) - D'Wayne Wiggins

Listen to D’Wayne Wiggins’ full playlist on Spotify. Find the transcript of this episode at lifeinsevensongs.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

Host Sophie Bearman sits down with London Breed, the 45th mayor of San Francisco, and the first Black woman to hold the position. London opens up about how her life was shaped by the challenges that plague San Francisco, how she’s been criticized for being outspoken, and why she says that makes her uniquely qualified for the job. Here's her playlist.

1. Get Me Bodied – Beyoncé
2. Candy Girl – New Edition
3. Push It! – Salt-N-Pepa
4. End of the Road – Boyz II Men
5. I’m Every Woman – Whitney Houston
6. Ex-Factor – Lauryn Hill
7. Truth Hurts – Lizzo

Listen to London Breed’s full playlist on Spotify. Find the transcript of this episode at lifeinsevensongs.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

You may not know his name, but you certainly know his work. Sir Jony Ive is the former chief design officer for Apple, and the mastermind behind devices most cannot imagine living without—the Macbook, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods and more. He joined Apple at just 25 years old, and together with Steve Jobs, transformed what was a financially troubled company into a juggernaut. These are his seven songs.

1. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da – The Police
2. Main Theme / Carter Takes a Train– Roy Budd
3. Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone –The Temptations
4. Don't You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds
5. Define Dancing – Thomas Newman
6. 40 – U2
7. This Is The Day – Ivy

Listen to Jony Ive’s full playlist on Spotify. Find the transcript of this episode at lifeinsevensongs.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

Sam Altman is the CEO of OpenAI, the groundbreaking company leading the development of AGI—artificial general intelligence. AGI aims to create machines that can think, learn, and understand the world like humans—or even better than we can. It’s a concept with the potential to transform every aspect of life, for better or worse. But in this episode, a rare glimpse into the human behind superhuman machine intelligence. Here are his songs.

1. Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 2 – Sviatoslav Richter
2. What’s My Age Again? – Blink-182
3. That Was a Crazy Game of Poker – O.A.R.
4. Opus – Eric Prydz
5. Spring 1 – Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons
6. Underwater – Rufus du Sol
7. Your Hand in Mine – Explosions in the Sky

Listen to Sam Altman’s full playlist on Spotify. Find the transcript of this episode at lifeinsevensongs.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [email protected].