Clashists

CLASH: GOING FROM CORPORATE TO CANVAS. We invite Paris-based painter Leah Alexander on the pod to chat about what happens when you outgrow the life you're supposed to want. She starting on a path many might envy (spoiler alert, it involves Deloitte) and all the stability and structure that came with it, AND YET sunsetted those pursuits in favor of a full-time career following her primary passion:...

CLASH: CAREER REINVENTION. This week, we sit down with recent Paris transplant and the unofficial queen of the career pivot, Paige Mueller. From reality TV producer to beauty marketer to fashion brand founder, she's built a career that's anything but linear—and somehow made every reinvention look intentional. We get into the psychology of career change: what draws us to jobs in the first place? wh...

CLASH: SOCIAL ETIQUETTE. Today we're chatting about the strange phenomenon of not understanding the social norms of a new city – whether that means inadvertently offending someone, or (in Gabby's case) being unintentionally offended yourself (we're looking at you: LA residents!!) Why are certain social quirks and behaviors tolerated in one city, and judged and shunned in another?? Why is it OK to...

CLASH: FYPS & FLIRTING. This week, we're longggg overdue for a true culture catch-up, and we’re all over the place in the best way possible. We break down everything from the recent reality TV dramz to the results of the French mayoral election (more trees!) and the evolving hype around Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel era. We also introduce two brand-new segments: “Clash of the FYPs,” where our algori...

CLASH: THE MYTH OF “BEING LATE.” We’re joined by the brilliant podcaster Sophie Ragir, host of our new favorite podcast Late to the Party , to unpack what it really means to be a “late bloomer.” From the moments we realized we weren’t on the “expected” timeline, to how moving between both physical and social cultures shapes when (and if) we feel behind, to the unspoken pressure we often feel to ar...

CLASH: CAN THE STARS SAVE US FROM OURSELVES? This week we sit down with certified astrologer and tarot master Ciera Autumn to ask SO MANY QUESTIONS. We tackle Astrology 101 (birth charts! rising signs! why you are the way you are!!), touch on the transatlantic clash between how the U.S. versus France treats astrology, and dig into how you can actually use astrology to navigate life’s bigger clashe...

CLASH: THE CHANGING NOTION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN "AMERICAN". Today we dissect what the heck being an "American" even means — starting allll the way back at pre-pubescence. From Dani's early days idolizing various aspects of American culture with one foot in and one foot out, to Gabby's lame a** midwestern ignorance, we chat about our evolving perceptions, and embodiments, of "Americanness". Wh...

CLASH: WATCHING YOUR CITY CHANGE. Today’s Clash is a big one: watching the city you love….change. And in front of your eyes, no less. We’re joined by journalist, author, and podcaster Lindsey Tramuta —Paris resident of 20 years—to talk about the strange whiplash of seeing your home evolve in real time. From the changing attitudes of new Parisians to the growing American infusion of food, fashion,...

CLASH : AGING. Today we’re joined by the author of The Cut ’s essay on wtf a 30 year old looks like , Claire Lampen, to unpack what actually happens when women get older—and why it makes us so dang confused. From the never-ending plastic surgery discourse (what even is the "mid face"), to why the less controllable we become- the “uglier” we suddenly are (so strange!! wonder why!!??), the strange m...

Hi all! Your OGs D & G were long overdue for a lil' mailbag catchup to answer all the qs we get on a weekly basis: from "how did you two meet" to "how did you two meet"? JK JK JK (though we do get asked that one a lot). Spoiler alert: Dani went viral on TikTok for saying she buys a baguette every day & ppl had ~thoughts~. Don't worry, though, we also touch upon some other hard hitting subj...

CLASH: LIVING AMIDST HISTORY. This week on the podaroo, we talk with Cat Byers —historian AND author of the upcoming book Morgue AND most importantly our very smart and thoughtful friend!!! We chat about the mental clash of going from living a "normal" life to realizing you're living on top of centuries upon centuries of juicy history and how studying the stories of past deaths can be a surprising...

CLASH: HOW TASTE CHANGES. What happens when you live enough lives that your palate can’t keep up? This week we sit down with Caitlin Gunther— New Yorker in Paris, author of The 75 , and writer for pubs like The New York Times, Wash Post, Harper's Bazaar, Condé Nast Traveler, Eater, Bon Appétit & more! — to trace the many shockwaves of a life lived in reinvention: from law school at Cornell, to...

CLASH: HUMOR ACROSS BORDERS. This week we’re joined by comedian Sarah Donnelly —an American double agent who’s been doing stand-up in France for 13 years. We get into the big questions, like: Is French humor actually more sophisticated, or do they just say it with an accent? Can the French actually make fun of themselves (because… could’ve fooled us)? Which swear words hit in both English and Fren...

CLASH : CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN "COOL". Today we're talking about the slow, creeping horror of realizing that the things you once thought were cool…aren’t. Maybe you aged out of them. Maybe you matured. Maybe you moved zip codes and discovered that being “insanely busy" or “performatively confident” or a "relentless partier" doesn’t translate outside your original habitat. It’s the life clash of h...

Today on the pod: we interrogate the cultural pinnacle of Passport to Paris in a playful ~petite ep~. Questions we ask ourselves include but are not limited to: which parts of the movie actually hold up 26 years later? Which aspects are now painfully dated?? And which were never true? Why does everyone speak a mystery language? How do they make headscarves look like high art? Should we be trying q...

CLASH: AMERICANS ABROAD. Today we're joined by actor, writer, filmmaker, and new-ish Paris resident—Clark Moore—to tackle our most oft-heard accusation: that Americans in Paris are inherently annoying. From casting ourselves as the city’s main character, to treating Paris like a personal art incubator, and the well trodden theater-kid-to-Paris-pipeline, we explore the behaviours that grind the gea...

CLASH: FRIENDSHIPS ACROSS LIFE CHANGES. Being in your 30s is WEIRD . Some would even say it’s peak time for life’s biggest ~culture clashes~. Your friend group suddenly starts to splinter—one falls in love and moves to farmhouse upstate, another has a baby and starts coping with the dreaded "witching hour", and the other is still out until 2 a.m. lighting shots on fire on a Wednesday ("leave me al...

Y'all we are SO excited to be back with you again after a way way too long hiatus. But here we are for Season 2 of Clashists!! One of us grew a human being inside their body and the other continued to strike out on Hinge. We'll let you guess which was which. We recap our fav things we ate, bought, and obsessed over this past summer (and, well, early fall) and catch-up on some ~cultural~ happenings...

CLASH : HOW LANGUAGE IMPACTS PERSONALITY. Does your vibe actually shift when you swap languages? Is French really the sexiest language? Is the fear of looking like an idiot thwarting our impending fluency? This week, Gabby and Dani are joined by linguist and language wizard Beatriz Lopez to unpack the wild (and painfully exhausting) subject of bi- (and tri) lingual brains. We get into whether spea...

CLASH: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS. Today on the pod: culture shock meets bedroom talk —we’re diving deep with Jessamy Holland, a psychosexual and relationship therapist based in Paris. She helps Dani & Gabby break down everything from the thrill and heartbreak of international dating, to navigating intimacy across cultural norms, to the quirks of French‑vs‑American expectations around sex, co...

CLASH: SINGLEDOM. Today is a very special day, because today we have one of our favorite people on the pod - Sutanya Dacres!! Sutanya has created a far-reaching community of readers, listeners and diners under her Dinner for One umbrella, in which she encourages single women to reclaim their tables and their stories. While Dani has been barred from the exclusive single supper club, Gabby has had t...

We had to hop on the ~*~viral~*~ propaganda-we're-not-falling-for trend. Whether it's French men's falsely "romantic" reputation, French pharmacy fails, croissant chaos or attacks on snacks - Dani & Gabby are coming in hot today with the Paris propaganda they absolutely refuse to get behind.

🎶 LET'S GO BACK, BACK TO THE BEGINNING 🎶 (IYKYK) Happy to report that we've acquired a lot of new friends recently so we're re-running our DEBUT EP! This is the ep in which we discover how awkward it is to talk TO each other while talking FOR someone else, and navigate just how much eye contact a social arrangement like that entails. Always nice to go back to your roots and remind yourself where...

CLASH: LIVING THROUGH LIFELONG CULTURE SHOCKS. It's our first guest & we COULDN'T be more excited!!!!! Clashes abound in this one 🚘! Matt tells us all about his early life in the Philippines and what it was like to come to the US as a kid — from the unique joys of childhood Costco sample scouring to the iconic gondolas in Vegas' Grand Canal Shoppes. We dig into baby's first culture shocks, th...

CLASH: MANNERS ACROSS CULTURES. One question we get constantly as certified idiots abroad: “Are Parisians rude?” To which we’d like to counter—are we ?? A big shock since moving countries has been the realization that our manners don't translate. Whether we're talking about the French's distain for small talk, their proclivity for directness, or an aversion to smiling — we discuss how our more Ame...