Why Are We Like This?

This episode is about the 2016 Clown Panic and the true Power of Fear. Remember the Clown Panic of 2016? When reports of mysterious clowns supposedly lurking in the woods turned into a nationwide frenzy of fear, speculation, and outright hysteria? We recently watched the documentary Clown Panic and found ourselves revisiting more than just a bizarre moment in recent history. What began as a conver...

Happy Halloween! 🎃 We're celebrating one of our favorite times of the year with a spooky trip down memory lane. From horror movie marathons and Halloween candy to creepy decorations, childhood trick-or-treating memories, and years of visiting Knott's Scary Farm and Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, we're talking about all the things that make Halloween so much fun. Jarrod s...

Is Disneyland still magical—or are we nostalgic for the people we used to be when we visited? In Part 2 of our Season 2 premiere, we're continuing our conversation with Paul Barrie, host of Window to the Magic , to explore what happens when the place we love changes, our expectations evolve, and the memories we cherish become part of the experience itself. From the evolution of classic attrac...

Disneyland is supposed to be the happiest place on earth—but what happens when the magic doesn't feel quite the same anymore? We're kicking off Season 2 of Why Are We Like This? with a special guest: Paul Barrie, host and creator of Window to the Magic , who's been capturing the sights and sounds of Disney parks since 2005. Paul joins us for a conversation about nostalgia, growing u...

Why do we love to hate Ross? Friends became one of television's biggest sitcoms by turning six twenty-somethings into a kind of chosen family—and decades later, we're still watching, laughing, quoting, and arguing about them. For our Season 1 finale , we're talking about why Friends became such a phenomenon, why the chemistry between its six leads still works, the show's influe...

Why are humans so destructive? What makes someone scratch the paint off a Disney attraction, vandalize public property, attack a stranger online, leave trash behind, or make choices that put an entire community at risk? What starts as a question about destruction quickly becomes a conversation about ownership, entitlement, powerlessness, empathy, and our need to feel seen. We talk about why people...

Why do we love James Wan? Jarrod and Robert dive deep into the James Wan horror universe, revisiting all five Insidious films in chronological order and exploring what makes these movies so much more than simple possession stories. From Lin Shaye's evolution into the emotional anchor of the Insidious franchise, to the terrifying logic of The Further, the Bride in Black, the ghosts that look a...

“What Happened to the Magic of Disneyland?” Disneyland was once a place where you could escape the real world and immerse yourself in something magical. But on a recent visit, we found ourselves asking: what happened? From constant phone use and social media to endless monetization, intellectual property taking over the parks, and an experience that increasingly feels more transactional than magic...

What happens when the dark, seductive world of Bret Easton Ellis meets the glossy, meticulously crafted universe of Ryan Murphy? In this episode of Why Are We Like This? , we dive into The Shards —a story of beautiful people, beautiful places, drugs, sex, violence and the loneliness hiding underneath the veneer. But our conversation quickly becomes about something much bigger: the loss of childhoo...

Why Do We Have to Be Right? Why is being wrong so uncomfortable? In this episode of Why Are We Like This? , Jarrod and Robert take a closer look at our need to be right—and what that need might actually be protecting. Is being wrong really a threat to our identity, our intelligence, or our sense of control? Or have we simply learned to confuse being wrong about something with being wrong as a pers...

Why do we want to matter? Is it survival? Ego? Legacy? Love? Or something even deeper? This week, Jarrod and Robert explore one of the most fundamental questions of the human experience. From childhood bullying and people-pleasing to celebrity culture, social media, and the pursuit of fame, they examine why so many of us look outward for validation—and whether the answer has been within us all alo...

What started as a conversation about why Jarrod doesn't enjoy musicals quickly became something much bigger. From Grease 2 and Book of Mormon to Death Becomes Her , drag, comedy, and storytelling, we explore why some art feels authentic while other art feels performative. Along the way we discuss nostalgia, originality, stereotypes, cancel culture, and why the best conversations aren't a...

Few artists have shaped popular culture the way Madonna has. For more than four decades, she's reinvented herself, challenged expectations, sparked conversations, and remained at the center of music, fashion, and entertainment. But what is it about Madonna that has allowed her to stay relevant while so many others have faded from the spotlight? In this episode, we explore the lasting appeal o...

Success isn't always about talent, luck, or having the perfect plan—more often, it's about showing up and putting in the effort, day after day. In this episode, we explore why consistent effort matters in every area of life, from our careers and relationships to our health, personal growth, and everyday responsibilities. We'll discuss how small, intentional actions create lasting ch...

Streaming was supposed to make entertainment easier—but somehow it feels more complicated than ever. In this episode, we dive into the growing frustrations of modern streaming platforms, from endless subscription fees and disappearing content to confusing interfaces, password crackdowns, and the overwhelming challenge of deciding what to watch. We explore how the promise of convenience has evolved...

We promised that we wouldn't fall into the trap of becoming the next gay Bravo commentary podcast, but the drama is RIPE this season on Summer House . With the drama between stars Amanda Batula and West Wilson, and it's completely imploded following Amanda’s separation from Kyle Cooke. Their messy romance, conflicting timelines, and explosive reunion confrontations led to West's exi...

"It's been 84 years..." Okay. Not really. But we have been on a three-year hiatus! Life threw us a few curve balls, we've made some life changes, and now we've surfaced on the other side! In our Season 5 Premiere Episode we chat about what's been going on, how things have been since we've last recorded and fill you in on all the latest updates to our podcast form...

"The Podcast is coming from inside the house..." If you've listened to us before, you KNOW we love horror, Halloween, and all things spooky. We invite you, if you dare, to listen in because, in tonight's episode we revisit some of our favorite (and not so favorite) horror films from the last few years since we've been "ghosted", including new classics like The Su...

Here's a fun-filled bullshit episode where we're joined by our gal pal Jessica for the weekend. We decided to play a few rounds of UNO while chatting about what's on our minds and laughing about... bullshit. Hope you're all having a happy haunting season! Send us a quick "Fan Voice Mail" with this link! Download this and future episodes of our podcast on Apple Podcast...

In part two of this super fun  TWO-PART Episode  we continue our deep dive into a brief history of Reality Unscripted Television. Where it started, where it's been, and where we think it's going. Nomi has a lot to say about the  Housewives , and there are some other nuggets about some of our other favorites. We even chat about Nomi's time on BRAVO's  BlowOut  in the early 2000s...

In this super fun  TWO-PART Episode  We do a deep dive into a brief history of Reality Unscripted Television. Where it started, where it's been, and where we think it's going. Nomi has a lot to say about the  Housewives , and there are some other nuggets about some of our other favorites. We even chat about Nomi's time on BRAVO's  BlowOut  in the early 2000s. Then we reminisce...

We've been putting this one off for a while, only because typically you're not supposed to talk about Politics at the Table. But it's time, right? We can all be big boys/girls/non-binary folk and speak about these things in a way that can help us all to wrap our minds around what's going on. No controversy, and no confusing terms, just keeping it simple and easy. Be a good pers...

Who doesn't love Dirty Dancing? No, really. It has everything. Fantastic Music, Phenomenal Dancing, Young Love, and a few other weird story plots truly help this film stand the test of time. Nomi & Robert chat through what makes the movie so memorable to them, and how it's shaped them in different ways over the years. How has it changed your life? Or is it one you can pass on? Let us...

Just kidding. Everything is fine. Like it usually is... This week we're talking about  Fear-Mongering in the Media . We've all heard it, or seen it, or read it. That little snippet of something intended to alarm us and ensure we "Tune In at 11" for the rest of the story. It's ridiculous, and Nomi's got a lot to say about it. The latest was this horrible, deadly, tragi...

Nomi has been alluding to this episode for years now. If she's not talking about 90's Fashion, she's talking about her favorite 90's movies, or 90's music, or her life in San Francisco in... you guessed it... the 90's. We chat about a few of our favorite things from the 90's, why it was so formative for us, and why a specific OC Housewife is a terrible person who...