The Bore Ultimatum (feat. Nora and Caroline)

This week, Nora McInerny joins Kate for a witchy birthday-week episode that escalates from lyric trivia and vintage Girl Talk into a full unlicensed spiritual review via tarot, numerology, astrocartography, and a 1982 birthday book, as read by two women who believe in nothing and also everything as long as it works in their favor. They investigate whether it's illegal to talk to dolphins, unpack the broken-smile industrial complex of 2000s love songs, mourn the lost art of the local commercial, and make the case that your ancestors are not, in fact, thinking about you. Enjoy! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here! Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH! You're going to love Hungryroot as much as I do. For a limited time get 40% off your first order PLUS get a free item in every box for life. Go to Hungryroot.com/bethereinfive and use code bethereinfive. That's Hungryroot.com/bethereinfive, code bethereinfive to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life. Go to LagoonSleep.com/bethereinfive and take the 60-second sleep quiz to find your match. Use code BETHEREINFIVE for 15% off your first order, and every pillow comes with a 100-night trial. Make the switch to Sundays. Go right now to sundaysfordogs.com/bethereinfive and get 50% off your first order. Or, you can use code BETHEREINFIVE at checkout. That's 50% off your first order at sundaysfordogs.com/bethereinfive.  Cozy Earth's Labor Day Sale is happening now through September 8th. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code BETHEREINFIVE for an exclusive 30% off. That's code BETHEREINFIVE for an exclusive 30% off, the biggest savings of the season. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here!

This week, Kate is back from the book-deadline trenches with a mini dive inspired by the many fellow Beths who misread Brenda Song's new NFL gig as "color analyst." What follows is a journey through a brief history of "having your colors done" and why we can't resist things that offer to help us explain ourselves to ourselves. Also covers Taylor Swift's Grammy Museum interview, some theories on Harry and Meghan's big move, and an elder-millennial's defense of KATSEYE. Enjoy! Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here! Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH! If you're looking to make a small change in your routine, you can get 15% off your first order at Blueland.com/BETHEREINFIVE. That's 15% off your first order at Blueland.com/BETHEREINFIVE. Oversized, ultra-plush, and completely built for your best summer days. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code BETHEREINFIVE for an exclusive 20% off. That's code BETHEREINFIVE for an exclusive 20% off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here! Right now, you can save up to $230 on the 12 piece cookware set vs buying the products individually. And you can find even more set savings when you shop Caraway's full Kitchenware collection. Plus For a limited time, every dollar you spend on clean kitchenware gets you closer to your dream kitchen— or $100,000 cash! Visit Carawayhome.com/BTIF10 to take an additional 10% off your next purchase.This deal is exclusive for our listeners, so visit Carawayhome.com/BTIF10 or use code BTIF10 at checkout. Go to LagoonSleep.com/bethereinfive and take the 60-second sleep quiz to find your match. Use code BETHEREINFIVE for 15% off your first order, and every pillow comes with a 100-night trial. You're going to love Hungryroot as much as I do. For a limited time get 40% off your first order PLUS get a free item in every box for life. Go to Hungryroot.com/bethereinfive and use code bethereinfive. That's Hungryroot.com/bethereinfive, code bethereinfive to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life.

This week (for ep 2), Kate is joined by friends of the pod, Nora McInerny and Caroline Moss, for a group hang that begins with scorpions in Nora's laundry and only escalates from there. The three of them get into the perils of too many fourth-wall breaks on House of Stassi and the collective decline of reality TV, then Kate debuts a best friend game where everyone gets assigned a day of the week and a breakfast cereal, and unveils her own Catholic corner featuring Saint Magnus, certified babe. Also on the docket: the Berenstain Bears, Jen Hamilton and "meemaw," Nora's domestic era, a live experiment in surveillance capitalism involving the price of Spam, and a genuinely terrible game involving removing a letter from movie titles. Go to Nora's feed for "It's Going to Be Ok" for more, enjoy!   Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here!   Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH!   Right now, you can save up to $230 on the 12 piece cookware set vs buying the products individually. And you can find even more set savings when you shop Caraway's full Kitchenware collection. Plus For a limited time, every dollar you spend on clean kitchenware gets you closer to your dream kitchen— or $100,000 cash! Visit Carawayhome.com/BTIF10 to take an additional 10% off your next purchase or use code BTIF10 at checkout.   Give your skin the affordable, luxurious glow up it deserves. Go to Naturium.com/BETHEREINFIVE for 10% off your first purchase today. That's Naturium.com/BETHEREINFIVE.   Join Wayfair Rewards today to get 5% back on every purchase and start saving on your next home upgrade. Head to wayfair.com to shop all things home. That's wayfair.com. Wayfair. Every Style. Every Home.   Go to helixsleep.com/BETHEREINFIVE for the Labor Day: Best of Web sale for 27% off sitewide August 14 - September 13, exclusive for listeners of Be There in Five. That's helixsleep.com/BETHEREINFIVE for 27% off sitewide August 14 - September 13. Make sure you enter our show name after checkout, so they know we sent you!

This week, Kate asks an important question for the sake of equality in the workplace: can a woman carry two bags and be taken seriously? Can her bracelets clank? Jury's out, and she felt inspired to take on the genre of body language coaching and weird advice people give women about how to behave. Then, she opens the floor to the Beths, who deliver a cornucopia of workplace advice: lower your register, fix your vocal fry, no jingly earrings, no hair tie on your wrist, no mouse in the meeting, etc. Kate also revisits the letter grade she lost in college for bending over to plug in her laptop, unpacks why "taken seriously" is such a weird passive phrase, and makes the case that this is somehow worse in 2026 than it was in 2008, among other things. Enjoy! Lagoon Sleep — Go to LagoonSleep.com/bethereinfive and take the 60-second sleep quiz to find your match. Use code BETHEREINFIVE for 15% off your first order, and every pillow comes with a 100-night trial. Hungryroot — You're going to love Hungryroot as much as I do. For a limited time, get 40% off your first order PLUS get a free item in every box for life. Go to Hungryroot.com/bethereinfive and use code bethereinfive. Cozy Earth — Oversized, ultra-plush, and completely built for your best summer days. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code BETHEREINFIVE for an exclusive 20% off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here! Sundays for Dogs — Make the switch to Sundays. Go right now to sundaysfordogs.com/BETHEREINFIVE and get 50% off your first order. Or use code BETHEREINFIVE at checkout. Quince — Upgrade your everyday. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to quince.com/bethereinfive. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.

This week, the air quality is apocalyptic, parents everywhere are staring down the summer childcare cliff, and Kate is feeling pro-tantrum.. What starts as a meditation on the summers of yore turns into one on modern parenting and why we never stood a chance. Through a mix of personal stories and listener submissions, this episode gets into the Nature Valley bars of motherhood (things that are structurally designed to crumble no matter what you do), and Kate unpacks why the U.S. treats raising the next generation of taxpayers as a private, elective hobby,  and why calling motherhood "natural" is the exact trick that lets everyone avoid paying for it, among other things. If you've ever felt like you're losing your mind trying to balance the demands of work and modern society with the realities of parenting, you aren't crazy. Take a deep breath (indoors), and let's vent. Enjoy! Want to help build a follow-up about how we can stand a chance? Send your childcare life hacks, workarounds, and unconventional setups to [email protected], text 775-HEY-BETH or leave a voicemail. Sponsors: Sundays for Dogs: Get 50% off your first order of air-dried, high-quality dog food at sundaysfordogs.com/bethereinfive or use code BETHEREINFIVE at checkout. Helix Sleep: Get 27% off sitewide (July 13 – August 2) at helixsleep.com. Enter our show name after checkout so they know we sent you. Blueland: Cut down on single-use plastics with cleaning tablets. Get 15% off your first order at blueland.com/bethereinfive Hungryroot: Get 40% off your first order plus a free item in every box for life at hungryroot.com/bethereinfive code BETHEREINFIVE Cozy Earth: Upgrade your summer sleep (and beach towels) with viscose from bamboo. Head to cozyearth.com and use code BETHEREINFIVE for 20% off.

This week, Kate briefly debriefs her week at Cannes Lions during a record-breaking heat wave, including how she accidentally hired a private French bodyguard in an armored Maybach, sweat off her spray tan across the Côte d'Azur, and what it's like to be at Coachella for vague marketing babes without AC when your brain is so fried you give the AC repairman the wrong room number and it stays broken. Then Sami Sage (co-founder of Betches, host of the Morning Announcements) joins for a catch-up covering the lead up to Taylor and Travis's MSG wedding, Joe Alwyn and Sarah Pidgeon making out at Hampstead Heath, being hot as an internet career skill, canopy beds as class warfare, rare 90s aesthetics, whether Alex Mack was the original Inside Out, past lives, the word incontrovertible, and why Sami doesn't believe in snowboarding. Enjoy! Make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to quince.com/bethereinfive for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too.  You're going to love Hungryroot as much as I do. For a limited time get 40% off your first order PLUS get a free item in every box for life. Go to hungryroot.com/bethereinfive and use code bethereinfive.  Right now, you can save up to $230 on the 12 piece cookware set vs buying the products individually. And you can find even more set savings when you shop Caraway's full Kitchenware collection. Visit Carawayhome.com/BTIF10  to take an additional 10% off your next purchase. Made from viscose from bamboo — breathable, soft, and built for summer. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code BETHEREINFIVE for an exclusive 20% off.  And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here!

This week, Kate chats with PEN15 co-creator Anna Konkle for a conversation that's equal parts silly and heavy, like the last two people awake at a sleepover asking about the meaning of life and swapping stories of their first thong. They discuss Anna's new memoir, The Sane One, and how it explores a different kind of nostalgia than her previous work, touching on topics like the grief, estrangement, and reconciliation that anchor the book, hand-slapping games like Miss Mary Mack, the kind of love for your child that's so pure it almost scares you, and what it was like to be chosen as a Filene's Basement model. Along the way, they dive into the surprising relationship between the academia of clowning and playing a 13-year-old in PEN15, reminisce about AIM, Disney Channel free previews, sleepover paranormal rituals, and spiral about gentle parenting and the importance of boredom. It's a conversation about memories, motherhood, creativity, and all the tiny emotional truths that never quite leave us, with detours more random than Kate Bosworth showing up at your local Relay for Life. Enjoy! Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here! Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH! Head to cozyearth.com and use my code BETHEREINFIVE for an exclusive 20% off. That's code BETHEREINFIVE for an exclusive 20% off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here! Say YES to unforgettable moments with Liquid I.V.'s NEW Hydration Multiplier Sugar-Free Ring Pop. Tear. Pour. Live More. Go to LIQUID-IV.COM and get 20% off your first purchase with code BETHEREINFIVE at checkout. Go to helixsleep.com/bethereinfive for their Fourth of July Sale for 20% off Sitewide. Make sure you enter our show name after checkout, so they know we sent you!  Right now, you can save up to $230 on the 12 piece cookware set vs buying the products individually. If you spend over $495 you will receive a Butcherbox for FREE. Plus if you spend over $795 you can also get a FREE cast iron grill pan! Visit Carawayhome.com/BTIF10 to take an additional 10% off your next purchase.

This week, Kate meanders through "I Knew It, I Knew You" and the Toy Story 5 premiere, why she's changed her tune on the rumored Madison Square Garden wedding venue, and goes on various passionate detours about golf, a dramatic reading of Luke Bryan's "Fish Hunt Golf Drink," and digs through a moldy pouch of 2019 Post-it topics that yields takes on Ariel Charnas, Caroline Calloway, City High, Yikes pencils, and middle school cool-girl names. Enjoy! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here! Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH! Thank you to AllModern for furnishing Kate's Season 2 Studio! AllModern has the best of modern furniture and decor all in one place. With styles from Scandi and mid-century, to minimalist and maximalist, every design is hand-vetted for quality by their team of experts. Plus they have fast + free shipping! Check out allmodern.com; you'll find Kate's bookshelves here and her new rug here! For the dads, stepdads, grandpas, and every father figure who shows up — this one's for them. Cozy Earth's Bamboo Sheet Set, Everywhere Pant, and Everyday Polo are designed to keep him cool, comfortable, and actually relaxed all summer long. Dad lives here. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code BETHEREINFIVE for an exclusive 20% off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here!" Give your skin the affordable, luxurious glow up it deserves. Go to Naturium.com/BETHEREINFIVE for 10% off your first purchase today.  Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to Quince.com/bethereinfive for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. 

This week, it's just Kate, an Aperol Spritz, and the tech bro quote about wine that accidentally kicked off the conversation we've all been needing about optimization culture and being tired of treating every part of life like a performance review. Plus, a round of News You Can Use about why fruit hasn't been sweet since 1996, this season's hottest mnemonic devices, the babydoll dress of it all, and reviewing what Olivia Rodrigo is doing differently in Drop Dead and The Cure, all of it strangely circling back to living in a world that quantifies us without letting the number become the whole story. Enjoy!   SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here! Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH! Thank you to AllModern for furnishing Kate's Season 2 Studio! AllModern has the best of modern furniture and decor all in one place. With styles from Scandi and mid-century, to minimalist and maximalist, every design is hand-vetted for quality by their team of experts. Plus they have fast + free shipping! Check out allmodern.com; you'll find Kate's bookshelves here and her new rug here! As an exclusive offer, new listeners can get their choice between free Sirloin Tips, Ground Beef or Chicken Wings in every box for LIFE, PLUS $20 off when you go to ButcherBox.com/bethereinfive. That's right - your choice of free Sirloin Tips, Ground Beef or Chicken Wings in every box for LIFE, PLUS $20 off your first box, and free shipping always. That's ButcherBox.com/bethereinfive. Don't forget to use our link so they know we sent you. Say YES to unforgettable moments with Liquid I.V.'s NEW Hydration Multiplier Sugar-Free Ring Pop. Tear. Pour. Live More. Go to LIQUID-IV.COM and get 20% off your first purchase with code BETHEREINFIVE at checkout. That's 20% off your first purchase with code BETHEREINFIVE at LIQUID-IV.COM. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to Quince.com/bethereinfive for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. That's Quince.com/bethereinfive for free shipping and 365-day returns. Right now you can save up to $230 on the 12-piece cookware set versus buying the products individually. Plus, if you want to include their fan favorite minis duo, you can save up to $350. Visit CarawayHome.com/BTIF10 to take an additional 10% off using code BTIF10 on your next purchase. This deal is exclusive for our listeners, so visit carawayhome.com/BTIF 10 or use code BTIF10 at checkout.

This week, Kate sits down with Stephani Young, the journalist (and longtime Beth!) behind the viral investigative podcast Love Trapped, the year-plus deep dive into the Clayton Echard paternity scandal that turned out to be so much bigger than a Bachelor Nation headline. Kate opens with why a story like this is so culturally tricky to talk about and the tension between believing women and recognizing when the systems built to protect them get weaponized. Then Kate and Stephani get into how the story spans not just Clayton but a years-long pattern involving multiple men that ultimately led to 14 felony indictments. They also discuss Stephani's editorial process, in terms of building the series in parallel with how internet sleuths discovered it in real-time, what got cut, what landed her in legal review, and the moment she became part of the story when Laura's emails started arriving in her inbox too. Listen to Love Trapped first (truly, do not proceed without it), then come back. Enjoy! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here! Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH! Thank you to AllModern for furnishing Kate's Season 2 Studio! AllModern has the best of modern furniture and decor all in one place. With styles from Scandi and mid-century, to minimalist and maximalist, every design is hand-vetted for quality by their team of experts. Plus they have fast + free shipping! Check out allmodern.com; you'll find Kate's bookshelves here and her new rug here! Give your skin the affordable, luxurious glow up it deserves. Go to Naturium.com/BETHEREINFIVE for 10% off the Glow Getter Bundle today. That's Naturium.com/BETHEREINFIVE. Go to helixsleep.com/bethereinfive for the Memorial Day Sale. It's the Best of Web Sale, May 1-31, 2026 for 27% Off Sitewide. Exclusive for listeners of Be There in Five. For a limited time get 40% off your first order PLUS get a free item in every box for life. Go to Hungryroot.com/bethereinfive and use code bethereinfive. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code BETHEREINFIVE for an exclusive 20% off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here on Be There in Five.