My college bud Karis Rogerson sits down with me and discusses growing up in Trieste as an MK, watching "Lord of the Rings" in Slovenia and why she loves New York. I try my hand at pronouncing Italian words (failing miserably), and Karis explains the difference between American and Italian coffee. We give Hilary Duff our love and discuss our affinity for YA historical fiction. And although Karis wasn't allowed to have a horse in her room, she can rest assured that she could have been an Olympian. And please—no one tell Chuck Norris that his likeness is being used to sell mulled wine in Slovenia.

Pop culture recommendations:

Karis: TV: "Jane the Virgin"  Books: "Girl Out of Water" by Laura Silverman and "The Girl From Everywhere" by Heidi Heilig  Music: "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi, feat. Daddy Yankee

Becca: "Priestdaddy" by Patricia Lockwood

Housekeeping:

Follow Karis on Twitter: @KarisRogerson

And Instagram: @karisselizabeth

Find Karis's website: Karisrogerson.com

Follow me: @BeccaPattonSays

Follow the show: @pop_cartography

Email me: [email protected]

Theme song: "How it Goes" by Lauren Mann

Podcast artwork by Molly Hoy

Molly is the amazingly talented illustrator who designed "Pop Cartography"'s logo, and she talks with me about growing up in Knoxville, where she ate mainly "Midwestern poverty food"—but also Buddy's BBQ—before embarking on her vegan lifestyle. We discuss starting a commune on Prince Edward Island (where our beloved "Anne of Green Gables" is set), the Appalachian drama "Christy" and the McElroy franchise. Molly also generously tells me about discovering she was queer in college and falling in love with her wife. Also, remember to buy some Buddy's BBQ sauce at buddysbarbq.com.

Pop culture recommendations:

Molly: "The Adventure Zone" (a Dungeons & Dragons podcast from the McElroy brothers) and the band Pentangle

Becca: "Mad Men" and "Twin Peaks Rewatch"

Housekeeping:

Follow Molly: @mollyalicehoy

Find Molly's website: Mollyalicehoy.com

Find Molly's web comic: Stonewaker.com

Molly's Etsy shop: Gold and Mean

Follow me: @BeccaPattonSays

Follow the show: @pop_cartography

Email me: [email protected]

Theme song: "How it Goes" by Lauren Mann

Podcast artwork by Molly Hoy (woo!!)

Kumbu chats with me about having parents from different Zambian tribes and her move to Kentucky for college. She tells me about the cost and effort that goes into her hair (which always looks amazing, BTW) and the importance of looking put-together in Zambian culture.

Pop culture recommendations:

Kumbu: Zambian author Dambisa Moyo, including her TED Talks and book "Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa;" musician Pompi

Becca: "Americanah" and "We Should All Be Feminists" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and "Anne with an E" on Netflix

Housekeeping:

Follow me: @BeccaPattonSays

Follow the show: @pop_cartography

Email me: [email protected]

Theme song: "How it Goes" by Lauren Mann

Podcast artwork by Molly Hoy

I talk with my old friend from middle school about moving from Latvia to England to Papua New Guinea and the difficulties of learning English. She corrects all of my assumptions about what Eurovision actually is and differentiates Latvia (a Baltic State) from Scandinavia. And don't forget: EVERYONE'S been to Poland, so don't even bother. This episode also features a guest appearance from a laptop fan—sorry about that!

Pop Culture Recommendations:

Anna: "The Handmaid's Tale" and Brainstorm

Becca: "Twin Peaks: The Return" and "We Are the Best!" (Vi är bäst!)

Housekeeping:

Follow me: @BeccaPattonSays

Follow the show: @pop_cartography

Email me: [email protected]

Theme song: "How it Goes" by Lauren Mann

Podcast artwork by Molly Hoy

I talk with Melynda "Lyndi City" Malley about growing up in the Pacific Northwest and her affinity for Stumptown Coffee. We discuss the Seattle-centric TV classic "Here Come the Brides," grunge rock, Macklemore's omnipresence, Twilight's heyday and whether or not Seattleites are always filled with ennui and wearing plaid (hint: yes).

Pop Culture Recommendations:

Melynda: "The Babysitters Club Club" and everything McElroy related, especially the podcast "Rosebuddies"

Rebecca: "Fargo" season 3 and the podcast "Buffering the Vampire Slayer"

Housekeeping:

Follow me: @BeccaPattonSays

Follow the show: @pop_cartography

Follow Melynda on Twitter: @melyndamalley, and Instagram: @lyndigram

Email me: [email protected]

Theme song: "How it Goes" by Lauren Mann

Podcast artwork by Molly Hoy

My high school friend Lena Heupel tells me about moving from Germany to Papua New Guinea in primary school and how difficult it was to express herself in English. She explains the difference between high German and other dialects, and she's also so kind as to translate the lyrics to "Du Hast" for me, but we had to google them first because lol we don't listen to Rammstein. We discuss Julia's and my über-fun visit to Berlin in 2010 and the World Cup final we witnessed between Spain and the Netherlands. We tried some great wine at a wedding, were greeted by drunk strangers draped in German flags and saw some beer bikes, which I was in awe of. Lena, if I come back to visit, we are GOING on one of those.

I talk with self-proclaimed Bad-Hombre-turned-Coastal-Elite Charlie Day about Peru, where he lived on-and-off growing up. He tells me about “Emperor’s New Groove” and its historical accuracy (spoiler alert: it's not) and the horrific flooding in Peru, along with Drake, potatoes, guinea pigs and llamas. We recommend listening to soothing pan flute music in the background while listening to this episode.

Pop culture recommendations:

Charlie: TV: "Better Call Saul," "Veep," "Silicon Valley" and "Samurai Jack." Movies: "Logan," "Get Out" and "Beauty and the Beast." Music: "More Life" by Drake, "Process" by Sampha and "Chanel" by Frank Ocean. Books: "A Colony in a Nation" by Chris Hayes

Becca: "My Brother, My Brother, and Me" (literally AGAIN, but the TV show on Seeso this time!) and PWR BTTM

Housekeeping:

Follow Charlie: @ohyeah_mamaman

Donate to disaster relief here: http://disasterphilanthropy.org/

Follow me: @BeccaPattonSays

Follow the show: @pop_cartography

Email me: [email protected]

Theme song: "How it Goes" by Lauren Mann

Podcast artwork by Molly Hoy

College roommate Katie Garden describes her childhood in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. She tells me about what her dad accomplished while he was mayor of Point Pleasant, "We Are Marshall" and, of course, the Mothman. If you need to know three things about Katie, they are as follows: Katie loves people, her pomeranian and sales at Kroger.

Pop culture recommendations:

Katie: "Criminal Minds," "Law & Order: SVU" and "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Becca: "My Brother, My Brother, and Me" (again) and "The Hike" by Drew Magary (I pronounced his name wrong in the ep.—sorry, listeners!)

Housekeeping:

Follow me: @BeccaPattonSays

Follow the show: @pop_cartography

Email me: [email protected]

Theme song: "How it Goes" by Lauren Mann

Podcast artwork by Molly Hoy

Celine Dion, curling, pierogis, whether or not Canadians actually say "eh," poutine—all this and more on this week's episode on Canada. My high school classmate Luke tells me about living in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, which even Canadians assume is right outside Toronto. I chide him for not knowing about Grimes or "Orphan Black," and we catch up on where in the world our parents are these days.

Pop culture recommendations:

Luke: The Head and The Heart, Angus and Julia Stone, Birdy

Becca: "Stranger Things" and "The Get Down"

Housekeeping:

Follow me: @BeccaPattonSays

Follow the show: @pop_cartography

Email me: [email protected]

Theme song: "How it Goes" by Lauren Mann

Podcast artwork by Molly Hoy

Mall-walking? Pitbull? Dance movies? Chaffing? This episode's got it all. My amazing guest Kayla Monteiro talks to me about growing up in FloRida, the land of SeaWorld (pre-"Blackfish"), plazas, Ariana Grande and Florida Georgia Line (but Kayla doesn't know her so plz stop asking).

Kayla describes being a black woman in Florida and how she has changed since moving to New York. This episode was unofficially brought to you by White Zinfandel and the loud insects that were outside the window while we were recording.

Pop culture recommendations:

Kayla: "The Read"

Becca: "Ghostbusters"

Housekeeping:

Follow Kayla: @kaylamonteiro

Follow me: @BeccaPattonSays

Follow the show: @pop_cartography

Theme song: "How it Goes" by Lauren Mann

Podcast artwork by Molly Hoy