Ducks Unplugged

Apparently, texting has rules now. And nobody gave us the handbook. 😂

A period can mean you’re mad. An exclamation point might be required to prove you’re NOT mad. Read receipts can send you into a spiral. And if someone doesn’t text back the same day… are they busy? Ignoring you? Dead? Do they hate you now?!

It all started when Deanna’s 18-year-old daughter responded to a text with “ugh, thank you” — and insisted that “ugh” can be POSITIVE. According to Gen Z, apparently we’re just supposed to know this.

So naturally, we decided it was time to establish some texting rules.

We debate:
📱 Does punctuation completely change the tone of a text?
 👀 Are read receipts helpful… or psycho?
 ⏰ How long is TOO long to text someone back?
 ☎️ And if someone texts you… is calling them immediately a violation?!

Somewhere along the way, texting went from convenient to a full-time exercise in decoding tone, managing expectations and wondering if someone is secretly pissed at you.

👇 Settle it for us: What’s the ONE texting rule everyone should follow?

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Would you REALLY want to know? 👀

This week, Erin is pinch-hitting for Ashley - and we’re putting “ignorance is bliss” to the test.

If you could know the complete truth about your life - every secret, every lie, what people really think of you AND exactly what your future holds - would you open the envelope… or burn it immediately?

From there, things get slightly less existential. Slightly. 😂

Would you want to know:
💭 What your partner really thinks is your worst quality?
 💰 Your exact bank balance 10 years from now?
 📱 Every person who has ever unfollowed you AND why?
 🕷️ How many spiders have crawled on you while you were sleeping?
 And so much more!

Some answers we wanted immediately. Others? Take them to the grave.

👇 Play along with us: What would YOU want to know and what are you taking a hard pass on?

Send us your thoughts or questions!

AI is supposed to make our lives easier. So why does it keep making us look like completely different human beings? 😂

In this Podlet, Ashley and Deanna are talking about the AI fails that have us questioning just how much we should actually trust the robots. From inaccurate research and generic AI “slop” to companies assuming AI can replace actual humans... we have some concerns.

And then there are the photos. Deanna shares what happened when a podcast used AI to alter her headshot without her knowledge — creating a woman who was decidedly NOT Deanna — while Ashley reveals an AI-generated version of herself that looks like she was stung by approximately 400 bees. 😂

We’re not anti-AI. We’re pro right time, right place, and PLEASE check your work. And maybe don’t change someone’s entire face without asking them first.

Somehow this all ends with Ashley predicting robot extermination and WALL-E becoming a documentary. So... good luck, everyone.

👇 Listen and weigh in: What’s the worst AI fail you’ve seen?

Send us your thoughts or questions!

We all have things we'll happily spend more money on because they're worth it...and other things we could easily afford but still refuse to pay for on principle.

In this episode, Ashley and Deanna are putting their spending habits on the table and debating what deserves the splurge and what's just a complete waste of money.

🍉 Hard-to-cut fruit that's already cut up? Worth every penny.
👖 A great pair of high-quality jeans? We'll pay.
🍽️ A really good napkin? Apparently, this matters. 😂
🧹 Having someone clean your house? Absolutely...but this opens a whole other can of worms. How much are you supposed to clean BEFORE the cleaners come? Why is Ashley stripping her bed? And then Cindy casually reveals that she and her fiancé DON'T SLEEP ON THEIR SHEETS. WHAT?! So, we unpack that.

Plus, when did everything get so expensive?! We're comparing the prices stuck in our heads with what things actually cost today...and some of them are painful.

🎧 Listen to What's Worth the Money? | Ep. 101, play along with us, and decide what's worth YOUR money.

Then follow Ducks Unplugged so you never miss a new episode!

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Sydney Sweeney naked on a basketball hoop. Oreo drama taking over the internet. Obviously, we have thoughts. 😂

In this Podlet, we’re jumping into two viral debates we couldn’t stop talking about.

First up: Sydney Sweeney’s revealing new sports prediction campaign. She looks amazing... but is using a naked woman to sell sports a step backward, especially when women’s sports are finally getting the attention they deserve?

Then, #OreoGate. Justice for Ava! What started as lunchbox drama has turned into a much bigger debate about food, parenting and whether one parent gets a say in what someone else packs for their kid.

Plus, lunchroom food trades, Ashley’s theory that they’re actually teaching kids negotiation skills, and the very important question: Has #OreoGate accidentally increased Oreo sales?

👇 We want to know: Did Sydney Sweeney’s campaign go too far? And whose side are you on in #OreoGate?

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Once I get the job. Once I make more money. Once I buy the house. Once the kids get easier. Once work calms down. Once I finally take that trip...

Then I'll be happy.

But what happens when you actually get there and almost immediately start looking for the next thing?

In What Are We Supposed to Want Now?, Ashley and Deanna have an honest conversation about the moving finish line we spend so much of our lives chasing.

What did we once believe would make us feel like we'd finally "made it"? Did getting it feel as good as we thought it would? And why are we so quick to move the goalpost when something good finally happens?

Plus, we tackle the bigger question: Can you want more while also believing what you have right now is enough?

🎧 Listen to What Are We Supposed to Want Now? and join the conversation.

Then follow Ducks Unplugged wherever you listen so you never miss a new episode.

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Wait…people actually get PAID to do that?!

In this episode of Ducks Unplugged, we're diving into some of the strangest, most unexpected careers that somehow qualify as actual jobs.

Deanna comes prepared with a list of bizarre careers, and Ashley and Cindy have to figure out:
🤔 What does this person actually do?
💰 How much do they make?
🙋‍♀️ Would we ever do it?

Then we're taking it back to the careers that barely existed—or absolutely DID NOT exist—when we were growing up.

From Gen X to Millennials, we're asking whether our younger selves would have believed these were legitimate career paths, and whether our parents would have supported them.

🎧 Listen to Wait… THAT Can Be a Career? now and play along with us.

Then follow Ducks Unplugged wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss a new episode!

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Remember when we used to spend HOURS on the phone? 

Now someone calls and our first thought is… what happened?! 😂 

In this Podlet, Ashley and Deanna talk about how phone calls went from the way we communicated to something we actively avoid. Who still gets an automatic pickup? Why does calling someone suddenly feel intrusive? And if nobody talks on the phone anymore… how are people even BREAKING UP these days?! 

Texting. DMs. Ghosting. Watching the phone ring and then texting, “What’s up?” 

☎️ Is the phone call officially dead? 
👇 Be honest: When your phone rings, do you answer it or wait for the text? 

Send us your thoughts or questions!

We all have those little habits we assume are completely normal...until we say them out loud.

In this episode, Ashley and Deanna are putting their everyday quirks, questionable behaviors, and secret habits on the table to find out one thing: Are we actually weird?

Do you look up the restaurant menu before you go? Is "hair wash day" really a thing? And what other seemingly normal things have we been doing that maybe aren't so normal after all?

Plus, a round of How Weird Is Too Weird? We're throwing out scenarios and deciding where they fall on our official weirdness scale.

🎧 Listen to Are We All Just Secretly Weird? | Ep. 96, play along with us, and decide where YOU draw the line.

Then follow Ducks Unplugged so you never miss a new episode!

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Millennials, we need to talk. 😂

Because apparently “jeans and a going-out top” is a millennial thing — and Deanna has some thoughts.

Like… excuse us? Gen X was wearing jeans and going-out tops to bars, parties and college long before millennials were old enough to get past the bouncer. So why do millennials get to claim it?!

Ashley comes in equally hot with her defense: It’s not about who INVENTED the going-out top. It’s about the very specific millennial EXPERIENCE of the going-out top. And yes, apparently there’s a difference.

So naturally, we debate:
👖 What actually qualifies as a “going-out top”?
 ✨ Which trends desperately need to make a comeback?
 🚫 And which ones should stay buried forever?

Strong opinions. Generational grievances. Questionable fashion choices.

👇 Millennials: Does Ashley have a point? Gen X: Are you buying it?

Send us your thoughts or questions!