Things We Got Wrong

We're exploring all the things we got wrong about pop culture and what pop culture gets wrong about us! We begin by jumping on the JLo trash train. TikTok turned on Jenny from the Block, so now we are. The millions of dollars she spent on a bizarro vanity project pushed us over the edge. Team Ben Affleck? We discuss the nightmare that was America's Next Top Model and Tyra Banks's rein of reality t...

We're talking about the Olympics and all the mistakes that have been made over the years. We revisit the Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan scandal, what we got wrong about that societally, and what the media made worse. We learn about some games that used to be in the Olympics that have since been eliminated, and we're rooting for some of them to come back (art competitions, please). We find out wh...

We're getting nostalgic for the 80s and 90s today! We're looking back and seeing what we got wrong about the final decades of the millennium. Were parachute pants horrible or awesome? The Rachel haircut--is it timeless or was it a fashion no? We discuss the early days of reality tv that Susie misses. We hear why Kato Kaelin still has habits he created to copy with his role in the "trial of the cen...

The theme of episode 64 of Brain Candy Podcast was abortion, and we had Jessica Semler on as our expert guest as she worked for Planned Parenthood. Today we revisited that conversation and invited Jessica back to discuss anything we got wrong 8 years ago. One thing Jessica did not get wrong is all the ways the Presidential election of 2016 would impact reproductive rights, women's rights, and our...

Today we're discussing Brain Candy episodes 61 and 62, which covered hair and a mid-season discussion of Rivals 3. First Sarah shares what she got wrong about weaves and her regrets about encouraging Devyn to wear her natural hair for the final because the weave would be an encumbrance to their victory. We discuss the stigma of hair plugs for men and Susie makes the argument that a lot of cosmetic...

Today we explore Brain Candy episodes 59 and 60 and all the wildness therein. We discuss whether Sarah has bipolar symptoms and why she thinks the DSM is a buncha malarkey. Susie explains why drunk driving and mental illness are similar. We reexamine a clip of TJ where he justified his condemnation of quitters, and whether we still disagree with him. Susie explains why she no longer enjoys "politi...

We're back with more things we got wrong! We discuss 2023 and whether we made any mistakes last year and what we learned. Sarah is preparing for her surgery and we talk about the madness of medicine and how it all feels like wizardry. We are looking back at an episode of Brain Candy with Adam Butler (Susie's husband) as a guest. We discuss how his role on reality tv production poses interesting et...

We revisit a story of a monk who raised his hand decades ago and never lowered it. Hear why we have some follow up questions for this fella, and why we question whether it was as painful as he says (even though there is plenty of evidence that it was very painful). Susie discusses her decision 8 years ago to write to criminals, and whether she regrets doing it. We learn why Sarah was wrong about t...

We're revisiting Brain Candy episodes 53 & 54 about personality tests, childhood nostalgia, and listener mail. We hear why Sarah knew she had OCD way back in 2016 and then somehow forgot despite having literally even symptom. She retook a personality test and her results now are not the same as in 2016, so we hear how she's changed. We discuss how the "worst case scenario" game she learned on...

We're covering Brain Candy episodes 51 on beauty hacks and 52 on headlines and hot topics. Sarah said she seemed immature during those conversations, but we were impressed at her encyclopedic knowledge on dermatology. She shares what she learned since then about beauty and her relationship with her self. Susie talks about how much she's changed in her vanity since she was on Road Rules. We revisit...

Today's show covers Brain Candy episode 49 and 50; a Would You Rather bonanza, handwriting analysis, and another behind-the-scenes of the Challenge. We debate whether handwriting analysis is legit or nonsense and why Sarah is so darn good at it. We discuss Susie's fear of polygraphs and how she thinks the machine will frame her and cause her wrongful conviction. Sarah remembers an encounter with C...

Sarah is all up in her feelings in this episode because she has some regrets about a past Brain Candy episode about vaginas. She explains why her words in the episode didn't match her actual feelings and why things are different now. We revisit the discussion on the Thai ping-pong shows and why Sarah would never go to one now. We hear why Sarah used to have "low vagina confidence," and how she fee...

After an amusing Amazon anecdote, Susie is off to the races defending herself against an accusation and a 1-star review. We discuss episode 45 of Brain Candy wherein we psychoanalyze Johnny, and ask ourselves whether it's ethical to psychoanalyze psychos. Susie says yes, and we think she convinced Sarah, so we're in the clear. We listen back on the traits of a narcissist and realize we definitely...

We're back after our summer hiatus, and hopefully feeling refreshed because we have a lot of wrongs to right. We reflect a bit on our approach to fixing our mistakes, but Susie is wondering why no one is apologizing to her for their mistakes. We discuss Brain Candy episodes 43 on Trolls and episode 44 on Race in America. We hear why Sarah was engaging the trolls when we started Brain Candy, but sh...

We cover Brain Candy episodes 40 and 41 today, which includes discussions on mental health, drugs, and marriage. We start with a reflection on mental health and why there is a "stigma" sometimes about mental health, and the ways our brains can sabotage us. We learn which addictions are the most corrosive to our brains and we express our frustration about the limits on what we know about CTE and ot...

Today we look back at more behind-the-scenes Challenge episodes and how so much of what we shared is now common knowledge. We discuss how the meals on the Challenge can be triggering, sporadic, and less than delicious. We talk about a cold call we did with Wes where he explained why he and Susie never got along, and his answer was extremely offensive. We explain why we think his answer is indicati...

We're covering a lot of ground today! First, Sarah wants to clarify on a psychology concept on early childhood trauma, and it's real good news! We were shocked to hear about an old sponsor who turned out to be a fraud, and we were both still using the product until now! Susie gives an amazing hack about money you might not even realize is owed to you. We discuss our conversation from an early epis...

We're covering Brain Candy episodes on DIY hacks, friendship, and boobs. We hear why Sarah is still a DIY-ing fool and can't stop taking on these big tasks even when they don't save her time or money. Susie revisits a lost friendship and gives a surprising update about the state of that friendship today. In fact, there is an update on the story that happened as we recorded the episode in real time...

We're revisiting the Brain Candy episode all about sex, and hearing why Sarah was cringing when she listened back. We learn why she is much more vocal now about her wants and needs, and why she grew apart from her husband. Susie was cringing at the episode too, but for a different reason. She says she has become much more private, modest, and censored about her intimate life, and doesn't want to h...

Today's episode revisits Brain Candy episodes 25 and 26 about love and where are Challengers now. Sarah said on the love episode that she was clearly trying to avoid upsetting her husband at the time by downplaying her attraction to women. She also feels she knows a lot more about what love is and now we can't quit singing "What Is Love." Susie slams throuples for absolutely no reason and she pred...

We revisit the Brain Candy episode about animals, and Susie wants Sarah to admit that dogs in clothes are the best thing ever. Sarah thinks dogs only need garments for warmth or saftey. Susie says they need overalls. We discuss why it's silly to be mad about reality tv moments from fifteen years ago, and how the rage is about the accuser not the accused. We learn the three levels of understanding,...

We revisit the first episode of Brain Candy where we covered behind-the-scenes of the Challenge. We discuss the way our views have changed since then, and why we have a different perspective now. Sarah explains why we've become viewers of the show again rather than cast members of the show, and why that changes how we watch the show. We explore some of the restrictions the shows place on the cast,...

We are disucssing our Cults episode and the 2015 Year in Review episode of Brain Candy. We revisit the reasons people are drawn to cults, and perhaps more importantly, why they don't leave. Sarah cringes at our flippancy toward celebrity deaths, and she theorizes that our exposure to death during the pandemic has made her more sensitive to and empathetic about grief. Susie regrets some of the thin...

We're revisiting our first Brain Candy episode on conspiracy theories, and it was a doozy. We brought Sarah's brother on the show to talk about some of his favorite conspiracies, and he had quite a few. We explain why conspiracy theories often include anti-semitic elements and the people who subscribe to them don't even realize they're promoting that ideology. Sarah was vindicated about her belief...

This is probably our most personal episode yet. We continue to realize how we've grown since we started the show, but not in a regretful way, but in a way that makes us thankful for all the lessons we've learned. We talk about how we shouldn't be tricked into thinking a company supports our values if they make a choice we like because their only interest is the bottom line. We revisit a conversati...