hosted by The New York Times to answer questions about it. Podcast In January 2021, Bialik started the podcast Mayim Bialik's Breakdown, which focuses on mental health issues. Film Bialik wrote and directed her first film, As They Made Us, about a divorced mom juggling her family's needs and her own quest for love. Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergen starred as well as Simon Helberg, Bialik's former The Big Bang Theory castmate. The film was expected to premiere in late 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed filming. Ash Christian was attached to the project, but died in August 2020. Principal photography began in June 2021. The film was released on April 8, 2022. Personal life Bialik married Michael Stone on August 31, 2003, in a Victorian-themed ceremony that included traditional Jewish wedding customs. They have two sons together. They announced their divorce in November 2012, and it was finalized six months later. Bialik returned to television in 2010, as opposed to continuing her scientific career, so she could spend more time with her children. In a 2012 interview, Bialik called herself an "aspiring Modern Orthodox". During the 2014 Gaza Conflict, she donated money to the Israel Defense Forces for armored vests. She has also appeared in several YouTube cameos as Blossom and Amy Farrah Fowler, asking questions about Jewish beliefs. The videos are produced by Allison Josephs, Bialik's Judaism study partner, whom she met with the help of Partners in Torah. In 2014, Bialik was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Boston University. Bialik is a vegan and a founding member of the Shamayim V'Aretz Institute, a Jewish organization that advocates the ethical treatment of animals. In 2017, she announced that she and vegan chef Ali Cruddas had opened Bodhi Bowl, a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles. It closed permanently in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said on The Late Late Show with James Corden that she identified herself as a feminist. In a 2009 interview, Bialik said of her family: "We are a non-vaccinating family, but I make no claims about people's individual decisions. We based ours on research and discussions with our pediatrician, and we've been happy with that decision, but obviously there's a lot of controversy about it." In October 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, she said that though she had not received a vaccination in 30 years, she planned to be