StirredUp

This is the kickoff of our summer series. New format this year: garden tours, real food talk, and the same "we don't know, we're just having a conversation" energy you already know. In this episode: - A full garden walkthrough (raspberries, tomatoes, dahlias, cucumbers, peas) - Why Burpee Seeds grows fastest during every recession - The Monsanto/GMO seed patent problem, explained - Farmland gettin...

Your local hospital. Your kid's school. Your apartment complex. You might think these are owned by your community but increasingly, they're owned by Wall Street. Private equity firms are quietly buying up essential services across Michigan and across the country. But it's not just your standard flip. They're loading them with debt, cutting costs, and selling them for profit. And by the time they'r...

It's the Summer on the Porch series, and we're doing what we do best: starting somewhere random and ending up somewhere real. This week Jessica's continued hot take that's been sitting with her — that the only people genuinely impressed by AI are men, because women have been running these systems in their heads their whole lives.  Heather's a little salty about Mother's day and we know she's not a...

We recorded this one while literally hauling the last bits of garage sale pieces to the thrift.  This week, Jessica and Heather unpack garage sale culture, the surprisingly fascinating people who show up at dawn for your old blender, the people who were fighting over a 25 year old tin canister of crackers and definitely got sideways on topics such as the real return of smoking as a vibe. Heather r...

Joann Fabrics is closing its doors but Hobby Lobby just keeps growing. New stores, bigger profits, a billionaire family quietly getting richer.  Hobby Lobby is a story about private ownership, religious exemptions, a workforce that keeps showing up, and a customer base that treats Sunday closures like a sign from God. This week on Stirred Up, we're pulling back the curtain on one of America's most...

This week, Jessica and Heather are going full banana on the most chaotic, joyful, and surprisingly genius sports business model in America.  We're breaking down how a broke couple from North Carolina bought a failing baseball team for $1.8 million, eliminated every single thing that makes sports annoying, and accidentally built a $500 million entertainment empire — with a waitlist longer than the...

$10,000 and a Prayer. outh travel sports is a $40 billion industry built on one thing: parental hope. Families are spending $3,000, $5,000, even $10,000 a year... going into debt...  skipping vacations... working extra jobs...  all chasing a dream. Meanwhile, private equity firms are buying up the tournaments, the facilities, the uniforms, and the software. Every dollar your family spends has a de...

Heather and Jessica chat in the studio to update on just about everything...  - Job Applications - Crashing Out - Women's Health - Olympic Hockey And what else? 

Have corporations tossed their ESG - sustainability goals out with the trash? Or are they just too scared to talk about it? 🌍🔥 In this episode of StirredUp, we’re challenging... I sustainability dead?  While the world warms up, the corporate suits are cooling down and quietly scrubbing ESG goals from their websites and deleting goals that hold these highly influential companies to being good whi...

The average American household now manages over six entertainment subscriptions alone—but the "leaks" don't stop at Netflix. We are now "renting" our office software, our car’s performance, and even our home security.  In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the $250 billion subscription economy. We explore why brands are desperate to turn every product into a monthly fee, how new "Click-to-C...

The house used to be a destination. Now, it’s an app on your home screen. 📱🎲 Today we pull back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar rise of the online gambling industry. It’s not just about luck anymore; it’s about high-level data science, psychological engineering, and a business model designed to keep you clicking.   But how did we get here? And who is it affecting the most?    Since the 2...

The game is over, the confetti has settled, and the CFOs are finally waking up from their cold sweats. For Super Bowl LX, the price of a 30-second spot hit a record-breaking $8 million to $10 million. That breaks down to roughly $266k per second. Yeah.  We break down the "all-in" cost of a Super Bowl spot—which often tops $20 million once you add in A-list celebrity fees and $5 million production...

It's fair that America's health culture is more complex that what one single gym can represent, but the gym that represents America, the number one gym in the country, is Planet Fitness.  With nearly 3,000 locations and over 20 million members, Planet Fitness isn't just a gym it’s the primary source of how many Americans experience exercise.  But is their "Judgment Free" philosophy truly about inc...

Turn on any news station or scroll through social media, and you’ll hear the same warning: Foreign adversaries, specifically China, are quietly buying up the heart of America—our farmland. The story goes that they are snatching up the soil to control our food supply and compromise our national security. But is that actually what’s happening? In this episode, we follow the paper trail to find a dif...

We had a few too many laughs to have a proper send off so we dropped into the studio for some last-of-the-season laughs and to spill some tea from the thanksgiving parties we both hosted. See you Feb 6 for SEASON 3 and stay tuned for some LIVE drop in visits until then.

We're taking a break in December and will be back early next year. 

It’s the Season 2 sendoff and Jess & Heath are fully unhinged (in the best way). From Trump and Epstein to kids, families, and the little things that keep us sane—this episode is part gossip, part therapy, and part “clink if you’re tired.” Kick back, pour something strong, and join the chaos.

The global scam economy is now a trillion-dollar industry—spanning call-center crime rings, AI-powered fraud, romance scams, crypto schemes, money-mule networks, and full-blown international operations that law enforcement can’t keep up with. In this episode of Stirred Up, Jessica & Heather break down how scams became one of the world’s most profitable industries, why it’s nearly impossible to...

In this episode, we dive into the booming spiritual medium industry. We break down the reading to the revenue. We delve into celebrity stars like Theresa Caputo right before we go to see her show live. Grab a drink as we explore the psychology, the business, and the billion-dollar question behind talking to the dead.   Support the Show by Shopping with our Sponsors: 💼 Get 10% Off Google Workspace...

GLP-1 drugs were designed to help facility the production of insulin for those with Type II diabetes. When drug makers, prescribers, and patients themselves realized it also contributed to weight loss, there was no keeping a lid on this secret forever. Now, those who take the shot off-label are swearing they fix everything: perimenopause misery, joint pain, inflammation, food noise, metabolic chao...

Everyone’s talking about AI... and this week we are talking about the war happening underneath it: the battle between America’s need to win the AI revolution and the massive strain it’s about to put on our power grid, our water systems, and our wallets. Here’s the truth: We cannot afford for AI to fail. Not financially, not strategically, not globally. Our economy, our 401(k)s, national security a...

This week, we pull back the curtain on the complex and often controversial funding mechanisms behind our nation's jails. We investigate: Public Jails: How are they funded by your local taxes? What role do county budgets and state allocations play? Private Jails: Who are the major corporations involved, and how do their contracts and per-diem rates affect taxpayers and policy? Is 'for-profit' incar...

Public schools don’t just run themselves. They require major funding. They run on heart, hustle, and a whole lot of community creativity. In this episode, Jessica and Heather follow the money behind America’s classrooms. We break down funding from property taxes, federal funds, and bond votes. We unpack how school funding really works, who decides what gets funded, and why investing in education i...