Be There in Five

This week, Kate reviews the PR "smear campaign" half of the complex legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, delving into the concept of astroturfing, its relevance to Amber Heard and Meghan Markle, and details the "he said/she said" of the PR warfare detailed in the lawsuits. Then, Kate interviews attorney/former litigator Alex Mack for some legal insights/clarifications about the ca...

This week, we kick off 2025 with a classic BTI5 deep dive, investigating the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni controversy surrounding the film It Ends with Us. Kate unravels layers of legal filings, allegations of workplace harassment, and claims of PR warfare, and examines the charges from both sides. She also delves into the intricacies of their respective lawsuits, the timeline, and the broader...

This week, Kate recaps some of 2024's least notable micro-trends, goes through her embarrassing purchases from the Tiktok shop, admits some of her shameful habits in the spirit of the "we listen and we don't judge" trend, contemplates the vibe of Taylor Swift being thrown a Taylor Swift-themed party, discusses her concern for when lyrics about someone being blue border on a HIPAA violation, then r...

In this episode, Kate provides personal reflections about the past 21 months of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour fanfare, online and IRL, then reads listener-submitted stories about major moments and memories associated with the tour. Sweet, sentimental, and sometimes sad, but a beautiful reminder of how pop culture and fangirls are so much *more* than meets the cat-eye. Enjoy! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Order...

This week, Kate begins by recapping her experience seeing Wicked twice and shares her favorite Easter eggs, then answers listener voicemails that are a combination of nostalgic pop culture, millennial travel icons, and a witchy women's studies lesson. In this episode, Kate reassures listeners that when America decides, it's not always on our side, as evidenced by many years of questionable voting...

An episode full of fun, fandom, and frisson where Kate and her guest, Caroline Moss, discuss their hot takes about Broadway musicals, but pepper in plenty of tangents from Babysitter's Club to The Beets (from Doug) and beyond. The majority of this episode is in honor of this weekend's long-awaited premiere of Wicked, and they talk through some Wicked lore, detail their favorite Elphabas, and walk...

**Original air date 11/10. Sorry if this is duplicated elsewhere, had to upload another version because some pod catchers are missing the episode** This week, Kate is joined by "America's Government Teacher" Sharon McMahon of @sharonsaysso and NYT bestselling author of The Small and the Mighty. The first half of the episode contains some of Kate's off the cuff thoughts / existential spirals follow...

In this bonus episode, Kate discusses the impact of reproductive rights on millennial women ahead of the 2024 election, and uses experts and real-life stories to showcase how prioritizing a highly interconnected system of rights and freedoms impacting half the population is the farthest thing from a "single issue." This episode has three parts:  00:00 Kate's intro about the multi-faceted nature of...

It's All Hallows Eve, and Kate has crowd-sourced listener ghost stories to hear about your interactions with the other side. First, she details her fascination with ghost fashions, witchy rituals at sleepovers, and millennials' collective obsession with fall; then, she dives into your paranormal-core sightings—episode 1 of 2 this week. Enjoy! Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book,  One in a Millennial...

This week, Kate is joined by her sister Kelly, live from their attempt to do an incredibly hard viral dance move that the internet gaslit them into believing would be easy. In this episode, they mostly revisit The Tortured Poets Department for the first time on-air since they recorded their reaction video in April and update listeners on their favorite spins, skips, and sentimental lyrics that hel...

Kate's under the weather but over the moon to do some nostalgic reminiscing about staying home sick as a kid with a bed pillow on the couch, knowing exaggerating symptoms may be wrong but at least she got to watch The Price is Right. Then, she crowdsources wellness related Old Wives Tales/urban legends, and fact checks them live on-air, like if wet hair in the cold makes you sick, you shouldn't sw...

In this episode, we're joined by Ashley Spencer, author of Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire . She shares her four-year journey researching Disney becoming the choice tween TV channel, and shares details from her interviews with former executives and cast/crew members, like the infamous Hilary Duff and LaLaine fallout or how the Zac/Vanessa High Sc...

This week, inspired by the nostalgic TV masterpiece (excl. reboot) on Lifetime, Unsolved Mysteries, Kate introduces a (maybe?) new series she's testing called "Influencer Unsolved Mysteries," where she wants to deep dive into niche influencer lore, specifically times when fans/followers have been left with unanswered questions or presented with mysterious explanations for something that wouldn't u...

In this episode, Kate opens by talking about top-of-mind things for everyone, like P. Diddy's indictment, Sabrina Carpenter's album, and if she actually cut her own face-framing layers this weekend. Then she invites her friend, author, and beloved IG poet (@maryoliversdrunkcousin) Lyndsay Rush on the pod to talk about a variety of things, like Single-White-Femaling each other's lives and careers,...

Kate recaps the new Hulu series, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Will MomTok survive this episode??! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book,  One in a Millennial   here ! Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH! Want to send a text to Kate or leave a voicemail she might read and  Right now, Hungryroot is offering Be There In Five listeners 30% off your first delivery a...

In the season 1 finale, Kate decides she should have another season after over 6 years of not realizing she was still technically in season one of Be There in Five, then delves into her candid experience with motherhood she's promised the main feed for the last year. Enjoy a follow-up from Childless Mill, some cheesy mom thoughts about cuteness aggression & having no chill, practical tips about L&...

This week, Kate explores the Ballerina Farm article heard 'round the World Wide Web and reacts to the Times UK profile of homesteaders Hannah Neeleman and her husband Daniel, who run a picturesque farm in Utah with their eight children. Kate high-level examines Neeleman's portrayal of farm life, the influence of their Mormon faith on gender roles, how that lack of context likely made the article m...

This week, Kate is joined by Hannah Berner, comedian and host of the popular podcasts Giggly Squad and Berner Phone, and the star of her new Netflix special, We Ride at Dawn. Broadcasting from a studio in NYC, Kate asks about her trajectory since reality TV, the flawless burnt amber matching set outfit choice, navigating the male-dominated stand-up scene, and the importance of centering niche fema...

This week, we're joined by two friends of the pod, Sami Sage (Betches Co-Founder) and Emily Amick (@emilyinyourphone) about their book Democracy in Retrograde (released 7/9). The discussion focuses on how to spark civic engagement amid increased societal polarization, challenges in public civic life, the importance of making civic duties enjoyable, and how digital lives influence political partici...

This week, Kate is deep-diving into America's Sweethearts, a docu-series about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which recently debuted on the heels of a canceled reality show Kate had a love/hate relationship with (but watched for 16 seasons): Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team. Victoria's interview starts at ~1:00:00 In the first hour, Kate reviews the docuseries solo and gives her luke...

This week, we've got a highly anticipated podcast crossover—Jac Vanek, Becca Tobin, and Keltie Knight from LadyGang join Be There in Five! The discussion journeys through their early days of rebranding (IYKYK) to classic millennial nostalgia and the not-so-hidden issues that accompanied some of our favorite pastimes. They discuss dance culture's economic and cultural challenges, the problematic na...

This week, Kate is answering listener voicemails, like dishing on the culinary delight of buffalo chicken wraps while exploring the dynamics of grilled vs. breaded chicken. Then, she discusses how she thinks people conflate data about screen time overuse with general screen time use and rants about not buying into the "mom guilt." She also delves into hot pop culture topics, including Taylor Swift...

This week, Kate critiques the stagnant nature of traditional Father's Day gift guides and compares them to the rapidly changing trends for women like "office siren," which leads her to snorkel through the current male microtrend: having a "rat boy summer" or taking on a "rodent boyfriend." She also discusses how aggressive the gals on TikTok are getting about items being on sale and reflects upon...

This week, Kate is solo and snorkeling through some of the latest and oldest of topics, like time. She warms up by wandering through things like grandfather clocks, the true crime history of the Magdalene Laundries (aka "Maggies") in Ireland, Harrison Butker's speech, lyrics where people quote Taylor Swift but don't realize she's quoting someone else, and ponders why we treat punctuality like it's...

This week, beloved #1 best-selling author Emily Henry ( Beach Read, Book Lovers, Happy Place , etc.) is back for Millennial Ennui: the Sequel to chat about her latest romance novel, Funny Story . Kate and Em Hen (she delusionally thinks they're BFFs/on a nickname basis) talk about a variety of topics, from gift shop enthusiasm to the characters we problematically root for in RomComs, to the preval...