That's What We Said: Recent Episodes
Katie Basham, Jenny Hobson, Becca Parrish, and Kelly Smith
What’s on the minds of four women exploring their place in the world - politics, pop culture, parenting, and everything in between. Set against the backdrop of small-town Kentucky life, informed by progessive values, gen-x sensibilities, and the search for humor and friendship amongst the insanity.
Kelly has reached a milestone birthday, and we’re taking a few moments to reflect on the wisdom we’ve earned in almost two centuries of living. Among the four of us. We’re not saying Kelly is two hundred years old! In this episode, you’ll get tips about car tweezers, grocery cart strategy, youtube fitness videos, and above all, cooking turkeys in bags. Call us, Reynolds Corporation! And stick around to hear how we got our Cracker Barrel breakfast comped in a Downton Abbey re-enactment.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Are you ready for rage? After the decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe V Wade, we take some time for fury. If you’re looking for actions and solutions, this episode is not for you as we’re honoring the grief process with a week for anger before we get back to the hard work of bandaiding American Democracy. If you want to hear from four fortysomething women who are just as angry as you, then we’ve got the profanity-laced incoherence you need for this moment.
This week, we’re talking about what we’ve been reading, listening to, and watching. We’ve got movies to be watched on planes, twitter accounts about home repair from the star of Our Flag Means Death, and weighty tomes about history. But this episode quickly turns into an intervention for Kelly and Becca who may have gone a little too deep into true crime, The Staircase, and the story of Michael Peterson. We just want them to not scare themselves silly right before bedtime. Stay tuned after the episode outro music for an 'easter egg' segment that’s NSFDTKTSITFM -- that’s Not Safe For Driving The Kids To Soccer In The Family Minivan. It’s not safe for work either. Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
And we’re back! Welcome to Season 3 of “That’s What We Said.” With some false stops and starts as we struggle once again with faulty internet and remembering our own names, we’re ready to catch up. A lot has happened during our hiatus, including the controversial opening of a mega gas station in our community. Some of us have begun traveling for work again, and we have some stories from airports. Boy, do we have stories. “That’s What We Said” is like spending Saturday evening on the porch with your friends, sipping a glass of wine and shooting the breeze.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
It’s once again time for some Kentucky politics on the pod! This week, we’re excited to interview Mae Suramek, candidate for the 89th district Kentucky House seat. It’s just a few days until the election here in Madison County, and we’re talking to Mae about running for office, running a business, and starting a new podcast about the experience of Asian Americans in Kentucky. Mae talks to us about what it means to “do well by doing good.” We hope you’ll do good next week by voting in your local election, especially if you’re here with us in Kentucky’s 89th. And don’t forget to check out “Where Y’all Really From” from Louisville Public Media.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Have you ever felt like you REALLY WANT to do SOMETHING to help fix the the world, but can't find the time between working, helping with homework, shuttling kids to practices, grocery shopping, and #allthethings?
Joining us this week is Beverly Battle, an organizer & activist with Kentucky roots, who talks about her organization "Red, Wine and Blue" (check out their podcast!) that creates progressive political momentum by supporting women & helping us all learn how small actions can lead to big change. #relish
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
We’ve recently learned that we’re the eighth most popular comedy podcast in Oman, so we’re dreaming about the future of the pod in this week’s episode. Coming up are episodes on Kentucky politics and Kentucky bourbon, although not necessarily in the same episode. We also want to know what our listeners want to hear. More tales of Katie Marie Kondo-ing her drawers? More library adventures from Kelly? More murder books from Jenny? Whatever our listeners want, we’re prepared to bring it.
PS. This week, we’re missing Becca who’s off adventuring in Ohio.
PPS. If you live in Oman and are listening, we’d love to ask you why.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
There’s Covid everywhere & we can’t keep safe Covid measures in place because of the dumb KY legislature & stubborn people who won’t listen to science so we're feeling a bit down. To distract ourselves, we decide to reflect on the Olympics - from the incredible US Women's Gymnastic Team to knitting divers to necklace wearing soccer/football players to dancing horses. We learn that Becca was a gymnast! And Jenny & her mom dabbled in synchronized swimming! After a month-long hiatus we’re back! #relish
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
It’s time for a media roundup. After Jenny and Katie’s conflict over Cards Against Humanity in the last episode, they make up over their shared affection for TikToker Kevin James Thornton. Shoutout to Katie for always sharing Hoosier-adjacent TikToks with Jenny. Becca raises the tone with some excellent nonfiction about podcast hero — and everyone’s hero!— Eleanor Roosevelt. Finally, not even a binge watch of Kim’s Convenience can distract Kelly from a week of epic car trouble.
Recorded in Red River Gorge, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
What do a hoedown, a drowned mouse, a cutthroat game of Cards Against Humanity, hours spent on learning a TikToc dance, 45 bags of Cheetos, and a bottle of Snoop Dog wine have in common? Listen to it ALL go down in “Dancing with Wildlife,” (AKA “Notes from the Cabin” AKA “Kaftan Magic” AKA “Undisclosed Location”) a special That’s What We Said episode recorded during our epic post-Pandemic pod sisters weekend get-away.
Recorded in Slade, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
In this week’s episode, we reflect on the “new normal” as things start to open up and we adjust to maskless shopping and hard pants. This is our first time recording together since the beginning of the quarantimes, and we get to use our fancy new mic. We’re still figuring out our microphone, and we may sound more like we were recording from a busy roadside than we did when we were on zoom. But we think our laughter sounds better than ever, and we promise to figure the noise out. Becca’s dog Freeman is the star of the show, but we also talk about library squirrels and the experts who can tell whether rodents are boys or girls. And Jenny pitches her solution to getting folks vaccinated so we can embrace even more of a hard pants, hard partying mom lifestyle: it’s the Vaccininja Van.
Recorded in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Now that we’ve conquered the podcasting world, we thought it was time to share our mega-million dollar business ideas. Maybe it’s not the best idea to broadcast our business acumen before copyrighting our brainstorms. Trademarking? Patenting? We don’t know, so maybe we should just put all this genius out into the public domain. MRS! Sips and Soccer! Super Distractors! Hawt Mayor Calendars! Interested? You can reach us at our cafe bookstore in Canada...in our dreams.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
It's the outtake footage you've been waiting for, where we discuss whether to purchase a microphone for in-person recording. Sound dull? Our "under the hood" conversations are rarely dull...
Rated "explicit" for innuendo
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Between soccer, Easter, & a lot of mom type commitments, we’ve been off the air for a couple of weeks. We are back with our media recommendations for April. This month, dive into Jenny & Becca’s serious picks about WWII. Or how about some 80s Cold War intrigue with “The Americans?” But why would you do that when there’s Pig Royalty? Finally, we don't quite relish the murder bird who’s taken up residence on Katie’s roof, but we’d like to parlay her misfortune into some paid advertising from Big Birdwatcher.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
March is almost over, and we’re wrapping up our month of interviews with kickass Kentucky women. Although we’re sad to see the month go, we can’t think of a better guest than epidemiologist and soccer mom Nikita Vundi. Nikita joins Katie and Jenny to talk about vaccines and public health. We ponder what changes from 2020 will last past the immediate danger of COVID-19, we bond over the necessity of not washing poultry, and we celebrate the glory of Girl Scout cookies.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Continuing our series of interviews with Kentucky women, we welcome our amazing friends Grace McKenzie and Heather Dent to share their upcoming children’s book about one of our Kentucky heroes, Michelle Tooley. Michelle was a peace and social justice activist and professor here in Berea. Grace and Heather talk us through the process of bringing the book from a short presentation at a local summer camp to a hardbound story to be shared with children and adults in our community and beyond. On one of the first mornings in spring, we celebrate the life and legacy of Michelle Tooley, who brought so much bright and cleansing light to the world.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
During our month of conversations with Kickass Kentucky Women, we’re thrilled to welcome Shannon Phelps to help us navigate the waters of sexuality education. This episode comes with a content warning that it’s not for children. Shannon is here to help parents as we figure out how to talk with children about everything from body changes to nocturnal emissions to sexual consent to porn literacy. The takeaway: “communication fosters connection!” As awkward as parents and children feel when we talk about sex, we need to have these talks. We also discuss the role of sexuality education in communities and schools, and that’s how we learn that Jenny’s first experience with porn was right in the hallways of her high school. Finally, in an epic #relish, Shannon and Katie recall a tipsy trip to Philadelphia in the before times.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, Cara Stewart -- long time champion of healthcare and justice in Kentucky -- joins us for our month of talking to Badass Kentucky Women. We talk about her career as an attorney, including the successful fight against then Governor Bevin’s Medicaid waiver, which would have removed large numbers of folks from the rolls. We take a semi-deep dive into the Kentucky legislature, exploring the history of bills that are introduced by women legislators and eventually taken up in watered down form by other legislators and passed. Don’t think it’s all serious though - we have an especially animated discussion about how teenagers get around adults’ restrictions. If you still have a landline, you may find some useful tips, or you may just regret that you didn’t have Cara’s skills with phone wire and splitter back in 1990. Or maybe you can get some tips from an 8 year old about how to successfully skip zoom class. TL;DR - there is some power to being a cute little girl.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Three of us are celebrating our 30th year reunion this year -- or at least remembering our 30th year of escape from high school. Join us on a little mental time travel this week as we reflect on our high school experiences in four different states in the 1980s and 90s - from giant mum corsages to coded flower deliveries to surprising mascots. Sadly, every single time Katie tries to talk about her beloved mascot, her zoom connection falters. We find out that Becca lived a Veronica Mars lifestyle in high school, except for the crime solving part. We wrap up with a call to action as the pink tax bill is once again being introduced in the KY State Legislature. Call your representative and let’s make sure that, whatever nonsense today’s high schoolers have put up with, at least they won’t have to pay tax on tampons.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, we welcome guest Nick Koenig. He’s an EKU botany student, activist, and campus leader. He’s here to give us hope for the future and bring us some Gen Z reality. We talk with Nick about environmental racism and segregation in Louisville and about replanting schemes on former mountaintop removal sites. But since we can never be 100 percent serious, we inadvertently test his knowledge about 90s grunge. Result: we feel old. We also find out about Katie’s catalog full of fancy pastor robes via a conversation about Schitt’s Creek. And this is the 3rd consecutive episode where Bridgerton is a topic. We need the quarantimes to end, but it’s good to share conversation with an up and coming activist who we know is going to change the world after all this mess is over… or maybe sooner.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
It’s hard to believe (or maybe it isn’t!), but it has now been a full year since Covid-19 made its way to the U.S. This week we talk about how the last year has affected our kids and families, and we speculate on what “normal” will look like after the Covid-Times (verdict: we will be as awkward as ever when we see our friends and co-workers again). Katie and Kelly give an important update on their Bridgerton bet and Jenny contributes an extremely important road report and call to action from West Virginia. Make sure you stick around to the end, so that you can appreciate the full awkwardness of this episode. Given the production values and general lack of professionalism on display, you might find it hard to believe that this is the 50th Episode of That’s What We Said! #relish
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
It feels like a long time since our last media roundup, and maybe that’s because we took the last two weeks off to celebrate the New Year, AKA the Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Veep Kamala Harris. Does the world seem brighter now? We don’t know, but we’ve got a romantic set of tv shows and books to recommend this month. Everyone but Katie has watched -- and has thoughts about --- Bridgerton. We wheel and deal and the rest of the pod agrees to read Katie’s pick Red, White, and Royal Blue if she’ll just give the first episode of Bridgerton a try. Other recommendations this month are the poetry of Amanda Gorman, the new French netflix show Lupin, and Regina King’s One Night in Miami. Finally, in a topsy-turvy school year, we close out with a #relish of one very normal snow day this week.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Join us this week as we process the events that occurred over the past couple of weeks, from the high of the Georgia Senate runoffs, to the low of the violent insurrection attempt at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. We grapple with putting these events in context, from the destruction of political and social norms over the past 5 years, to the anti-government rhetoric of the past 5 decades, to the militarism, materialism, and racism that have defined our country for the past 5 centuries. Katie proposes a surprising metaphor for how those days felt. And we all bristle at suggestions that it’s time for “unity.” Released on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we reflect on how his words still ring true today:
“The black revolution is much more than a struggle for the rights of Negroes. It is, rather, forcing America to face all its interrelated flaws: racism, poverty, militarism, and materialism.” – MLK (1968)
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Welcome to 2021 with That’s What We Said! This episode, recorded before the New Year, and before we had any inkling of what would happen on January 6, celebrates our first year of podcasting. We reflect on the adventure of the past year. We remember memorable guests such as State Representative Attica Scott the KY Secretary of State (amazed that he didn’t walk out on our liberal selves). Finally, we ponder what it means to have created a record of our lives in a time of plague and we look forward to another year with our listeners.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Join us this week as we talk about all the news that wasn’t in 2020. Yes, we’re talking about the stories that the coronavirus and the election may have driven from our minds - from the bizarre mansion listings and child naming practices of the crazy rich to the emancipation of Harry and Meghan. On more serious notes, we celebrate the service of a local city council member who ended her term this year, and we recommit to making sure that Kentucky movements for racial justice don’t slip below our radar. The short legislative session is coming up, and it’s time to advocate for Breonna’s Law. This year, we’re thankful for frontline workers and all they’ve done in 2020, but we’ve got to give special respect to some valiant park rangers out west who stopped some cooking crimes in the Yellowstone hot springs from a news story we missed entirely when it came out. Finally, we preview the year ahead for the podcast by teasing our upcoming episode “The Fire Ute.”
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Basements, roller skating, and fainting, oh my. #relish
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Please enjoy this special bonus material, recorded in late December, 2019, in the before times. Our wholesome holiday discussion devolved a little as our conversation drifted to breast enhancement and “personal” secret Santa gifts. #relish #TWWS
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Guess what it’s time for? You guessed it - another media roundup. Jenny can’t get enough of Supermarket Sweep and Kelly gets confused about what Leslie Jones’ Twitter account has to do with that. From Chess in Lexington, KY, to football in London, England, to small town Ontario, Canada, explore the wide world of the TWWS Pod Sisters’ media consumption heading into the holidays. Speaking of the holidays, we have all been partaking of such high brow classics as Christmas Vacation and Home Alone and we ponder how the plots of these films would have been different if the characters had access to cell phones. We get Kelly’s latest librarian tip related to finding media. And, last but not least, we are introduced to the Hobson/Green Rule of the Cup.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, while Kelly’s off doing important work for the commonwealth, the rest of the pod sisters are beginning to get ready for Christmas. We’re talking candy! Cookies! Decorations! Songs! We spend an unreasonably long time talking about wrapping paper, from Katie’s touching story about her grandmother’s gift wrap to Jenny’s newly discovered perimenopausal rage about cheap paper. And we learn something too, too shocking about how Santa wraps presents at Becca’s house. You’ll want to listen for Katie’s advice on the ultimate Chex mix recipe as we break down the maternal labor of the holiday. And we may just break down a little, too.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
We’re excited to welcome author Alix E. Harrow for a chat about her new book The Once and Future Witches. The discussion ranges from pockets in dresses -- central to the plot of the book and to our own lives -- to the research required to build a believable, exciting story that marries the history of suffrage and witchcraft. We talk about what it’s like to bring out a book during a pandemic, and Alix promises to come back on the pod as a book concierge for us. This holiday season, we recommend supporting your indie bookseller by purchasing a copy of The Once and Future Witches at Bookshop.org
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
We recorded this episode on Saturday, November 7th, while we -- and the world -- were waiting for the Presidential election to be called. While we wait, we talk about election results in Kentucky, particularly the dispiriting news that a state representative currently indicted for assault on his wife has been easily reelected. We ponder Red and Blue America and how that false dualism makes it harder for rural organizers to make headway in our areas. But if that sounds deep, we also take a moment to laugh about the memes of the 2020 election. Finally, right before we log off, we learn that Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States. Four years ago, we spent a devastating evening together as we watched Donald Trump win the presidency, and our trip to the Women’s March planted the seeds of this podcast. It only seems right that we’re together -- via zoom, during a pandemic -- when we find out that Donald Trump has finally lost and lost bigly.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
“The only security of all is in a free press.”
― Thomas Jefferson
In today’s political climate it is hard not to have strong feelings about “The Media.” It touches almost every aspect of our lives, and can influence what we believe, what we watch, and who we vote for. Whether it is “mainstream,” “social,” “right-wing,” or “left-wing,” the media is something that is on all of our minds, almost all the time. This week, during a special Election Day episode, Kelly and Becca have a conversation about the state of media and journalism with local reporter Marisa Hempel. She fills us in on what it is like to build a TV station in the middle of a pandemic, how advertising can make or break media budgets, and ways that social media algorithms create information bubbles that determine what news appears in your feeds and reinforce your biases. She also gives us a behind the scenes snapshot of what Election Night looks like when you’re a reporter, and shares where we can find all of those local election results.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
After seven months in our own homes -- is it really seven months? Less? More? Who knows? -- we’re ready to peel off the plastered smiles on our faces and get real about how it’s going. With just a few days left before the 2020 election, it seems like all of the chickens of our entire lives are coming home to roost. Chickens may be the wrong animal metaphor, because first we’ve got to talk about cats. Jenny’s been attempting to do a little self-care through indoor gardening, and her cats have been determined to take her project down. That’s just one of many reasons why we think self-care may be a crock. Right now, self-care just feels like another item on our long to-do lists, an item that we’re consistently getting wrong. How much can rest and relaxation do when we’re confronting hard, home truths about hunger, racism, and inequality in America? How much should self-care help when children in our community are hungry. We’re bleeping mad, and we hope you’re here for it.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
We chat about the pandemic puppies adopted by Adam and Kelly. Thankfully, the podcast session doesn’t fall apart when a sleep-deprived Kelly learns that Adam’s new puppy has been sleeping through the night for months.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, we’re delighted to welcome Pittsburgh teacher Adam Bailey to talk about his pandemic life. We learn what it was like for Adam to teach 13 year olds via zoom for weeks and then to welcome them into the school building and discover that he knew their voices better than their faces. Also, we are surprised to learn that Adam is an expert in the epitome of coronavirus comfort foods... Not sourdough... Not produce from the Victory Garden... We’re talking about oatmeal pies and zebra cakes. How did Adam become an expert in all things Little Debbie? And which “cake” wins the podcasters’ taste test? As with Battle Jello Vs. Egg Salad, there are some serious lines drawn in the podcaster sands.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Thanks to official daughter of the pod, Elly Green, for joining us via zoom to tell us all about college life during a pandemic. As we reminisce about college in the 90s, we wonder how the kids these days are making friends and eating pizza when everyone’s wearing a mask and standing 6 feet apart. Elly is happy to give us all the details while updating us on how communication has changed in the last 30 years. Hint: no landlines or whiteboards on your dorm door. Meanwhile, it’s time for Kelly to come clean about her own experience with internet scammers and the world’s tiniest chairs.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
It’s time for our media roundup, and we’re surprised to discover that 6 months into being home, there are still shows we haven’t watched and books we haven’t read. This month, we do dive into the past, specifically the movies of our youths. Our sons have thoughts on Being John Malkovich and the original Bill and Ted as we show them the movies of the 80s and 90s. And for those keeping tally at home, Becca is on her third rewatch of Golden Girls during the corona times.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Chapter 1: Troy Price helps us brainstorm what to talk about at the beginning of the Corona Times and Jenny treats us to a Corona-themed medley.
Chapter 2: Guest Wil Bain learns what a hot mess we are behind the scenes of TWWS.
Chapter 3: Are Jenny & Becca , in fact, ghosts? What is the mysterious Northern Exposure Hole?
Chapter 4: We foresee a potential Basham/Hobson/Gratton road trip that will mainly involve verbally pointing out various corn and tobacco fields, clouds, and horses. Also Corona times splurge shopping and Costco ID hilarity.
Chapter 5: Josie the dog can’t find Jenny. We try to figure out the best lighting for zoom which reminds us of our glow worm babies. And plans for a pod paddling trip are hatched.
Chapter 6: Katie’s Corona-themed medley coda.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Voting. During the craziness of this pandemic, we’ve all been trying to figure out how we do the things that have to get done. Many of us are working and schooling from home, ordering our groceries online, and wearing masks for those “have to” errands. But, with one of the most important elections of our generation looming, how in the world are we going to make sure we safely vote? This week, That’s What We Said welcomes Kentucky’s Secretary of State Michael Adams, who shares THE PLANS (and there are several of them) for how every Kentuckian can vote. We also hear about his commitment to being bipartisan during these incredibly divisive times and…most importantly…we get the inside scoop on who does his hair and his amazing Twitter feed. #RegisterToVote #GoVoteKY #relish
Recorded via Zoom in Berea and Frankfort, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, we’re remembering that time in history when we used to leave our homes and go places AKA travel. Jenny’s joy at packing a suitcase to move her daughter to college sparked nostalgia in all of us for hitting the road. So we’re taking a week to talk about travel mishaps, whether it’s long delays on the tarmac, meeting famous jockey at the baggage claim, or being bitten by a thousand mosquitos in foreign locales, we miss a world outside the four walls of our homes. Come for the turbulence, stay for Katie’s encounters with politicians at the DC airports. Bonus: We have to decide whether Jenny’s Kentuckian status gets revoked because she didn’t know that horses could fly on planes.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Official daughter of the pod has gone to college.This week, Jenny and Elly are reporting from the road. They talk about what it’s like to travel out-of-state during a pandemic. Spoiler: some rest stops do not inspire confidence.And then on the way home, Jenny continues the road report solo. She talks about traveling on the back roads of Virginia and gives a shout out to a Tennessee rest stop that’s doing social distancing right.And since podcasts are what get her through that long, solo drive back home, she recommends the funny podcasts that kept her awake including: Thirst Aid Kit with Bim Adewunmi and Nichole Perkins, Why Won’tYou Date Me? With Nicole Byer and Berea grad Akilah Hughes, and Off Menu with James Acaster, Ed Gamble, and Gred Davies.
Recorded in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Listen to Becca’s death-defying vacuuming escapades, which land us in a whole new dimension of “suckage.” For a special treat - head over to Facebook and watch the video. #relish
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Most of the time, we want to lighten your load by bringing you our daily mishaps, funny memories, and guests who lift us up and teach us. This week, we’re checking in with each other after five months of life during the coronavirus pandemic. Where are we? Well, mainly at home and tired of it. We’re worried about our children as they go back to school. We’re fretting about the ways 2020 has changed us: from people who could blithely let our household run out of toilet paper to people who wonder if the Costco megapack is enough to last us in an emergency. We’re making dubious pandemic purchases, we’re falling prey to internet scams, and Jenny thinks we’re all getting weirder.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, it’s time to reveal the Real Housewives drama behind the podcast. You’ve heard the laughter, seen the camaraderie, shared the #relish. But now it’s time to peek behind the curtain to see the controversy that divides our friends. It’s time to get real about food. It’s time to bicker about salads that are not salads. Katie and Jenny are on Team Jello Salad while Becca and Kelly are champions of Team Egg Salad. It’s time to throw down. Will Katie’s grandma’s special jello mold win the day? Or will Kelly’s agreement to leave pickles out of egg salad persuade Jenny to change teams? Will Becca’s California-American South fusion cuisine entice listeners to the glamour of egg salad? Most importantly, will the podcast survive this bitter divide so that we can keep recording? Spoiler: this episode was recorded a few weeks back, so check for us again next week as we talk about our excitement about Kamala Harris and grappling with the 2020 Back to School season.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week we welcome two Kentucky rock stars to the show - State Representative Attica Scott and Berea City Councilor Emily Ladouceur. These two extraordinary women share their stories about what it’s like to run for office as “normal” people, and talk about the challenges of holding down full time jobs and being single parents while also legislating. Emily explains the struggle of trying to pass a Juneteenth resolution and Attica shares her frustration at never even getting her filed bills to be taken up in committee, much less voted on. We also ask for their advice about raising aware, involved, and engaged kids during these complex times, and marvel at their ability to feel empathy and joy in their work. Tune in as the women of the pod fan girl over two of their favorite elected officials!
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
We’re sure we’re not alone in reaching a new level of pandemic distress this week. It’s a rough time as we try to cope with surging cases and deaths in the US and here at home in Kentucky. So we thought we’d take a week to talk about new pandemic experiences that AREN’T making us weep. For exercise, Katie’s been paddle boarding at our local reservoir. Her sunburn may have made her cry, but time out on the water with her friends has given her joy. Now that she’s invested in new swim pants, the sunburn and the tears should be a thing of the past. Plus, the local business where she rents her paddle board, Get Out KY, is just minutes away from the best soft serve ice cream in Central KY. Other local restaurants are bringing us happiness, too. Becca introduces us to the Side Porch Bakery in Waco, the coziest spot for cannoli. And the COVID times have even brought us takeout margaritas, except Jenny is embarrassed about the names of her husband’s favorite beers when she visits the drive through liquor store. Finally, before we collapse in a food and exercise-coma, Kelly finds that digging into her family’s genealogy keeps her mind from spiraling into quarantine worries as she creates the gift of history for her sons.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
It’s time for a monthly roundup of what we’ve been watching, reading, and listening to during this month of staying at home. As we get deeper into the pandemic, we find that we’re doing one of two things: seeking out books and movies that teach us something and seeking out the familiar to soothe us during uncertain times. Katie alerts us to an article about why people return to favorite shows when the world is a scary place, which definitely made us all feel better about our return to the worlds of Pawnee, Scranton, Mayberry, and the Golden Girls’ Lanai over the last few weeks. July has also been a time for us to learn about the world. Becca’s been learning about Reconstruction via a PBS documentary and reading about the influenza epidemic if 1918. Kelly recommends When They See Us, Ava DuVernay’s series about the Central Park Five. What does this all have to do with thumbs and grilled cheese? Well, you’ll just have to listen to find out. #relish
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Building on last week’s discussion about toys of our childhood, we talk about the 70s and 80s TV landscape that allowed for a show like “Small Wonder,” the tale of a robot girl and her life in a suburban family. We contrast wholesome family fare like Family Ties and The Cosby Show (!) with Three’s Company, where a man and two women, none of whom were married to each other, lived together in the same home! Some of our parents did not approve. If you find yourself chuckling at any of these memories, there are plenty more in the podcast. Join us for some reminiscent relief from the day’s news.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week we take a break from life during a pandemic to remember the toys of our childhoods. There’s nothing like a good trip down memory lane to take your mind off presidential tweets and fights over masks, especially when memory leads you to the very weird time in pop culture that was the 1970s and 80s. We discuss the frailties of Barbie hair when exposed to swimming pools, hair dryers, and ineptly wielded safety scissors. We compare our Donnie & Marie toys. And we recollect various Christmas fad toys.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
We expand on our Episode 25 discussion about port ‘o potties. From the logistics of port ‘o potty rentals to Katie’s fancy horse party port ‘o potties to the port ‘o potty bonding experience of a lifetime that some of us shared at the Women’s March in 2017.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
The nation got excited about Kentucky’s primary election on June 23rd, and the women of That’s What We Said discuss what it’s been like for our state to take a rare moment in the spotlight... and not in a good way. From well meaning folks offering to drive basic supplies to Kentucky to celebrities weighing in on our absentee voting primary, from the influx of outside cash into our races to the history of Appalachian and southern stereotypes, we’re a little salty and not afraid to remind folks of the complexities of our state. This is the week that we yelled at movie stars on Twitter and complained about all the times we’ve heard the phrase “You’re so brave” [for living in Kentucky]. And you can look forward to a bonus episode containing an extended port ‘o potty discussion!
Note: This episode was recorded before the final results of the 2020 Senate primary in KY were available. We know now that Amy McGrath won a narrow victory over Charles Booker to face Mitch McConnell in November 2020.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, we’re all back together to record, at least we’re together on zoom, and we’re ready to talk about everything after a month apart. Joining us is our friend Wil Bayne, and he’s game to answer all of our questions, including telling his Berea Story. We talk about the similarities between the theatre and the restaurant business. We think about our mental health challenges of long term isolation during the pandemic. Finally, as we wrap up Pride Month, Wil shares advice for parents who want to support LGBTQ+ children. We’ve wanted to have Wil on the pod since the beginning, and we’re thrilled to bring you this conversation.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Katie and Becca chat with two amazing Kentucky community organizers. Martina Jackson (Richmond, KY) and Christian Motley (Lexington, KY) talk about their recent experiences & share reflections on current systems and policies. They discuss the effect of these policies on rural and southern communities and call for coalition building during this current climate of a (hopefully) sustained push towards justice. Listen in to this important discussion about struggle, accountability, political advocacy, & hope.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Over the last two weeks, as it seems like the moment for a national reckoning with over 4 centuries of systemic racism may have finally arrived for America, we at TWWS have been taking a step back to spend some time listening, particularly to Black women. As we go forward, we’re talking amongst the four of us about what we want a humor podcast hosted by four white, middle-aged, middle class, rural women to sound like during this important time.
As we continue our thinking, Kelly and Jenny recorded a quick episode about the children’s books we’ve been reading. Kelly is a librarian, and Jenny is an elementary family engagement worker who has a not-so-secret identity of “The Book Lady” for young children in our small community. Today, we’re talking about the #weneeddiversebooks movement, how to read from an anti-racist perspective with the youngest children, and titles for babies, big kids, and young adults that portray fully complex Black and African-American characters. We encourage you to check out Ten Nine Eight by Molly Bang; The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis; The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon; and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
Today we had planned to release an episode we recorded last weekend where we reminisced about toys of our youth. But, you can hear our musings on Barbie another time. This week, we have witnessed yet another murder of a black man, George Floyd, by police, we’re still reeling from the death of Breonna Taylor, a young Kentucky woman and an EMT killed by police while in her own bed in her own home; we’re still grappling with the white woman in Central Park, who called the police in an effort to intimidate Christian Cooper, a black man and avid birdwatcher who asked her to leash her dog. And this week, an extremist group hanged our governor in effigy on the capitol grounds, in close proximity to his home. This morning, we’ve decided to take a detour from our planned episode and take this opportunity to listen to and lift up the voices of people of color. So we hope you’ll join us in listening to some amazing podcasts, most of which are by black women or highlight black women. Please visit our social media platforms for links to these podcasts, and we hope you’ll also share podcasts that you’re listening to that feature people of color.
Also, it is worth mentioning that many Black people are afraid to wear masks because they feel that the potential risks of wearing a mask - namely being targeted as “dangerous” or “suspicious” and enduring the consequences of that label - are far greater than the risks of not wearing one. Read that sentence again. Let it sink in. So we are also including this week a brief conversation we had about wearing mask. TLDR: Wear the damn mask.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Join us for our monthly media roundup. As music lovers, we’re trying new ways to “go” to concerts in the quarantimes. Kelly gives us the scoop on attending a Steven Page house concert on zoom. A private concert where all the attendees are muted? Sign us up! We also reminisce about comedic actor Fred Willard, whom we lost this week, with everyone sharing their favorite Willard performances from 1980s talk show Real People, to the brilliant Waiting for Guffman, to The Bachelor. As we try to maintain sanity during the pandemic, we’ve all been leaning into light-hearted comedies like Schitt’s Creek, Kim’s Convenience, and Parks & Recreation. Finally, Katie and Becca have explored more serious fare like Mrs. America and the Ear Hustle Podcast.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
We want to wish all our listeners a Happy Mother’s Day. It’s a complicated holiday for a lot of folks. Parenthood may not have come easy to us. Our relationships with our parents and our children doesn’t always look like a greeting card. One thing we know: laughter helps. So this week, we’re recognizing motherhood by telling the funny stories about how our own children came into the world. We talk about memorable healthcare professionals, including a cowboy doctor. We talk about hospital food: bananas, canned spinach, imaginary chocolate, and one very memorable peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This Mother’s Day weekend, we’re inviting everyone to take their minds off the pandemic and enjoy some memories with us. #relish
Recorded in Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Guest Martina Leforce regales us with the tale of the infamous Berea Jam Jar Incident.
Recorded in Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, we’re talking to Martina Leforce of Berea Kids Eat about feeding programs, gardening, local chicken laws, and pet ducks. Jenny, who is still looking for new hens for her flock, didn’t know that she wouldn’t even be able to raise chickens in town if not for local activists’ work in changing livestock ordinances from the turn of the twentieth century! Becca speaks about volunteering with the local feeding program during the current school closure, and we ponder local networks and how long-time partnerships have allowed for the distribution of 1000s of meals during the COVID-19 crisis. Bonus: Katie and Martina discover a common acquaintance in their pasts.
Recorded in Berea, KY via Zoom | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Recorded on March 1, 2020, just before COVID-19 made social distancing the norm, we sat around Kelly’s kitchen table and talked about female friendship. If there’s one thing that’s helping us find our places in the world, it’s our friends. As we find ourselves in our forties, life brings us more and more experiences that only other women can understand, whether those are our oldest friends who see us at our most vulnerable and at our happiest... or work friends who see us every day at our best and worst …. or fellow podcast hosts who see us in our insomnia group chat nightly. Bonus: We learn Jenny was a little girl in Canada, but that doesn’t mean she can introduce us to the Trudeaus. We’re still going to keep her on the pod group text though.
Recorded in Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, during our COVID-19 quarantine, we’re taking listener questions from the serious to the silly. Who is our signature Golden Girl? What do we think is going to happen to schools after the coronavirus? We hear about some bad habits our pets have taken up while they’re stuck at home with us. We’re looking at you, Neva the Dog. And we find out that it’s just too bad that Letterman retired before Becca’s cats could make an appearance on “Stupid Pet Tricks.” Despite a trick question from one of the pod husbands, we all agree that we’re glad to be quarantined with our families.
Recorded in Berea, KY via Zoom | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Recording again separately in our homes, we’re talking about the weird media we’re consuming during this time of home isolation. Is it #healthyathome to spend this much time thinking about Green Screen Queen Elizabeth, watching YouTube videos, or hating watching a not so great Jane Austen adaptation? Maybe not, but it’s how we’re getting through and we’re bringing our monthly media roundup to you. Listen to the end for an update about a Berea project to thank local health care workers.
Recorded in Berea, KY via Zoom | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
We got together, separately in our own homes this week, to talk about the Age of the Coronavirus. It was just a couple of weeks ago that we were gathered around Kelly’s kitchen table with mimosas, so it seemed important to take stock of how the world has changed. We talk about the heroes who’ve been shining in our community even as we struggle to find the light. We talk a little bit about — okay, a lot about — our Kentucky governor Andy Beshear and how his daily briefings are bringing our state together to flatten the curve. Finally, don’t miss our special segment this week: Kelly interviews her friend Sharon Murphy, a member of the Complete Count Committee in Lexington, about the 2020 Census and why we’re urging everyone we know to fill out their form.
#ICount #YouCount #WeCount #CountMeBlack #HealthyAtHome #TeamKentucky
It’s not too much to say that Sharyn Mitchell knows more about Berea and Berea history than almost anyone else. This week, we asked her to join us to talk specifically about the history of African-American communities in Madison County and Berea. Before our talk, we may have thought we were pretty well-informed about the place we call home, but Sharyn helped us see the neighborhoods, streets, buildings, land, and PEOPLE in a new way. From intentional real estate design in the 19th century -- which made Berea a unique example of racial integration in housing-- to the small schoolhouses that dotted the town and which are now almost all gone today, we’re looking at our town with new eyes this week. And we’re taking to heart Sharyn’s call to talk to older relatives about what they remember about people and places. We hope you will, too.
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, we’re talking about what everyone’s talking about: COVID-19 and how it’s changing our lives. We share some resources in our communities and our lives, but it’s not all serious. We ponder the prospects of a COVID-19 baby boom while Jenny wonders if she might have accidentally caused a run on ziploc bags at our local superstore. Katie praises Kenneth, Governor Beshear’s tech assistant for the daily press briefings that we’re all coming to view as our daily Must See TV. Finally, if you’ve wondered if we would sing on the podcast, ask no more. We perform a medley of the coronavirus parody songs we’ve seen on twitter this week. Stay safe, everyone. Keep washing those hands.
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This bonus episode contains content that is not appropriate for children. Frankly, we can’t imagine why any children would be interested in listening to TWWS. But this episode is not just boring for children. We get into some adult themes. We heard from so many listeners about the wild jobs they had in young adulthood, but our friend Amanda presented us with such an incredible list that we knew we had to record a bonus episode with her as soon as we could. Hear about the year she had 21 jobs, the time she was a substitute Chuck E. Cheese, and a stint working for a 1-900 phone line.
Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Artwork by Jessica Holly
On a recent road trip, Daughter of the Pod Elly Green asked about all the weird jobs we had when we were her age. Long before any of us had careers with a capital C, Kelly repaired library books and helped the elderly find pictures of their favorite tennis stars, Becca delivered phone books in rural North Carolina, Katie learned the secrets of how restaurants prep boiled eggs, and Jenny faced life and death in a beauty supply warehouse. None of it was for the faint of heart. Bonus: Released the weekend of the Corona Virus TP hoarding nightmare, but recorded two weeks prior, Jenny shares a relish in which she abandons a cart full of toilet paper in the middle of Costco! What was she thinking? Plus, Katie tells us all about a fun youth group game from the 1990s called underground Church.
Recorded in Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Bonus material where the friends discuss the wonderful Stacey Abrams, our favorite fighter for voting rights and fair elections. As a extra bonus, we share a surprising bit of trivia about her.
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, we’re talking about our history with political action as we gear up for a big year in politics, both local and national. In upcoming episodes, we’ll be interviewing experts on the census and its importance. In the fall, we’ll interview some local candidates, and if primary season is any indicator, you’ll definitely get a chance to hear us vent about American elections. This week, we’re casting our minds back to how we all came to be fascinated by and working in American politics. Kelly and Becca both trace their involvement back to their parents. Becca was a young marcher for the ERA, and Kelly’s family brought her into the Democratic party fold in the 1970s. Katie talks about how her experience of learning from teachers like Vincent Harding who were leaders in the Civil Rights movement taught her how to be engaged and active in the struggles of her community, eventually leading her to her position today on her local school decision making council. Jenny’s experience as a rural young woman writing letters for Amnesty International brought her to her work on the Letters to Mitch project. And we couldn’t forget about the time that Kelly ran for local office, and we all got involved. Running for office isn’t for the faint of heart, so we’re dedicating this episode to Elizabeth Warren who ended her run for President this week. We were inspired by her energy, humor, hope, and compassion. So to use the phrase that’s the highest praise you can get in our Appalachian region: “Elizabeth, we appreciate you.”
#ThankYouElizabeth
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
We are all moms of boys, and talking about the challenges and joys of raising boys was one of the first things that cemented our friendship and group chat. You probably won’t see any of us breaking out the hashtag #boymom any time soon, but there are definitely some aspects of raising people of the opposite gender that we weren’t prepared for. We’re not just talking about the volume of urine that manages not to make it into the pot, but we are definitely talking about that, too. Perhaps this episode will birth our spinoff podcast about our favorite bathroom cleaning products. As the mom of both a boy and a girl, Jenny is curious about Katie, Becca, and Kelly’s experiences as the only female in their households. We all learn there’s a lot to #relish when we’re talking about raising boys.
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Once a month, we come to you with the recommendations of the books, tv, movies, podcasts, and music that are bringing us joy. This month, as the flu and other winter ailments make their way though Berea and through our households, we’ve had lots of time to binge watch and catch up while we’ve been waiting to feel good enough to get up off our couches and go back to work. It’s not just the watchability of Netflix’s Cheer that’s been keeping us from our desks. We promise, bosses! Katie’s been taking pointers from Coach Monica and Kelly tries to help Becca learn to touch her toes, but Becca’s having none of it. She’s got true crime podcasts to listen to. Kelly and Jenny are still recovering from the series finale of The Good Place while also getting over various sick days, and Jenny’s been wallowing in nostalgia -- the good kind! -- on the British show The Repair Shop and in the book Tuesday Mooney Talks To Ghosts by Kate Racculia. Looking for recommendations for your next day sick day media? Check out the rest of the friends’ picks in this week’s episode.
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week, we’re talking about our hero — and yours, too, probably — Dolly Parton. We talk about our favorite songs and plan a podcast trip to Dollywood. Of course, one of our songs is “Jolene,” and Kelly shares some of the backstory of that song. Who knew it was about Dolly’s husband’s crush on a bank teller? Katie did because of some recent sick day viewing of a TV movie about that crush. Unfortunately, Becca — former bank teller — has to bring us back to earth with the reality that bank work is not all that sexy and glamorous. Maybe we’re just not living our lives right. We look to Dolly for ways to get our lives right, whether that’s through her message of love for all people (kind of like our local hero John G. Fee but with fewer pacifist fisticuffs) or through her decades-long commitment to her hometown in Sevier County, Tennessee. Join us this week as we talk about one of the most important figures in our Appalachia: Dolly Parton.
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
In this episode, we bring in our first guest, artist Jessica Holly. Jessica grew up in the Bobtown area of Madison County, attended Berea College, and now works in digital media, graphic design, and fine arts. In short, she’s the whole package and the real deal. Her fresh perspective brings Becca, Jenny, Katie, and Kelly new ideas about the role of art in communities. And of course, we can’t help but be curious about her process in designing the logo of “That’s What We said.” We learn how Jessica uses color as a springboard to meet a client’s vision for design and how free drawing keeps her creative mind active. Jessica talks about her work with local non-profits to make art that’s meaningful to the places she calls home. As the parents of young artists ourselves, we want to know about how Jessica’s family helped her develop her identity as an artist. We now have #squadgoals to be like Jessica’s grandma and do 100 toe touches every day! Be sure to check out Jessica’s solo work at http://jessicaholly.com and her collaborative project with Kevin Watts at https://www.bekindbebold.com
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
In this episode, we bring in our first guest, artist Jessica Holly. Jessica grew up in the Bobtown area of Madison County, attended Berea College, and now works in digital media, graphic design, and fine arts. In short, she’s the whole package and the real deal. Her fresh perspective brings Becca, Jenny, Katie, and Kelly new ideas about the role of art in communities. And of course, we can’t help but be curious about her process in designing the logo of “That’s What We said.” We learn how Jessica uses color as a springboard to meet a client’s vision for design and how free drawing keeps her creative mind active. Jessica talks about her work with local non-profits to make art that’s meaningful to the places she calls home. As the parents of young artists ourselves, we want to know about how Jessica’s family helped her develop her identity as an artist. We now have #squadgoals to be like Jessica’s grandma and do 100 toe touches every day! Be sure to check out Jessica’s solo work at http://jessicaholly.com and her collaborative project with Kevin Watts at https://www.bekindbebold.com
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Outtake involving a buzzing phone. What's a mom to do when her son calls from college in the middle of a podcast recording session?
Join four friends — Becca, Jenny, Katie, and Kelly — who are bringing sanity-saving laughs from our group chat to you. This week, we’re talking about what our Gen X membership cards mean to us. We start by remembering our questionable college fashion choices and the messages we got as young people that our futures were ours to claim. But reality intrudes in the middle of this episode as the town emergency weather sirens interrupt our recording session. Listening to the civil defense horns leads us to memories the darker side of growing up the 80s: the threat of nuclear war and “The Day After.” Has the nihilism and cynicism of our generation equipped us to live peacefully in a place with a chemical weapons storage facility? Listeners can judge from our attitudes toward the emergency kits we all received from the county for Christmas. Finally, we answer the pressing question: Is Becca a VSCO girl?
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Production support by Jeff Richey | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
The friends toss around ideas about how to best help the Queen clean her massive handbag collection and we learn about Jenny’s dad’s war on stinkbugs.
The friends toss around ideas about how to best help the Queen clean her massive handbag collection and we learn about Jenny’s dad’s war on stinkbugs.
Join four friends — Becca, Jenny, Katie, and Kelly — who are bringing sanity-saving laughs from our group chat to you. This week, we are once again talking about British royalty. Katie fills the gang in on Megxit, and then we dive into media sources and how we stay informed in the 21st century. As Gen-Xers, we came of age right as the nightly news was transforming into a 24 hour news cycle. Our Zoomer offspring seem to be able to navigate multiple narratives and take a critical view of headlines, while we often find ourselves wishing for Walter Cronkite and not just because he was a silver fox onscreen. We examine ways to keep learning and growing, but that doesn’t stop us from closing the episode with some giggles about family and terrible youtube videos.
*This episode is dedicated to Jim Lehrer who founded News Hour when we were toddlers, and so it seemed like his calm, clear voice had always been there and always would be there. We will miss him.
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Production support by Jeff Richey | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Join four friends — Becca, Jenny, Katie, and Kelly — who are bringing sanity-saving laughs from our group chat to you. With kids ranging in age from 10 to 23, we gather to talk about how our ideas about parenthood have changed in the years since our children were born. We reminisce not so fondly about all the unsolicited advice we got when we were young parents, and we offer a little unsolicited advice of our own: always eat school lunch and lie to your pediatrician about how much baby is sleeping. We talk about how family life changes as children get older. Hint: it’s more fun and more exhausting. Bonus: we learn that Kelly used to make her own cat food, and we find out about a New Year’s goal that Katie is following through on.
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Production support by Jeff Richey | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
This week we’re talking about the books, movies, and tv we took in over the holidays. We’ve got some serious reads about history and sex, but we also ponder whether taking in some crime shows helps lighten holiday tension. And you know we have thoughts on the men of Knives Out. Finally, some topical pop culture with a deep dive on Queen Elizabeth recorded right before the royal news of the week broke.
Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Production support by Jeff Richey | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly
Meet four friends — Becca, Jenny, Katie, and Kelly — who are bringing sanity-saving laughs from their group chat to you. In the current American chaos, there’s one way for middle-aged women to make it through and that’s by supporting each other and laughing together. In this episode, you’ll get introductions to each of the four friends and an explanation of how they became close during the 2016 primary and after. You’ll hear about adventures from traveling to the National Women’s March to obsessively following the labor and birth of a giraffe named April. Learn about their pets and families, including Becca’s adventure with fifteen stray kittens this summer. Spoiler alert: Jenny’s looking for fertilized eggs so her pet chicken won’t be so lonely.
Small-town Kentucky reality from the lens of four middle-aged women who are just trying to enjoy this stage of life while making their world a better place. Recorded at Front Porch Studios in Berea, Kentucky.