Kristen Meinzer is an overachiever. She currently hosts three podcasts, has authored three books (including a book on podcasting), and regularly delivers lectures and keynote addresses. In this episode, Kristen speaks with Mary Payne about her podcast, By The Book, in which she and her co-host, Jolenta Greenberg, experiment with different self-help books.

By The Book

Kristen and Jolenta are former co-workers living in New York City. Kristen is a culture critic and Jolenta is a comedian. In 2017, they decided to combine their talents and perspectives to create the By The Book podcast. Over the course of six seasons, Kristen and Jolenta have read and completed two-week trials on over 50 self-help books.

Kristen notes that some of the most helpful themes distilled from their self-help trials have included gratitude, living in the moment, and self-love. She notes, however, that many books are unhelpful, especially those written by upper-class white males who are disconnected from the largely female audience of self-help books.

In a recent season, Kristen and Jolenta focused exclusively on the first-edition of books written over 50 years ago. The results were hysterical--and demonstrated the drastic way our values have changed over the decades. Some of these older generation self-help books included “How To Win Friends And Influence People” and “The Joy of Sex.”

Spin-Offs From By The Book

In 2019, after receiving messages from listeners requesting more hands-on interactions, Kristen and Jolenta created the We Love You (and So Can You) podcast, in which they prescribe self-help guidance to guests. In this makeover-type show, Kristen and Jolenta use their self-help knowledge to develop a two-week “self-love trial” for guests, who make audio diaries of their experiences.

Kristen and Jolenta also recently published a book called How To Be Fine, which distills their lessons learned from their self-help journey of the By The Book podcast.

A Host of Other Podcasts

Kristen has also co-hosted several previous podcasts, including When Meghan Met Harry (which celebrates the monumental Royal Wedding), Lisa, Sandra, and Kristen Go to the Movies, and Movie Date.

Currently, Kristen and Newsday film critic, Rafer Guzman, host Movie Therapy, in which they “prescribe” movies for listeners facing certain issues or challenges. This podcast has picked up steam in recent months, with listeners having more free time to watch movies during these COVID times.

You can catch up on all of the Payne in the Pod episodes, here. Become a patron to receive even more exclusive content from Mary Payne including in-depth conversations that you won’t find anywhere else!

Podcast Recommendations:

Trashy Divorces

What A Creep

Spectacular Failures

Find Kristen at kristenmeinzer.com, where you can find her books, podcasts, and social media platforms.

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