Ben and I dive into why no one seems to daydream anymore—and how constant scrolling, earbuds, and nonstop stimulation might be stealing our creativity. We talk modern distractions, the chaos of tech-filled days, and why a little intentional boredom might be exactly what we all need.

It’s spooky season, so we’re talking all things Halloween nostalgia — from homemade Ninja Turtle and witch costumes to today’s mass-produced “instant” versions made by Big Costume.

Mary Catherine has some thoughts about (and beef with) the messages these costumes send to girls — hello, patriarchy 👋 — while Ben learns how that same system has messed with his feelings about…his shoulders.

And of course, because this is This Is Personal, the conversation somehow ends up back at sports.

To hear the full episode, subscribe to This Is Personal on Substack at marycatherinestarr.substack.com

We’re back after a 1-month hiatus! And in this episode we’re talking all things September/fall: cool mornings, warm afternoons, the kids’ return to school, and the return of alllll of the fall activities.But first: we revisit Ben’s BJ’s checkout saga as he shares a recent development and reveals his longstanding commitment to seeking out cashiers as opp…

In this month’s podcast episode, we’re talking about recent simple joys and champagne problems: from Cape Cod beach days to Ben’s love for High Noons, we’re giving you a full breakdown of what’s been making us smile and what’s driving us nuts as of late.

And as usual, we cover all sorts of things, like the evolution of women’s swimwear, COVID water (that…

It’s [finally] officially summer here on Cape Cod! Today is the last day of school for our kids so in this episode, Ben and I are talking all about how we want to navigate this summer as a family…

As usual, I’m trying to plan ahead to make sure we have some fun adventures while Ben is doing some major negative forecasting. But goshdarnit, we’re going to …

This month’s podcast episode is inspired by this this comic that I posted a few weeks ago (and the response to this comic!) about how our kids’ school schedules simply don’t fit with our current societal structure.

In this episode we call out the the outdated 9–5 workday, the nonstop school vacations, the expectation that there’s a parent available at …

In this month’s podcast episode, I come in hot with a laundry list (no pun intended) of complaints related to parenting/running a household/LIFE.

(But also I’m really HASHTAGGRATEFUL because of course I am! We are so lucky in so many ways!)

As a part of this unplanned whining segment we discuss our strong feelings about (surprise, surprise)…laundry! And …

ICYMI (I hope you didn’t bc I tried to splash it EVERYWHERE): my book came out this week!!!

In this episode, Ben and I talk about the launch event, which was everything I hoped it would be and more; Ben was there, beaming with pride, and had really kind words to say after…but did he disassociate from the content *just a bit* to fully soak in the vibe? W…

In this month’s episode, we start by unpacking why Ben’s immune system might be weaker than it’s ever been before—is it due to lack of sleep from our new nighttime parenting system? Or maybe it’s because of his departure from government services (LOL)? We break down all of the possible reasons and complain a little along the way (of course).

Then, we di…

We’re back, baby! And we’re shooting for 12/12 podcasts in 2025…as opposed to the 10/12 that we did in 2024 (Boo! Also, I get this wrong in the podcast—whoops!).

We’re kicking off the new year by going a bit off the rails in this episode, but what else is new? Ben has a bone to pick with robots (aka technology) and the people who prefer robots to “real …