Fine Beats & Cheeses: Recent Episodes
Leslie Gray Streeter & Lynne Streeter Childress
As we continue our recording break, here is another of our favorite episodes. It's fom August, 2025, and it is SO FUNNY.
I hope you're happy today, because today you're getting served this hilarious and fun episode about 2004's dance battle spectacular featuring 2000's cute boys like Marques Houston and the band B2K. We are joined by return guest Dr. Briana Barner, who previously talked about podcasts themselves. Y'all, this was a jubilant and joyous good time, and we did it all for Lil Saint (you'll have to watch the movie or listen to the episode for that to make sense).
Dr. Briana Barner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. She received a doctorate in Radio-Television-Film and a doctoral portfolio in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Texas. Briana also earned a Master’s in Women’s and Gender Studies from UT. She is an interdisciplinary critical and cultural communications scholar with research interests in Black podcasts, digital and Black feminism, digital media, Black cultural production and representation. Her work has been published in Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media, Film Quarterly, and the edited collection Saving New Sounds: Podcast Preservation and Historiography, Feminist Approaches to Media Theory and Research and Black Sisterhoods: Paradigms and Praxis. Briana is currently working on a manuscript about the cultural production of Black podcasts.
Find her on Facebook , Instagram and here!
While we continue our recording break, we offer you what I think is the most hilarious episode we have ever done. It's from April 2025. SO funny.
It's all product placement, all the time as we talk to educator, writer and podcaster Shaun Duke about 1988's E.T. rip-off/commercial for McDonald's and Coca-Cola wrapped into a movie "Mac and Me". Oh, we laughed while recording this one. y'all.
Is it a good movie? No. Is it delightful? Yes. Hope you love this episode.
Shaun Duke is a writer, editor, podcaster, and educator. By day, he works as a professor of English at DMACC and as the Director of the Portolan Project, where he builds educational modules for science fiction, fantasy, and horror writers. By night, he produces The Skiffy and Fanty Show, a 4X Hugo Finalist SF/F/H podcast, streams games and occasional TTRPG actual plays on Twitch as AlphabetStreams, and works as a freelance editor at The Duke of Editing. He's also published genre fiction in a few places, which is pretty cool, among other nifty things. He also loves books, reptiles, his cat, and other strangeness.
You can find Shaun on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
We are taking a little break from new episodes, so we will be posting some of our favorite past shows. This one is from last June with our new friend, Analese Alvarez!
Don't (boom) stop (hey) thinking about this podcast as we talk legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac with Analese Alvarez, co-host of the podcast Nerd Best Friends. This was so so so so much fun because Analese is not only a fan of the band, she is a really a historian of them and their music AND has a personal tie to their live reunion album and film, "The Dance". Enjoy this episode, then crank some Fleetwood Mac.
Analese Alvarez is a high school principal, Buffy fanatic, cohost of Nerd Best Friends, the podcast that covers all of the NERDY conversations you are already having.... OR WISH YOU COULD!
You can find her and the show on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
We are taking a little break from new episodes, so we will be posting some of our favorite past shows. This one is from May 2025 and it is SO funny.
Go get your scuba gear as we talk about the iconic movie about really smart sharks, "Deep Blue Sea". with guest Stephanie Olson. Hilarious episode.
Stephanie Olson (she/her) is a writer, cosplayer, horror movie enthusiast (especially the bad ones), and Halloween-all-year person. The first story she ever wrote was the gripping tale of a haunted bog. It was created in an attempt to scare her bunkmates at summer camp, and the result was so successful she was banned from writing any more stories that week. She’s been chasing that high ever since. While horror is her first love, she also enjoys fantasy and mysteries. Stephanie has a short story published in Spontaneous Combustion Volume II, by Sic Semper Serpent, and is part of the writing team for the horror anthology podcast, Ghost Wax. Her debut fantasy novel, Still Chosen: Another Unwanted Adventure, was released in January, 2025.
You can find her on Instagram at @stephaniewritesstuff
We kick off the holiday season with this Rewind Episode from December 2024. It's a REALLY good one and we hope you enjoy it.
There's something about Mary this week on the podcast because we are talking Christmas classic "It's A Wonderful Life" with a focus on Mary Bailey, the main character's wife! Our guest is Senior Recruiter, Job Search Specialist, and our good friend, Elly Cohen. The conversation was inspired by several articles, including this one in The Bulwark. This was a really thoughtful discussion and we hope you enjoy it.
CW: Talk of depression and suicide. If you need help, there are people that can listen when you call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Watch out for that ottoman you are about to trip over and sit down and listen to this episode about classic TV comedy, "The Dick Van Dyke" show, and our guests are Olivia and Genevieve from The Fresh Starts Registry. We call them The Sisters! They are two of our favorite people to talk to. On the show we talk Dick Van Dyke, his show (and how a 60 + year old show has timely messages), and all of the things we love about him. We hope you love it so.
n 2020, after her divorce, Olivia wanted to create a system of support for the moments in life when we start over. Alongside her sister, Jenny Dreizen, Olivia founded Fresh Starts Registry, and since then, it has been named the “the first divorce registry of its kind” by Forbes. It has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Forbes, The Cut, The New York Post, and more.
Fresh Starts Registry is the first registry and online platform for everything a person needs to begin their life again after a major life change, such as divorce, job changes, moving, or coming out. They provide a free registry builder and bundles of products based on rooms of the house and budget to eliminate the overwhelm of creating a registry for restarting their life. The platform features 100+ vetted Experts in all categories to support people in all processes of their life changes. It is always free to build a registry and access the experts. Fresh Starts aims to eliminate the overwhelming feeling of starting your life over again with all the home items and Experts you need to empower you on your journey forward.
Listen to them on their podcast, A Fresh Story, and find them:
Olivia- Instagram and Threads Genevieve- Instagram and Threads
Get ready to be voted off the island or out of the house as we talk Reality Show Villains with our friend and return guest, Dr. Meredith Davis. We discuss people we love to hate, what makes a good villain, and if some of the people portrayed as villainous are not as bad as the shows would want you to believe. It's a good one!
Meredith Davis is a solution focused leader that possesses three decades of experience in non-profit, higher education administration and teaching. Davis' focus areas are equity, access, diversity, inclusion, crisis management, leadership development, training and strategic planning. Her educational and pastime expertise is Blackness and the intersections of historical and popular culture. With a degree in sociology, she is obsessed with culture. Her favorite saying is, "If you are willing to do it, I am willing to watch."
You can find her on Instagram or on her YouTube channel!
It's a little Halloween Rewind! Grab your Staypuft Marshmallows and listen to this episode from this past February where we talked to our friend Alex Steed about the original 1984 Ghostbusters!
Who you gonna call? Us, we hope! Or at least you will listen, as we talk to friend of the show Alex Steed (of the wonderful "You Are Good", a feelings podcast about movies that he hosts with the fabulous Sarah Marshall) about 1984 classic, the original "Ghostbusters". This was fun as heck.
You can find Alex on Instagram and Threads!
Here is part 2 of our talk about Ryan Coogler's "Sinners" with writer and actor Latisha Jones. (You can hear Pt. 1 here!) We dig more into this scary, fun and deep movie. We hope you like it!!
Latisha Jones is a Writer, Actor and Educator. And host of “Interspectional”, a podcast where she discusses the sci-fi/fantasy media through a social justice lens. You can find her on Instagram.
Today, we talk about a set of twins (who are not Lynne and Leslie) who had to fight vampires and racists all of that as we talk the the brilliant "Sinners" with our brilliant guest: writer and actor Latisha Jones. This was such a good conversation that we looked at the clock and realized we weren't anywhere near done, and scheduled a second episode to finish (which you will here next week). There are so many layers to this movie, and we tried to dig into some of them. We hope you like it, and that you join us for next week.
Latisha Jones is a Writer, Actor and Educator. And host of “Interspectional”, a podcast where she discusses the sci-fi/fantasy media through a social justice lens. You can find her on Instagram.
Today, we discuss CBS' reality juggernaut, "Big Brother" with our guest, leadership expert John Poitevent! And you didn't have to uproot your life and live in a house with strangers for months: you just have to listen to this episode. Enjoy! This was a great conversation.
John has a passion for helping leaders and organizations achieve the fullness of their unique potential. For over 30 years he has worked in a variety of roles with non-profits and faith based organizations. Through The Vocari Group, he helps teams gain mission clarity, discover new possibilities and experience breakthroughs. His work has taken him to all fifty states and 15 countries, most recently facilitating a Small Business Bootcamp in Suubi, Uganda. In his free time John loves exploring and experiencing the great outdoors. On a long weekend you'll likely find him camping, biking, hiking, kayaking or fly fishing.
You can find out more about John and what he does at https://www.vocarigroup.com/.
We are so excited to be talking about 1986's outer space adventure about a fierce woman and her associates fighting with extraterrestrials, "Aliens" because our guest is 3-time Fine Beats and Cheeses guest, and our friend, cartoonist, graphic novelist, and reality TV legend, Judd Winick. This is a long one because we all like to talk, and then Sam had to leave early, so Leslie and Judd and Lynne kept going, and Sam has forgiven us. Right, Sam? But anyway, it's awesome and we adore Judd and we hope you love this episode!
Judd Winick is a screenwriter and an award-winning cartoonist. Judd has scripted issues of bestselling comic series, including Batman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Justice League, and Star Wars, and has also been head writer on the Hulu network’s animated series, The Awesomes. Judd also appeared as a cast member of MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco and is the author of the highly acclaimed graphic novel Pedro and Me, about his Real World roommate and friend, AIDS activist Pedro Zamora. He is also the author of kid graphic novels series, "Hilo". He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Pam Ling; their two kids; and their cats, Chaka and Sleestak.
You can find him on Instagram, Facebook, and here!
This week, it's all things Carrie Bradshaw and crew as we talk "And Just Like That", the continuation of HBO's classic series, "Sex and the City" with our guest (and friend from Lynne and Leslie's days in church teen choir), Dawn Davis. Note: we did an episode on SATC when AJLT was in its earlier days, but are revisiting that universe now! This was a really good talk about friendship, legacy, and returning to things you previously loved (and all that comes with that). Enjoy!
Dawn Davis grew up as both a corporate army brat and preacher’s kid, weaving her active imagination and colorful experiences into short stories while still in elementary school. In semi retirement she works as an assistant to a real estate broker. When she’s not writing, working, or wrangling life, she can be found by the water with a good book and a glass of champagne. Dawn lives in Annapolis with her husband, children, and dog. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.
Something IS out there as we talk 2000s pretty teen alien TV drama, "Roswell", with our guest, Nichole Land. This was such a fun one and you will love it!
Nichole says:
My name is Nichole Land. I am a Rockville, Maryland Resident. I work at Montgomery College, a Community College in Montgomery County, MD where I was just recently promoted to the position of Executive Associate II of the Vice President of Workforce Development & Continuing Education. I have work at the College for 9 years. I was also a student at Montgomery College, later obtaining a bachelors degree from Maryland University and then a master's degree from Morgan State University. I began my career at a non-profit called Interfaith Works, specializing in wraparound homeless services in Montgomery County, before coming to Montgomery College. My passion is in Education and uplifting the community through faith, education, and a helping hand. Some of my hobbies include listening to music, attending concerts, plays, traveling and sitting by the Ocean. Oh, and eating a good meal! :)
Get your Shbop Shbop on today and gather around the street lamp with your friends as we explore the delightful tones of Doo Wop music with our friend, author and podcaster, Emily Edwards. Fun show!
Emily J. Edwards earned her degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College and took the long road to becoming an author, working for over a decade as a wine and spirits journalist, radio producer, and co-host of the podcast, Ticklish Business. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, and several quadrupeds. Pronouns: she/her/hers
You can find Emily on Facebook and Instagram!
Master motivator Rod Bourn shares some of the inspiration he has gotten from the films one Bill Murray!
With a passion to improve people and organizations, Rod has worked in a variety of industries,
Rod is the Lead Ninja of Down Set Lead; a consulting group focused on helping organizations grow their business through training programs and leadership retreats. He is also a Director for Goldman Sachs’ 10k Small Businesses program.
Rod’s career started in HR and included positions at London Fog and Rite Aid. He then spent 10+ years as the Coordinator of Organizational Development at Harford College, where he designed, coordinated and delivered professional training and conferences; and ran 2 professional associations.
In the community Rod serves as a mentor and coach; he a board member of the Ma & Pa Rail Trail; and in 2008 founded Anna’s Guys, a collection of men who work with sheltered children. He also founded the annual Catch a Pig 5k, having raised over $100k for the local Boys & Girls Clubs.
You can find Rod on Facebook, LinkedIn and on his website.
Return guest and friend of the show Geraldine DeRuiter joins Sister Lynne and Producer Sam in a discussion of Empire Records and other love stories to times and places!
Geraldine DeRuiter is the James Beard Award-winning food and culture writer behind Everywhereist.com and the author of All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft and If You Can't Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury. (Lynne says, "It's beautiful and I listened to it on Audible and it made me cry and I was sad when it was over so get this book.") Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The New Yorker’s “Daily Shouts,” Marie Claire, and Refinery 29, and a few other places.
You can find her on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
Friend of the show Jennifer Inglis shares her experiences of the whole diet/fitness world of the 80's and 90's!
CW: We discuss diet and weight loss and if this is something that takes you places you don't wanna be, we will see you next week.
Jennifer Inglis is the author of two novels, "Girls Who Wear Glasses" and "Enchanting Sarah Greenberg." She's also studied comedy writing at The Second City in Chicago. An alumna of Northern Illinois University, she earned a bachelor's degree in theater arts, and also a master's degree in teaching from National-Louis University. She formerly worked as a public school drama teacher, which meant she spent six years being ignored by tweens. In a past life, she worked in professional theater in suburban Chicago, as a playwright, actor, assistant director, and producer, despite being a classic introvert who'd rather be home reading a book. Jennifer currently lives in Chicago and, when she's not trying to dress up her cat, Daisy, in a variety of fetching hats (and failing miserably) she works as a freelance writer is currently working on her third novel.
Find her on Facebook, Instagram and on her website!
Special guests Justin Guarini and Kim Walsh Phillips join us in a celebration of the hit Hulu mystery show, Only Murders in the Building! We had a really fun time talking about the show, friendship, and inspiration.
Justin Guarini and Kim Walsh Phillips, founders of Elite Speakers Network, unlock the power of Celebrity to empower professionals to go from the Best-Kept Secret to the In-Demand Expert in their Niche. Justin Guarini, Entertainment Veteran, is a Season One American Idol alumni, 7 time Broadway Principal Performer and Dr. Pepper’s Lil’ Sweet character and Kim Walsh Phillips, who was recently featured on BRAVO, is the founder of Powerful Professionals, one of the fastest growing companies in America and 4x Best Selling author with Entrepreneur Press.
Find them at https://www.elitespeakersnetwork.com/elite and:
Justin on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook
Kim on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube
Teacher extraordinaire Caroline Kuhlman ONeill shares her insights on the Hunger Games and how she uses it with her students. A wide ranging discussion on writing, society, education, and an author's relationship with their fans...
Christine Van Bloem joins us this week in a wide-ranging conversation about "junk" food, comfort food, and healthy food. Who knew you could love all of these!
Who was that? Author and animal advocate Carmen Leal joins us for a deep dive into the world of The Masked Singer!
Join show favorite Judd Winick, comic artist extraordinaire, as we discuss the definitive Star Trek fan movie, Galaxy Quest!
JUDD WINICK is a cartoonist and creator of the award-winning, New York Times bestselling Hilo series. Judd grew up on Long Island with a healthy diet of doodling, X-Men comics, the newspaper strip Bloom County, and Looney Tunes. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and today lives in San Francisco with his wife, Pam Ling; their two kids; their cats, Troy and Abed; and far too many action figures and vinyl toys for a normal adult. Judd has written and produced animation for television and film, created the Cartoon Network series Juniper Lee; has written superhero comics, including Batman, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow; and, along with his wife Pam, was a cast member of MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco. Judd is also the author of the highly acclaimed graphic novel Pedro and Me, about his Real World roommate and friend, AIDS activist Pedro Zamora.
Find Judd:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judd.winick
Twitter and Instagram: @JuddWinick
https://juddspillowfort.com/
Special guest Daarina Jefferson stopped by to discuss Reality TV, especially the Real World!
Join guest host Nikki Lewis and special guest Stacey Simms in a spirited discussion of Game of Thrones! As always, spoiler alerts... for a 13 year old show!
Stacey Simms is the host of the long-running and award-winning podcast Diabetes Connections and the author of “The World's Worst Diabetes Mom” book series. In November 2023 she launched a second podcast, Diabetes Connections TYPE 2.
In 2023, Diabetes Connections surpassed 2.3 million downloads.
“The World’s Worst Diabetes Mom” won Best New Non-Fiction at the American BookFest, a 2020 Communicator Award and was named to Book Authority’s 100 Best Parenting Books. Its sequel, “Still the World’s Worst Diabetes Mom” received a 2023 Mom’s Choice Gold Award.
Stacey is the organizer of Diabetes Connections presents: Moms’ Night Out, a new overnight conference for mothers of children with diabetes.
For more than a decade, she hosted Charlotte’s Morning News on WBT-AM, the city’s top-rated morning radio news show.
Stacey lives near Charlotte, NC with her husband, two children and their dog, Freckles.
Find her at:
https://www.facebook.com/diabetesconnections
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1694978737192837
Instagram: @staceysimms
https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceysimms/
https://www.youtube.com/@diabetesconnections
http://www.diabetes-connections.com/
Do you yell at us through your speakers? Long time friend of the Podcast, Glenda, gets to do just that in person...
About Glenda:
Younger of 2 siblings, Watches wayyy too much TV. Been on various choirs since a child. Graduate of Baltimore City College. Towson STATE University, Mass Communications. Worked in TV Production since 1992.
Still single, accepting applications.
Do you like scary movies? Today, we talk classic horror movie juggernaut, "Scream", with our guests Amy and Dan, who host a WONDERFUL podcast about teen movies called "Save the Last Pod". This was a REEEEEEALLLLY fun one and we hope you love it, even if your answer to the above question is "no".
Amy DePaola is a comedy and dramedy director and writer. She and her husband, podcaster Dan Schwartz, are having a hard time adulting. To cope they are rehashing teen movies every week on Save the Last Pod.
You can check out their show at http://www.savethelastpod.com
Jump in a vintage convertible with some heavenly creatures and join us as we talk about wonderful classic Sunday-night TV show "Touched By An Angel", with our guest Willie Washington. This was an uplifting, positive conversation and I hope you love it. Also, Della Reese was a daggone gift to the world.
Willie's bio:
Hi. My name is Willie. I’m a millennial Gemini that loves Jesus, life, music, severe weather, comics, and learning different things. I call myself Captain Random as I make it my mission to know lots of random facts. For example…..did you know that turtles can breathe through both ends? 😂 I speak Spanish because of the Lord Jesus Christ and I thank Him every day for that as it has come in handy on so many occasions. I’m not sure how long this can be. So I’ll just stop there. 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550205346144&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Call Gavin DeGraw, meet us at the basketball court and bring your drama as we talk classic 2000s series, "One Tree Hill" with our guest, Dr. Jessica Rabon. I (Lynne) completely missed this show 20 years ago so I am newly obsessed. Oh my goodness this was a fun conversation!!
Also, we have a bonus conversation about our fave TV theme songs on our Patreon, where you can get exclusive subscriber content while supporting us for $5 a month!! Sign-up here! https://www.patreon.com/FineBeatsandCheeses
Dr. Jessica Rabon is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in pediatric psychology. Her clinical interests include depression, anxiety, chronic medical illnesses, LGBTQ+ health, and eating disorders. She has published a number of peer-reviewed research papers and a book on topics such as suicide, depression, anxiety, self-compassion, gratitude, and forgiveness. Additionally, Jess creates mental health content on TikTok and Instagram and hosts two podcasts, Psych Talk and Welcome to Group Therapy, with the goal of making mental health more accessible and relatable, and destigmatizing mental health.
https://www.facebook.com/jessicaleighphd
Instagram: jessicaleighphd
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwVZNyrZU-ThN-q3rsL7rJQ
https://jessicaleighphd.wixsite.com/mysite
We are well-read cheesy people today as we discuss books and why we love them with Ashley Mason, social media marketer. What a fun conversation that made us immediately want to run to the library for things we haven't read yet or to our own bookshelves to curl up with our old favorites to read them again. Fun. Fun. Fun.
Ashley Mason is the founder of the content marketing agency Dash of Social that helps its clients establish thought leadership, grow online communities, and drive brand awareness.
Additionally, Ashley founded Massachusetts Business Network in 2022, which is the only statewide publication that provides free to low cost resources to organizations through its podcast, blog, and directory.
Ashley is a graduate of Stonehill College, where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. She is a TEDx speaker, has been named a 40 Under 40 Honoree by Cape & Plymouth Business Media, and was recognized as Best Social Media Specialist by Boston Business Women.
Ashley currently serves as a Board Member for the Brockton Visiting Nurse Association (BVNA), Middleboro Public Library, and South Shore Young Professionals (SSYP). When she isn't working, you can find her running on her Peloton or curled up on the couch with a book.
You can find Ashley at:
https://www.facebook.com/dashofsocial
Twitter: ashjeanmason
Instagram: dashofsocial
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyjeanmason
https://www.dashofsocial.com
We have our banjos tuned and our cowboy hats on as we talk country music with our friend, podcaster and author, Melvin E. Edwards, who was previously on our episode on Introverts. This was a really fun conversation about country, who it belongs to and who gets to sing it (the answer to that s EVERYONE), its origins, and other issues that were raised by the release this past spring of Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter". GOOD conversation.
Melvin E. Edwards is the host of the popular podcast, Stories From Real Life, and the author of "The Eyes of Texans: From Slavery to the Texas Capitol: Stories From Six Generations' of One Family" and "The Strength of a Thousand Suns: More Stories from my Texas Family".
Hooray!! We talk the inescapable new classic TV dramedy "Ted Lasso" with our guest, photojournalist and storyteller Jason Plotkin. We think that this is a show that lived up to the hype, and we hope that you like this discussion about this beautiful, funny, sad, insightful, delightful show.
Jason's parents sent him to this planet when that world was set to explode. A lone survivor striving to find his place in this world, Jason often finds himself leaching onto more talented people in the hopes that symbiosis will kick in and he may attain some of their abilities. That's what led him to Leslie and Lynne and Fine Beats and Cheeses. (He won't tell you this, but he is also an award-winning documentary film maker. He is currently a photographer for the Penn State Health system, where he documents the work and loves of the medical providers as well as the patients).
Podcasts. The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of Fine Beats and Cheeses. Its two-year (almost) mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new likes and new guilty pleasures no one feels guilty about to boldly go into cheesiness where no man has gone before!
Yes! This week we talk Star Trek and its universe with David Ginsburg, host of the podcast, "Tales From the Fandom". Delightful. This was a really delightful conversation and we all had a really good time talking about something that we have all loved for a really long time. Listen, won't you?
David Ginsburg, host of the Tales from the Fandom podcast. Live in Orlando, FL. Love so many different things its hard to quantify, but can and will :P
https://www.facebook.com/talesfromthefandom/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/140962726527385
Instagram and Threads: talesfromthefandom
https://www.youtube.com/@talesfromthefandom
http://talesfromthefandom.com/
Nothing's gonna stop us now, even if you wanted to! Today, we talk about 1987's human/sometimes wooden person Andrew McCarthy/Kim Cattrall romantic comedy, "Mannequin". This is hilarious. HILARIOUS. This was a fun one.
James Toler is a singer, actor, and the co-host (along with Stephanie D'Accurzio) of The Pitchy Podcast, a show that discusses NBC's The Voice. You can check them out below, and wherever you listen to podcasts:
https://www.youtube.com/@thepitchypodcast
https://www.instagram.com/thepitchypodcast/
We get meta today with a podcast episode about... PODCASTS! Our guest is Dr. Briana Barner, who actually teaches about podcasts, and she is really smart, and this is a really great episode!!
You can hear an extended conversation with us and Dr. Barner if you subscribe to our Patreon, where you can get bonus content while supporting us for a small monthly fee!
Go to https://patreon.com/FineBeatsandCheeses
Dr. Briana Barner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. She received a doctorate in Radio-Television-Film and a doctoral portfolio in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Texas. Briana also earned a Master’s in Women’s and Gender Studies from UT. She is an interdisciplinary critical and cultural communications scholar with research interests in Black podcasts, digital and Black feminism, digital media, Black cultural production and representation. Her work has been published in Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media, Film Quarterly, and the edited collection Saving New Sounds: Podcast Preservation and Historiography, Feminist Approaches to Media Theory and Research and Black Sisterhoods: Paradigms and Praxis. Briana is currently working on a manuscript about the cultural production of Black podcasts.
Find her:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/briana.barner
Twitter: briananbarner
Instagram: brianaisgrowing
https://communication.umd.edu/directory/briana-barner
We know All Too Well that you will enjoy this episode, as we talk all things Taylor Swift with our guest Melissa Leygan, who is a huge fan (or Swiftie, as they are known). Melissa is the first guest of ours to actually bring us thank you gifts (including baked goods and friendship bracelets), and this convo is as enlightening and delightful as she is. Tell all your Swiftie friends!!
You can hear a bonus conversation with us and Melissa on our Patreon page, where you get extra content from FB&C in exchange for a small monthly donation that helps keep us afloat! Sign-up here: https://www.patreon.com/FineBeatsandCheeses
Melissa's Bio below...
I've been a casual Taylor listener since I was in high school, but I became a fan as we listened to the well-crafted playlist my sister made on the drive up for the Eras tour, and it was when I saw her in May 2023 in MA that I became a real Swiftie(tm). I have so much respect for this woman and how she has navigated this world built to tear down people just like her, and she rebuilt and regrew and kept performing in spite of them all. I can't wait to share my love of her Fearless drive, Reputation, and how her Karma is the guy on the Chiefs. Truly, this bio isn't about me, it's about our Goddess and Queen, Taylor Swift. All Rise For the Queen. 👑
Go get your house painter who never finishes the job and join us for this wonderful episode about "Murphy Brown", the classic 80s-90s sitcom. Our guest is Lauren Milberger, actor, writer, and host of FYI: The Murphy Brown Podcast, where she and her co-host Jesi Mullins walk listeners through every Murphy Brown episode. On THIS episode of Fine Beats, we and Lauren talk how this show is both an emblem of its time while also seeming current. This is a great episode and we hope you like it.
To hear us talk MORE Murphy Brown, subscribe to our Patreon, where for $5 a month, you will find bonus content, including extra episodes that go with the regular shows. Support us at patreon.com/FineBeatsandCheeses
Lauren Milberger is an actor/writer/playwright/podcaster in New York and a graduate of the Actors Studio MFA program and The Second City NY Conservatory Program. She is a Writer's Lab, Eugene O'Neill Semifinalist, and a published essayist on funny people such as Burns and Allen, Carrie Fisher, & Lenny Bruce. Lauren has previously co-hosted The Fordcast: A Harrison Ford Podcast and is currently co-hosting FYI: The Murphy Brown Podcast, a podcast decided to the series Murphy Brown, 90's pop culture, and women in media, where she has interviewed guests from Emmy to Tony winners. You can currently catch Lauren's acting in her scripted podcast "The Raconteurs: A Story of George Burns & Gracie Allen" as Gracie Allen, and various voiceovers, film, and theater.
You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @LaurenMilberger, and also at http://www.laurenmilberger.com .
https://www.murphybrownpod.com/
We've wanted to do this episode for The Longest Time: we talk about Billy Joel!! WE LOVE HIM, and so does our guest, culture writer Geraldine DeRuiter. We talk about the relatability, joy, and thoughtfulness of his music, and why it holds up. Such fun.
Geraldine DeRuiter is the James Beard Award-winning food and culture writer behind Everywhereist.com and the author of All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft and the upcoming If You Can't Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The New Yorker’s “Daily Shouts,” Marie Claire, and Refinery 29, and a few other places.
You can find Geraldine at:
https://www.everywhereist.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Everywhereist
Twitter @everywhereist
Instagram @theeverywhereist
We are SO thrilled to welcome singer, actor and author Colie Aziza to the show to talk about Netflix's hit dating show, "Love Is Blind". We laughed A LOT. Join the party!
Colie Aziza’s musical style uniquely blends sounds of sultry jazz and soul with therapeutic elements of spoken word that speak to the mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of her listeners. This independent singer/songwriter’s performance intentionally sets out to create intimate landscapes, where she connects and shares her vision with the audience. Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Colie attended Music & Arts High School in Harlem, where she majored in vocal studies, and she continued her studies at Syracuse University, where she studied musical theatre. Colie believes in the power of collaboration. She currently creates and shares the stage with Liberated Muse Arts Group, Deep Water Jazz, The Charles Rahmat Group, as well as her ensemble Soul For A New Day. Colie published her first children’s book, Corey’s Dreams in 2016 using her pen name Aziza M. Throughout her life’s work, she encourages both adults and young people to always follow their dreams.
You can learn more about her on her website at colieaziza.com
Y'all, we are so thrilled to have as our guest, actor and screenwriter Johnathon Schaech, star of a bunch of things, including "That Thing You Do" (which may be Leslie and Lynne's favorite movie), "Jonah Hex", and "Road House 2", the sequel to the Patrick Swayze butt-kicking classic "Road House". He's the perfect person to talk all things "Road House", and he and us and Producer Sam also talk about the wonderfulness of Patrick Swayze, action movies, and even a little about That Thing You Do (which we have to do an episode on). This was so fun, and we hope you love it. (Lynne was on Day 3 of COVID, which is why she sounds like she does, and why there is mention of coughing at the end ).
Johnathon Schaech is an actor, screenwriter, producer, activist, and Maryland native. You can find him on Twitter @johnschaech, and his show "Blue Ridge" will be out in 2024.
No Whammys!! We had a hoot recording this episode with veteran journalist Milton Kent, and we talk about game shows, both classic and new.
Milton Kent is a veteran of Baltimore sports media, having covered the World Series, the Final Four, the NBA, NFL conference championship games, sports media and high schools over a career that spans over four decades. He currently teaches journalism at Morgan State University, where he is an advisor to the school newspaper, The MSU Spokesman. He and his wife live in Baltimore County.
You can listen to him on his show Sports At Large from WYPR on that station, or wherever you listen to podcasts!
We have another single twin week as Leslie was on vacation! This time, Lynne cohosts with Elicia Marie, friend of the show and past guest, as they welcome Melvin Edwards to the show to talk about introverts, their image in pop culture, and how being one is part of who he is. We talk superheroes, sensitive kids, and letting your people find you.
Melvin E. Edwards is a 6th-generation Texan, who was an award-winning newspaper reporter and columnist before entering the colorful and ambitious world of Texas politics. He started his career writing about Texas high school football and within a few short years, he was a speechwriter for the Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Texas.
He has written two award-winning books tracing generations of his Texas family back to its Republic of Texas days, making him one of the first African-American members of the Sons of the Republic of Texas.
He has the rarest Myers-Briggs personality type in the world (INFJ), which could explain why he loves cowboy boots, hats, and baseball, and can imagine stories so big, they make even Texas seem small.
Leslie is Last Twin Standing this week as Lynne was REALLY congested, so instead, Leslie is in conversation with Producer Sam, the person who makes us sound purty every week, and whom you will remember from our episode on clowns! In this episode, Leslie and Sam talk about hair metal bands from the late 80s-early 90s like Poison and Warrant, and cheeky lyrics, musical talent, and eyeliner.
Sam Lewis is an Austin, TX-based artist and photographer who's visual project, "The Fool's World", features neo-Victorian clowns as a commentary on current culture. You can find him at http://thefoolsworld.com/
This week we discuss the 90s classic film "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" with return guest Robin Peace, who always makes us rethink 90s movies and their takes on beauty and weight and all of the things. This is a really thoughtful discussion as we also question if we should make any more movies about people pretending to be other people in order to make them love them. (Maybe we shouldn't?)
Robin Peace is a government analyst, and also a great writer. You can find her on Facebook as Robin Regina Peace.
Listeners!! MOVE THAT BUS and enjoy our latest episode in which we talk to our friend Athena Boyd about her, our and your love of home improvement shows! We laughed a lot, and had some weird audio stuff that should be gone but we talk about it and the whole thing is awesome.
Athena Boyd is an Annapolitan with a love for the healing arts and all things art in fact! Business owner and mama! Tiny little person in a big family!
http://www.rootedtherapeutix.com
We are so pleased to have Derek Pentz as our guest this week to talk about Bravo TV's long-running reality TV hit, "Vanderpump Rules". What a fun, informative conversation about not just the show itself, but how reality TV stars are really smart marketers, and what we can all learn from them. NOTE: SPICY LANGUAGE and SOME ADULT SUBJECT MATTER. This was such a learning experience of a talk, and we hope you enjoy it.
Zenobia Darling is the critically acclaimed drag persona behind stand-up comic, podcaster, and artist Derek Pentz. Derek is a graduate of Towson University's theater program, where he studied reality television's theatrical and societal relevance, writing his undergraduate theater thesis on two of Bravo's reality tv theater masterpieces, Vanderpump Rules and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, titled "Would Oscar Wilde be a Nineteenth-Century PumpHead? The Wilde Aspirational Comedy of Vanderpump Rules." Since 2022, Derek has been creating out of his Havre de Grace, MD art studio and recording his upcoming podcast, #RockStarLife: Coffee Break, where Zenobia beams down to earth to gossip with guests about pop culture and reality tv, with a special interest in The Real Housewives and Ghost Adventures. Follow Zenobia’s #RockStarLife on Instagram, and on Derek’s website, ZenobiaDarlingCreative.com!
This week we are honored to talk all things Bedrock with veteran voice actor Ivan Sherry as we talk about The Flintstones! He has done a bunch of animated shows and projects, including starring as Inspector Gadget on the 2015 reboot (PLUS you may hear a bit of the Inspector on this podcast episode and it's amazing). We talk about the lasting effect of The Flintstones on popular culture from the 60s through now. What a fun, fun episode.
Ivan's voice credits include "Inspector Gadget" (2015-2018), the Assassin's Creed games, and his live action credits include the "Fargo" TV series and "Murdoch Mysteries". He can be heard currently on the new BYUtv animated series, "Saving Me".
This week we talk to the delightful Jill Earl, who shares her love for Bubblegum Pop, the genre of catchy songs aimed at kids and teens, especially in the late 1960's and early 1970's. This was SUCH a fun convo, where we talk about the need for frothy fun songs in the middle of not-so-fun times.
Jill describes herself as a damn good cook, lover of books, one who savors chocolate and tea.
On today's show, we talk about the classic Tom Cruise throwing-around-bottles-of alcohol-to-music film, 1988's "Cocktail"! Our guest is the wonderful Dennis Camlek, who is a marketing professional with over thirty years of client and agency experience in the media and entertainment industry. Also, Dennis and Leslie have been friends for over 30 years since meeting at The Diamondback, the student newspaper of the University of Maryland at College Park, their alma mater. Boy, did we laugh in this episode, as we talked about the maybe not wonderful movies that we still love and why. So much fun.
Dennis can be found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-camlek-20472230/
Today we talk all things Looney Tunes with the fantastic Rob Harvilla, host of 60 Songs That Explain the 90s, a really wonderful look at the songs that informed our lives (Leslie has been a guest 4 times, and you can find it all on Spotify). This conversation was a BLAST and you will love it.
You can find Rob on Twitter at @harvilla, on Instagram at @robharvilla, and you can find his show at https://www.theringer.com/60-songs-that-explain-the-90s.
This week with talk with government analyst and sci-fi/fantasy writer Robin Peace, about the 1998 Barbra Streisand movie (which she also directed), "The Mirror Has Two Faces". We talk beauty standards, and settling, and more, in this really great episode. Besides being awesome, Robin has been one of Lynne's closest friends for since their Freshman year of college.
Robin Peace is a analyst for the federal government and in her spare time is a struggling sci-fi and fantasy author and literary poet. She hopes to have a novel and book of poems published in 2024 via self-publishing under the name R.R.Peace. She is on Facebook under Robin Regina Peace and Instagram and Twitter as ladypeace1971. She does have a website but it's under construction at the moment. When it comes online, her social media sites will announce the new webpage.
We are pleased as punch to welcome Alex Steed of the wonderful "You Are Good", a feelings podcast about movies that he hosts with the fabulous Sarah Marshall. Today, we talk about "Siamese Dream", the 1993 album by The Smashing Pumpkins. Gosh, this was a wonderful conversation.
There is a little bit of weird audio stuff in this episode but it passes!
You can find "You Are Good" wherever you find podcasts, and you can find it and Alex on Twitter and Instagram at @youaregoodpod and @alexsteed
This was a really deep and fun conversation with our dear friend Maruchy about the phenomenon of men wearing clothes traditionally seen as feminine and what that says about them, and us, and what it doesn't. Loved it.
Maruchy is :
the proud daughter of refugees that taught me about resilience & loving your way through life. Mom, wife & faithful servant to my human family. I run, think, pray, eat, cuss & am an ally and advocate for equal rights for all. I’m a COO & created a business from the ground up with Martha Stewart as our most prominent client. I show up even when I’m scared & attribute any success I’ve had or will have to bring audacious.
This was a very fun and also VERY short episode of FB&C because Leslie, Tracey and I spent the first 20 minutes of our time together blabbing and it was wonderful but it took us awhile to actually push record and do the darn episode. We discuss the timeless beauty of the music of Barry Manilow, and his themes of hope and regret and hope again, and how we are NOT ashamed of loving him. We have been friends with Tracey for about 20 years and we love her. What a wonderful talk and we hope you love it.
Tracey is a radio host on 95.1 BRIGHT-FM in Baltimore and host of the podcast, Your Day Brighter, singer. She is a writer and lover of God and people and Indian food.. and Ted Lasso.
Leslie and Lynne lost their grandmother Emma in late April, and wanted to honor her with an episode about "Keeping Up Appearances", BBC classic TV show and one of Grandma's favorites. Our guest this week is Laura Spencer, PR and communications expert. This was a really fun episode, and we love Laura and she is now our friend because, in part, we all could easily put our hands on crowns in our respective homes to add to the fancy vibe while we recorded. We talk all things Hyacinth Bucket, class, and humility, and comedy, candlelight suppers and how funny shows can also be social commentary.
You can find her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-spencer-bb46336/.
We had the funnest (yes I said FUNNEST) conversation with Jenny Kokai, professor and playwright, about ABC's "The Bachelor" franchise. We laughed, and we listened, and this talk could have gone on for another hour if people didn't have stuff to do.
I (Lynne) met Jenny in a Facebook group of non-male identifying theatre professionals and my theatre company wound up doing one of her shows as a tour for schools. She is wonderful AND WE ARE GOING TO HAVE HER BACK.
You can find more about Jenny here: https://www.usf.edu/arts/news/2022-23-news/20220819-meet-jenny-kokai-school-of-theatre-and-dance-director.aspx, on Twitter @jenniferkokai and on Instagram @jennykokai
A lively conversation about CBS's long-running reality competition show, "Survivor" with Adam Vitcavage of the podcast and website Debutiful. This is a topic that all 3 of us can talk a lot about, as you will hear. What makes a good winner? What's a good strategy? Shouldn't you know how to swim if you are voluntarily stranded on an island? We discuss all of these important things :).
Debutiful is a website and podcast where readers can discover debut authors. It has been named a Best Book Podcast by Book Riot, Town and Country, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Mary Sue, and elsewhere.
Debutiful was founded by Adam Vitcavage in January 2019. His criticism and interviews have also been featured in Electric Literature, Paste Magazine, The Millions, among others. He lives in Denver where he previously was the Director of Events at Tattered Cover Book Store.
Adam can be found at @debutiful on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-vitcavage-b5361433/, and Debutiful can be found wherever you find awesome podcasts.
Our guest today is the DELIGHTFUL Wanda "Godsbratt" Ford, who is a podcaster and makeup artist. We talk about the vast opportunities to learn skills fron YouTube, how Wanda picked up her podcasting and MUA skills on the app (and has changed her life) and how the internet levels the playing field by making the ability to learn a new skill available to everyone. This was a really fun conversation with someone Leslie and Lynne have known since 1985.
Wanda “GodsBratt” Ford is a no nonsense, tell it like it is, what you see is what you get type of person. She doesn’t judge, she’s compassionate, empathetic, and stands in her truth. All of it. The good the bad and the ugly. Wanda has been working since she was fourteen years old, and her first job was in a doctor’s office as a front desk receptionist after school. She was always “different “ but she was ok with that. She wore pumps and skirts with silk blouses to school while most her age preferred jeans and tennis shoes. She’s worked at places like University of Maryland Department of Human Genetics, various Healthcare insurance companies like Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Willse and Associates, a third party administrators, and Optimum Choice. With each position she has made some lifelong friendships and earned the respect of the upper level supervision with outstanding professional references from them all.
However her passion has always been about all things beauty, from clothing, to hairstyles, to makeup. So much so, she used to get in trouble for sneaking and wearing make-up in middle school. Her love of make-up just came naturally. She is a self-taught MUA who learned how to do make-up by watching YouTube videos and endless hours of practicing. For years others have been “speaking life” into her and her “make-up ministry “ and finally she decided to step out on faith to do what comes so naturally to her. Wanda felt like to have so many people to believe so strongly in her talent, who was she to continue to doubt herself? From there she stepped out on faith and hasn’t looked back since.
She’s been using make-up by a black owned company called Playing In Makeup By Yolondo or PIMBY for the last few years. It’s really high quality and budget friendly and she’s always told anyone who would listen about how good this brand is, especially when she does her makeup lives an Facebook and TikTok. Recently the brand owner made her an affiliate of PIMBY. WHAT AN HONOR!!!!
She’s also the host of a podcast called “Watching Wanda’s World “ In doing this podcast, she has found her purpose. #EmpowerUpliftSupportInspireMotivateEncourage. She hosts guests and discuss topics that speak to her spirit. Guests that show people that it’s never too late to turn your life around or reinvent yourself in a positive manner. She also showcases black-owned businesses that deliver a good product as well as excellent customer service.
She’s just a country girl living in the city, trying to make a positive difference in the world.
Our producer nicknamed this episode "Hankering To Cry", because we talked A LOT about how this 2022 Tom Hanks movie made us bawl throughout. Our guest is Christina James, radio personality from Baltimore's Bright-FM, where she plays Contemporary Christian hits middays Monday-Friday from 10AM-2PM. She is a fantastic guest and we LOVE her. This was SUCH a fun, thoughtful episode. BRING TISSUES and watch this movie. It's really, really great.
CW- This episode (and movie) talks about attempted suicide, grief, widowhood and pregnancy loss.
Christina can be found on Facebook, and would love for you to join her Facebook Group, "Christina James I BRIGHT-FM Middays".
Is marriage cheesy? Maybe! TV shows and movies sometimes think so, and our wonderful guest Emily Edwards talks about it. We had so so so so so much fun with this, and we can't wait for you to hear it.
Emily J. Edwards is the author of the Girl Friday series. She earned her degree in writing, literature, and publishing from Emerson College and took the long road to becoming an author, working for over a decade as a wine and spirits journalist, radio producer, and podcaster. She currently lives with her husband and several quadrupeds in Connecticut.
She is @MsEmilyEdwards on Instagram and Twitter! Find her!
This was a fantastic conversation with Sam Lewis, who is an amazing artist, photographer, culture commentator, and also, producer of Fine Beats and Cheeses (and kind of our brother-in-law, as he is married to our longtime bestie who we've known since birth). Today, we talk about clowns, as a concept, and their history. Leslie is actually afraid of clowns and doesn't get them, and Sam gives us his know-how of clowns and such, and their cultural significance. We learned a lot, and we loved this talk. Also, Lynne talks about her questionable encounter with a burger joint clown mascot.
Sam Lewis is an Austin, TX-based artist and photographer who's visual project, "The Fool's World", features neo-Victorian clowns as a commentary on current culture. You can find him at http://thefoolsworld.com/
This was an amazing conversation with fan of the Joss Whedon cinematic universe, Maria Blake. We talk about her love of these shows and movies, and also about the conundrum of separating a problematic artist's work from the artist themselves. Great talk.
This week, our guests are US! Leslie and Lynne talk Fox's hit doctor show, "The Resident". It's really fun! And Lynne clears her throat a lot because we recorded this at like 7 AM a few days ago! And at one point, Lynne and Leslie have an argument that our producer said we should keep in because it showed good conflict resolution. You're welcome!!
This was a funny and informative discussion with Meredith Davis, Ph. D., about the intersection of race and reality TV. We talk Flava Flav and Bachelorettes and The Real World and such!
Meredith Davis is a solution focused leader that possesses three decades of experience in non-profit, higher education administration and teaching. Davis' focus areas are equity, access, diversity, inclusion, crisis management, leadership development, training and strategic planning. Her educational and pastime expertise is Blackness and the intersections of historical and popular culture. With a degree in sociology, she is obsessed with culture. Her favorite saying is, "If you are willing to do it, I am willing to watch."
We are pumped to welcome James and Stephanie hosts of the VERY popular Pitchy Podcast, to talk about NBC's The Voice (which their awesome podcast discusses weekly). There is probably more giggling on this episode than any other FB&C episode so far. AND WE LOVED IT.
You can find them at:
Instagram: @thepitchypodcast/
TikTok: @thepitchypodcast
YouTube: @thepitchypodcast
And wherever you listen to podcasts!!
We are BEYOND excited to have Qondi, founder of Thirst for Democracy, as our guest to talk about the 1995 classic, "Clueless'. It's a fun, smart conversation and we are thrilled to have her!
Qondi is the founder of Thirst for Democracy, a multi-platform political project, which harnesses the power of the Thirst and her democracy baes to encourage joyful civic engagement. She is also the creator of the romcom Twitternovela “The Affair” starring Stick Qondi, Senator My Boo and the Brother Husbands.
You can find her on Twitter @QondiNtini
This is an uplifting conversation with Coach and Speaker Larisa Harrington about the 2010 movie "Eat, Pray, Love" starring Julia Roberts. There was a lot of head-nodding and mmm-hmming as we talked about self-care, and not feeling guilty about it.
Larisa Harrington, PCC, C-IAYT, is a Coach, Consultant, Trainer and Speaker specializing in mindfulness, emotional intelligence, somatic trauma healing, conscious leadership and burnout recovery & prevention. She is a Professional Certified Coach, Certified Yoga Therapist & 20-year Air Force retiree with over 2 decades of experience working in wellness & leadership.
Larisa began her military career in the intelligence field and then transitioned to an employee assistance role teaching leadership, well-being and resiliency to both military and civilians supporting the NSA until retiring in 2017. She started Strong By Nature, LLC while serving in the military and has committed her life to continuing to be of service to others.
She helps successful, purpose-driven professionals continue doing meaningful work in the world without sacrificing their health. She teaches clients how to create more freedom, ease, joy and impact.
Larisa is the owner/founder of Strong By Nature Wellness, a holistic well-being company offering coaching, healing, yoga & strategy to support purpose-driven professionals in making a bigger impact in the world without burning out.
She is also the owner/founder of Better Execs, an executive coaching and consulting company offering support to purpose-driven organizations committed to the well-being & success of their people & their organization.
https://larisaharrington.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larisa.harrington
IG: https://www.instagram.com/strongbynaturewellness/
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larisa-harrington-45687a160/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LarisaDelana
This is a REALLY fantastic and really well-researched episode with our guest, Rissa Miller, who is an author, editor, herbalist and storyteller. Rissa brought us an engaging discussion about the archetype of the "goth girl", and it goes beyond the stereotype of the moody girl with black eyeliner. We talk about identity and belonging, and I really hope you enjoy it!!
Rissa Miller is an editor, author, herbalist, seer, and storyteller. Her storytelling expertise stems from extensive research into the area of esoteric history, including ghosts, divination, cryptids, and folklore. Rissa believes the most enduring stories teach us not only about humanity's past, but also give reason to reflect on our own present beliefs and realities.
We recorded this delightful episode back in September of 2022. Our guest is Melanie Hood-Wilson of Melanie Hood-Wilson and Associates, who offers consulting and workshops on education, DEI, and program and curriculum design, among other educational services. She is also Leslie's best friend, and has known Lynne and Leslie since the 8th grade.
We talk about loving soap operas, particularly All My Children, One Life To Live, and General Hospital, especially in the days we ran home from school to catch them.
You can find Melanie at https://www.melaniehoodwilsonandassociates.com/
This week, our guest is Taylor Payne, local actor who happens to be starring in Dream House: A Rainy Day Play by Jeremy Gable, presented in Annapolis, MD this coming Saturday, February 4, by Building Better People Productions, and directed by Lynne of this here podcast.
If you like amazing theatre for the whole family, get your tickets at https://bbpproductions.com/dream-house-a-rainy-day-play/
On the show, Taylor talks about her love of going to DIsney World, and her love, actually, of all things Disney.
We talk to the VERY funny Calvin Coates, host of "All Things Black with Garland and Calvin", about his love for "Antiques Roadshow", and the thrill of watching people find treasure in their grandma's attic.
Today, we have the family duo of Nikki and Riah Lewis! They talk about their love of fan fiction, and how kids can pass on their love of things to their parents. It's a really sweet episode with a family who is family to us!
CONTENT WARNING: There is brief mention of sexual assault.
This episode was recorded in mid-December of 2022 with our friend Elicia Marie. We talked about the awesome Last Holiday with Queen Latifah, which is a New Year's-themed movie, and we are still in the beginning of the new year, so rock on.
Murder She Wrote and all the cheese with Tina Streeter Smith & Larry Smith. A tribute to Angela Lansbury.
Journalist and author Leslie Gray Streeter and playwright and actor Lynne Streeter Childress have fun with cheesy pop culture! More cheese? Yes, please.