Binchtopia

This week, Julia is joined by MJ Corey, aka Kardashian Kolloquium and author of Dekonstructing the Kardashians. Together the girlies unpack America's most powerful matriarchy, exploring the Kardashians' relationship to capitalism, gender, race, sex, and the attention economy. MJ explains how postmodern theory is crucial for understanding their cultural power, and shares what the Kardashians have in common with Princess Jasmine, The Spice Girls, Donald Trump, Disney, and WWE. Digressions include therapists loving petty drama, Kendall's longterm lesbian allegations, and the mysterious, tragic life of Rob. Check out MJ's writing here & get your copy of Dekonstructing the Kardashians here! This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette.  To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.  

What the Hell Sure, NEWS is our monthly news show, where Julia and Nick recap the stories that made us say, what the hell, sure! The show is available to our Bestie Vibes Only and Godly Wives tiers, and we're sharing an extended teaser featuring one story from each of our monthly segments. Want to get the full show every month? Subscribe to our Bestie Vibes Only or Godly Wives tier here: https://www.patreon.com/join/binchtopia 

This week, Julia is joined by Dr. Jack Keefe to explore parapsychology, psychic phenomena, and the mysteries of human consciousness. From ancient oracles and telepaths to experiments attempting to test psychic abilities, they explain what we know about the mind, what we still don't understand, and why we're so drawn to the possibility that there's more to reality than meets the eye. Digressions include being psychically linked to your ex boyfriend, beefing with elves in the DMT realm, and the reparative experience of seeing a UFO with your mom. Check out Dr. Jack's website here: http://Jack-Keefe.com This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette.  To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today. SOURCESBehavioral Priming: It's All in the Mind, but Whose Mind?  Clever hands: Uncontrolled intelligence in facilitated communication  Cognitive styles and psi: Psi researchers are more similar to skeptics than to lay believers. Frontiers in Psychology,   Daryl Bem Proved ESP Is Real  Derangement of the senses or alternate epistemological pathways? Altered consciousness and enhanced functioning.  Divination in Ancient Rome  Extra Sensory Perception; Reality or Myth Examining psychokinesis: The interaction of human intention with random number generators--A meta-analysis.  Facilitated Communication as an Ideomotor Response  Facilitated Communication—what harm it can do: Confessions of a former facilitator  False-positive psychology: Undisclosed flexibility in data collection and analysis allows presenting anything as significant.   Feeling the future: Experimental evidence for anomalous retroactive influences on cognition and affect.  Healthy schizotypy: the case of out-of-the-body experiences  Implications of near-death experiences for a postmaterialist psychology.  Individual difference correlates of psi performance in forced-choice precognition experiments: A meta-analysis (1945-2016). Meta-analysis of free-response studies, 1992–2008: Assessing the noise reduction model in parapsychology.  On the correspondence between dream content and target material under laboratory conditions: A meta-analysis of dream-ESP studies  Paranormal experiences in the general population.   Paranormal experiences, mental health and mental boundaries, and psi.   Predictive physiological anticipation preceding seemingly unpredictable stimuli: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology  Post-bereavement hallucinatory experiences: A critical overview of population and clinical studies  Psycho-Analysis and Telepathy  Psychoanalysis and telepathic processes.  Raising the value of research studies in psychological science by increasing the credibility of research reports: the transparent Psi project   Sensing the presence of gods and spirits across cultures and faiths  Telepathy: Origins of Randomization in Experimental Design  The experimental evidence for parapsychological phenomena: A review.  The History of Divination Practices: A journey through time & space  The Telepathy Tapes  "The Telepathy Tapes" is Taking America by Storm. But it Has its Roots in Old Autism Controversies.  The Telepathy Tapes: A Dangerous Cornucopia of Pseudoscience | Skeptical Inquirer  The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature by William James  Traces of the Other – Are DMT Entities Real? DMT Phenomenology in the Framework of Conscious Realism  Traumatic childhood events, perceived availability of emotional support, and the development of dissociative tendencies  When the truth is out there: Counseling people who report anomalous experiences. 

Is our food getting shittier, literally? Join Julia and Nick as they conduct an investigation into the complicated and deeply gross history of food safety. From murderous milk and The Jungle to RFK Jr. and diarrhea lettuce, they unpack the creation of our modern food system, America's addiction to ignoring science, and how one contaminated farm can suddenly become everybody's problem. Digressions include Johnny Crunkleseed, the FDA's young hoe era, and Insect Fragments George. This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette.  To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today. SOURCE LIST

In the aftermath of the Lindsay Clancy trial, Julia and Eliza lock in for an investigation of the postpartum period, exploring the seismic changes that happen to your brain and body after giving birth. The girlies trace the shocking history of postpartum care, the highly misunderstood conditions of postpartum depression and psychosis, and the abysmal state of parental leave in America. Warning — this episode will leave you mad as hell!!! Digressions include welcoming new binchie babies into the world, being freed from the psychic torture of Tyra Banks, and having empathy for bad British food. This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette.  If you're looking for postpartum support, Postpartum Support International offers support groups, provider directories, helplines, and other resources at https://postpartum.net/. Carriage House Birth offers postpartum support groups and other resources at https://carriagehousebirth.com/. To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today. SOURCES A scoping study of postpartum mental health problems and associated factors: opportunities for research and practice Beyond "Baby Blues" Biological Aspects of Postpartum Depression Brooklyn Mother Sentenced to 20 Years to Life in Prison For Killing Her Three Children Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2025 Fact Sheet: Maternal Mental Health From Pregnancy to Postpartum: The Dynamic Reorganization of the Maternal Brain Google Benefits Inequities in CPS contact between Black and White children Maternal Mental Health Conditions and Statistics: An Overview Matrescence: Lifetime Impact of Motherhood on Cognition and the Brain Mother Who Drowned 3 Children at Coney Island Is Sentenced to 20 Years Drownings at Coney Island Mark the End of a Mother's Descent Neuroanatomical changes observed over the course of a human pregnancy OECD Members and Partners Paid Family Leave Across OECD Countries Paid Leave: State Family and Medical Leave Laws Perinatal Depression Physiology, Postpartum Changes Postpartum Baby Blues Postpartum anxiety is invisible, but common and treatable Postpartum Care: An Approach to the Fourth Trimester Postpartum Psychosis and Bipolar Disorder: Review of Neurobiology and Expert Consensus Statement on Classification Postpartum Psychosis: Madness, Mania, and Melancholia in Motherhood Pregnant mothers with strong family support less likely to have postpartum depression, study finds Prevalence and Course of Unwanted, Intrusive Thoughts of Infant-Related Harm Protecting body and soul in medieval childbirth Rachel Moran, 'Making Sense of Postpartum Politics': Blue: A History of Postpartum Depression in America Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Key Issues The Baby Pinks: What to Know About Postpartum Euphoria The Effect of Spousal Support on Postpartum Depression and Quality of Life The hospital and the postpartum experience: a historical analysis The Impact of Motherhood on Women's Career Progression: A Scoping Review of Evidence-Based Interventions The Important Role of Partner Support in Women's Mental Disorders During the Perinatal Period. A Literature Review The Intimate History of Confinement The Landscape of Parental Leave-Taking in the United States The phenomenology of postpartum psychosis: preliminary findings from the Massachusetts General Hospital Postpartum Psychosis Project Understanding Infanticide in Context: Mothers Who Kill, 1870-1930 and Today Waffle House Careers What are Postpartum and Perinatal OCD? What data does the BLS publish on family leave? When can I go back to work after having a baby? Who is Andrea Yates? A Short Story About Insanity Women Should Rest for a Month After Childbirth—Myth or Fact? Women With Postpartum Depression Experienced Brain Changes During Pregnancy, Study Finds

Binchtopia is on a little post-tour vacation this week, so we're releasing this healing episode from the vault This episode was originally released on March 25, 2026 as a Patreon exclusive. Become a patron today to support the show, keep us ad-free, and unlock our backlog of 50+ bonus episodes at patreon.com/binchtopia.

Julia is joined by Carina Hsieh, Deputy Features Editor at Women's Health and the writer widely credited with inventing the term "situationship," to revisit the term's origins and assess the current state of modern dating. They trace the history of dating from courtship and going steady to hookup culture and dating apps, unpack the anxious-avoidant trap, and examine whether dating advice reels, and other online rules actually protect women from heartbreak or just give them more ways to blame themselves. Digressions include the bygone thrill of being pinned, men who self-report as securely attached, and the horror of buying a cheater a PS5 with your own money. Check out more of Carina's writing at Women's Health and follow her on Instagram @carinahsieh! WE'RE GOING ON TOUR!!!! Find tickets for the Shake Up Your Life Tour at https://binchtopia.com/tour This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette. 

Julia is joined by bestina and hospital chaplain Sarah Doumar to confront the only thing we are unfortunately promised in this lifetime: death. Together the girlies deconstruct how dying transformed from an intimate, familiar occurence to a hidden and medicalized taboo, unpacking the predatory funeral industry, the West's treatment of elders, and society's obsession with immortality. Plus, Sarah shares what sitting with dying patients has taught her about grief, fear, and spirituality. Digressions include tyrannical choir teachers, a sacred dream about Heath Ledger, and smoking hookah at the retirement village. WE'RE GOING ON TOUR!!!! Find tickets for the Shake Up Your Life Tour at https://binchtopia.com/tour This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette.  To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today. SOURCES A Third of Young Adults Are Still Living With Their Parents—as Old Taboo  Aging Out by Lucy Schiller Approaching Death: Improving Care at the End of Life Becomes the New Normal Amid Soaring Costs  Being Mortal by Atul Gawande  Death Is Having a Moment  Death anxiety. The worm at the core of mental health.  Does The Internet Change How We Die And Mourn? Overview And Analysis  Good Grief  Growing Old in America by David Hackett Fischer It's Mourning in America It's Time to Let the Five Stages of Grief Die  Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging  Mid-Late Victorian Mourning Dress Mortal Remains: Death in America by Nancy Isenberg Mourning during the Civil War  New study challenges notion that aging means decline, finds many older adults improve over time  Place of Death Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic  Poor Relief and the Almshouse  Senior Living History: 1930 - 1939  TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY  The American Way of Death Revisited by Jessica Mitford  The Denial of Death and the Practice of Dying  The Hour of Our Death by Philippe Ariès The FTC Funeral Rule  The other side of sadness: What the new science of bereavement tells us about life after loss.  The Trouble with Nursing Homes  The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion U.S. centenarian population is projected to quadruple over the next 30 years  Western Attitudes Toward Death From The Middle Ages To The Present by Philippe Ariès  When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Julia and Nick explore the dark side of shaking up your life — because sometimes, the shake TAKETH! From accidental military enlistment to having a warrant out for your arrest, they tell the stories of tremendous flops and binchies who rose from the ashes. Digressions include Nick's failed attempt at heterosexuality, a horrifying clown-centric production of Moby Dick, and Kaitlin Bennett x Soho House. WE'RE GOING ON TOUR!!!! Find tickets for the Shake Up Your Life Tour at https://binchtopia.com/tour This episode was originally released on May 13, 2026 as a Patreon exclusive, and we're unlocking it for you to make the most of the extra week in July AND in honor of the Shake Up Your Life Tour.   Become a patron today to support the show, keep us ad-free and unlock our backlog of over 50 bonus episodes at patreon.com/binchtopia.

Chat, are we cooked? Julia is joined by friend and mentor Dr. Jack Keefe to explore the ongoing epidemic of AI psychosis and the dire consequences of having a sycophant in our pocket. They trace the history of how technology has repeatedly reshaped our understanding of reality, from medieval nobles who believed their bodies were made of glass, telegraph operators struck by sudden paralysis, and tech moguls convinced they're living in The Matrix. Digressions include questioning the humanity of Mr. Beast, the stay tethered to reality challenge, and The Truman Show as a psychotic touchstone. This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette.  Check out Jack's work here: https://jack-keefe.com/ WE'RE GOING ON TOUR!!!! Find tickets for the Shake Up Your Life Tour at https://binchtopia.com/tour To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today. SOURCES "AI Psychosis" in Context: How Conversation History ShapesLLM Responses to Delusional Beliefs  'Americanitis': The Disease of Living Too Fast  An odd kind of melancholy: reflections on the glass delusion in Europe (1440-1680 - Gill Speak, 1990 Beyond artificial intelligence psychosis: a functional typology of large language model-associated psychotic phenomena - The Lancet Digital Health Delusion content across the 20th century in an American psychiatric hospital ELEPHANT: MEASURING AND UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL SYCOPHANCY IN LLMS Emotional Manipulation by AI Companions From Paralysis to Fatigue | Book by Edward Shorter | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster Hallucinations and electricity in the nineteenth century Hallucinating with AI: Distributed Delusions and "AIPsychosis" How AI and Human Behaviors Shape Psychosocial Effects of Extended Chatbot Use: A Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Study Interpretations of Innovation: The Role of Technology in Explanation Seeking Related to Psychosis  Investigating Affective Use and Emotional Well-beingon ChatGPT  Nature of Persecutors and Their Behaviors in the Delusions of Schizophrenia: Changes between the 1990s and the 2000s - PMC Neurasthenia and the Modern City: Genealogical Speculations on Capitalism-Urged Anxiety, Stress, and Suicide in North America, 1890–1920 - Phillip Gordon Mackintosh, 2025 On the Origin of the "Influencing Machine" in Schizophrenia People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies Polarizing remedies, attractive cures: Animal magnetism, mesmerism, and mind-over-matter treatments  Railway Neurosis and the Birth of Psychotherapy  Technological folie à deux: feedback loops between AI chatbots and mental health  'The algorithm is hacked': analysis of technology delusions in a modern-day cohort The Evolution of Insanity  The Origin of the Influencing Machine in Schizophrenia (1919) The people who think they are made of glass - BBC News The Psychogenic Machine: Simulating AI Psychosis,Delusion Reinforcement and Harm Enablement inLarge Language Models They Asked an A.I. Chatbot Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling.  Victorian London - Disease - 'telegraphic paralysis' When Old Technologies Were New : Thinking about Electric Communication in the Late Nineteenth Century "You're Not Crazy": A Case of New-onset AI-associated Psychosis