This week, on Intelligentsia we’re talking all things pets—from our childhood companions, Tara’s “brother” Tiger the hamster, Joey’s dog Diver, and Ryan’s whole menagerie, to Joey and Tara’s current furry friends and most perfect angels, Archie and Stevie. We’ll reminisce about presidential pets, iconic pets in pop culture, debate the merits of various TV and movie animal sidekicks, and discover Joey’s shocking lack of Air Bud knowledge. Plus: dog bite drama, dog vs. cat people, and find out which side of the adopt vs. shop debate we fall on. Meow.

This week, the Intelligentsia go to a concert! We’re spilling everything from our first concerts, to Tara’s definitive take on the age-old question: does John Mayer wear boxers, briefs, or boxer-briefs? Joey shares his traumatic turn as a Spice Girl boyfriend, and we relive our favorite shows, not to mention counting down the top 5 sickest moments from our night at the Eras Tour. We unpack iconic concerts we missed (rude), the best venues we’ve set foot in, and deliver our point-blank-period take on festivals. Plus, fan culture, ticketing chaos, and 34 Phish shows later... let’s jam.

Pack your bags—this week we’re talking travel (and seeing how many times you can tolerate Joey and Tara singing the Go-Go’s “Vacation”). From childhood trips to Disney, Myrtle Beach, and Maine to more recent—and occasionally regrettable—adventures, we cover it all: cruises (never again), the highs and lows of all-inclusives, and pop culture detours like vacation-movie trivia and a spoiler-filled deep dive into White Lotus. We wrap with a few hot travel takes—gate lice? “Raw-dogging” flights? No thank you. Buckle up and keep your seatbelt fastened; there’s some turbulence ahead!

This week, we’re serving up a three-course episode all about our relationship with restaurants—from childhood Olive Garden outings to navigating New York’s white-hot (and absurd) reservation scene. We share our fast food favorites (we see you Crunchwrap Supreme), and the origin story of our Dinner Club - NOT Supper Club! Finally, it wouldn’t be Intelligentsia if we didn’t get into the pop-culture of it all. We dive into iconic television and movie scenes set in restaurants and ponder why group dinners bring out the best and worst in people. We’re talking the virtues of a round table, the ideal party size, splitting the check, and more. Spoiler alert: there is more than one hill we’re willing to die on here. Pull up a seat and let’s dine-in. See what we did there?

It’s our birthdays (literally) and whoa, also America's! And wait, also our podcast's?!  This week in Episode Two, our nascent pod goes in on all things 4th of July. In this festive episode, we reflect on our childhood Fourths, the strange foods you may or may not find at Midwestern backyard BBQ's, and some really real feelings on fireworks. Plus, we dive into patriotic songs, and what Independence Day discussion would be complete without pondering whether our Founding Fathers underwear choices? And was Ben Franklin the OG Intelligentsia? Probably. Tune in, you may learn something - just not what Poor Richard's Almanac is because we're still scratching our heads on that one.

Welcome to Intelligentsia! In this inaugural episode, Tara and Joey go deep into their lifelong love of television—where it all began, what they're watching now, and why certain shows have stuck around. They share their top five dramas, debate the power of ensembles in comedy, and discuss what makes a show truly revolutionary. From The Sopranos to The Bear, they cover the shows that shaped culture and changed TV forever, and take you through some hits and misses from Variety's Top 100 list (found here: https://variety.com/lists/greatest-tv-performances)

Plus, there's even some trivia - that's right, you may even learn something! As always, we wrap with a curated rec from the Intelligentsia crew.