[indistinct chatter]

This week I found out Halloween has a sister. 🧙‍♀️ A twin depending on how you look at it. She's been here the whoooole time. She just lives in April instead of October. But first, I break down some of the news. Elon got summoned to Paris and didn't show up. Apple and Google are running ads for apps that digitally undress women. MrBeast's company is being sued by a former employee who...

This week I’m keeping it light. Well. Mostly. Tim Cook is out at Apple, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dropped its 2026 class, and 1,000 activists showed up to a Wisconsin beagle research facility and got met with tear gas and rubber bullets. Also, the Midwest got absolutely hammered by tornadoes this week, which got me thinking about tornado sirens, which led me down a rabbit hole (as anything wi...

You probably saw the headlines. "Trump Moving Forest Service Headquarters to Utah." Maybe you scrolled past. Maybe you sent a panicked text. Either way, here's what's actually going on, why it matters, and why it affects you even if you've never touched a hiking trail in your life. This week we're doing a full deep dive on the US Forest Service: where it came from, what i...

This week on [indistinct chatter] , I'm kicking things off with the news: Trump's Easter posts about Iran (yes, really), the Strait of Hormuz and what the "oil running out" panic actually means, the Supreme Court's conversion therapy ruling and why it's scarier than it sounds, the pattern I'm noticing of women being placed in high-visibility roles only to take the fal...

Today’s episode of [indistinct chatter] is a little different. We’re closing out Women’s History Month, and instead of doing a general recap, I wanted to take a deep dive into something specific… and honestly, something I love: horror. Because women didn’t just contribute to horror… they built it. From Ann Radcliffe redefining fear in the 1700s, to Mary Shelley creating an entirely new kind of hor...

This week on [indistinct chatter] , we're still in Women's History Month and I'm diving into something that has genuinely been making me angry the more I researched it... the laws that have historically applied to women and not men, and the ones that still do today. I start with the news, including the ongoing escalation of the Iran conflict and what it actually means for your wallet, a meningitis...

This week on [indistinct chatter] , I'm starting with the news you might have missed. The Iran war is still escalating and while everyone's covering the big strikes, I'm talking about the "black rain" falling over Tehran that's barely getting any attention. I also get into the NIH funding situation that should be making way more noise than it is, a war between Afghanistan and Pakistan that most pe...

This week on [indistinct chatter] , I’m starting with a few stories that might not have made it into your algorithm. I talk about the escalating conflict involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran, what it could mean for global energy markets, and why you might have noticed gas and utility prices creeping up. I also break down a lesser-discussed vote in Congress that effectively allows the current milit...

This week on [indistinct chatter] I'm kicking things off with the 32nd Annual Actor Awards (formerly the SAGs) hosted by Kristen Bell at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. We talk red carpets, the new wave of correspondents making interviews fun again, and the night's biggest winners: Sinners, The Studio, and The Pitt. Plus, a beautiful and emotional moment for Catherine O'Hara, and a well-dese...

This week on [indistinct chatter] , I’m diving into the full, complicated, surprisingly dramatic history of Smokey Bear . You know him... the shirtless bear in a ranger hat who’s been holding Americans accountable for their campfire habits since 1944? Yeah, that guy! But this isn’t just a cute mascot origin story. I unpack Smokey’s World War II roots, wartime propaganda, Japanese fire balloons, an...

This week on [indistinct chatter], Aliza tries to pull you out of the chaos surrounding the Epstein files and somehow leads straight to the weather. Yeah, I know, it's usually boring, but this isn't your regular small-talk weather convo. With the Front Range sitting in a snow drought, temperatures running far above average, and Red Flag Warnings lighting up phones across Colorado, Aliza breaks dow...

In this episode of [indistinct chatter], host Aliza dives into the unsettling world of conspiracy theories that weren’t theories at all. They were real, documented, and denied until the evidence became impossible to ignore. After a quick recap of Super Bowl LX (from record-breaking viewership and halftime highlights to commercials, AI fatigue, and corporate spectacle), Aliza gets down to business,...

Winter is dragging, but the vibes? Improving. On today’s episode of [indistinct chatter] , Aliza's talking Groundhog Day, longer days, seasonal depression finally loosening its grip, and why Punxsutawney Phil (despite his confidence) is still wrong most of the time. A quick dive into the history of Groundhog Day leads us straight into one of the internet’s favorite conspiracy-adjacent theories: ca...

In this episode of [indistinct chatter] , Aliza unpacks a heavy week in America. She talks about Ye’s apology and public accountability, the viral “what radicalized you” trend, and what that word really means in today’s culture. From there, she explores how music, family, and church shaped her values, and why empathy, curiosity, and questioning authority aren’t that radical at all. Aliza also brea...

It’s tax season, baby! Join Aliza, as she dives into the fascinating (and occasionally frustrating) world of income taxes. From ancient grain payments in Egypt to labor taxes in medieval Europe, and all the way to the modern US system we navigate every January through April. We’ve got it covered. Learn why income taxes weren’t originally meant for everyone, how the system shifted to include nearly...

The Golden Globes made podcast history by introducing their first-ever award for Best Podcast !!! And it turns out this moment matters way more than it seems. In this episode of [indistinct chatter] , Aliza breaks down why podcasts being recognized by the Golden Globes is a huge cultural shit. Not just for podcasters, but for how we experience media, taste, and attention in an algorithm-driven wor...

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2026! In this episode of [indistinct chatter] , Aliza kicks off the new year by talking about predicted trends for 2026 ... not resolutions, not goals, just the patterns that seem to be emerging as we all collectively ask: is this actually serving us? From AI being everywhere all at once, to travel slowing down, to tech finally being forced to fix the boring stuff th...

It’s the end of 2025 and somehow, we all survived it. In this year-end episode of [indistinct chatter], Aliza takes you on a month-by-month journey through one of the most chaotic, heartbreaking, historic, absurd, and oddly hopeful years in recent memory. From devastating disasters and global conflicts to pop culture insanity, medical breakthroughs, internet scandals, and Spotify Wrapped revelatio...

Welcome back to [indistinct chatter]! Host Aliza serves up a wild Christmas story: the Great Eggnog Riot of 1826. West Point cadets, fed up with strict military life under Superintendent Sylvanus Thayer, smuggled whiskey onto campus for a Christmas Eve party. What started as innocent eggnog turned into drunken chaos with swords, smashed windows, and a barricaded superintendent.  IN THIS EPISODE: W...

Welcome back to [indistinct chatter]! Host Aliza stumbles across a story that stopped her mid-scroll: college students at the University of Texas at Arlington just solved a 34-year-old murder. Their class project led to an arrest in a case that had stumped detectives since 1991. But this isn't just about one remarkable group of students... it's about how regular people are revolutionizing cold cas...

Welcome back to [indistinct chatter]! Host Aliza dives into the Satanic panic that gripped America in the 1980s and 90s—and yes, it connects to Stranger Things. Remember in season 4 when the whole town wanted to hunt down Eddie for leading a "Satanic cult"? That was based on a very real (and very ridiculous) chapter of American history where Dungeons & Dragons, heavy metal, and daycare centers...

Welcome back to [indistinct chatter]! Host Aliza is still recovering from her Thanksgiving sugar hangover (unconditionally toxic relationship alert!) before diving into the conspiracy theory that inspired Stranger Things. Spoiler: the show was almost called Montauk , and the rabbit hole goes DEEP. **Aliza tried to avoid season 5 spoilers, but listen at your own risk! IN THIS EPISODE: What is the M...

Welcome back to [indistinct chatter]. I start by getting personal about my Thanksgiving traditions — from crab legs instead of turkey to bingeing Stranger Things on Thanksgiving Eve, and everything that makes the holiday feel cozy or chaotic. Then I dig into the history most of us weren’t taught in school: How the story of the “First Thanksgiving” got romanticized Tisquantum’s (Squanto’s) kidnappi...

I’m back with another episode of [indistinct chatter], and we’re starting off exactly how you might expect (or not)... some reality TV thoughts (yes, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is still that girl) and a mini rant about why watching the NFL now basically requires a second mortgage. But then we get into the real topic: Infantilization . I break down what it actually means to infantilize someon...

Welcome back to [indistinct chatter]. This episode started with me talking about podcasting again. Recording in a blanket fort, redoing takes over and over, and still trying to get out of my own head long enough to just hit publish. So if you’re also stuck in that perfectionism loop… same. But the main focus today is Veterans Day . More specifically, what it actually means and how it became what i...