How To Deal

In the season 2 finale, friends Ashley O’Neill and Sydney Blanchard are truly confronted with themselves. Syd reveals herself to be an expert-level internet sleuth, and Ashley is hung up on the story of Adam and Eve. The episode takes a wildly sacrilegious turn, as the two former Catholic school attendees deconstruct their faith. Remaining true to the thesis of the show, the women discuss the inner workings of adult friendship, “The Missing Stair” theory, the inconvenience of feelings and the Soft Launch.

In their second to last episode of the season, Ashley O’Neill and Sydney Blanchard have fully gone off the rails. Syd spends an inordinate amount of air time on impressions. Ash isn’t ready to heal her inner teen. The friends get into weirdly specific playlists, the “Rage Gap,” men discovering the word “vibe,” and the Pole Fitness Theory. A lesbian and a straight woman finally decide: can men and women truly be friends?

This week, Ashley O’Neill and Sydney Blanchard continue to push the envelope. Syd admits to loving Kanye, but claims to not be a Kanye apologist. Ash hates debate for the sake of debate. The friends take a hard left turn to discuss Mall Culture and Twilight fan fiction. Should they be doing Tracy Anderson? Is the perfect day attainable? Listen to find out. Mentioned in this episode: Third Spaces, To Be Magnetic podcast, Pia Baroncini's podcast and POOG.

Friends Ashley O’Neill and Sydney Blanchard start this week’s episode with a toast to Open Space Studios. Syd doesn’t know how eggs work, and she isn’t interested in finding out. Ash regales us with tales of Italy and tries to stay relatable. In this meandering hour-long listen, the women are fat shamed by their families, considering Ozempic, shading Bud Light, dissecting influencer marketing, canceling cancel culture and diving into prison reform. Casual!

This episode finds friends Ashley O’Neill and Sydney Blanchard projecting and assuming, as usual. Syd gets bullied at water aerobics, and Ashley is in the midst of an aesthetic crisis. These “free agents” bond over the hell that is shopping for jeans, the death of brick and mortar, the universally hated White Boot, and being Queer Hot. The women remain delusional and addicted to self-optimization. Mentioned in this episode: Spyre, The Elizabeth Chronicles, the Free People jeans, Outfit Kitchen, Benshen, Nood (which Ashley calls Noom), and Sugar Bear Hair gummies.

This week, your favorite G.R.I.T.S. (girls raised in the South) Ashley O’Neill and Sydney Blanchard battle over who is the most prone to mosquito bites. Syd takes down New Orleans food bloggers, and Ash champions ChatGPT. Somehow, it all circles back to Disney. The friends round off the conversation with speculation about the future of social media, a come-to-Jesus on adult birthday parties and Taylor Swift.

This week, Ashley O’Neill and Sydney Blanchard talk albatrosses. For Syd, it’s bearing the burden of small talk in an Uber. For Ash, it’s the fact that she should have been bullied more. In this short episode, the friends consider going platinum, experience the humiliation of airport security, risk being cringe and reference Pollyanna.

In this episode, Ashley O’Neill and Sydney Blanchard dip their toes into the disconcerting world of Mormon mommy bloggers and hipster Christians. Ashley struggles with geography, and Sydney wildly misapprehends sea glass. For both women, a New England coastal summer looms large in the imagination. Yearning for summer camp turns into a breakdown of Syd’s recent Disney vacation as a non-Disney Adult. The takeaway? We need to be pursuing more joy as adults. Mentioned in this episode: Defunctland.

Ashley O’Neill and Sydney Blanchard continue last week’s suitcase conversation, coming full circle. Ashley enrolls in a workshop to learn to stop second guessing herself, and Syd fears she gives people the wrong impression. The friends talk gentle parenting their parents, Kitchen Table Friends, being a good “middle” and our Libra placements. Mentioned in this episode: Casual Talk with Bronze Avery and Shawn Binder.

This week, Ashley O’Neill and Sydney Blanchard toss out the script and dive way too deep into the lore of New Orleans’ most baffling coffee chain, Puccino’s. Ashley relays the Parable of The One-Eyed Man, and Sydney yearns for suburbia. The friends reflect on drive-thru etiquette at Chick-fil-A, penning Twilight fan fiction, dry humping to completion and unpacking suitcases four years later. Mentioned in this episode: Pretend It’s a City, Fleabag, Couples Therapy, The Light We Carry, and Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller.