The JV Club with Janet Varney

Tidy up your closet fort and put a new coat of wax on your race car bed for this Seattle-centric chat with Eddie-Veddered-hair Tarin Anderson ( Take My Wife ). See you in the darkroom, shutterbugs!

The stars aligned this week and very fortuitously brought us the stars of the new film Duck Butter , Alia Shawkat (who also co-wrote and co-produced) and Laia Costa (who co-produced) for a chat about basketball, double lives, and the discovery of maybe the most charming pronunciation of an American cartoon ever. 

The fabulous Bree Essrig talks boarding school magic, construction-site hook-ups, and the times in your life when wearing your bra on the outside of your shirt just feels right. Strap on your aviator hat and all hands on deck for Commander Crazy!

Attention Dillards shoppers: Episode 282 with Rachael O’Brien ( Be Here For A While podcast) brings lots of embarrassing tidbits about both Rachael and JV’s earlier years, though Rachael arguably walks away with more dignity overall! This episode could aptly be enjoyed on a long walk through Los Angeles, if you’re in the neighborhood.

Put on your grown-up glasses and fire up your self-walking dog for this visit with comedian and author Laurie Kilmartin ( Dead People Suck: A Guide for Survivors of the Newly Departed ) as she and JV talk swimming breakthroughs, sadistic teachers, and chewing-not-swallowing in Episode 281 of the podcast!

Throw on your best speakeasy togs or your plaid school uniform for this chat with the brilliant delight that is musician Jill Sobule, who meanders with JV along topics like mountains vs. ocean views, metaphorical circuitry-exploding friend crushes, and the wonders of the short-lived Viva magazine.

Actress Nicki Micheaux ( Lowlife, Animal Kingdom ) blows JV away with an immediate name-drop of Prescott, Arizona, and what follows is a spirited chat ranging from the criminal justice system to the super-heroism of parenting to the appeal of a good vampire. 

The delightful Maria Blasucci ( Drunk History , The Big Ones podcast) comes by for a heart-to-heart with JV that includes both birds and bees, but maybe not how you’d think. Plus, a lot of love for Manor House and its sister shows… and some fantastic ideas for new ones, if we do say so ourselves, PBS!

Janet gets swept up by the ethereal Kimmy Robertson ( Twin Peaks ) and a pondering of mango yogurt, serendipitous events, curling toes and the new envy theme of the podcast (not actually the new theme).

Nerdist worlds collide with this week’s delightful guest, Alicia Lutes (Fangirling). After JV appeared on Alicia’s show yesterday (Wed. 2/28), Alicia stopped by to dig into lots of juicy high school-era stuff and the perils of feeling so much! Otherwise known as so many feels.

Crack open your Nancy Drew mysteries and take it easy on that white wine— it’s the marvelous Mo Collins on this week’s episode of the podcast! JV and Mo talk oil painting, a bit of light dorm-defacing, and throw a big salute to some of the “first ladies of rock" (We’re looking at YOU, Pat Benatar!). 

This week on the Episode 274 of The JV Club, Baskets’ Martha Kelly and JV talk about getting punched by kids, what happens when your dog may or may not be drugging you, and the appeal of a good old fashioned general store. 

The marvelous Nyima Funk (The Black Version) comes over for a chat with JV about the offstage wonders of improv, musical Skype ringtones, and looking back to look forward. Turkey sausage all round!

Episode 272 is a break from tradition! Janet, freshly home from SF Sketchfest, welcomes back guest Eliza Skinner for a conversation about - gasp- current events! Seriously everybody- there isn’t even a M.A.S.H. game. But there IS a lot of honest chewing on various confusing and important issues if we do say so ourselves. Enjoy!

SF Sketchfest staple Irene Tu sits down with JV for a debrief on having smarts, breaking hearts, basketballs, and pink walls in this episode that definitely does not rhyme the way parts of this description for some reason did. Happy Sketchfest everyone!

It’s a JV Club re-release with comedian Cameron Esposito ( Put Your Hands Together ) and SHE! IS! GREAT! There’s nothing like a story about a medical semi-crisis in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language to get the old podcast blood flowing. But it doesn’t stop there… because who doesn’t love talking to their parents about sex? NOTE: The prior two references are NOT RELATED.

Get your doughnut craving ready for the pink pastry box of podcast episodes with Lili Mirojnick (SyFy’s “Happy”), whose soccer cleats got hung up for a career in theatre after many a post-game glazed binge. Plus, M.A.S.H. brings about reflections on 90’s era Leo and JV startles herself remembering last night’s dream about a certain teen idol of her own!

Find out why this week’s guest Tara Sands' (Pokemon and a million other things) favorite quote from “Tootsie” is a hundred times better than JV’s; what really goes on inside (and after) the Jelly Belly factory tour; and how many words with double o’s can be jammed into one game of M.A.S.H!

Strap on your character shoes and let’s get this show choir going! Friends and co-creators of TV Land’s “Teachers” Katy Colloton and Katie O’Brien pop over to JV’s for an intimate (we’re talking shared microphone) chat about statement jackets, midwest values, and collapsing lungs.  

It's a JV Club re-release! Get a jump on space travel with the extraordinary Zelda Williams ( Legend of Korra ) and her incredibly awesome voice. Tales of private school, voice acting, and the puzzles of social media lead up to one of Janet’s worst MASH categories ever, which Zelda navigates like a champ.

JV has a long distance chat from Tucson to Portland with the creator and star of “The Benefits of Gusbandry,” Alicia J. Rose and Brooke Totman, whose teen years in L.A. and southern Oregon both led to stops in San Francisco before settling in Portland, home of the artisanal everything! 

The JV Club wishes you a wonderful holiday break this week, and invites you to spend part of your Thursday with the charming and delightful Arden Rose, who barely gets a chance to talk about her teenage years thanks to JV’s extra-rambly ramblings about all other topics great and small. This episode includes plenty of Cate Blanchett worship!

It’s one of those trip-on-a-plastic-bag, fall-on-your-face, lose-a-tooth good times with the fantastic Jameela Jamil (The Good Place), who shares the soft underbelly horrors of adolescence with JV with such humility and humor, you’ll want to marry her immediately. Now let’s go find a dumpster of leftovers to celebrate!

Escape rooms! Scary dreams and movies! Raccoons! Tap Dancing! The list (and exclamation points) could go on forever, but suffice it to say, this week’s guest Yael Grobglas (Jane the Virgin) made JV’s day. Now she can make yours!

In this JV Club re-release, Janet creates a cinematic picture for the teen years of this week’s sublime guest, Deborah Baker, Jr. ( Stan Against Evil ), which essentially places her in New England of the early 1950’s. But who can help it, with images of Mona Lisa Smile pushing their way in at every turn? Also, talking horses and endless popovers.