November 2024 Bantr+

Summary

Fated Mates - November 2024 Banter+ Episode Summary

Release Date: November 5, 2024

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1. Introduction to the Special Episode

Sarah MacLean opens the episode with playful banter, referencing the popular "Surprise, surprise" meme (00:00). Both hosts, Sarah MacLean, a bestselling romance author, and Jen Prokop, a romance critic, humorously discuss the nature of the episode being an unexpected release on a typical Tuesday. They introduce this edition as a "Banter Plus" episode—normally exclusive to Patreon subscribers—but decide to make it available to all listeners as a special treat (03:11).

Notable Quote:

• Jen Prokop: “But this is gonna be the opposite of that because we're not gonna do anything serious. We're just gonna be silly and talk about, well, various things.” (03:04)

2. Sports Banter: WNBA and Broadcasting Issues

The conversation shifts to the recent developments in the WNBA, highlighting the Indiana Fever's coaching changes and the broader instability within the league (11:04). Sarah and Jen express their confusion and frustration over the high turnover rate of coaches, questioning the reasons behind these abrupt changes.

Key Points:

• Discussion on WNBA's high coach turnover rate.
• Commentary on the broadcasting challenges faced by sports leagues, particularly the shift to streaming services.
• Sarah shares a personal anecdote about her elderly mother's limited but costly TV subscriptions, emphasizing the financial strain of accessing multiple channels (10:04).

Notable Quote:

• Sarah MacLean: “I don't actually speak Spanish, but I do know that that's a Spanish word.” (01:18)

3. Podcast Recommendations and Media Consumption

Sarah recommends the podcast "Good Game" hosted by Sarah Spain, which focuses exclusively on women's sports. She describes a standout episode featuring Christine Brennan, highlighting the host's effort to address problematic behavior in sports journalism (14:11).

Jen introduces "Finally a Show about Women that isn't just a thinly veiled act inspirational nightmare," a documentary-style podcast that delves into the daily lives of diverse women. Both hosts encourage listeners to explore these podcasts for enriching content beyond their own (17:04).

Notable Quote:

• Jen Prokop: “It's about the audio, like, reality experience of one day in the life of an interesting woman.” (17:04)

4. Personal Stories: First Jobs

The hosts share nostalgic stories about their first jobs, providing a glimpse into their early work experiences and how these shaped their personalities.

• Sarah MacLean recounts working at her father’s scrap metal company in Rhode Island, interacting with truck drivers and managing the scale (21:15). She humorously describes dealing with attempts to game the system by truckers adding water to their trucks.

• Jen Prokop talks about her first job at a gas station, handling customer interactions and the challenges of working in the convenience store during the school year (25:02). She fondly remembers working at Hope’s Cookies and how that job led to long-lasting positive memories despite initial frustrations.

Notable Quote:

• Sarah MacLean: “I have a very, like, real affinity for older men.” (23:56)

5. Family and Movies: Avengers Series with Their Daughters

Sarah and Jen discuss their experiences watching the Avengers movies with their daughters, navigating differing interests and the complexities of sharing superhero fandom with young children. Sarah shares a heartfelt moment when her daughter asked about their favorite Avengers characters outside their superhero personas, leading to a discussion about Bruce Banner and Tony Stark (29:01).

Key Points:

• Balancing parental preferences with children's interests in superhero movies.
• Exploring the personalities and relationships of Avengers characters through family discussions.

Notable Quote:

• Jen Prokop: “I really like Scarlet Witch, though. And she...” (33:02)

6. Soundtracks and Musical Influences

The conversation shifts to the impact of soundtracks on their lives. Sarah reminisces about how Eric Carmen’s "Hungry Eyes" from Dirty Dancing played at her gynecologist’s office evoked strong nostalgic feelings (57:25). They discuss various iconic soundtracks, including Pulp Fiction and Dick Tracy, and how certain songs became intertwined with personal memories.

Key Points:

• The role of soundtracks in shaping personal and emotional experiences.
• Discussion on favorite soundtracks and their cultural significance.

Notable Quote:

• Sarah MacLean: “I have never had such a, like, visceral return to puberty.” (57:32)

7. Creating "Derek Craven Day"

Sarah and Jen humorously talk about their in-house holiday, "Derek Craven Day," celebrating their beloved character Derek Craven. They describe the novelty of having a self-invented holiday and the playful interactions it has sparked among their listeners, particularly those who favor episodes centered around Derek Craven (64:32).

Key Points:

• The playful creation of a unique holiday to engage listeners.
• Sharing listener interactions and feedback related to "Derek Craven Day."

Notable Quote:

• Jen Prokop: “Like, what I envision is this person just like every February 4th is like. It'S Eric Craven Day.” (65:25)

8. Book Recommendations: Evie Rose’s Mafia Novels

Sarah enthusiastically recommends Evie Rose’s Mafia-themed romance novels, describing their unique setting where male characters are named after London neighborhoods and run mafia businesses with a corporate twist (50:42). She details plot elements from the books, highlighting the blend of mafia intrigue and romance, and shares her enjoyment of reading multiple books in the series consecutively.

Key Points:

• Description of Evie Rose’s Mafia romance series.
• Discussion on the unique naming conventions and plot dynamics in the novels.
• Comparison to other romance novels with similar themes, such as Cynthia Sachs’ The Good Assistant.

Notable Quote:

• Sarah MacLean: “They are mafia romances. But they are not mafia. These are billionaire books.” (51:13)

9. Closing Remarks and Upcoming Episodes

As the episode wraps up, Sarah and Jen promote their Patreon, encouraging listeners to join for exclusive content and access to the Banter Plus episodes. They tease upcoming episodes, including a special mermaid-themed show with a guest (70:58). The hosts express excitement for future discussions and thank their audience for their support.

Key Points:

• Promotion of Patreon for exclusive content.
• Teasing of upcoming episodes and special guests.
• Encouragement for listeners to engage with their community and support the podcast.

Notable Quote:

• Jen Prokop: “We do.” (71:56)

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Notable Quotes Summary

• Sarah MacLean: “Maybe I'll find it and link to it. It's a weird video of a lady in a department store singing surprise, surprise.” (00:06)
• Jen Prokop: “We just thought maybe it'd be a nice day to talk. Not about those things, but to have it be there to listen to.” (00:46)
• Sarah MacLean: “I don't actually speak Spanish, but I do know that that's a Spanish word.” (01:24)
• Jen Prokop: “We're gonna get about basketball, about the sports ball.” (13:27)
• Sarah MacLean: “Why do you even pay for cable if you have to watch MNBA games on Twitter?” (09:38)
• Jen Prokop: “Or can you please take this up with the Shell corporation?” (26:34)
• Sarah MacLean: “And then you just vibing.” (50:58)
• Jen Prokop: “It's about love in its many forms.” (19:51)

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Conclusion

This special Banter+ episode of Fated Mates offers listeners a delightful blend of casual conversation, personal anecdotes, and insightful discussions on sports, podcasts, and romance literature. Through humorous exchanges and heartfelt stories, Sarah MacLean and Jen Prokop provide an engaging listening experience that both entertains and resonates with their audience. Whether you're a long-time fan or a new listener, this episode encapsulates the essence of what makes Fated Mates a beloved romance novel podcast.

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For more detailed discussions and exclusive content, consider joining Fated Mates’ Patreon community. Stay tuned for upcoming episodes featuring special guests and exciting themes!

Transcript

[Sarah McLean]

Surprise, surprise, everyone. Surprise, surprise.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, you're gonna sing.

[Sarah McLean]

There's that meme. That surprise, surprise meme. Maybe I'll find it and link to it. It's a weird video of a lady in a department store singing surprise, surprise.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I don't know. I mean, I don't know what it is. We're just trying our best, Sarah.

[Sarah McLean]

Anyway, yeah, we are trying our best. We're doing our best. We are releasing a special episode, a very special episode of Punky Brewster.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, my gosh.

[Sarah McLean]

Because today, you know, is just a Tuesday. Like every other Tuesday.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Maybe there's something you feel some nervousness about.

[Sarah McLean]

We don't know what that would be. I feel like you're having trouble focusing on just in general. Like, no reason.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. So we just thought maybe it'd be a nice day to talk. Not about those things, but to have it be there to listen to. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, just in case you have nothing else to do, like, maybe you're taking an extra long walk, like, add a clip. Because what else would you be doing to.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure. Obviously.

[Sarah McLean]

And, you know, you just. You're like, gosh, I wish it was Wednesday. Because if it was Wednesday, I would be listening to a Faded Mates episode.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

Welcome, everyone, to Faded Mates Espacial.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Are you going to introduce yourself? You're just going to stop there?

[Sarah McLean]

I don't actually speak Spanish, but I do know that that's a Spanish word.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay.

[Sarah McLean]

And I read romance novels and I write them, and we record fun podcasts sometimes as surprises.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Surprise. I'm Jennifer Prokop, a romance reader and editor. And I was actually laughing when you said, like, a very special episode. Like, I was like, do these youth. Do the youths even know what we're referencing?

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, yeah, we're not going to talk about any of the things that happen on special episodes. Like kidnapping.

[Jennifer Prokop]

No. Right. But, like, there's this old show where. Right. Like, yes, of course. It was like abc. ABC After School specials.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah. Or there would be, like, a very special episode was like, code when we were young for the. For, you know, prime time primetime family showing, where there. It would be like Punky Brewster gets Roofied.

[Jennifer Prokop]

That we were all like, we're not going to let it go to a dark place. And then, boom.

[Sarah McLean]

Buggy Bruce. I don't think, for what it's worth, I mean, these kids don't know who Buggy Brewster is either, so it's all fine. Does she still have a job? We're gonna. We're gonna Google that.

[Jennifer Prokop]

We're.

[Sarah McLean]

We're gonna come Back around Buggy Brewster later in this episode. I'm gonna check in. Check on it. But, like, Family Ties was like, oh, yeah, right. Mallory goes to the club.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes, right, of course. Or like, you know, grandpa's dog in the sick bed or something.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, yeah, right. Always, like, if Grandpa dies, that's a very special episode. It was like, content warning light.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, there you go. Right? Like, it went like, this was serious. We're gonna be serious. We're gonna be doing a thing.

[Sarah McLean]

You just knew.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. So, but this is gonna be the opposite of that because we're not gonna do anything serious. We're just gonna be silly and talk about, well, various things.

[Sarah McLean]

Talk about what this is. So we are. This is essentially a Banter plus episode. So don't get too excited, everybody. We're not gonna fill your TBR today. Although I do have some books that I want to talk. So if you join our Patreon. This is not an ad for the Patreon. Although, you know, welcome if you do. If you join our Patreon. One of the benefits to joining the Patreon is that you get a special episode every month that we refer to as Banter plus, which is a Ted Lasso reference. And so you get a Banter plus episode. It's basically me and Jen vibing. We make a list over the course of the month of, like, goofy things we want to talk about that we don't. We're not. Like, they probably won't come up in a regular episode, but they're just goofy and we want to talk about them. So we talk. We save them for each other. We don't know what the other people are going to talk about. And then we just vibe. And so. And then we release that every month into a special podcasting feed that is just for our Banter plus our Patreon subscribers. But, you know, again, we just thought, since it's just a random first Tuesday in November, we thought it might be beneficial if, like, we release Banter plus for everyone.

[Jennifer Prokop]

For everyone, Exactly. So this will be not at all like an. If you like, the first, like, 10 minutes where we, like, bullshit about, like, our furnaces. That's going to be like, an hour of that.

[Sarah McLean]

Our furnaces. How exciting. An hour of furnace talk.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I was like, don't get too excited.

[Sarah McLean]

You have spent a lot of time with furnaces.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I feel really upset about it. But you know what? They're coming back again.

[Sarah McLean]

Spent an hour talk about the furnace.

[Jennifer Prokop]

We're not going to spend any time. That was just an example we have I think in the past talked about.

[Sarah McLean]

Not the greatest example, but.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay, okay, fair, Fair enough. Sure. Okay. So basically what we're saying is this episode will have no ads, very little book talk. It's just going to be us shattering. And so if that's like what you need right now, then here we are for you. And if it's not, then go find another episode. My God.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, lots of stuff, lots of stuff going on. We don't recommend maybe last week's episode for today, but we have a great episode coming tomorrow that is going to be very fun.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

With our. With a fun special guest.

[Jennifer Prokop]

True, that's true.

[Sarah McLean]

Anyway, this is going to be ad free and just vibes.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Enjoy yourselves. We are here for you. All right, Jen.

[Jennifer Prokop]

All right. Can I talk about the wnba?

[Sarah McLean]

Sarah, I think you mean the mnba. The not. You mean the NBA. We're now referring. Everybody seems to be in New York at least where we just won a championship for. Well that's for the first time in 50 something years.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure, right.

[Sarah McLean]

We're referring to the NBA when we talk about the wnba. Just FYI.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right. It's all. Everything's correct now. So here's what's really funny is. Okay, so everybody, the WNBA finals did just wrap up and the New York.

[Sarah McLean]

Liberty one, it was a well done Brooklyn.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Listen, it was an amazing series. Like it's a five game series and I believe like four of them were within a couple of points. I mean these were like two games went to overtime, I think.

[Sarah McLean]

Who did they play?

[Jennifer Prokop]

The Minnesota Lynx. They have a really amazing. Their coach has been like the. The most storied WNBA coach in all time. The links, her name Cheryl.

[Sarah McLean]

They had like a WNBA team forever.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes, they have and they have won. They are the most winningest like wnba.

[Sarah McLean]

We have the best mascot and so.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You do have the best mascot. Ellie the elephant.

[Sarah McLean]

We have Ellie the elephant.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

She's amazing.

[Jennifer Prokop]

She is amazing. Like I said, I don't think I realized until very recently that her shtick is that like every time she starts dancing she finds a man to give her stew. And like I actually somehow fell into. I don't really go to TikTok. If I do. I'm really stressed and I've been looking at recently and I've fallen into like Ellie Tik Tok. Yeah. And it's like so she has like a. There's like a very distinctive funny voice that it uses where she's like. And then I was. And it was great. But like there's One where she, like, hands it to, like, a security guard. Perfect.

[Sarah McLean]

She handed it to Stephen Colbert.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

The other night. Because after they won, she interrupted his monologue, which was great.

[Jennifer Prokop]

She handed it to your disgraced mayor on stage.

[Sarah McLean]

Um, so anyway, he doesn't know he's disgraced.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. So that happened, like, the final game, and then literally, the MNBA opened its.

[Sarah McLean]

Regular season, like, the next day, and no one went.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, right. The funniest.

[Sarah McLean]

And a tree fell in the forest, and no one heard it.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Now, of course, on my Twitter, like, it was hilarious and a lot of people had tweets. And my. The funniest one by far was someone who's like, should I watch this Men's wnba or, you know, seems kind of boring.

[Sarah McLean]

And in fact, Stephen Colbert called it boy skitball.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes. Also terrific. I laughed so hard. Yeah. I was like, that really made me laugh. So anyway, everybody is essentially, like, watching the MNBA now is so boring because all they do is shoot threes and dunk. You know, there's like, no defense. They just, like, run up.

[Sarah McLean]

It's all offense.

[Jennifer Prokop]

They just, like, run up and down. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Can reach the basket.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

So that has actually romance heroes all.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, of course.

[Sarah McLean]

But boring basketball.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Even my husband, I was kind of like, so do you watch any of the, you know, mnba? And he was like. And then he, like, went on to some long rant about how hard it is to watch the Bulls, because apparently there's some sort of, like, thing now where, because of all these streaming services, the owners of, like, the Bulls and the White Sox and the Blackhawks essentially, like, made up their own little network so, like, sell themselves the streaming rights or something. It's all, like, kind of a big scam. And he was like, everybody in Chicago's pissed because it was like. Like, they haven't, like, contract with, like, Comcast yet, so, like, no one can see these games. My husband was like, I had to watch it on Twitter, Jennifer. Oh.

[Sarah McLean]

He's like.

[Jennifer Prokop]

He was like, what the hell? And I was like, okay, fair enough.

[Sarah McLean]

Why do you even pay for cable if you have to watch MMBA games on Twitter?

[Jennifer Prokop]

He was very up irate about it. So. But he was like, oh, yeah, it's so boring.

[Sarah McLean]

It's not a soccer game. A soccer watcher, though. But, like, MLS is now just on Apple.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, well, that's the thing. It's like, I really feel very strongly that this is, like, gotta be really hard for people with, like, aging parents or people, like, on any kind of limited budget. Like, you should be able to watch the sports. You know what I mean?

[Sarah McLean]

This is my thing. So. Okay, I have an aging mom. She is in her 80s. She watches two things, Jen. She watches MSNBC. No, three things. She watches MSNBC, the BBC because she is English and she likes. She feels it connects her to her home and the tennis channel. So she. Whatever. This 83 year old lady likes tennis fine. It gives her joy. Do you know how much money this woman has to spend? I'm sure it's insane on cable television in order to get the Tennis Channel 3 channels. It's kind of shocking. Every time I look at the bill, I'm like, how is this not a menu? And I know the answer. Don't add us everybody. I know that it's like because of conglomerates and like nobody would pay for the tennis channel. So it wouldn't exist without the freaking, I don't know, men's football league.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But the like it's the mnfl.

[Sarah McLean]

NFL. No, listen, WNFL know. Women know better. They know better.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So here's. Yeah, it's crazy, it's just been really frustrating.

[Sarah McLean]

But also like everyone.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Everything's on so many different channels now. It's all confusing. But here is the other thing. In the wnba, which I everybody knows obsessed with. I'm very sad because I'm like in mourning. Which is a couple of things. One is half right now in the Indiana Fever just this morning fired their coach probably to get this woman from Connecticut that like started off playing in Indiana and she probably everyone's like, she's Steph's coming home. But half of the WNBA coaches are. Our coaching head coaching positions are open right now. But the thing is, because they all fired everybody, like we fired you guys. I'm really upset. I don't really want to talk about it. We fired our amazing coach, Teresa Weatherspoon. Like it's so sad but like all.

[Sarah McLean]

These people because like is I don't know sports.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

So I need somebody to explain to me like I'm a baby. Does this happen in other sports too? Where like if you didn't hit make the championship, like everybody's on the chopping block except for dead Lasso who gets to stay.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Of course with the WNBA so small, it's 12 teams. So when six of them fire their coach. But the problem is like these are.

[Sarah McLean]

Ostensibly like six of the best basketball. So what are they doing? Are they going and like hiring LeBron, they would go.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I don't know what they're going to do. Like honestly, some of the coaches will just, like, shuffle around. But, like, one of the things that's really interesting is there.

[Sarah McLean]

Are they all women? Sorry, I keep asking.

[Jennifer Prokop]

No, they are not. They are not.

[Sarah McLean]

Larry Bird could come and coach wnba.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure. That is true. Theoretically, Larry Bird could come coach the wnba.

[Sarah McLean]

I grew up in Rhode Island. Larry Bird is a thing for me.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure. LeBron James is playing in the MNBA with his son who is playing on the same team. That's the first time that happened.

[Sarah McLean]

James continues to play basketball.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes. Well, I mean, he's. It's crazy. He scored this amazing. Michael Jordan.

[Sarah McLean]

I was like, could come and coach Michael Jordan. Chicago Sky.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Who knows? Okay. If everyone who knows anything about sports right now has just had an accident. Good job, Sarah. Like, it's important. I.

[Sarah McLean]

We told everyone we'd take their minds off of today.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It's true. We did.

[Sarah McLean]

Now they're all, like, yelling at the radio.

[Jennifer Prokop]

We're gonna get about basketball, about the sports ball. So I don't know what's gonna happen. Here's the one thing that is true, though, is it's gonna be really hard for them to find coaches because the obvious thing to do would be to, like, pull people up from college. But women like coaches. Yeah, but women's college basketball is starting right now.

[Sarah McLean]

They're busy.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. None of those people are going to leave.

[Sarah McLean]

They shouldn't leave because right now everybody's interested in women's basketball. Everyone loves sports.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Amazing. Okay, here's the one other thing I will tell you, which has been really cool.

[Sarah McLean]

I think our new faded mates thing should be like, we only when we talk about a sport, it's only women.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Say, can I give you a cool thing? I've not me discovered, but okay, there is a. You know how I'm like. I don't really listen to a lot of podcasts. I've been listening to a podcast called Good Game. The host is a woman named Sarah Spain, and it's only about women's sports. Perfect. And it's great. It's about. It was a lot about the wnba, which is when I started listening, because she had this. Actually, I will put a link to this in show notes. An amazing interview with this real kind of honestly terrible reporter named Christine Brennan, who is a woman that I think had been deeply respected in the world of, like, sports reporting and then just acted like a complete and total jackass about Caitlin Clark all summer, where she, like, writing. She's writing a book about Caitlin Clark. And so she would be interviewing, like, other. Other players so much so that the.

[Sarah McLean]

WNBA on camera and ask some questions.

[Jennifer Prokop]

About Caitlin Clark in the most revolting way.

[Sarah McLean]

No, like, I'm not interested in you tell me about Caitlin Clark. Or, like, mean, questions about Caitlin Clark.

[Jennifer Prokop]

No, like, I'm not interested in you tell me about Caitlin Clark, but also let me imply that you are a garbage person. So famous, so, so much so, that the WNB union essentially asked for her press credentials to be revoked. And the reason is. A big reason, is she was doing it all summer, but she interviewed a Connecticut sun player named Dijonay Carrington and essentially was like, when you poked her in the eye to do that on purpose.

[Sarah McLean]

What?

[Jennifer Prokop]

And D. Shanae Carrington was like, no, I was just playing. I didn't even know that I did that.

[Sarah McLean]

Leave me alone.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, of course I was playing ball. And then said, well, then you and Marina were on the sidelines, like, laughing. Is that what you were laughing about? This was three quarters later after Marina had just sunk this three. And clearly that's not what they were laughing about. So this was, like, just really aggressively shitty. And the reason I tuned into this Good Game with Sarah Spain podcast is because she interviewed Christine Brennan, and she really. It was such a great interview where she was just, like, you know better. Like, you cannot, like, rest on your laurels. And it was just like, a really powerful interview where it felt like she was really calling out, like, some truly bad behavior on the part of this other interview. So I've been listening to that. So anyone, if you're interested in sports, you might enjoy this podcast.

[Sarah McLean]

Cool. All right, wait, I have something I can sequitur this.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay, let's go.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay, so I want to talk about podcasts that another podcast that I, you know, mention. I wanted to talk about it last week during our I See Dead People episode.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay.

[Sarah McLean]

I meant to. I meant to mention it, and then I didn't, but also now I just want to mention it in general. So there is a podcast called Finally a Show about Women that isn't just a thinly veiled act inspirational nightmare. It's actually called Finally a Show, but the whole title is Finally a Show about Women that isn't just a thinly veiled aspirational nightmare, which blast. So it's a documentary podcast. It's updated weekly, and they. In each episode, you basically, like, go. So it's. There is no host. It is just the audio, like, reality experience of one day in the life of a interesting woman. And, like, what's cool about it is they wake up like, it's from the moment that their alarm goes off, the, like, first thing you hear often is like, okay, it's, you know, 5:45 in the morning and I just woke up. Like, and then it goes to the evening and they just follow one day. And like, it's a range. It's like they have one that's like about a chest master and one that's about a New York City stray cat wrangler and one that's about a plus size boutique owner. And like, there are just. It's such a cool conceit because it's just like normal women.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Who are not normal. Who are like, cool. We are all very cool.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, right? I love that.

[Sarah McLean]

So it's very cool. It's called finally, exclamation point, a show. And you can search for it on your favorite podcasting app. But I wanted to talk about the way that I came to it is that my daughter and I have a favorite podcast which is called this is Love. And every. I think I've talked about it on the podcast. But each, each episode is about love in its, like, many forms, like, passion. Like, there's one. There's one that's about like, like a guy who, who opened a pizza place in Brooklyn and it's now considered, like, one of the best pizza places in Brooklyn. And he's just like a man who like, did this or. The one that we came to first was about the Mars Rover. And so they interviewed like, all the people who were on the Mars rover teams about. I was gonna call them Chaos and Opportunity. That's not right. What were their names? Opportunity.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Opportunity. And now I'm like, I don't remember Chaos.

[Sarah McLean]

It's not Chaos, but it's like, I feel bad now that the other one. But, like, they interviewed all the drivers and the people who marked the weather on Mars and like, talked about how, like, these people, like, loved the work of running the rover. So it's very cool because every episode is, like, about love in some way. Like, spirit and opportunity.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sarah.

[Sarah McLean]

Spirit and opportunity. Thank you. So, but. And they released in that way that podcasts do, they released an episode about a woman who works at the crematorium at the Greenwood Cemetery here in Brooklyn.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, cool.

[Sarah McLean]

And it is the Cool. Everybody, I think, knows that I really love a cemetery. Like, I'm a member of the Greenwood Cemetery. We go there for events. We, you know, it's very fun. It's a weirdly fun place to hang out. I support you. But this woman, like, works in the crematorium and she talks like, she follows her day, and she's fascinating, and the show is fascinating. So I guess this is me saying to everybody, if you really are a podcast listener or you love our podcast, but you aren't sure, like, where to go next. Jen just recommended one, but you can also listen to this Is Love, which I think you would really enjoy. It's beautiful. It's just a beautiful thing about people who love their work or their lives or their families. And then finally, a show which is just about cool, interesting women.

[Jennifer Prokop]

This leads me to something I had a question on, because everybody knows my son is about to graduate from college. And so this whole talk about, like, first jobs has been. Right, like, so, Sarah, what was your first. Speaking of jobs, what was your first job?

[Sarah McLean]

Well, my first job. I'm a Nepo baby. Jen, my dad.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You were a Rhode island mobster. Sorry, everybody. That's a deep cut. You gotta listen like, 17 episodes to get that joke.

[Sarah McLean]

Kind of, though. My dad ran a scrap metal company in Rhode Island. My. My Italian dad ran a scrap metal company, and it's in Rhode Island. And I. My first job, I worked the scale nice. At the scrap metal company. So the way that this worked was I sat up in a, like, booth with a microphone and, like, a big window. I, like, was. I was. I worked with, obviously. I mean, like, now, is this when you were.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, you were, like, in six.

[Sarah McLean]

You're 16 or whatever. Like, the summer. Like, it was a summer job, right? Because I think my dad was like, it's time for you to learn that, like, you have to work for a living. And so, like, I went and I, like, worked at this place, and I worked. The guy who worked the booth all the time, his name was Danny, and he was like. He was. Danny worked. He.

[Jennifer Prokop]

He.

[Sarah McLean]

Whatever you are picturing is correct, right? He was. Danny worked in the booth at the.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Danny worked in the booth at the strap metal company. Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

So. And then what would happen is the guys would, like, largely. This is not me being gendered. Like, they were largely men, would, like, drive their trucks in, and there would be a. There was a scale outside. And so they would stand. They would put their trucks on the scale. And then you'd. With your microphone, go, what do you got in there? And they'd be like, fire hydrants or whatever. I mean, okay, it was like, whatever it was, and you would mark it down what they had, and then you would tell them what pile they would bring. Like, there's a chart, and it would be like, fire hydrants go to pile Number you guys, I once with the one guy came in, he had one fire hydrant. I was like, it definitely feels like you stole that fire hydrant, you know, so whatever.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So they go to pile, whatever, 12. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Drop the scrap and then come back. Oh, back through. And you'd weigh the truck on the way out.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And that's how you knew how much stuff they had in there. Of course, like they would like pour water all in the truck. You know, like there were all sorts of tricks that they would use.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And so you ended up like having to like basically call these dudes out.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Be like, Danny, get the water out of the truck.

[Sarah McLean]

Exactly. Johnny, what are you trying to do to me? I could see the water pouring out of the truck myself, you know?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. And so amazing.

[Sarah McLean]

I think, I don't know if you know this, but like I have a very, like I have a real affinity for older men. Like not silver foxy, but like, sure. Just like older men love me.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And in part I think it's because of this like first job experience where I just learned like I was, I was running the scale. I was a 16 year old girl.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Running the scale.

[Sarah McLean]

Running the scale. Summer at the scrap yard. And so like, sure, you have to, you learn a certain way of. And they'd be like, Sarah, you're killing me. I didn't put water in the truck. Sarah. It rained last night. I can see water.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Amazing. Oh my God, that's awesome.

[Sarah McLean]

For the most part, these guys were all like super great though. I'm sure. Really chauvinistic. Like, I'm sure, I mean like, definitely, like, hey baby, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But that was my first job. And there it is. Now you all know, like when I have to do icebreakers.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You have a great answer.

[Sarah McLean]

Two truths and a lie. I once worked at a scrap metal company.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You'll know. Yeah, that's pretty good. That's good.

[Sarah McLean]

What about you, Jen? I know this answer.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, My first job is working at the gas station.

[Sarah McLean]

Same but same vibe. Like same vibe.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Absolutely the same vibe. Now it was like a gas station, like alpha busy highway exit. And I worked inside like the convenience store. And then you know, like there was like full service, but occasionally I'd have to pump somebody's gas or whatever. We did not have a garage on site. It was like a car wash. The convenience store and just gas.

[Sarah McLean]

Right. So you were not living in a romance novel. I was, I was the heart. No guy who ran the garage.

[Jennifer Prokop]

No. That none of that happened.

[Sarah McLean]

That's sad.

[Jennifer Prokop]

In fact, it's just like, I. I will say, I think if. If you like, one of the reasons. I think it's just like. So obviously I think most people think it's important to not be like, jackasses to the people that are like, you know, doing service jobs. But, like, if you've done one of those jobs, it just really changes you. And I remember especially, I don't think, like, I was like, 16, I didn't really care what people thought or whatever. I think it was probably clear that, like, I worked, you know, I was just like there at school or whatever. You know, I was just. And I worked just like part time during the school year and then obviously, like full time in the summer. So. But I. I was always really shocked at the adults who would like, give me a hard time about, like, the price of gas. Like, and this is back in the day when the gas was like 99 cents.

[Sarah McLean]

A dollar, 99 cents, deciding what a barrel of.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And I would remember saying to one guy, like, sir, I'm in high school of oil. Yeah, could you please take this up with the shell corporation?

[Sarah McLean]

I don't work for opec.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, come on. You know. But I had, like, I had. Then in college, I, like, worked at the library and I did all those kind of work study jobs, but I also worked. I went to Villanova, everybody, and I worked. There was a place called Hope's Cookies, and that was by far the funniest job I ever got, which is like, I lived down kind of the street. I lived in an apartment with. I was supposed to live with a roommate who didn't come back for senior year. So I was by myself, which was kind of great, but I was like, I don't want to work on campus. I just want to work someplace off campus. And so this place called Hope's Cookies, and it had like a help wanted sign. So I, like walked in and I was kind of like, hey, I'm, you know, looking for a job. And he's like, okay, come today at 3. And I was like, for what?

[Sarah McLean]

And he's like, to start.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And I was like, wait, are you fucking kidding me? And then I like, realized, like, this was Hope's dad, Herbie, that he was like, a very nice man. And I think he just like, you.

[Sarah McLean]

Know, he appreciated that you had.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But also just like, he hired people and if they didn't work out, they didn't work out. Like, this was not something he stressed about. Like, you know what I mean? I worked there my whole senior year.

[Sarah McLean]

Were they delicious?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Can you make delicious? You know what? For a long. For like a few years afterwards, I had like cookie ptsd. Oh.

[Sarah McLean]

I worked in a bar when I was in college and like, I never wanted to look at a beer for like. Yeah, a decade.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right, right.

[Sarah McLean]

And that's what you hear. I had like one of my good friends in high school worked at an ice cream shop and like, he never wanted to eat ice cream.

[Jennifer Prokop]

No, totally. Like you just. Yeah. And you know, so for sure, I was kind of like, yeah, I also want a place to work. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

I want to give a shout out to Borders because that was my second job and the one that, like, I did not. I was not an elbow baby at Borders. I worked in the cafe at Borders and pour one out for Borders, I guess. So sad. Anyway, well, since you brought up a little romance, I will. I will tell a story about my little one. So today. So we have been watching the Avengers movies and we've been watching them over the course of like months.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, sure, there's a lot of them.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, there are so many of them, first of all. And then like sometimes, you know, whatever, she has a sleepover or like we go do a thing. So we don't want, you know, and they're so long, you can only watch them on like Friday or Saturday. There's no like, no. So, so we were going to start and we were like, okay, we're going to watch event. Now I should preface all of this with, I myself did not watch the Avengers movies and have not watched many of the Avengers. I mean, the whole, like, universe, Right. I have myself not watched many of those movies. So we are watching them together largely. But if you have Disney, it lists them in order, right? Like, it's like, this is the order that they were released. This is how you should watch them. Right. You can also watch them in chronological order. But we are watching them in the order they were released. So I was like, all right. Well, it feels like until we shouldn't watch Avengers, we should watch Iron man, which I did. Which I have seen. So we decide, okay, we're gonna start with Iron Man. So we start with Iron Man. And she's very into it.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, it's a great movie.

[Sarah McLean]

Iron Man 2. And she's very into it. And then we started bouncing around because, like, she's also like a 10 year old girl. So like no interest at all in Captain America, which could be hereditary. But like, they're just like all sorts of things. Like she's like, I don't want to watch that? Can I watch that? Can we watch this instead? Like, we watched Dr. Strange. Like, we sort of bounced around. So we watched Avengers 1, and then we, like, have watched some other things bouncing around. And then we watched Avengers 2 Friday night. And it is Sunday, everyone. We are recording on a Sunday. So this morning we're in the car. We have to. She, like, has a class on Sunday. So we, like, we're driving 45 minutes and like, you know what's amazing about almost 11 year olds is like, you can just sit quietly. And then there's like, out of the nothingness comes like, hey, Mom, I have a question. And like, who knows what the that's gonna be, right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

I am well familiar with this.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, you were middle schoolers.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You just are like, whoa, what's about to happen?

[Sarah McLean]

It feels like they've been little. Like their little brains have been like, oh, yeah. Cooking back there in the. In the sun. She says, hey, mom, I have a question. I said, okay, what is it? She goes, who's your favorite avenger outside of their superhero costume? And I was like, interesting. So I was like. And like, we started thinking about it. And so I want you to think about your answer. Okay, let's do that first. And then I'll tell you the end of my story. I will say that I waffled. Yeah, I waffled between two. She was like, I think I know who yours is. And I was like, oh, who do you think? And she was like, I think it's Bruce Banner. And I was like, it kind of is Banner. Like, but I think that's the grownup in me is like, banner's the best choice for a partner. Also, when he goes green, you're like, listen, I don't hate it, but I mean, talk about thighs. Like tree trunks, right? Like when he's hulked out. But then I was like, listen, I'm also pretty basic. Like, I feel like Thor is the answer.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure. Yeah. You know what's funny is I really do. Like, I feel like my answer is like, whatever I've seen most recently. Right. So.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, we were. So we're coming off of Avengers too.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

So there are a bunch of people who aren't in that one too.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

It's definitely not Hawkeye.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. I feel like the funny answer for me is I actually really do like Steve. Captain America.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But I remember being shocked by it because when his first movie came out, I was like, this is going to be so boring. And then I was like, oh, no, it's really good. I really like Kamala Khan, who is Ms. Marvel.

[Sarah McLean]

She's the best.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And that's like, if you haven't watched that, that's like really fun to watch.

[Sarah McLean]

For the record, that is where my daughter and I started, our Marvel experience was with.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And you were like, oh, this is so fun. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And then we watched Captain Marvel, who is also freaking great.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right. I also really like Scarlet Witch, though. And she. This is. I feel like.

[Sarah McLean]

Is that Wanda?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Wanda, yeah. Well, I think what I like about.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't even know their names yet because I just met them.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure. She's just an intense, total badass and she has so much in that Avengers 2 firepower. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, that's a good. That is. That's a good question.

[Sarah McLean]

So here's the thing. So when it was proposed to me, I. I maybe didn't like give you the most. Yeah, like, the vibe was definitely like. Who's like, there was like a crush vibe.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, of course. Right, right, sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And then I. So I answered Banner and then I said, what about you? And she said, I really like Tony Stark.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And you're like, he's a weapons merchant.

[Sarah McLean]

No. And I went, oh, honey, Tony Stark would break your heart.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, yeah, completely.

[Sarah McLean]

And she was like, but he's so clever and he's so. I think he's so handsome.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And I was like, oh, no, that's really funny. Yeah, listen, Robert Downey Jr.

[Sarah McLean]

I know. And then I literally was like, well, we have a lot of like, I was like, I'm gonna show you some movies with Tony Stark when he was young and age closer to age appropriate for an 11 year old. But then also later I was talking to Eric about it and I told him the story and he was like, yeah, yeah. She's like, clearly had been thinking about Tony Stark for a while. Like not just this one movie, but like, yeah, over time. And. And he was like, he. We. I mean, we just, we had this moment where we were like, yeah, Tony Stark is all the things. But also for sure would break your heart. Like, absolutely, please, 100%, please don't go for Tony Stark. But I mean, yeah, she will. When she is our age and she has a podcast, it will be like my sexual awakening was Tony Stark. For sure. We were all like. It was the Fox from.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure, of course, like the Fox from that. Right. Have you. Is she a comics reader at all?

[Sarah McLean]

She. My brother was a very big comics reader and she and my brother would like share them, but since my brother died, she has been like, not as fun to It.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, I will say the reason why we're only just in the Avengers stuff is because it has taken her. My brother died a year ago, and it has taken her a year to, like, be willing to watch a superhero movie.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. Well, I will tell you, if she at all is interested in reading, there are some great Marvel comics with, like, young women. And there's, like, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, but.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, I'm writing these down. Maybe I will. Yeah, coming up.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So there's also. If she likes Iron man, there's Iron Heart, which is like, a young woman becomes essentially like an iron Man.

[Sarah McLean]

Wait, what was that first one you mentioned?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

[Sarah McLean]

And these are all Marvels.

[Jennifer Prokop]

These are all. Yeah, Marvel Comics. But the one that is really, really funny is called Squirrel Girl. The Incredible Squirrel Girl. And it's just, like, such an irreverent, funny comic, like, to read. And I don't know that she appears much in, like, cartoons and stuff or, you know, but, like, as an actual comic, it is delightful. Like, it's all, like, wordplay and, like, there'll be, like, little, like. Like, footnotes that are, like, telling you something about, like, what Doreen is up to. And it's just like. It's great. It's great.

[Sarah McLean]

I'm starring that.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, you should start that.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, we also have another Marvel thing that we wanted that's on the list, which is the Zendaya Tom Holland video that is sure sweeping the Internet.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sweeping. Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

And listen, it's really a lovely moment where Zendaya. I mean, it's shitty, but, like, the paparazzi have cons, like, are cornered her.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And Tom Holland just, like, shoves them out of the way, grabs her hand and, like, pulls her loose.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And Romance, of course, has gone gaga for this. And it was funny because I saw the video only after Romance went gaga for it. And I thought, oh, I wonder what he's gonna do to the paparazzi. And then I watched it and I was like, calm down, everyone. He could have thrown a bunch.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean. Exactly. All he does is pull her away with this. Very nice.

[Sarah McLean]

That's great. Listen, great job, Tom. We don't want you to get arrested for assault. But also, I believe in Roman, and I believe that somebody's going to write one of these and really, like, nail that. Just lay a paparazzi out anyway. But that's very sexy, and you should all go watch that. It's nice.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Here's a good transition. So I did, right before we started, I went to the Discord and was like, last call for if you have a, you know, anything you want to ask us.

[Sarah McLean]

And oh, wait, explain that. We often do this on them. Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So, like, The Discord has 800 million channels because, like, there's a lot going on. But there's. There's one channel, it's called Ask Jenner Sarah. And sometimes it's like just like a business question, but sometimes it's like, literally more of a big question. So I was like, hey, if anybody's around and you have any questions, now's the time for banter. Plus, and here's actually a really good question, which is, do we. This is from Candace. Do we think there'll be a. Okay. Actually, I'm going to read the exact question. Do you all think there's a reason why there has not been a surge in pop star romances? Most. Mostly asking because Harry Styles has a fan base that is just as fervent as Taylor Swift's, but on a smaller scale. And I was like, that's.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, like, notoriously, the idea of you is Harry Styles fanfic.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. But that book was 10 years ago. Right.

[Sarah McLean]

That was like. It was really like One Direction, Harry Styles. I mean, here's what I will tell you in. There was always. If you talk to writers and editors of romance from the 80s 90s and early aughts, they will tell you that rock stars and celebrities were never.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Were unsellable. Meaning, like, you just couldn't. Like, readers weren't interested in celebrities as characters. I do think that that changed. And I think that in. We know. I mean, we know this from, like, books that we have talked about a lot on the podcast. We've done Rockstar episodes. And we, of course, love Kristen Callahan's VIP series.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And Kylie Scott's Stage Dive series.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

So I think, like, there were a lot of those. I think the question seems to be about women, like heroines who are like.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, I guess she. She does say Harry Styles. I don't think we have a lack of male rock star romances.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. But I mean, they certainly are not ascendant.

[Sarah McLean]

You know what I mean? No. And neither are women.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, here's what I thought there was.

[Sarah McLean]

The Zoraida Cordova one. Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, I think that there is.

[Sarah McLean]

A lot of Taylor Swift.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, I think that's exactly what it is. I think that. And I think the Taylor Swift ification. Yeah. But it's not. Here's what I. I don't think there is that much of it that's like straight up thick. There's that one book, the Breakup Tour, that was.

[Sarah McLean]

No, no, no. I don't mean fic rockstar fic. I mean, like, Taylor Swift is a normal person fic.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I guess. I think what it is is like, Taylor Swift as commodity. Like, it's like we're gonna quote the lyrics, we're gonna make the title look a certain way. We're gonna like, wink, wink. I'm a swifty. You're a swifty. But it doesn't really seem to be a big plot point, though I will say to.

[Sarah McLean]

To just like, I'm not just. I'm not discounting that as that is real and authors. Yes. But it's interesting how that's also happening from the readers, like, up. So I'm. My next book, these Summer Storms, which comes out in the summer, is about a wealthy family who live in a, like, large estate on a private island off the coast of Rhode Island. And the moment I announced it, people were like, it's last Great American Dynasty, which is a Taylor Swift song about a wealthy. Like, it's about the people who built her road. She has a beach house in Rhode island that was. Is the most expensive home in Rhode island and was. Before Taylor Swift moved into it.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, it has always been. And it was owned by like a very, very wealthy family and a very, very wealthy woman. And I was like, interesting that instantly readers were like, oh, it's Taylor Swift. Right? When I certainly didn't write it thinking about that at all.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

So.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, no, maybe it is. Maybe it's just. Yeah, well. And I feel like it's interesting because. So I don't know if that's just taking up all the air in the room. Right. Like, I mean, sometimes I feel like the answer is the reason there's not a lot of pop star romances is because everyone assumes that they're going to be Taylor Swift and maybe they can't be anything else or just that. I think for me, I mean, I don't know. I think for me too. I will say I think there's some things that are always a really hard sell, right. And like, so we've talked before about how there's a million dukes, but there's never, like, kings or princes, Right? You know, there's a million billionaire romances, but how many of us actually know a billionaire, right? Like, that's all like, weird fantasy stuff. So I think part of it is too, is like one of the only things that we all know about Rockstar is in Real life is that they're all cheating on. They're cheaters. I don't know. I mean, look at Dave Grohl. So I think part of it is I wonder if it's just, like, a harder sell, you know, like, it had its day, but I don't know. That's a good question. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, but the reality is, like, I think in indie, it doesn't seem to be a hard sell at all.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, both those series are both not recent.

[Sarah McLean]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

I think.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't know. I mean, like, I think there's something very real about celebrity not being as popular in romance.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

As hockey. Weird, right? Because it feels like sports should. They're just as much celebrities.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, so this is like, another interesting question, which is. This one is from. Who answered this? Sorry, who asked this? Oh, from someone whose username is not Sarah, which is funny. Other than racism, do we think there's a reason that sports don't seem to be taking off in the same way hockey has? And I was like, no, I think it's racism.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I think it's a similar thing, though. I mean, here's the thing that's interesting, though, to me. One of the things that's interesting to me, and I've talked about this before, the thing that is different about hockey romances now versus sports romance, classically in romance, is that a lot of sports romance were about, like, men at the end of their careers, exiting. What am I going to do now? I'm 33. Right. And a lot of these sports romances are instead, about, like, very young men. Right. I'm in college. I'm about to go to the, you know, the NHL or whatever. So I wonder if part of it is just like, this is a sport that seems dominated by younger players as opposed to. I mean, I mean, obviously that's not true. Right. Like, every sport is like. But, like, the pinnacle of. I mean, I don't know. I really. I don't think NHL players are celebrities except to hockey watchers. And hockey is the smallest.

[Sarah McLean]

No, I mean, I think.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

You're right. You're right. In fact, as I said it, as you started talking, I was like, actually, like, who is hounded by paparazzi? Like, yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, I mean, Caitlin Clark. Right. I mean, not. Not as a. No. But not as paparazzi. Not like that. You're right. Like, I think she gets lots of.

[Sarah McLean]

Serena Williams is hounded by paparazzi.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. I think it's movie stars.

[Sarah McLean]

I'm not sure that there's anybody. I mean, like, who's the biggest sports? I mean, Serena is the biggest sports athlete. The biggest athlete. Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But I mean, she's not a professional. She's not playing anymore.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean. Okay, so who's the biggest athlete right now? LeBron doesn't have paparazzi following around.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. I think it's movie stars.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't know. Pop stars, movie stars. There's something different about. It's not the same. It's not the same in the zeitgeist either.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't know. Well, here we are, smart people who just don't know stuff.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. Sometimes we don't know. All right, what do we think is going to be trending next year?

[Sarah McLean]

That's from Amanda. Oh, God, I don't know. I mean, it's going to be fantasy. It is. It's going to be romantic. All the books that have been selling, I mean, like, so when I say that, I mean. Yeah, I track because it is my job. Sales, like books like books that are purchased by publishers, you know, and all the big books that are coming out next year in romance are romantasy. You know, it'll still be. Emily Henry will have a book out.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, I mean, like, there'll be lots of people who are regulars who have books out next year, but I don't think it's going to be anything new.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

I think we are in the fan. We are in romantasy land right now. So, I don't know, buy more historicals. But wait, while we're talking about romance dating, I want to talk about Jenny Holiday's Halloween costume.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, my God. It's amazing. I love this woman so much.

[Sarah McLean]

Everybody, Jenny Holiday is having a great year. And the reason why that is happening, I think, is because Joshua Jackson did her audiobook, first of all, amazing. Which listen, no notes on that. That's terrific. And then she went to a. We're gonna. We'll put a link to this in show notes. She went to a Halloween party this weekend and she dressed as a uterus? And the picture of her in all pink.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

With her arms out holding pink. Pink balloons.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right. Well, did you read the Instagram caption about how she had, like, things inside the pink balloons that were supposed to be eggs, but they kept popping? And I was like, that's amazing.

[Sarah McLean]

A Jenny Holiday. The greatest Jenny Holiday. If you haven't read Jenny Holiday books, you absolutely should. We love her here at Faded Maids. She's having a great year. You can also read her in audio with Joshua Jackson in your ears. So.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, sure.

[Sarah McLean]

That is our gift to you. When you're done with this episode today, on the first Tuesday of November.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

Head over and download that book and enjoy the rest of your day.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Do you, Are you a big Halloween family?

[Sarah McLean]

Sarah, we are not.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, I know Halloween just passed everybody, but you know, we are not.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, yeah, I have a pumpkin. I have pumpkins on my thing.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

You know, we have a skeleton. Like you have a child in the United States.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure. Like, yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

You put out a decoration.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

My daughter, you know, is a witch this year. Like, you know, we're fine, but we're not. Like.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, like over the top. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

No. I would ask you, but I already know the answer.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, I'm not super into Halloween. No, not really. Not. Not my favorite. I think I work in a middle school. I think if you work in a school, you just have a different relationship to some of the big candy holidays.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, no, I'm not, I'm not. But right now I am.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I am.

[Sarah McLean]

Mainlining this bizarre romance series. And like, I, I, I gotta tell you about it, Jen.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay, I wanna hear it.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay. So it started because I was reading, I don't know, it started. Cause I was reading something else on ku, just looking for something. As I described it to Eric today, you know, like when you play just, you're just like playing Bejeweled on your phone and it's just like, you're just like, it's just over you.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, it's how I feel. Some people just watch like the Bachelorette reruns, like just, it just washes over you and it makes you feel just like calm and like it's just warm water. It's like a warm bath. Right. For no real reason at all. I have been looking for this kind of feeling this month. And so I have started reading these books. Have you read anything by Evie Rose?

[Jennifer Prokop]

No, I don't think so.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay. So I honestly, I can't, as per usual, I can't name any of the books. But they are all basically about men who run the London mafia.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

But so like first of all, London Mafia. Second of all, all of their names are neighborhoods in London. So it's like, you know, Mr. Kensington and Mr. Mayfair.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure. That's how it works, I believe.

[Sarah McLean]

Camden. Right. They all have names. London neighborhoods. Give it like that's, those are their actual names. And they all appear to run like businesses. Like they all, they're most many of these are assistant boss. Boss assistant romances. Which everybody knows is like my thing.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Garbage for it. For sure.

[Sarah McLean]

Some are age gap romances. There's a lot of breeding in these books. I mean, there's just a lot going on in here that's like, you know, ku.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But also kidnapping Unlimited to you, Sarah.

[Sarah McLean]

Kidnapping unlimited. No, but they're not. But. No, but these are not dark and like, you could not.

[Jennifer Prokop]

No, this is like I told you.

[Sarah McLean]

They are mafia romances. But they're. They are not mafia. These are billionaire books, by the way. All of these men are billionaires.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

From mafia business. And like, these men work in businesses where, like, they go to work every day in the mob. Quote.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

But like, they have marketing departments and like, big meetings about, like, stuff.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

This is like Enterprise Holdings. Mafia. Enterprise Holdings Ltd. Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And then like, assistants are all like research assistants or like, I don't know what they're hired for. It's confusing to me because they all work in like, high rise buildings, but, like, their job is mafia.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

This. Ken's job is mafia. And I have to tell you, I have now read like, four in a row.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And I can't tell you why except that I'm like, you know, really enjoying myself just like casually reading these.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, I think that that is sometimes how it goes. Right?

[Sarah McLean]

These are. And yeah, and they're just like, yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sometimes that's just how it goes.

[Sarah McLean]

And they're all like. They've all been wildly in love with their assistance for years, of course. And then something happens. Like the one that I just finished.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I for sure read one of these.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay. Okay, I'm looking at these now.

[Jennifer Prokop]

For sure.

[Sarah McLean]

The one that I just finished. She. He. She thinks that on. On Wednesday afternoons. Like, he. She's like, I don't know what he does, but he's never in the office. And so. And because, like, the job is mafia, there isn't like a ton of paperwork or anything. So, like, when he's not there, she doesn't have anything really to do, I think. And so.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Wait, can I quote the Wire for a minute? Stringer Bell being like, motherfucker, are you gonna take notes on a criminal conspiracy? There's no paper in the office. No. Just makes sense. What's she doing?

[Sarah McLean]

I don't even know. So she's like, I just. He's not here on Wednesday afternoons. So I just like, read my dirty books. Right. Like, I read my romance novels and she's reading, like, basically like Ice Planet Barbarians. It's not named, but like blue aliens and humans and like, breeding Right. And so she's like, so I'm just gonna, like, be here and, like, you know, read my Ice Planet Barbarians book. So she's like, you know, like, all of us. She's reading Ice Planet Barbarians at work. She just decides she's gonna masturbate, like, just in the cube.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, what else could you possibly do? Makes sense. Sarah.

[Sarah McLean]

Totally normal. Who among us? So she, like, starts to masturbate, and then all of a sudden, he, like, materializes behind her, and he's like, hello? And she's like, oh, shit. My, like, hot silver fox boss caught me masturbating at my cube. To Ice Planet Barbarians at work, like, during the workday. And he's like, I think we should go inside my office and talk about this in, like, that stern, like, Mafia daddy way. And then, like, they go into his office and he closes the door and he's like, why don't you sit over there and continue to read your book and masturbate in the privacy of my office while I do some work?

[Jennifer Prokop]

You know? Remember how I was like, I really like these Cynthia Sachs books. Yeah, for sure. There is one called the Good Assistant where this plot happens.

[Sarah McLean]

The same plot where. Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, I don't know if it was Ice Planet Barbarians because it predates it. But same, same, same energy. Like, she's the assistant. He does not do Mafia. He does real estate. Same energy. Kind of.

[Sarah McLean]

What could she possibly be doing while he's out of the office?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right? I mean, and so he comes back and, you know, catches her.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't know. I don't know, everyone. But I'm just saying, I'm not hating these.

[Jennifer Prokop]

The problem with books like this is.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, it's the first Tuesday in November. Everyone.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Whatever.

[Sarah McLean]

Leave me alone.

[Jennifer Prokop]

The problem isn't that you can't enjoy these books is that, like, you. It's like, eat. It's back to, like, eating candy.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And you're like, yeah, these are going down great. Everything's awesome. And then you just hit the one, and all of a sudden, you're like, on the third word of page 40th, and you're like, I gotta stop right now.

[Sarah McLean]

No, I see. I'm done.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. You know, just gotta know when to stop. That's all. Amazing.

[Sarah McLean]

All right, what else? I have one other thing.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Wait. You were gonna tell me about a TV show you were watching but then got distracted by Mafia Job? Mafia Job?

[Sarah McLean]

TV show I was watching.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Maybe I made that up.

[Sarah McLean]

I think you were making that up.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay, maybe I got confused.

[Sarah McLean]

I did Post a thread. The other day. Oh, Jen, here's a question.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay. I have a question for you. The other day, I was in. Where the fuck was I? The gynecologist's office. All good stories start here.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

So I was there for my annual. And I was waiting in the, like, waiting room, and there was, like, you know, music playing. Muzak playing. Except it wasn't Muzak. It was Eric Carmen's Hungry Eyes from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, obviously. And when I tell you, Jennifer, I was catapulted back to your own sexual awakening. Like, I just. I mean. Yeah. But also, like, I have never. I don't think I have ever in my life had such a, like, visceral.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Return to puberty.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

As I did in this moment.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

My Dirty Dancing tape. Cassette tape was played out.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

With, like, every single song from that soundtrack. Like, I can. I can name that whole soundtrack. I can sing every word of that soundtrack. And here's my question for you. Is there a soundtrack that I feel that way about?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. You loved, I would say. Yeah. Cause soundtracks were a big deal.

[Sarah McLean]

I owned this. Eric, who is a music everybody. Eric is, like, a musician. He's like, a real person who cares about music. And it enrages him that when we, like, got together and our CD collections kind of merged.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Basically, all of my musical knowledge is like, one song from a soundtrack.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, yeah, completely. Well, that's. Cause that's the thing is, like, there's no Spotify. And so discoverability. You had to, like, be like. Okay, that was on a cool soundtrack. Right. Like, otherwise, you just heard the same top 40 stuff on the radio station that everybody else heard.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So that was, like, a big deal. I would say. There were two. The Footloose soundtrack was a banger. Come on.

[Sarah McLean]

Sure.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And again, same thing, like, where I'll hear one of those songs and be like, Pretty in Pink, I will go ahead and say, is, like a. Oh, interesting.

[Sarah McLean]

Sure.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I'm a little bit older than you, and that was like, a really big. That was a really big soundtrack because it had, like, a cool New Order song. I didn't know Shell Shock on it, as opposed to just like, you know, Blue Monday.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, like, for a long time, the only David Bowie song I really, like, really knew was Fame from the Pretty Woman soundtrack.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And then I. Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, I am a little embarrassed to admit that I learned about Dusty Springfield from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, well, that soundtrack is a banger.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right?

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, every single.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Every song.

[Sarah McLean]

Truthfully, Quentin Tarantino, as I think we've discussed, is like, a very big problematic fade for me. And like, all of his soundtracks are just terrific.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. You know, it's really funny because I was thinking about this too, because you earlier mentioned, like, last week's Ice episode about. Yeah, I see Dead People episode and I forgot that one of. So one of the things I like, said in that episode was just like, I do not do body horror. I don't do corpses. And I had forgotten, like, a big reason why was the Madonna video for oh Father. And I don't know if you remember this video, but I. In this video, there's a little girl who like, runs up to like, a coffin with a body in it, and she stands up on the step stool to look at it and she sees that, like, the lips are sewn together. And I really was like, oh, no. Exactly. And so a lot of my. And I.

[Sarah McLean]

It's funny, that thing. I will confess, I have never been to an open casket, so I don't.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, well, I have been to quite a few. I don't know if that is true.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't know, Sarah, they Do they have to hide the seam? Come on.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I listen all just talking about it. Okay.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't know. It's fine.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But I'm just telling you, like, it was funny because I was like, where does this come from? Like, this really, like, strong. No, thank you. Feeling about, like, working with the bodies of the dead. And I was like, I think a Madonna video. You Madonna?

[Sarah McLean]

Sure.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Madonna, though, had great videos.

[Sarah McLean]

God, don't say that. Madonna is. Okay.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, no, of course. But in this one way, you could. You didn't have to go that hard. You didn't have to go that hard. Madonna.

[Sarah McLean]

Madonna was an artist.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, right.

[Sarah McLean]

And so we all just. We all just lived in her world.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. I mean, the Dick Tracy soundtrack, believe it or not, has a couple of amazing moments.

[Sarah McLean]

Here's the truth about Dick Tracy. Now we're really. Listen, everybody. I hope you're enjoying this. We're really giving you a full banter experience.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

First of all, I. When I was about 15. No, probably younger, 13 or 14, because. Okay, here's the difference. Now that I have a child, what's shocking to me is how much is available to kids, media wise, in the sense that, like, when we sit down on a Friday night, like, we didn't have to go to Blockbuster to pick a movie. Like, we're not like, starting. If it's 8:15. We're not starting 15 minutes into the Poseidon Adventure with Shelly Duvall. Like, her name wasn't Shelley Duvall. This is gonna bother me, but. But it's a different Shelley. So the. You know. But you know what I mean? Like, you know, like, watching you, like, get to pick the movie you want to watch.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

So it wasn't like that when we were young. And for some reason. No. I know why my dad was obsessed with, like, Turner Classic Movies. Like that. That was a. Like, if there wasn't sport. If there wasn't, like, Italian. If he couldn't get Italian. Soccer, Right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Or football on a weekend, he would have. It would be Turner Classic Movies. And so there were a lot of movies that, like, I have seen most. Yeah, like, I've seen a lot.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, I've seen it. I've seen Turner Classic Movies.

[Sarah McLean]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And I was, like, obsessed with Warren Beatty because young Warren Beatty was a snack.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, it was. Old Warren Beatty was, too, to be honest.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, no shit. Right? And so, like, kind of like a legend for lots of reasons. So, like, I had. I watched every Warren Boot. Every Warren Beatty movie. I had pictures of Warren Beatty on my walls. Like, young Warren Beatty, like, he was. Him and Marlon Brando. Right. Were like snacks. It's diff. Listen, I know about Marlon Brando now, but I didn't know about Marlon Brando then.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So you've known.

[Sarah McLean]

Just good looking. And so when Dick Tracy came out, it was like, oh, my God, Warren Beatty is, like, in a real movie now. That's like, kind of for me. And then, like, watching him and Madonna and then, remember, they dated, like.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, yeah, right. Of course.

[Sarah McLean]

What a time.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Listen, that was the time of, like, that was happening when she made that movie.

[Sarah McLean]

Yes, the Madonna documentary.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. Right. Which I have seen at least a million times.

[Sarah McLean]

Of course you have. I had the book, man.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Who didn't? I did not have. My friend Sean did in college, and we were all like, whoa.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, I had the book. I don't know why my parents would like, okay, whatever you want. I was the third child by 10 years. They were like, look.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You're like, sure.

[Sarah McLean]

Are you alive? Are you breathing? You're fine. What can I do for you? All right. I also have one other thing that I want to talk to you about.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay.

[Sarah McLean]

So I forget what was happening, but the fade of mates account put something on threads.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay.

[Sarah McLean]

Seven Deadly Sins maybe was the episode.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay.

[Sarah McLean]

And somebody replied. And I don't think you saw. I literally cut it to paste it into a text to you. And I was like, no, I'm not gonna do this. I'm saving this for banter. Because they replied. And the suggestion in the reply was so wild to me that I was like, I have to talk to Jen about this.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, okay, I'm ready in person. Probably not ready.

[Sarah McLean]

This person was like, I have started listening to more episodes of Fated Mates. I really just started by only listening to the Derek Craven Day episodes.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Fair. I was like, I appreciate that.

[Sarah McLean]

What an odd collection of episodes. Like, what I envision is this person just like every February 4th is like.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It'S Eric Craven Day.

[Sarah McLean]

It's time to see what these bitches are up to.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I still listen.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, our wackiest episodes.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Maybe that's what's so great about it.

[Sarah McLean]

And now she's like, but I. The seven Deadly Sins. She listens to the seven Deadly Sins episode and was like, this is good. I guess.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I guess I could do other ones. I've got to tell you, the one we had with Kate during the pandemic, that is probably one of my all time favorite episodes. Like, I laugh every time I listen to it. Like sometimes I. I know that sounds stupid, everybody, but sometimes I'm like, what is. What's a surefire banger that's going to make me laugh? I'm like, yeah, and me about something. I love Derek Craven.

[Sarah McLean]

That is the Derek Craven would Never episode.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

Where we just like ask, would Derek Craven share his cake pops with you? Absolutely.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, but he would also be like, what the fuck is a cake?

[Sarah McLean]

Be like, why is this not a cake? This is twee.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Maybe we should revisit that. Because we're always like, now, like, what should we do for Derek Craven Day? You know, like, we could never top it. But remember the year that you remember the year that you were just like, we're celebrating quietly at home and I.

[Sarah McLean]

Was like, a answer into this house on Derek Craven Day. And I was like, Jen, I. Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I can't do that.

[Sarah McLean]

I am literally moving into a new house. We can't do this. So we. We celebrated quietly.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Some people get like a big car with a bow on a big holiday. You got a house. Well done on a holiday.

[Sarah McLean]

For those of you who don't know, our proudest achievement here.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

If you Google is not many of the things that we have been doing this year. It is. The fact that we invented a holiday is that if you. If you Google Derek Craven Day in Chrome, go. Will tell you.

[Jennifer Prokop]

In Chrome? Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Is it just in Chrome?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, I think so. Everybody else is like, that's not Real chrome is like, boom. Let's put it in a box and put it up at the top point of order.

[Sarah McLean]

I do not have chrome. Oh, so it is not chrome. Let's see. Well, maybe right now. Maybe Craven Day.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay. See?

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, no, it doesn't at the top of Safari anymore. But it used to say Derek Craven Day is February 4th anyway. But it does pop up immediately. Derek Craven day is 24 24, which is.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, I mean, that's a big. Come on. Amazing. Honestly, amazing. Wait.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, but while we're doing this, we started with Punky Brewster.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, yeah, sure.

[Sarah McLean]

Hang on. Punky Brewster. Soleil Moon Fry. Yes, obviously. God, if I would not have been able to pull that out.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, no, not at all.

[Sarah McLean]

She.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I wouldn't. This could go terribly wrong. I just don't think we should be Googling celebrities from our childhood.

[Sarah McLean]

No, there was a Punky Booster reboot during the pandemic. See, who knew On Peacock, Everybody. So head over there and do that. She voices a Bratz doll.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

No, no.

[Jennifer Prokop]

See, this is why everybody. To answer the question, you can't have a pop star because they're not going to be famous forever.

[Sarah McLean]

And now you're left wondering, child star, too. I didn't realize this. She only two years older than me.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, she was like.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, no, she.

[Sarah McLean]

I'm sorry. Everybody to report. You know, she does. She gets work, though. She's a voice in the proud family, which is a show that people really like. But yeah, anyway.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, I mean, just like sometimes. Listen. Sometimes I think about like Winterborns, you know, the department store, and I'm like, it's out of business now. It's just like at a dead mall surrounded by parking lots.

[Sarah McLean]

Don't you think it's more like. I don't know. That feels like. It's like Bloomingdale's, doesn't it? Like, feels like in the Claypus. In the Claypus world.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, I'm just saying, capitalism goes for everybody. Capitalism comes after all of us sooner or later. Sarah in Winterbourne.

[Sarah McLean]

We were supposed to keep this up. We're not doing that. Anyway, we love you. Even if you only listen to the Derek Craven Day episodes.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And you wouldn't have. You didn't listen to us today. I don't know what to say about that.

[Jennifer Prokop]

She, like, doesn't even know we were talking about her.

[Sarah McLean]

But if you did enjoy this, you can get this whole experience.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

Once a month, if you join the [e-mail]. patreon.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

What else. Is there anything else we want to say?

[Jennifer Prokop]

No. Good luck to everybody.

[Sarah McLean]

We recommended other podcasts. I recommended this, like, Mafia Business People series.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure. Yes, you did.

[Sarah McLean]

Head to the show notes for whatever we said we'd put in show notes. And then if you really. If you want to, like, just go talk about books with somebody else, head over to the Patreon and join the discord.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, exactly. And then, you know, tomorrow we'll be back with our mermaid episode. Super fun. Special guest. Special guest. And then, yeah, we've got great episodes through the end of the year. I'm really excited. We've.

[Sarah McLean]

I've been reading a lot.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, me too. Me too. A lot.

[Sarah McLean]

And it feels like. It feels like school when you get to this level. You're like, oh, God, I have to find books to talk about. But actually, the episode that comes. What is it? Next week's episode.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, yeah, that'll be fun.

[Sarah McLean]

1. I'm already reading for and really enjoying it.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So I've also been, like, trying to come up with, like, some new strategies for, like, when we, like, plan in advance. Like, then I, like, kind of do my research, and then I, like, make a little collection on my Kindle and put the books in there so that I can kind of just be like, all right, hey, I've got to read. Blah, blah, blah. I've already done this work. Now I just have to, like, check these books out. So we'll see what happens.

[Sarah McLean]

Everyone, this is Faded mates. I'm Sarah McLean. I'm here with my friend Jen Procop, and you can find us usually on Wednesdays, but today's Tuesday, and we love you a lot.

[Jennifer Prokop]

We do. We do. Good times ahead.