This week, Kate and her sister are reporting live on Christmas Eve from North Carolina to talk about the hottest topics, like shows that are five years old they just started binging (Welcome to Plathville), drinking liqueurs that are over 20 years old, or finding out about school-aged kids having anonymous Deux Moi-style Instagram pages for rumor spreading, and they also discuss an AI scam that has been a source of debate at the Kennedy family Christmas. Then they read listener-submitted stories about the worst/weirdest Christmas gifts they’ve ever given or received to round out the past month of holiday-adjacent crowdsourcing. Enjoy & happiest holidays to you and yours!

Barefoot Dreams Contessa (with Kelly)

Be There in Five is a pop culture and millennial zeitgeist-focused podcast by Kate Kennedy (entrepreneur, author, pop culture commentator). Long-form and solo hosted, Be There in Five explores different facets of popular culture in a comedic, thoughtful, and analytical way, covering entertainment, social media, bloggers/influencers, and celebrities, in addition to focusing on the humor found in reexamining the 90s/00s as an adult (from AIM to Zenon). As one listener described it, “come for the relatable humor and lighthearted topics, stay for the surprising levels of depth and thoughtfulness injected into them.”

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This week, Kate is joined by NYT bestselling romance author Carley Fortune (Meet Me at the Lake, Every Summer After) to discuss her latest book, dropping on May 7th, This Summer Will Be Different. They discuss Carley’s former "RomCom job" as an editor at Refinery29 Canada and her pivot to becoming a romance writer, the importance of strong female friendships and real experiences represented in literature, and why Prince Edward Island may be the next hot vacation spot. They also touch on literary tropes, Carley’s journey of writing through early motherhood, and how her own life has shaped her storytelling. Then, Kate can't help but fangirl that Meet Me at the Lake has been optioned by Archewell Productions, so she asks if she's met Meg, among other things. No spoilers - Enjoy!

RomCom Jobs (with Carley Fortune)

This week, Kate crowdsources stories about attempting to, getting away with, or getting caught consuming age-inappropriate content as a kid and reads brave and inspiring stories from pop culture champions who fought for lyrics that weren’t clean and movies only suitable for ages over thirteen. From tales from the locked-and-loaded thumbs on the ‘back’ button of the remote control to the trials of the photocopiers and/or printers of the lyrics to “What’s Your Fantasy,” to the tribulations of those who fantasized about being “rubbed the right way” in their Genie in a Bottle era, this episode has something for everybody. If you have a story to share, email podcast@bethereinfive.com with the episode title in the subject line. Enjoy!

Jagged Little Thrill

First impressions of Taylor Swift's 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. See Kate and her sister Kelly's live reactions in 4 parts on patreon.com/bethereinfive if you're in the crowd and screaming MORE!

Poets Mortem (TTPD First Impressions)

This week, a magical marvel of a solar event stuns the world, and Kate and Caroline can’t be bothered to go outside. Instead, they take a look into their mirrored furniture and do some self-reflection, such as why we always think the current version of ourselves participating in lightning-fast trend turnover is “timeless.” They also discuss various topics like avoiding popular movies and tv shows that will bum them out, fast furniture, SoulCycle music, etc. At one point, Kate goes on a rant about the marketing of a denim company that works overtime to remind her she probably hates her body post-baby, and they also spend quite a bit of time going through the Cupcakes & Cashmere archives on the Wayback machine. Enjoy!

Barefoot Dreams Contessa (with Kelly)

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