GenX Women are Sick of This Shit!

S2E7: Friday Night Was for More than Videos!


Listen Later

Want to weigh in? Send us a text!

Remember when Friday nights didn't require checking your phone every five minutes? When plans were made in person at school and then you just showed up somewhere? Megan and Lesley take us back to their teenage weekend rituals in the 1980s and early '90s, and the nostalgia hits like a caffeine rush from those bottomless Perkins coffees (or teas) we all drank at 2am.

With their new vintage bar setup as the perfect backdrop, the hosts trade stories about the weekend social rituals that defined Gen X adolescence. From roller skating parties that required good grades to attend, to midnight showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show (complete with toast, toilet paper, and squirt guns), they map the geography of teen hangouts in Indianapolis. Noble Romans Pizza with its mythical $99 Dom Perignon special, Denny's with "Moons Over My Hammy," and small-town cruising rituals all get their moments in the spotlight.

What's striking is how these memories reveal a different relationship with rebellion and fun. Both hosts confess they didn't drink in high school – not because they were straight-laced, but because they were genuinely having a great time without it. Megan's confession about stealing a velvet rope from a movie theater and proudly displaying it in her bedroom captures the perfect level of Gen X rebellion – just enough to feel dangerous without causing real harm. Whether you were playing Dungeons & Dragons on Friday nights, working at TCBY, or watching MTV's 120 Minutes instead of sleeping before school, you'll recognize yourself in these stories.

So pour yourself something delicious, settle in, and join us for this journey back to a time when weekend entertainment didn't require Wi-Fi, when malls were social hubs rather than dying institutions, and when the most important thing was just being together with your friends, figuring out this weird thing called adolescence. What was your Friday night ritual? We'd love to hear about it.

Support the show

Get your hands on our MERCH!!!
DONATION SCHEDULE! We donate $1 per item sold with a minimum of $200 to each organization!

Jan-Feb 2025 - Center for Reproductive Rights

March-April - Planned Parenthood

May-June 2025 - Indy Pride

July-August 2025 - WFYI

September-October - ACLU

November-December 2025 - Second Helpings

Love the pod? Love us? Love GenX? Let us know!

SUPPORT THE POD HERE!

Want to continue the conversation?

Sign up for our newsletter! HERE

Tell us your own 5 Minutes of Fame story or call it in at 1-888-GEN-XPOD

Send us your Dear GenX Women letters!

Join us for Meet-Ups and Expert led Discussions

JOIN US in L.Y.L.A.S a GenX Women's Social Club

L.Y.L.A.S (Love You Like a Sis) is our paid membership platform where you can have real-life conversations while supporting this podcast and the work we do in the Facebook group.

Follow us on
...

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

GenX Women are Sick of This Shit!By Megan Bennett & Lesley Meier

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

60 ratings


More shows like GenX Women are Sick of This Shit!

View all
Thanks For Asking by Feelings & Co.

Thanks For Asking

13,272 Listeners

UnF*ck Your Brain: Feminist Self-Help for Everyone by Kara Loewentheil

UnF*ck Your Brain: Feminist Self-Help for Everyone

5,085 Listeners

American Fever Dream by Betches Media

American Fever Dream

2,120 Listeners

Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities by iHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild

Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities

8,363 Listeners

Hysteria by Crooked Media

Hysteria

7,070 Listeners

The MeidasTouch Podcast by MeidasTouch Network

The MeidasTouch Podcast

39,887 Listeners

Choice Words with Samantha Bee by Lemonada Media

Choice Words with Samantha Bee

1,774 Listeners

Dear Movies, I Love You by Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Dear Movies, I Love You

3,765 Listeners

We Can Do Hard Things by Glennon Doyle and Audacy

We Can Do Hard Things

41,342 Listeners

I've Had It by Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan

I've Had It

13,988 Listeners

Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus by Lemonada Media

Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

10,545 Listeners

Handsome by Headgum

Handsome

12,301 Listeners

Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams by Crooked Media

Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

1,494 Listeners

My So-Called Midlife with Reshma Saujani by Lemonada Media

My So-Called Midlife with Reshma Saujani

128 Listeners

Good Hang with Amy Poehler by The Ringer

Good Hang with Amy Poehler

6,394 Listeners