Given that her mother Janice is a sex therapist, Bilson has always had a comfort level with discussions others may find uncomfortable.
“Growing up in a household that was so sex-positive and free and candid…definitely made me more obviously open talking about things,” she told Yahoo! Life’s The Unwind series in July. “These are the things women go through, and there’s nothing connected to it that feels like, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t be talking about this.”
And it’s why Bilson launched the Broad Ideas podcast with her best friend of 25 years, Olivia Allen, in 2022. On the show, she welcomes a variety of guests to discuss a range of broad topics, including sex, infidelity, and mental health, free of filters or fake niceties.
“I’m a little more unhinged, but it’s nice to be able to feel free with it,” Bilson told E! News at the time. “Authentic is the better word and I think people are craving it more than ever.”
Explaining she wanted to provide a “safe space” for women to share their experiences, Bilson said she wanted the podcast to feel similar to a weekly hangout with “true friends” that don’t judge one another.
“It’s just having these soul sisters that you can go through everything with that have been there through everything and will never judge you,” she said. “It just felt like my best friends and I are always having these conversations, why not make that the norm?”