Friends Helping Friends Helping Friends: The Jess and Kait Podcast

This week Kait and Jess chat with our friend and former (“overlapping”) roommate Amanda @amndashow about the ins and outs of planning a wedding. Small business shout out: Gracie’s Kitchen (Syracuse, NY).

Kait and Jess are back from an unexpected (so sorry!!) hiatus. In this episode we chat about quitting filler words such as “like”, our favorite teachers, oddities of the suburbs, our favorite place we’ve travelled to, and a few other topics. We ended on two different games (“kiss/marry/kill” and “desert island”) that ended up being more thought-provoking than we anticipated. Stay tuned for some fun future guests we have planned! Small business shout-out: Mamma Santina Pizza in Brightwaters, NY (@mamasantinapizza)

Kait and Jess chat this week with Alison Leigh, a hairdresser/master stylist/colorist with 20+ years in the business. Alison talks about owning her own salon, misconceptions about her job, her favorite haircuts, vegan eating, West Coast vs. East Coast, and other fun topics! Small business shout-outs: VegOut Bethlehem (Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurant; Bethlehem, PA @vegoutbethlehem) and Hair By Eskandalo! (Bethlehem, PA; eskandalohair) Thank you to our former guest Maggie for the nomination!!!

Kait and Jess discuss the qualities of a few countries that scored close to 0 on World Health Organization’s health system performance assessment (scale of 0 to 1). We also chat about the possibility of paternal leave in the USA and our issues with GPS systems. Small business shout-out: Mecha Noodle Bar (New Haven/Fairfield/Stamford/West Hartford, CT) @eatramen

Kait and Jess discuss healthcare systems in other developed nations and how they compare to the USA (access, quality). We talk about our own stressful and confusing experiences navigating the healthcare system in the USA (especially as it relates to insurance coverage) and how the medical “sickness” model of profit over people has caused a great deal of harm. Stay tuned for Part 2! Small business shout-out: Party Lab MD (@party_lab_md); Unique decorations with balloons, flowers, and artificial material for any occasion - DC, MD, VA area

Kait and Jess recap some favorites of the year and share a few yearly stats from the podcast (for example, 42 percent of you listen between the hours of 11am and 5pm). We conclude with our final rant of 2021: access to Covid-19 testing. Small business shout-out: Asia Star Cafe (Tinton Falls, NJ)

Kait and Jess discuss a few current court trials and highlight some disparities in the judicial system. Kait also elaborates on a false, discriminatory, and ill-informed ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing-Association) complaint against SLP Dr. Ianessa Humbert. Small business shout-out: Local Burger Co. (Bay Shore, NY; @localburgerco).

This week Kait and Jess talk Adlerian psychology, specifically as it relates to Alfred Adler’s (mostly debunked) theories on birth order, personality, and behavior. We also chat a bit about the unfortunate epidemic of mass school shootings in the US (32 in 2021; 24 since August; Education Week’s 2021 School Shooting Tracker). Content warning: gun violence Small business shout out: Willy Nilly Trading Company (Bayshore, NY; @willynillytrading)

We are not sponsored or endorsed by any of the products or gifts mentioned.

Small businesses featured:

Rae Cerulean (https://www.etsy.com/shop/RaeCerulean)

Simply Me Boutique (South Florida; https://shopsimplyme.com/)

Amalli Talli (https://amallitalli.com/)

Say Thanks More - Thanks Morris (https://www.thanksmorris.com/shop/say-thanks-more-journal)

Centric Business Solutions (MD/PA/DE/DC; https://www.centricbiz.com/)

Pufferbellies Toys (Staunton, VA; https://www.pufferbelliestoys.com/)

Keswick Vineyards (Keswick, VA; https://keswickvineyards.com/)

Staunton Olive Oil Company (Staunton, VA; https://stauntonoliveoilcompany.com/)

Bookshop.org (Buy Books Online, Support Local Bookstores!)

Stumpy's Hatchet House (Eatontown, NJ; https://www.stumpyshh.com/eatontownnj/)

Taste and Technique Cooking (Fair Haven, NJ; https://www.tasteandtechnique.com/)

Daisy Chocolates LLC (Monmouth Beach, NJ; https://daisychocolates.com/)

Some holiday shopping links:

Bombas (https://bombas.com/)

StitchFix (https://www.stitchfix.com/)

Olive and June Nail polish kits (https://oliveandjune.com/collections/nail-polish)

This week Kait and Jess chat with Maggie Riegel of @bethlehemmemequeen and @ahsfxmemes fame to discuss her extensive educational background, her love of memes, and her recent research exploring queer identity construction and visibility in the TV show American Horror Story. Maggie was referred to us by former guest Justin Torok of @ghostencountersPA. Small business shout-outs: Mythic Beasts & Brews (@mythicbnb) in Easton, PA and Social Still Distillery (@socialstilldistillery) in Bethlehem, PA.