Guest Martina Leforce regales us with the tale of the infamous Berea Jam Jar Incident.

Recorded in Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly

This week, we’re talking to Martina Leforce of Berea Kids Eat about feeding programs, gardening, local chicken laws, and pet ducks. Jenny, who is still looking for new hens for her flock, didn’t know that she wouldn’t even be able to raise chickens in town if not for local activists’ work in changing livestock ordinances from the turn of the twentieth century! Becca speaks about volunteering with the local feeding program during the current school closure, and we ponder local networks and how long-time partnerships have allowed for the distribution of 1000s of meals during the COVID-19 crisis. Bonus: Katie and Martina discover a common acquaintance in their pasts.

Recorded in Berea, KY via Zoom | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly

Recorded on March 1, 2020, just before COVID-19 made social distancing the norm, we sat around Kelly’s kitchen table and talked about female friendship. If there’s one thing that’s helping us find our places in the world, it’s our friends. As we find ourselves in our forties, life brings us more and more experiences that only other women can understand, whether those are our oldest friends who see us at our most vulnerable and at our happiest... or work friends who see us every day at our best and worst …. or fellow podcast hosts who see us in our insomnia group chat nightly. Bonus: We learn Jenny was a little girl in Canada, but that doesn’t mean she can introduce us to the Trudeaus. We’re still going to keep her on the pod group text though.

Recorded in Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly

This week, during our COVID-19 quarantine, we’re taking listener questions from the serious to the silly. Who is our signature Golden Girl? What do we think is going to happen to schools after the coronavirus? We hear about some bad habits our pets have taken up while they’re stuck at home with us. We’re looking at you, Neva the Dog. And we find out that it’s just too bad that Letterman retired before Becca’s cats could make an appearance on “Stupid Pet Tricks.” Despite a trick question from one of the pod husbands, we all agree that we’re glad to be quarantined with our families. 

Recorded in Berea, KY via Zoom | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly

Recording again separately in our homes, we’re talking about the weird media we’re consuming during this time of home isolation. Is it #healthyathome to spend this much time thinking about Green Screen Queen Elizabeth, watching YouTube videos, or hating watching a not so great Jane Austen adaptation? Maybe not, but it’s how we’re getting through and we’re bringing our monthly media roundup to you. Listen to the end for an update about a Berea project to thank local health care workers.

Recorded in Berea, KY via Zoom | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly

We got together, separately in our own homes this week, to talk about the Age of the Coronavirus. It was just a couple of weeks ago that we were gathered around Kelly’s kitchen table with mimosas, so it seemed important to take stock of how the world has changed. We talk about the heroes who’ve been shining in our community even as we struggle to find the light. We talk a little bit about — okay, a lot about — our Kentucky governor Andy Beshear and how his daily briefings are bringing our state together to flatten the curve. Finally, don’t miss our special segment this week: Kelly interviews her friend Sharon Murphy, a member of the Complete Count Committee in Lexington, about the 2020 Census and why we’re urging everyone we know to fill out their form.

#ICount #YouCount #WeCount #CountMeBlack #HealthyAtHome #TeamKentucky

It’s not too much to say that Sharyn Mitchell knows more about Berea and Berea history than almost anyone else. This week, we asked her to join us to talk specifically about the history of African-American communities in Madison County and Berea. Before our talk, we may have thought we were pretty well-informed about the place we call home, but Sharyn helped us see the neighborhoods, streets, buildings, land, and PEOPLE in a new way. From intentional real estate design in the 19th century --  which made Berea a unique example of racial integration in housing-- to the small schoolhouses that dotted the town and which are now almost all gone today, we’re looking at our town with new eyes this week. And we’re taking to heart Sharyn’s call to talk to older relatives about what they remember about people and places. We hope you will, too. 

Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly

This week, we’re talking about what everyone’s talking about: COVID-19 and how it’s changing our lives. We share some resources in our communities and our lives, but it’s not all serious. We ponder the prospects of a COVID-19 baby boom while Jenny wonders if she might have accidentally caused a run on ziploc bags at our local superstore. Katie praises Kenneth, Governor Beshear’s tech assistant for the daily press briefings that we’re all coming to view as our daily Must See TV. Finally, if you’ve wondered if we would sing on the podcast, ask no more. We perform a medley of the coronavirus parody songs we’ve seen on twitter this week. Stay safe, everyone. Keep washing those hands. 

Recorded at Front Porch Studios, Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly

This bonus episode contains content that is not appropriate for children. Frankly, we can’t imagine why any children would be interested in listening to TWWS. But this episode is not just boring for children. We get into some adult themes. We heard from so many listeners about the wild jobs they had in young adulthood, but our friend Amanda presented us with such an incredible list that we knew we had to record a bonus episode with her as soon as we could. Hear about the year she had 21 jobs, the time she was a substitute Chuck E. Cheese, and a stint working for a 1-900 phone line.

Recorded via Zoom in Berea, KY | Edited by Kelly Smith | Artwork by Jessica Holly

On a recent road trip, Daughter of the Pod Elly Green asked about all the weird jobs we had when we were her age. Long before any of us had careers with a capital C, Kelly repaired library books and helped the elderly find pictures of their favorite tennis stars, Becca delivered phone books in rural North Carolina, Katie learned the secrets of how restaurants prep boiled eggs, and Jenny faced life and death in a beauty supply warehouse. None of it was for the faint of heart. Bonus: Released the weekend of the Corona Virus TP hoarding nightmare, but recorded two weeks prior, Jenny shares a relish in which she abandons a cart full of toilet paper in the middle of Costco! What was she thinking? Plus, Katie tells us all about a fun youth group game from the 1990s called underground Church.

Recorded in Berea, KY | Produced by Troy Price | Edited by Kelly Smith | Music composed and performed by Elly Green | Artwork by Jessica Holly