There are celebrities who have turned oversharing into a dubious yet remunerative art form. And then there’s Rachel Bilson, best known for her roles in “The O.C.” and “Hart of Dixie.” She’s a gregarious, charming and delightfully candid person, but if you didn’t know better, you’d assume Bilson was the opposite of voluble.
Here’s the thing: All you need to do is listen to her new podcast Broad Ideas, co-hosted with her best friend Olivia Allen, to quickly learn that with Bilson, nothing is off-limits. Her guests, including Kristen Bell, Mandy Moore and Aubrey Plaza, talk about devastating breakups, difficult pregnancies and even more devastating style choices.
“It just felt like the timing was perfect as far as wanting to create a space, primarily for women, to be open, transparent, from my house,” Bilson says. “Everything kind of fell into place and just felt right.
“I’ve learned that it’s okay to talk about tampon strings. Or the birthing experience that was horrendous. And we get pretty detailed in some of our topic episodes. They’re pretty raw, but I also feel, why not? Why can’t we talk about this?”
Now that she’s slowly emerging from Covid-related lockdowns, Bilson is also regaining her travel footing. But what are the comfort items that she always carries along? Here’s what she always has in her carry-on bag when traveling.
$129 at Patagonia
When she travels, Bilson needs a bag that can deliver — and that bag is called the Black Hole. It’s got two removable shoulder pads to be used like a backpack and a 40-liter capacity. “I’m a backpack hoarder — I have way too many backpacks,” she says. “I keep buying backpacks, but the one that never fails is the Patagonia Black Hole. I’m telling you, that is the best carry-on