Imperfect Strangers

As outside opens up, Melissa and Amanda talk about their anxiety with re-integrating into society and socializing again for the sake of their children. The two also discuss feeding their picky children. Fast food shame is real.  Both say we moms should not villainize fast food or moms who serve it. Let’s undo that shame. It’s convenient, everybody’s still alive and healthier options are still offe...

Amanda and Melissa catch up on their very adult old lady weekends. Amanda went to the nursery to buy all her flowering plants. Melissa enjoyed outdoor dining with another couple. Could you believe?! The two also discuss their Mother’s Day hopes and dreams plus a reminder that oral sex is only for nighttime. If you don’t want to see and enjoy your stranger-friends’ names in lights, you can skip the...

Melissa and Amanda branch out to meet a stranger from the Internet named Austin Archer. Austin is an actor, podcaster and content creator whose unique work is thought-provoking and fun at the same time. His content ranges from light conversations on wearing a blazer with turtlenecks to important discussions on police brutality, dismantling white supremacy, fatphobia. If it matters and you gotta be...

In this safe space, Amanda shares that her dad, lovingly known to this community as Arthur, is experiencing an unexpected health situation.  As the oldest daughter, and an enneagram 5, Amanda has taken control and kicked solutions  into high gear. Later in the episode, Melissa admits she’s wrong about children having phones. Egg on the face! Plus, Melissa begrudgingly loosens her Covid protocols n...

There’s a lot going on in this episode!  Amanda and Melissa intended to have arguing time because Quinn is campaigning for a phone and we all know Melissa is pulling for the girl to have one before the start of 6th grade. But before they got to that, there was discussion on white folks staying outta Black business, inexplicably My First Period and how to really use a body basal thermometer. Maybe...

On the season three premiere of Imperfect Strangers, one of only three podcasts Michael K of DListed listens to, Melissa catches up with Amanda by telling her all about pandemic homeschooling fatigue. Our two stranger-friends also discover they differ wildly on how they shop. Amanda loves an “internet shopping moment” and has purchased many things because that Instagram be knowing. Melissa confess...

On the season finale of season 2, Melissa and Amanda reach a new level in this “getting to know each other situation.” Amanda reveals, in full, that she once had a sizable collection of pewter fairies holding crystals. This knowledge unlocks a new understanding for Melissa who had a preconceived notion of Amanda as just a “fitness lady” and not this nuanced nerd, which is how Melissa sees herself....

As they head into their 40th and final episode for season two, Amanda and Melissa take a moment to say thank you to the listeners for creating such a fun and engaged community. But also to acknowledge that the show *is* truly about two people getting to know each other and sometimes those conversations get deep — wait a minute, this is too deep — deep and some self-reflection is required before pu...

If you thought we were judgmental last week while telling you how to name your baby in ways we approve, wait until you hear how we feel about what you shouldn’t do on your wedding day. On this episode, marvel at Melissa and Amanda’s total lack of respect for the traditional wedding. Apologies in advance because even if we’re just being honest, there’s a 78% chance we’re being rude. Want to support...

This week Amanda and Melissa discuss the importance of naming a child. Baby naming is serious as cancer rhythm is a dancer. Very serious business. Want to support Amanda and Melissa, the strangers behind your favorite new podcast? Join our Patreon! It’s AMAZING if we do say so ourselves (and we do).  There you’ll find bonus content, episodes that never made air, IG Monday Night Lives you may have...

Sparked by a lively conversation during our Monday Night Live show on Instagram about  whether or not (white) football star Travis Kelce could be deemed “racially ambiguous,” our actually racially ambiguous Melissa decides to play a game with white Amanda where she has to guess the ethnicity of a celebrity. Be sure to check out the corresponding interactive Instagram story to see the exact photos...

Amanda and Melissa imagine what it would be like to swap mom lives for a day. Their day-to-day lives are similar except for a few things. Which stranger-friend has multiple animals and works out every day? Which one reads all the articles and can’t go to sleep with dishes in the sink? Listen to find out. Buy your STRANGERS44 TICKET ONLY. PayPal: bs.strangers@gmail.com OR Venmo: @imperfectstrangers...

On this episode, our stranger-friends discuss what they did over the weekend like normal people who are getting to know each other would. Did you forget these two are getting to know each other? Amanda is handy AF. Melissa is most certainly not. These two also love their children but hate their children’s things so they’ve designed their homes to exclude them. Rude! If you want to see your name in...

On this episode, Amanda and Melissa discuss the aftermath of the Trump administration and the subsequent insurrection he incited. Yes, it was three weeks ago, but it’s still pressing news! Democracy was hanging by a thread, people! Looking forward to a new day after Biden’s inauguration, the stranger-friends discuss their feelings on the vaccine. Amanda confirms, once and for all, that she’s not a...

The strangers are discussing body image on this episode. Melissa has body dysmorphia and therefore dresses like a plumber. She tells a story about having to meet sexy metal band wives and feeling like Chris Kattan as Mango. Amanda wants to know how exactly to exude sexiness because even after watching ANTM for many years, she still hasn’t mastered the smize. Funny, because the lady drops a bomb th...

This episode was recorded before the insurrection so please don’t think we’re oblivious. Anyway! Welcome back, Stranger-Friends! New year, new whatever because it’s still corona though! Listen as Amanda explains her decades-long fitness instructor side hustle to Melissa. Then, randomly, take a trip down memory lane as these two discuss bad eyebrows which leads to a conversation about early era Tee...

Before we get into the summary of this episode, know that you can skip the important and special Patreon shoutouts by going directly to the 5:00 minute mark. We took your note, husband of the podcast. *glares* Calm down. Now! On this very special episode, Amanda and Melissa welcome the lovely Medium Kareen Boebel as the first ever guest on the show! *nails emoji* Listen as Kareen tells us how she...

Continuing last week’s conversation, surely to induce both eye rolls and applause, Melissa gets downright sanctimonious about how she’s doing what needs to be done to end Covid. The discussion then shifts to how Amanda and Melissa handle displays of affection. Umhmm. Which stranger do you think is out here French kissing? Then enjoy their thoughts on junk food. Yup, the weed kicked in deep by that...

On this two-part episode, Melissa and Amanda ended up talking on the phone into the wee hours of the morning. Our stranger-friends usually record during daylight hours amid other responsibilities, but because Ohio is Covid-crazy, Amanda’s kids are all back in the house doing remote learning. We can’t trust six children to not bother us during a recording, so we set up past bedtime and hit record....

Amanda, a Taurus and Melissa, an Aquarius discuss their zodiac compatibility. Also in this episode, our stranger-friends discuss their respective Christmas and Hanukkah plans. Stay tuned all the way to the end of the episode to get your Patreon shout-out and the discount code for holiday shopping with friend of the pod @1926NYc’s lovely store! Want to support Amanda and Melissa,  the strangers beh...

Continuing last week’s reflections on their mothers, Amanda and Melissa pivot to discussions on their fathers. Arthur, not his real name but is now his name because that’s what Melissa named him in season one when she named Linda, has been the loveliest, most perfect example of a father for Amanda. You’ll also learn that Shorty, government name Maurice, has an interesting way of showing love to Me...

Amanda and Melissa have a deep conversation about how motherhood can and does but shouldn’t necessarily shape your sense of self. Somehow that leads to a too-deep conversation about how well we as adult women know our own mothers and how our experiences as their children shape how we parent. Head on over to our Patreon because we’ve unlocked a bonus episode on Amanda’s Midwestern accent and AAVE n...

Fire up a super patriotic song that usually makes you uncomfortable because the American flag has been hijacked for nefarious and racist purposes and worry no more! An ecstatic and joyful Amanda and I discuss the 2020 election results. #RealNews Listen as we give commentary on #LawnAndOrder and give flowers to Black women. Pour yourself a tall glass of MAGA tears and enjoy. And as referenced at th...

We are all hanging by a thread here. Amanda and I wanted to wait until after we survived Election Day to bring you a timely episode about (possibly) the end of the world so please enjoy these cutting room scraps. On this raggedy shit, we talk shit about Instagram influencers because we’re mad we don’t have that douche je ne sais quoi that keeps them paid. We also get nostalgic about old school blo...

On this episode that has no business airing, Amanda shares her son, the light of many lives, Bennett’s birth story. We should give you a time stamp for when that PG part is over because from there it’s just triple X. Melissa and Amanda discuss sex. Toys — what’s the website for purchase though, Amanda? Pornos — you mean like DVDs? Intimacy in long term marriage. Linda, get. Want to support your St...