A deep dive Kate put together last minute about the controversy surrounding the Miss USA pageant late last week when contestants claimed the pageant was "rigged" and/or a product of overt favoritism toward Miss Texas. Insisting she was mostly disinterested, Kate dipped her toe in, then managed to spend the whole weekend researching history, and lore, thinking about her own memories watching, all while developing an incredibly lukewarm take on a topic she knows very little about and isn't totally...
Oct 10, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 228
This week, Kate answers three questions and made it into one episode after having an epiphany about 3-in-1 products and their correlation to the patriarchy, consumerism, and religion in line at a Walgreens (where she has all her best thoughts). This turducken of an episode snorkels the irony of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty being executed alongside Axe Body Spray’s incredibly sexist mid-aughts advertising and details some thoughts on her own struggles with body image over the past year that ...
Sep 30, 2022•1 hr 57 min•Season 1Ep. 226
This week, Kate attempts to reclaim the nostalgic magic of fall by detailing her feelings about dystopian Instagram-backdrop businesses and resurrects the fauxliage phenomenon to chat about manufactured coziness and the art of photo taking. She then reminisces about some of her back to school and fall-related longings, like the lore of school supply shopping, how not all spiral notebook manufacturers are created equal, the scholastic book fair, among other things. She discusses her theory about ...
Sep 25, 2022•1 hr 45 min•Season 1Ep. 226
This week, Kate updates you on the first half of the IVF/egg retrieval process and, in the second half, is fortunate enough to ask Kindbody co-founder Dr. Fahimeh Sasan about your questions regarding egg freezing/embryos/IVF because Kate wished she knew these things but was (and still is honestly) a person who isn’t super into kid-related content. But for those of you that identified with Childless Millennial in 2020, this is kind of an update, where she summarizes how she got here, how she used...
Sep 18, 2022
This week, Kate has 3 of her friends from college on the podcast following a pilgrimage to the Shania Twain residency to talk about the things that don’t impress them much about Vegas (and all the ways Vegas is no longer impressed with them). Following their trips to Vegas at ages 25 and 30 (now here for Kate’s 35th birthday), they’ve noticed some subtle changes from their party girl days, e.g., getting rejected from a day club for having a breast pump and Kate being checked in to the hotel alon...
Sep 12, 2022•1 hr 45 min•Season 1Ep. 225
This week, Kate starts by sharing her thoughts on how being fashionable in the early aughts meant to try the absolute HARDEST, a revelation that feels as glaring as her patent leather pumps after witnessing the shift in collegiate fashion upon spending "welcome weekend" in a college town. Then, she touches on Selling OC before reminiscing via reading through residual sorority stories that listeners submitted the past two years from when she was going to resuscitate the sorority series (before ac...
Aug 28, 2022•1 hr 54 min•Season 1Ep. 223
This week, Kate discusses Bama RushTok from a slightly different angle, exploring the elaborate gender performance and implicit artifice of sorority recruitment in the context of being interpreted as [postmodern] ‘camp’ and a form of high art to consume, per the insight of Tiktok users @shorthouseplant and @themostes. The meaning of camp made the internet collectively melt down in 2019 following the Met Gala (given its defining characteristic being an inability to be concretely defined), but Kat...
Aug 22, 2022
This week, Kate is joined by her sister to discuss what they've been up to, e.g. their unforeseen TV debut, Kate's new appreciation for sports, and the latest updates with the "soft swinging" scandal they recorded about for Patreon in May. Then, they snorkel listener submitted topics like nostalgic foods, first day of school outfits, what it’s like to be the ‘planner’ of the group, making new friends in a city, The Summer I Turned Pretty, favorite fictional bands, and much more. Enjoy! SUPPORT O...
Aug 14, 2022•1 hr 46 min•Season 1Ep. 222
This week, Kate is in and out of coherence as she records responses to listener voicemails throughout week 2 of fertility treatments. Kate-lilah is a play on radio icon Delilah’s soothing highly subjective advice and once a quarter Kate answers listener questions, requests for advice, or plays commentary called into the show’s voicemail hotline (312) 379-9676. This week, Kate chose a list of light topics by design for a breezy escape of an episode (with the exception of the last that’s a bit mor...
Aug 01, 2022•2 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 223
This week, Kate is joined by Sami Sage (Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Betches) to have a stimulating conversation while they both happen to be stimulating their ovaries. They discuss their respective decisions to freeze embryos (briefly! skip mins 15-25ish if you want to dodge fertility talk), then venture into topics that are half light pop culture and half a deeper religious discussion (Kate’s favorite combo!). First, they discuss their feelings about being renters/city dwellers, th...
Jul 24, 2022•2 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 222
This week, Kate talks through a prompt from a listener about the times somebody said something to you in passing that ended up burned in your brain about your appearance, skills, competence, personality, etc. In a conversation about why words matter (revelatory!!), Kate rages through insults, side comments, and backhanded compliments listeners submitted that were likely meaningless on behalf of the messenger but transformational in their messaging long term. She also discusses her own list of pe...
Jul 18, 2022•2 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 221
This week, Kate discusses Evangelical influencers, from more extreme transitions, e.g. a fashion influencer who now offers deliverance from abortion demons (?), to the reality-star-to-preacher-pipeline of young women of faith that are talented public speakers like Duck Dynasty’s Sadie Robertson and The Bachelor’s Madi Prewett that now use their platforms as ministries. Kate also plays clips from other mid-sized influencers, masochistically watches a couple videos from Girl Defined, and talks a b...
Jul 10, 2022•2 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 220
This week, Kate takes on the topic of P.E. class and snorkels through the obscure political origins of the Presidential Physical Fitness exam, the trauma of locker rooms, public weigh-ins, wearing of never-washed mesh ‘pinnies,’ and the annual dangling of herself and her dignity from a pull-up bar, among other memorable elements of 90s/00s gym class culture that would likely not hold up today. She also talks about her tall girl complex and body image issues and wonders how metrics of athletic pr...
Jul 03, 2022•2 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 219
This week, Kate discusses our obsession with scams and scam documentaries, and does a spin-off of the popular Tiktok prompt of "what's something that is a scam but we've normalized it so much we no longer realize it's a scam?" from her personal list of grievances, e.g. The American Dream, bridesmaid dresses, student loans, only married couples receiving benefits, among other things, and also goes through crowd-sourced submissions of things people think have big scam energy. She also details her ...
Jun 27, 2022•2 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 218
This week, Kate meanders through the art of the K-12 field trip, sharing her own nostalgia along with crowdsourced funny, poignant, and shocking tales from listeners about their memorable field trips. From obscure locations to buddy system politics, museum gift shop culture, coach buses versus school buses, chaperone assignments, seeing your crush in the wild in street clothes, hookups mid-transit, to processing confusing feelings about historical war reenactments, this episode has something for...
Jun 19, 2022•2 hr 25 min•Season 1Ep. 216
This week, Kate discusses the world of dating advice, both interpersonal and professional, from the books she read in her single days like Why Men Love Bitches, He’s Just Not That Into You, and other best-sellers like Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man or The Rules. She also discusses the confusing nature of casual advice we give our peers and loved ones that can be grounded in anecdote despite being delivered as gospel, causing us to weigh the subjective input of others far too heavily on import...
Jun 12, 2022
This week, Kate interviews Ashley Hamilton and Claire Parker from the hit podcast Celebrity Memoir Book Club to talk celeb memoirs, female friendships, past forays into podcasting, e.g. Britney Spears and Lohan’s Beach Club, best and worst traits of celeb books, ghost writers, and much more. Enjoy! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Sign up at butcherbox.com/BETHEREINFIVE to receive a FREE Grilling Bundle in your first order. You’ll get two, 10 oz ribeyes, 5 pounds of chicken drumsticks, and a pack of burgers...
Jun 05, 2022•1 hr 57 min•Season 1Ep. 215
This week, Kate is joined by her sister Kelly before they leave for vacation to talk about their own (and listener-submitted) personal & influencer travel pet peeves, preferences, vacation stories, thoughts on airport etiquette, and more! Enjoy :) SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Go to Framebridge.com and use promo code BTIF to save an additional 15% off your first order Get 25% off when you go to LIQUIDIV.COM and use code BETHEREINFIVE at checkout. Experience better hydration today at LIQUIDIV.COM, pro...
May 22, 2022•2 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 215
This week, Kate answers listener voicemails spanning a variety of topics, including (but not limited to): -Taylor Swift trying to push merch in these trying times as the optimal use of her platform -Schools implementing policies that force girls to say yes when asked to dance -Chicken Soup for the Soul’s profound impact on a listener, plus Kate discussing how depictions of drunk driving in 90s TV shows scarred her for life -Whatever happened with Kate’s accountant that ghosted her to become a so...
May 15, 2022•2 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 214
This week, Kate phones her friend Lucy (@lucyontheground) to talk about all things MET gala, Marilyn's dress, romantic comedies, Amber Heard & Johnny Depp's trial, RHOSLC, babymaking and naming, among other things. Hope it's an escape after a rough week. Skip the first 7 or so minutes if you're not in the mood for a rage intro. Enjoy! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS For 20% off your Kindbody at-home fertility test, go to shop.kindbody.com and use code BETHEREINFIVE at checkout. That's S-H-O-P DOT K-I-N...
May 08, 2022•2 hr•Season 1Ep. 213
This week, Kate tries to respectfully deep dive Tinx’s (Tiktok @itsmetinx) meteoric rise, press, controversy, and content, while attempting to investigate her fans’ pursuit of holding her accountable to some former (and not so former) troubling tweets. She goes over her background, early quarantine content, recent changes, major press coverage, and fallout/apologies following the uncovered activity, then snorkels her Twitter and finds a fascinating level of whiplash with same-day likes and retwe...
May 01, 2022•2 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 212
This week while nursing a tailbone injury, Kate made a list of topics to take up with you this week for her own state of the union prior to the second hour where she covers Revolve Fest’s annual social media sorority recruitment video vibes of being both welcoming and also heavily implying there’s no way in hell you’ll get in amidst floral backdrops and fancy-free dispositions. Topics prior capture a great deal of range, from pounding clementines to Selling Sunset Season 5 to white cheddar popco...
Apr 25, 2022•2 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 211
This week, Kate interviews millennial magazine icon Atoosa Rubenstein, former editor-in-chief of CosmoGIRL! And Seventeen magazine in the early-mid 2000s, who has now entered back into the pop culture spotlight with her Substack Atoosa Unedited. Kate and Atoosa talk about her rise to being the youngest founder and editor-in-chief in Hearst history, her experience in the glam magazine world in the aughts, celeb encounters, "Devil Wears Prada" moments, the benefits and downfalls of her inexperienc...
Apr 17, 2022•2 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 210
This week, Kate reads e-mails listeners wrote in about their experiences learning puberty & sex ed. First, Kate snorkels through some of her early impressions of DOING IT from pop culture, reviews a brief history of sex ed in the US, and discusses some of the environmental nuances of the 90s and 00s that made abstinence-only education the status quo. Part-funny, part-cringe, part-heartbreaking, this episode showcases a wide spectrum of implications of not receiving comprehensive sex ed. TW: ...
Apr 10, 2022•2 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 209
This week, Kate is joined by Kate Spencer and Doree Shafrir from the Forever35 podcast to discuss all things in the name of self-care from today and yesteryear. Kate starts out by reading some of the weird/random lies people submitted that they told as kids on Instagram, e.g. faking eye exams, injuries, and orthodontia for unknown reasons. Then the Kates and Doree discuss rom-com jobs, working in the 'mean girl' era of journalism (e.g. Gawker), beauty advice in teen mags, nostalgic drug store pr...
Apr 03, 2022•1 hr 40 min•Season 1Ep. 208
In this episode, Kate eats an edible, snorkels through a teen magazine, then answers a variety of listener voicemails about light and heavy topics affecting their lives. Enjoy! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Get started today - frame your photos or send someone the perfect gift. Go to Framebridge.com and use promo code BTIF to save an additional 15% off your first order Go to HelloFresh.com/bethereinfive16 and use code bethereinfive16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts Your new nail life is here! Vi...
Mar 28, 2022•2 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 207
In this episode, Kate explores the parent wars she sees taking place about a cute, fictional movie on Facebook timelines (paired with the glorification of much more problematic fairy tales) and uses it as an opportunity to snorkel through many nostalgic topics involving her preteen rebellion, from cursing during hand-clapping games to high key Pagan sleepover rituals to boy band obsessions, grinding culture, and more. Kate also provides her take on the movie Turning Red, reads comments from pear...
Mar 20, 2022•2 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 206
This week, Kate is joined by her sister Kelly for an escape from real life to talk reality tv and real estate. More specifically, they discuss Love is Blind on Netflix (skip minutes 45-1:00 ish to avoid spoilers) and then discuss their (and other crowd-sourced Beth’s) petty preferences for their needs in rentals/homes, following Kate’s TV mounting journey. No societal pressure nor water pressure is spared in this thinkpiece about feeling like we should be in a place where we can afford more than...
Mar 07, 2022•2 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 204
In stressful times, Kate seeks out romantic comedies, using the genre's poor grasp on reality to escape her own. So this week, we have a rom-com deep dive done on a whim, following a fateful viewing of the critically-unacclaimed film Something Borrowed. In this episode, Kate goes through some of her favorite films, trends, themes, and theories as it relates to the art of the so-bad-it's-good romantic comedy. She explains the boundaries of her questionable taste, then meanders through the high po...
Feb 27, 2022•2 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 203
A joint episode containing an abridged part 2 of “Fitch, Please” (A&F Deep Dive) as well as listener stories about mall modeling & scams masquerading as magazine classified “modeling schools.” The episode begins with Kate’s windy thoughts about her obsession with malls, magazine editors, models, and related media, and while she draws almost no helpful conclusions, she has plenty of thoughts. This episode also contains snorkels aplenty in between stories about A&F and modeling, from 9...
Feb 20, 2022•2 hr 32 min•Season 1Ep. 202
