The JV Club with Janet Varney

Episode 239 brings you the first Boy of Summer, just a touch early, to celebrate the release of Jonah’s FANTASTIC Seeso show, “Hidden America with Jonah Ray!” Hear JV and JR chat about drum therapy, impressing our little kid selves, and oh-so-delicious SPAM.

Slip on your palazzo pants for a chat with the terrific Christine Lennon, whose new book “The Drifter” has coincidentally somehow combined three of JV’s faves: deep, complex friendships among women, origin stories/teen years, and murder. Hooray! Plus, a lot of Joans and a lot of jets!

Vintage Space’s Amy Shira Teitel brings her astounding knowledge of space travel history, her extremely chic style, and much more to this episode of The JV Club, where body casts, beer, and yes, Anne of Green Gables make appearances.

It's a JV Club re-release with the endlessly awesome and prolific Felicia Day (Geek and Sundry). Learn the pros and cons of spending your high school years outside of high school proper, where you have the chance to become as weird and as wonderful as you like. And! One of the swiftest and most satisfying sets of M.A.S.H. answers you could dare to dream for!

Where do we start? The inspiring and awesome Linda Park (a million things including this upcoming season of “Bosch”) sits down for a conversation about becoming our mothers and/or superheroes, taking possession of a certain Maggie, and cheese, cheese, cheese.

Put simply, Giulia Rozzi (True Love; Hopefully We Don’t Break Up) is a pure delight, and the various and sundry topics discussed in this episode of The JV Club do not disappoint. Benny Hill, Mrs. Roper and John Laroquette share space with sustainable fashion, poetry, and depression in a conversation canvassing the silly and sincere.

Episode 234 brings you not just the delightful Alice Lowe (“Prevenge”), but her cooing daughter Della, whose mastery of rattle-wielding and blueberry-arranging is without equal. Learn impressively little about Alice’s teen years but a whole lot about lots of other fun stuff!

Recorded from the high seas off the Baja strait, this live JV Club episode features fellow JoCo cruise guests Jean Grae, Gail Simone and Rebecca Sugar, who are all just too wonderful to be described in a humble episode description. Follow @janetvarney and @jvclubpodcast on Twitter!

This week’s guest, the marvelous Alice Wetterlund (People of Earth), only increases Janet’s love of all things Minnesotan. Join them for a discussion that includes important topics like unicorns, Alice in Chains, and the unique grief of eating too many Reese’s Pieces. 

It's a JV Club re-release! Melanie Lynskey gracefully navigates Janet's extreme doting, a dog bark or two, and way too many questions about the film "Heavenly Creatures" in Episode 16's foray into life in New Zealand, crushing on Beck, and whether freezing in place creates magical invisibility.

Throw your hair in some springy red braids and jump on your spotted horse for a mosey down memory lane with the super cool Ever Carradine (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” Marvel’s "Runaways”), including a love of a certain house on a certain prairie, reflections on the Waldorf method, and a thorough appreciation of the perfection of chips and guac.

Meditation! Norwegians! Jesus! All this and more with the delightful  Laura House  on this week’s episode of the podcast. Plus: Vince Gilligan’s new show about the real Edna Garrett*! *Yes, we know this reference will mean nothing to anyone born after 1985.

While this week’s episode with the fantastic Jena Friedman ( The Daily Show ) is one of the least teen-years-focused JV Club episodes of all time, there’s a pretty compelling reason for that: Jena’s experience and thoughts about today’s challenging climate, are provocative and inspiring. She’s a badass!

This special live episode recorded at the 16th annual SF Sketchfest, presented by Audible, brings you the wit, charm, and considerable heavyweight talent of Rachel Dratch, Jon Hamm, and “Musical Director” Matt Nathanson!

This week, the inspiring and super cool author, activist, and founder of Spacehack.org, Ariel Waldman reassures Janet that you don’t need to have a PhD in science to get involved in the space program! Plus: raves, horses, mac and cheese, and how it feels to be named after a cartoon character. No, not  that  cartoon character.

It's a re-release of Jen Kirkman! The podcast's first listener-generated interview! You asked (most) of the questions, and Jen Kirkman was up for the task. Find out what she and Janet have to say about Judy Blume, making out in basements, ironic greeting cards and more in Episode 10 of  The JV Club .

Get paleontological with the fantastic Lyric Lewis (“Mad TV”) in episode 226 of the JV Club, where you can revel in the wonder of “Jurassic Park,” appreciate the vibrance of New Orleans and the blue ribbon public schools of St. Paul, Minnesota, and even gain an extra special new month of the calendar year!

It’s a live episode of the JV Club from chilly Portland, Oregon with rapper DaRealWordSound, “Warm Bodies” author Isaac Marion, and anime voiceover star Cristina Vee! Tolerate the slightly poor recording quality to hear adorable tales of teenagerhood from these sublime guests!

No, this isn’t the beginning of a long run of “winter boys” for The JV Club- it’s a special circumstance that merits the special episode title. IT’s also an episode that includes numerous references to penises. For realz. Be forewarned! You’ll also hear plenty about being a white teen in Hawaii, a secret inventor, and a Star Trek: TNG fantasizer.

It's a JV Club re-release! It's tough to beat New York City in the 1980's, as this week's guest  Zandy Hartig  ( Childrens Hospital ) proves with memories of museums, clubs, and a very special classroom. Plus: Sting!

Surf’s up! Learn a thing or two about determination from NBC “Superstore” co-star Nichole Bloom, whose love of acting hit her at an early age and she hasn’t slowed down since. Well, except to revel in some sweet Emo grooves.

J V Club  guest Yvette Nicole Brown rounds out the ladies of the beloved NBC series with a gab about bidding farewell to the snowstorms of Ohio, the undeniable genius of  The Golden Girls , and the heart-swelling lyrics of DeBarge.

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.

This week’s wonderful guest Kirsten Vangsness (Criminal Minds) maps out the mere 25 mile-apart-yet-wildly-different-worlds of her teen years at Cerritos High and her LA life today, along with all of those juicy feelings that somehow remain unchanged inside. The bottom line is this: Janet falls in platonic love over the course of this episode.

They finally did it! Janet and the magnificent Riki Lindhome ( Another Period , Garfunkel and Oates) rug-sits with JV on a warm October evening and talks Hitchcock movies, clarinet reed germs, and the under-appreciated 70’s bikini tan.