The Stories We'd Tell in Bars Podcast

Episode Twenty-Five: How About a Nice, Tall Glass of Haterade?

In the words of the world renowned philosopher DJ Lee Farmer:

"Love is all you need... but hate'll get you through."

Nothing motivates us more than whatever it is we despise.  

That's why Chicago media personality Gina B. and New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster pay tribute to hate on this podcast.  They discuss that which they loathe, that which lights a fire under their collective asses, that which makes them strive for change, for a difference.

Oh, okay, let's be honest.  They just complain about stuff that annoys them.  

And that's cool, too.

Episode Twenty-Four: Is High School Ever Really Over?

"Let's face it; no kid in high school feels as though they fit in." - Stephen King

If you describe high school as "the best four years of my life," skip this episode, it's not for you.

For most of us, high school was an interminable slog of waiting for our lives to begin.  The uncertainty... the acne... the Algebra II.  No, thanks.  Even though few of us relished the experience, those times are something we'll never forget.  

But, why?  

Join Chicago media personality Gina B. and New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster as they recount the best--and worst--of their high school years, and explain the factors at work that keep those memories so damn indelible.

Is this episode better than a wedgie from a bully?  

Hell, yeah!  

Better than pizza day in the cafeteria?

That's debatable.

 

Episode Twenty-Three: Fractured Fairytales

Is the idea of Prince Charming riding up on a white horse to rescue the damsel in distress terribly romantic?

Yes.

Is the idea of Prince Charming riding up on a white horse to rescue the damsel in distress horribly outdated and entirely unrealistic?

Hell, yes.

Let's be honest, fairytales are pretty messed up, giving generations of women expectations that are borderline dangerous.  The only thing you're going to end up with if you kiss a frog is lip herpes.  And don't even start us on the serious #metoo of some stranger kissing us awake from a coma, or seven small dudes watching us sleep.

That's why New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster and Chicago media personality Gina B. debate how writers have given women impossible standards to meet for years and what we can do to counter them.  

Does that mean you don't deserve your happy ending?  

Of course not.

But unless you're Meghan Markle, please accept that ain't gonna be in a castle. 

Episode Twenty-Two: Two Weeks? Yeah, and the Check Is in the Mail

"Two weeks."

Those were the words that nearly pushed Tom Hanks's character over the edge in the movie The Money Pit.  Until your hosts underwent their own home renovations, they thought this film was a comedy.

​Now they know it was a cautionary tale.

​That's why New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster and Chicago media personality Gina B. are delighted to welcome author/home renovation expert Stacey Ballis to this episode of the show!  They'll discuss her FOUR YEAR renovation project... and how no one got murdered during the process, not even a little bit.  

 So join the girls as Stacey shares her best, hard-won advice on all things home renovation!  

 

The life you save may be your own.

Episode Twenty-One: Becky with the Good Hair

Jim Morrison once said, "Some of the worst mistakes in my life were haircuts," and he died in a bathtub.  (Let that soak in for a second.)  Hair is our crowning glory, a means of expression.  We hide behind it, or shine beneath it.  Long, beautiful, steaming, gleaming, flaxen, waxen... we all adore hair.  That's why the average woman spends almost two hours a week styling her hair.  By the time we're 65, we'll have devoted SEVEN FULL MONTHS to working on our coiffs.  And that number doesn't include all the days/weeks/months we've spent in debate over whether or not to cut bangs.

(Spoiler alert: never cut bangs.)  Hair?  It's a big honkin' deal.

So, join Chicago media personality Gina B. and New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster as they get to the bottom of what constitutes good hair (and reminisce about all their tragic styles along the way).

 

Episode Twenty: You're Not Neurotic, They're Just Rude

Pet peeves - we all have them.  Some of us have more than others.  Some of us didn't know we had more than others, until they recorded this podcast.  (AND THAT IS OKAY.)  

What gets you?  The coworker who insists on sharing his sneeze with the world?  The spouse who returns a carton with single swig of milk in it back to the fridge?  The gum snapper in the grocery store?  Who's being rude here, them or you?  (Spoiler alert: it's them.)

Join Chicago media personality Gina B. and New York Times bestselling author as they break down exactly who's bothering them today (Jeannie.)

Episode Nineteen: The Antisocial Network

"Are Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. really social, or just a terrible facisimilie?"

"Does social media enhance our lives, or does it make us feel worse?"  

"Are we addicted?  If so, how do we break away?"

"And are we part of the problem by using social media to promote a podcast about how social media makes us crazy?"  

These are the questions New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster and Chicago media personality Gina B. ask themselves this week.  Join them as they break down everything that's good, bad, and patently insane about connecting with others via social platforms! 

Episode Eighteen (No, Really): Liquor? I Barely Know Her!

Join New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster and Chicago media personality Gina B. as they raise their glasses to the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.

Episode Seventeen: All the Single Ladies

With Valentine's Day looming, relationship columnist Gina B. and general know-it-all Jen Lancaster share their best romantic advice to get you successfully coupled up by 2/14.  Let this be the last V.D. where you have to buy your own damn chocolate heart!  

For those already in a relationship, their advice on this episode can help you *stay* happy as a couple.

Providing the color commentary on this podcast are their significant others, and, honestly... it's kind of a shitshow.  

So, if nothing else, maybe you'll think, "Yeah, being single?  Not so bad!" after listening.  Everybody wins!

Episode Sixteen: What's So F@#$%ing Funny?

Chicago media personality Gina B. and New York Times bestseling author Jen Lancaster talk comedy in this episode! 

From describing their own first experiences doing stand-up to breaking down the genius that is Dave Chappelle to examining how political correctness is changing the face of what's okay for society to find funny, this podcast is a tight five.  (Plus, like, another forty.)