Hopelessly Unedited

Ever bought something in your sleep? Ronit has, and apparently her sleeping self has excellent taste! This week, we explore the strange world of sleep, from sleep paralysis, exploding head syndrome, and sleepwalking to menopause, sleep apnea, and the eternal battle over the blankets. We also wonder why we need sleep in the first place, whether we can make up for lost sleep, and how long we'd s...

What do an office gym, an alien invasion, a mooning incident, and naked cyclists have in common? They're all part of this week's WTF moments! Ronit and WizCate swap stories about bizarre encounters, cultural surprises, awkward situations, and the things people do that leave us scratching our heads. From Hong Kong elevators to Seattle's naked cyclists, nothing is too strange for this co...

Did you know Halloween used to involve a lot more mischief and a lot less candy? This week, Ronit and WizCate explore Halloween's strange evolution, from ancient Celtic traditions and elaborate pranks to modern costumes, candy, and spooky celebrations around the world. Along the way, Ronit shares her accidental rise to international Catwoman fame, a college trick-or-treating adventure involvin...

Some foods look delicious but turn out to be disasters. Others look absolutely questionable and become lifelong favorites. This week, Ronit and WizCate talk about unexpected food discoveries, from French blood sausage and a memorable college turkey sandwich to cultural differences in food preferences. The highlight? Ronit prepares and tastes a Southern onion sandwich live on the show, while WizCat...

Voyager 1 launched in 1977, visited Jupiter and Saturn, crossed into interstellar space, and nearly five decades later, it’s still phoning home. WizCate takes Ronit through the incredible journey of the farthest human-made object from Earth: how gravity assists sent it across the solar system, how NASA still communicates with it, why its power is slowly disappearing, and what will happen when Voya...

Aliens have arrived, and Ronit and WizCate have been selected to give them an orientation on humanity. What could possibly go wrong? Ronit's first priority is figuring out whether they're friendly, followed closely by introducing them to spicy food. WizCate thinks perhaps language, music, art, science, friendship, and family would make a better first impression. From there, things get comp...

The Pacific Northwest is home to some wonderfully strange creatures, and WizCate has brought visual aids. This week, we meet ravens, sea lions, salamanders, wolverines, puffins, lampreys, banana slugs, geoducks, mountain beavers, giant octopuses, and more. We learn how to tell some commonly confused species apart and discover a few animals that look downright prehistoric. Then things get more seri...

We planned an episode about critters. Ronit immediately chose ticks. In Part I of our two-part critter conversation, Ronit takes WizCate around her Maine farm, figuratively speaking, to meet the turkeys, squirrels, chipmunks, porcupines, and the tiny creatures she absolutely cannot stand: ticks. What begins as a conversation about wildlife turns into tick horror, Lyme disease, health insurance, re...

We’re back from our little break, and this time Ronit and WizCate are recording together, in person, from Maine. After catching up on vacations, COVID, Atlanta, Ronit’s 59th birthday, and a very cold plunge into the Atlantic, we turn our attention to the place Ronit now calls home. Cate did three hours of Maine research, so you’re going to hear it whether you like it or not. We talk about Maine’s...

In Part II of our shoe conversation, we leave most of the history behind and get personal. Ronit brings out more of her shoe collection while we talk about running shoes, Doc Martens, Ferragamo, John Fluevog, Sorel, expensive shoes that are actually worth the money, and expensive shoes that absolutely are not. We also get into shoes as fashion, growing up in Hong Kong, commuting in heels, French f...

How did humans go from walking barefoot to owning 58 pairs of shoes? In Part I of our completely unscripted exploration of footwear, we wander through ancient sandals, medieval pointy shoes, the surprising origin of high heels, the invention of left and right shoes, and why sneakers are called sneakers. Ronit brings out a few favorites from her rather large shoe collection, WizCate wonders whether...

Part 2 of our Internet Myths & Truths series! We discuss skincare myths, anti-aging products, IPL treatments, and why consistency often matters more than expensive miracle creams. Then we head into space to explore neutrinos, "ghost particles," Carl Sagan's famous "star stuff," and finish with a rapid-fire round of popular internet myths that are either surprisingly tru...

The internet is full of misinformation... but it's also full of amazing facts that sound completely made up. This week we discuss billionaire biohacking, why people believe things they read online, and some of our favorite scientific facts, from Venus and neutron stars to the incredible speed of light. Sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction.

What are the things you never imagined you'd end up doing? In this episode, we reflect on the unexpected twists that life throws our way. We talk about becoming coupon clippers, moving to another country, learning to box, driving when we never imagined we would, and the strange hobbies and habits we've picked up over the years. We wrap things up with a rapid-fire round of fun questions tha...

Some surprises make you laugh. Others completely change how you see the world. In this episode, Ronit shares three unforgettable moments from her life: an encounter with a stranger shortly after arriving in America, an unsettling discovery years after her first pregnancy, and a conversation with her mother that forever changed how she understood her. As always, the conversation goes in unexpected...

What if there were a museum dedicated to everyday miracles? A warm towel. A green traffic light. The smell after rain. The sound of ocean waves. Moonlight bright enough to walk without a flashlight. In this episode, WizCate shares her original story, The Museum of Ordinary Miracles , and we reflect on the little things we rarely notice until we stop long enough to appreciate them. Sometimes the sm...

What happens when you start with hot water appreciation and end up designing humans with extra arms? This week on Hopelessly Unedited, we explore the things we don't want to live without, and somehow end up discussing toilet paper shortages, space garbage, silk worms, bidets, hibernation pods, time travel, dream worlds, and whether having an extra arm growing out of your head is actually pract...

What happens when your hot water disappears for two weeks? Or when you lose heat during Christmas? Or when you grow up without things that everyone now considers essential? This week on Hopelessly Unedited , Ronit and Cate talk about the everyday conveniences we rarely think about until they're gone. From cold showers and hand-washed clothes to public bathrooms, refrigerators, rapid shipping,...

In this episode of Hopelessly Unedited, Ronit shares two paranormal experiences that have stayed with her for decades. The first happened when she was a teenager visiting Malaysia. Looking out a car window one night, she witnessed a scene that appeared to involve Japanese soldiers and a bound prisoner. The next day, she returned to the location and found only an abandoned hut. The second experienc...

When most people hear the word "Vodou," they think of Hollywood movies, zombies, curses, and dolls. In this episode, Ronit sits down with PhD researcher Steveen Ulysses to talk about the reality of Haitian Vodou. They discuss its roots in West Africa, the influence of Catholicism, the role Vodou plays in everyday life, and how centuries of misunderstanding have shaped public perception....

In Part 2 of our UK grad school series, Dannah shares the cultural side of studying at the University of Manchester. We talk about British slang, student life, traveling across Europe, orientation in the UK, and the surprising ways living abroad can change how you see the world. Along the way, we compare American and British English, discuss party culture, museums, travel mishaps, and whether stud...

After choosing Hawaii for undergrad, our daughter somehow decided that wasn't far enough and moved to England for graduate school. In Part 1, Dee talks about why she chose the University of Manchester over USC and University College London, what it was like arriving alone in the UK, navigating housing, banking, roommates, and the surprises of living abroad for the first time. We also talk abou...

What happens when you stop caring about the things that once felt so important ? In this episode, we talk about getting older, getting tired… and surprisingly, getting freer. From canceling plans without guilt to choosing comfort over “looking cool,” we explore the quiet (and sometimes hilarious) ways our priorities have shifted over time. We even play a game: Would Younger You Approve? — and the...

Ronit and WizCate take on one of life’s biggest experiments: raising kids. From cultural expectations to real-life chaos, they talk about what they thought parenting would be like… and what actually happened. They get into: Raising kids across cultures (Hong Kong, U.S., France) The gap between expectations and reality Why siblings can be completely different humans Teenagers, hormones, and surviva...

Menopause is something everyone has heard of… but very few people actually understand until they go through it. In this episode, we talk about the real experience — from physical changes to the emotional side that can catch you completely off guard. We share what surprised us, what was harder than expected, and what actually helped. It’s not a guide. It’s not advice. It’s just a real conversation.