Be There in Five

This week, we have a BTI5 book club and Kate interviews friend of the pod (and more importantly, best selling author and host of hit podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking) Nora McInerny about her new essay book Bad Vibes Only. In this episode, they discuss the confusing nature of knowing aging is a privilege but not wanting to look it, the fallacy of elegance, Millennial work ethic, reflecting on di...

This week, Kate follows up on some of the themes from last week about the lore and cultural significance of pageantry by bringing on a former pageant contestant & PR insider (and Beth!) named Cori Wallace, who chats with her about a variety of topics that extend beyond the scope of last week's drama to meander through pageants being both a reflection (and regression) of elements of modern womanhoo...

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 w...

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...

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 manufactur...

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 Childles...

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., g...

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 listener...

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 t...

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 frie...

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 ligh...

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 discussio...

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 th...

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 o...

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...

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...

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...

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 bei...

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 yo...

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.CO...

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...

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 fertilit...

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 captur...

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...

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, th...