Bury The Lede

On this episode of the pod, Erin and Jen discuss the frustrations of wedding dress shopping, and how Instagram/the Wedding Industrial Complex can make trusting your gut difficult. Jen mulls cosmetic acupuncture, and Erin talks about becoming a new aunt (teta)!

Jen and Erin discuss a viral Buzzfeed essay on how millennials became the 'burnout generation' — turns out we're all overwork, heavily indebted achievers who can't relax! — as well as Japanese organizational wizard Marie Kondo and her buzzy new Netflix show, Tidying Up. Later, they discuss the winter renaissance in Winnipeg, and Erin coins a new term.

Jen and Erin are back from their brief break! They have a long chat with musician/mindfulness coach/author Keith Macpherson about his new book, Making Sense of Mindfulness, and how to practice mindfulness in our everyday lives, especially when it comes to making resolutions. Erin then fills Jen in on a new, weird reality singing competition, The Masked Singer.

Jen and Erin host their first-ever live podcast! The ladies are joined by many special guests, including Sandy Taronno (our piano man for the entire show), musicians JP Hoe and Rusty Matyas, sketch comedy group HUNKS, ukulele comedy duo Bunny, indie-rock group Mise en Scene and the big man himself, Santa! They chat holiday traditions, play some games, some songs are performed and everyone has a jolly time. All proceeds from this event support the Free Press's holiday campaign, Miracle on Mountain, which goes to the Christmas Cheer Board. Recorded in front of a live audience at the West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg on Dec. 16, 2018 Big thanks to: Mikey Lipnowski (sound) Nicholas Friesen (stage manager/producer) Nicholas Jones (FoH manager)

Jen and Erin talk about their upcoming live podcast and encourage everyone to BUY THEIR TICKETS! (wfp.to/holiday). They also discuss language used around holiday eating and the ban of Baby It's Cold Outside.

Jen and Erin discuss the new virtual assistant at Winnipeg's Bell MTS Place, and why all virtual assistants seem to be women. Erin previews this year's bumper crop of local holiday songs, and the gals make a big announcement.

Jen and Erin talk about holiday- and event-related stress and the strange ways it manifests itself in your subconscious. They also give tips on how to navigate holiday stresses and maintain self-care during what can be the busiest season of the year. Also, Winnipeg Free Press wine/drinks writer Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson returns for another segment of Budget Wine of the Month Club, in which he gives the ladies the low-down on winter whites. And keep your ears peeled around the 16-minute mark! Jen and Erin announce a very special holiday BtL event you'll want to put on your calendar.

Halloween is over and Jen and Erin are feeling festive, discussing why they do and don't like going to local holiday markets. They also relay the importance of attending a Remembrance Day service this weekend, if possible, and talk about this year's new option of buying digital poppies. Jen learns Erin has never seen the film Twister and the ladies do a segment of Pop-Culture Blind Spots.

Jen and Erin get contemplative on this episode, discussing the various "unknowns" we fear: space, death (Erin goes to a statistically improbable number of funerals), the deep sea. Elsewhere, they talk about comfort watches. A nice, fun, light listen!

It's Halloween! Jen and Erin discuss the decreasing number of kids trick-or-treating in their neighbourhood each year, their favourite costumes and what kinds of things scare them. They also do a seasonal Good or Gross with pumpkin-spiced Baileys.

Jen and Erin are joined by Sol Israel, the Winnipeg Free Press's cannabis reporter, to talk about the legalization of recreational-use cannabis in Canada, which happened this week. He fills them in on his experience covering the cannabis beat, addresses the stigma around pot use, and breaks down the dos and don'ts of smoking/transporting/growing weed in Manitoba. Jen and Erin also do a bit of a fall TV primer, as both of them have seen sneak peeks of some anticipated new shows.

Jen and Erin are joined by Free Press political columnist Dan Lett to discuss the upcoming civic election: Why does no one care about civic politics? How can you get to know your local candidates? Who stands a chance of winning the mayoral race? How did Portage and Main become one of the biggest issues of this election? Dan tells it all! The ladies also talk about Taylor Swift's recent foray into the political landscape and, in Reading/Watching/Listening, they discuss the four versions of A Star is Born, because they did, in fact, watch them all.

Jen and Erin dive deep into fall, discussing why pumpkin is not the same as pumpkin spice (and why apple is clearly the superior fall flavour), the NHL's newest mascot, Gritty, and why Ticketmaster fees are the worst. Also, Free Press wine and drinks writer Ben Sigurdson returns for another installment of Budget Wine of the Month Club.

In this loosely back-to-school themed episode, Jen and Erin discuss self-care tips for the stressed, whether or not bras should be mandatory (spoiler: no), and how a girl gang of Nicoles came to be at the University of Calgary.

Jen and Erin chat about some of the new words added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary and the evolution of language. They also talk about sperm! More specifically, a new GQ long-read that provides some pretty startling scientific evidence saying men are half as fertile as they were 40 years ago. The gals also bring back the popular Pop-Culture Blindspot segment during which Jen tries to explain the plot of a Harry Potter film without having seen it or read the books.

On this episode, Jen and Erin talk about Burger Week, which kicks off in Winnipeg on Sept. 1, as well as Balenciaga's $9000 'Joey Tribbiani' coat and group-chat etiquette.

Jen and Erin discuss a new Free Press food project called Food For Thought, and give some shout-outs to readers for the feedback the ladies received from their food road-trip story. Erin also tries her first ever peanut butter and jelly sandwich, sparking a conversation about nostalgic eats. Keeping with the food theme, Jen and Erin try two new (non-alcoholic) beverages; both were... not good.

Jen and Erin embrace Folklorama and talk about some of their favourite pavilions. Also, Winnipeg is facing some surface-of-the-sun like temperatures this week, so the ladies also talk about access to water in public spaces. Then, Erin gives a rousing recap of the Bachelorette three-hour finale episode.

Jen and Erin share all the details from their Rural Eats Roadtrip, in which they scouted out the best places to eat in nine Manitoba towns, and were thoroughly charmed in the process. Elsewhere, Free Press drinks guy Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson joins them for the August installment of Budget Wine of the Month Club, which isn't about wine at all but cocktails in cans.

Jen and Erin are joined by Brooke Van Ryssel, owner and creator of My Body Fitness and Nutrition, a body positive fitness and holistic nutrition company. The three ladies do some major chatting about what body positive fitness is, why the idea of a "summer bod" or "sweating for the wedding" is so damaging, and Brooke shares some of her thoughts about the fitness industry and diet culture.