Posts

Posted on

Episode 47: Garland Jeffreys — 35mm Dreams

In this week’s episode, we first talk about San Antonio and its famous River Walk, which is a great place to visit. If you’ve never been there, check it out.

But we spend most of the episode discussing last weekend’s trip to the Milwaukee Film Festival to see a documentary about our good friend Garland Jeffreys. The film is called Garland Jeffreys: The King of In Between. Garland’s wife Claire — also a good friend — wrote, directed, and put the film together with the help of editor Evan Johnson. 

We’ve talked about Garland and this documentary before, but this was our first opportunity to see the film in a theater with Claire. We also spent time with Claire and Evan before the screening, which was great. We talked to them about making the film and Claire’s life with Garland … and some other famous people.

This week’s episode also goes into how we got to know Garland and Claire and the many times we saw Garland perform over the years, from a street festival in Chicago in 2012 to his farewell performance at City Winery in New York in 2019. 

And we talk about brisket sandwiches. Which all ties together. You’ll see.

Anyway, it was such a special experience to share with Claire after all these years and we had a great time recapping the whole thing. 

So, we encourage you to see the film if you can and to get to know Garland’s music. You won’t be disappointed.

We hope you enjoy the show, and please feel free to follow us on Instagram (@jenn_and_dave). You can also follow us on the site formerly known as Twitter, where our joint account is @JennandDave1 and the podcast account is @itsotetPodcast. Until next time! 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted on

Episode 46: Music for All Occasions

We take the title for this week’s episode from a 1995 album by one of our favorite groups, the Mavericks. But more on that later.

We start out with an update on our local walking club, which we joined a few weeks back despite some initial … hesitation. Turns out, it’s been a lot of fun and we’re glad we joined. Then we discuss our upcoming schedule. We will be out of the box for most of May, going to our youngest child’s college graduation followed by yet another trip to Ireland. 

At least we have excuses this time. And we’re telling you up front!

After that, we circle back to last week’s topic — mental health. And, in particular, how to manage your mental health on social media. This week’s story begins with an infamous comment by an infamous billionaire author who’s made it her life’s work to trash trans and nonbinary people, and what happens to normal people when they push back. We talk about the positive side of social media (that it can give you a voice when you feel like you don’t have one) and the negative side (that angry mobs will try to silence you if you challenge their narrow-mindedness). And then we talk about the strategies that work for some of us: Don’t engage the haters. Instead, go ahead and block them, mute them, and leave conversations to protect your own mental health. These strategies may not work for everyone, but they give many of us peace of mind while still allowing us to have our say.

We then turn to much happier topics: Seeing the above-mentioned Mavericks in concert this past weekend for what is at least the sixth, if not seventh, time. From the first time we saw them at a small club in the Chicago suburb’s touring in support of their 1994 LP, What a Crying Shame, to this most recent show, they’ve never let us down. Their music spans country, rock, blues, and Latin, but it’s all universally fun. And they’re fantastic musicians, which doesn’t hurt. They also have a new album coming out called Moon and Stars which will be available on May 17. We’re really looking forward to that.

Finally, we talk about an interesting new album called Petty Country: A Musical Celebration of Tom Petty. As the name suggests, the album consists of twenty covers of Tom Petty songs by a diverse group of country artists, including Chris Stapleton, Luke Combs, the Brothers Osborne, Willie and Lukas Nelson, Margot Price, Wynonna Judd, Marty Stuart, Steve Earle, George Strait, and Rhiannon Giddens. We’re not entirely sure what to expect, but we’re looking forward to giving it a spin.

So, we hope you enjoy the show, and please feel free to follow us on Instagram (@jenn_and_dave). You can also follow us on the site formerly known as Twitter, where our joint account is @JennandDave1 and the podcast account is @itsotetPodcast. Until next time! 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted on

Episode 45: April Is the Cruellest Month

So, we were off for the past three weeks due to illness — not COVID, but each of us had bad colds that interfered with podcasting and life in general. Fortunately, we’re more or less back now. Until the next thing happens.

In this week’s episode, we first talk about the bizarre weather we’ve had over the past few weeks, including torrential rains, gale force winds, and, yes … snow. Which, to be fair, is not all that unusual in April in this part of the world.

We then turn to the thirtieth anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death, which came just three years after the death of Dave’s brother under similar (but not identical) circumstances. Which leads to a conversation about whether this time of year may have a negative affect on some people’s mental health. After all, April, as T.S. Eliot famously said, is the cruellest month (that’s his spelling, not ours).

From there, we have an extended discussion about mental health and our own journey with it. We don’t, of course, offer unsolicited advice (as so many people do!) other than to say that each person has to deal with their mental health in the way that makes the most sense for them. We simply encourage people to deal with their mental health as they deal with their physical health: Take it seriously, talk to your doctor or other health professional, consider the options, and, most of all, take positive steps to control the things you can control.

We hope you listen to this frank and personal discussion, and please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section. We hope that, by talking openly about these issues, it will encourage others to share their experiences — or just give some serious thought to their own mental health and what they need to live happier lives.

Finally, we talk about George Constanza’s weird obsession with death and how to be more philosophical about it, and we chat briefly about NCAA basketball tournament season, the women’s final (which had not yet taken place at the time of recording), and Illinois’ women’s team winning the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament. 

So, we hope you enjoy the show, and please feel free to follow us on Instagram (@jenn_and_dave). You can also follow us on the site formerly known as Twitter, where our joint account is @JennandDave1 and the podcast account is @itsotetPodcast. Until next time! 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted on

Episode 44: Celebrating 29 Years

On this week’s show:

  • So, we joined the local walking club (as promised on last week’s show), met some new people, and got t-shirts! It’s kind of like being in a gang.
  • We also talk about cursing on social media, and Jennifer lets the expletives fly.
  • AppleWatch vs. iPhone — which measures distances better?
  • Making small talk with strangers.
  • It’s our anniversary! Or it was, anyway. Twenty-nine big ones. So, we reminisce about honeymooning in the Bahamas, St. Patrick’s Day on the beach, lessons in mixed drinks, tuning into the NCAA tournament on a transistor radio, (not) snorkeling off Treasure Cay, and … Chris the Burner. (You can see him perform here.)
  • Finally, we recommend the David Letterman U2 documentary on Disney+, Bono and the Edge: A Sort of Homecoming (again!).

So, we hope you enjoy the show, and please feel free to follow us on Instagram (@jenn_and_dave). You can also follow us on the site formerly known as Twitter, where our joint account is @JennandDave1 and the podcast account is @itsotetPodcast. Until next time! 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted on

Episode 43: Virtual Reality

On this week’s show:

  • Crazy weather in the Midwest, from a high of 71º to a spate of tornadoes to bitter cold and snow. It must be spring.
  • Our (or Jennifer’s?) guilty pleasure: Reality TV. We talk about how it all started with the PBS show called “An American Family,” the evolution of shows like MTV’s “The Real World” and “The Challenge” (a modern day Rollerball), and the guiltiest of all pleasures: “90-Day Fiancé.” We also talk about Jennifer’s online friendship with Darcy, our beef with “Catfish,” and where we draw the line … (hint: no “sister” or “brother” spouses, please).
  • How weird it is to move to a new subdivision as old people and have to make new friends, and Jennifer’s solution: A local walking club (which *might* include mall walking) and … secret t-shirts?
  • Plus: the old days of marathon training; our version of March Madness (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.); looking forward to warmer weather … eventually; keeping in touch with kids in college; and college graduations, past and present.

So, we hope you enjoy the show, and please feel free to follow us on Instagram (@jenn_and_dave). You can also follow us on the site formerly known as Twitter, where our joint account is @JennandDave1 and the podcast account is @itsotetPodcast. Until next time!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted on

Episode 42: Channeling Difficult Emotions

Since we rebooted our podcast, we begin this week’s show discussing topics we plan to cover going forward, including familiar themes such as LGBTQIA+ rights, family, and music, and new(ish) themes like cooking and physical and mental health.

From there, we discuss the tragic death of indigenous nonbinary teenager Nex Benedict after a brutal attack at a high school in Oklahoma, and the range of emotions their death evokes: anger, rage, frustration, despair. But, more importantly, we talk about how to channel those emotions in a constructive and positive way, because losing hope is not an option.

To that end, we also talk about an important fundraising project we are involved in: the annual Lambda Legal Bon Foster Civil Rights Celebration in Chicago, which takes place on Friday, May 10, at 6:30 p.m. Central at the Art Institute. Please consider joining us if you can, and, if that’s not possible, please consider making a donation to Lambda Legal, one of the country’s oldest, largest, and most successful legal organizations fighting for LGBTQIA+ Americans and people living with HIV.

Above all, to paraphrase the late, great Joe Strummer of the Clash, we urge everyone who’s feeling justifiable anger today to turn that anger into power.

So, we hope you enjoy the show, and please feel free to follow us on Instagram (@jenn_and_dave). You can also follow us on the site formerly known as Twitter. Our joint account is @JennandDave1 and the podcast account is @itsotetPodcast. Until next time! 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted on

Episode 41: The Reboot!

Yes, it’s been awhile since we posted our last episode on October 1, 2023. We’ve had a lot going on since then (mostly, the holidays) and we’ve given a lot of thought to whether we should continue the podcast, due in part to some of the flak we get online. But, in the end, we decided that we’re not going to let the haters dictate what we do and say.

So, we’re back. And this time we mean it.

Anyway, in this episode we talk about dealing with abuse on social media without losing your sanity. We’re not policing anybody’s posts, but sometimes the best thing to do is to simply not engage. You can mute the abusers, block them, or simply ignore their comments and get on with your life, but there’s no real upside to fighting with them. Post whatever you want, but consider what’s the sanest and best approach to dealing with people who get bent out of shape — because no matter what you post, it’s pretty much guaranteed that somebody’s going to get bent out of shape about it.

On a lighter note, we also talk about traveling back to Ireland (our third trip in three years) to see Bruce Springsteen again (for the second time in two years). Last year, you may recall, we split our time between Dublin and Sligo; this year we’re splitting our time between Dublin and Cork, Ireland’s second largest city. Should be a great trip!

So, we hope you enjoy the show, and please feel free to follow us on the site formerly known as Twitter. Our joint account is @JennandDave1 and the podcast account is @itsotetPodcast. Until next time! 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted on

Episode 40: New Cars and New Jobs … Part Two

Hey, we made it to forty episodes! (In, like, a year and a half. But still.)

Anyway, in this week’s episode: when you podcast it, it comes true. Last episode we talked about getting a new car and Jennifer getting a new job. This week, both of those things happened.

We also talk about public transportation, the upcoming Garland Jeffreys documentary, Garland Jeffreys: The King of In Between, the return of summer and the last pool weekend of the season, vacationing in the Bahamas, Illinois football and the upcoming Homecoming game, bad sports fans, and … winter is coming.

So please enjoy this week’s episode, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, and, as always, support the rights of LGBTQIA people everywhere! And follow us on Twitter at @itsotetPodcast and @JennandDave1.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted on

Episode 39: New Cars and New Jobs

In this week’s episode: An update on the firing of Kris Martin, a local teacher whom the Homer Glen, Illinois, school board let go for … suspicious reasons (you can sign a Change.org petition here). 

Also: Weaponizing mental health. Car talk. Driving stick shift. Working remotely vs. working in the office. Remembering 9/11 and what became of America (note that we recorded this before the anniversary of 9/11). 

And, from threatening to sue the ADL to siding with Russia, Apartheid Baby continues to be the worst. 

So please enjoy this week’s episode, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, and, as always, support the rights of LGBTQIA people everywhere! And follow us on Twitter at @itsotetPodcast and @JennandDave1.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted on

Episode 38: Happy Labor Day!

On this Week’s episode: a rambling conversation about everything from the holiday weekend to running races and training for marathons to … Martha Stewart? 

More importantly, we discuss the Texas Supreme Court’s ill-advised decision that lets the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors take effect despite the overwhelming weight of scientific and medical evidence to the contrary. And, on a related note, we talk about how the “parents’ rights” movement isn’t about parents’ rights at all, but interfering with your rights as a parent. We talk about the Canadian doofus who goes by the name “Billboard Chris,” the anti-queer cult’s complete misunderstanding of “consent” in the context of minors’ health care (hint: parents always have to consent to health care for their kids), and the limited (but obvious!) circumstances where parents lose the right to make decisions for their kids.

Finally, a couple of notes: First check out our friend Jesse Jackson’s appearance on the Bella Grayce Podcast where he talks about dealing with family members’ substance abuse and the uniqueness of losing a sibling. Second, we briefly revisit the firing of a local queer teacher over social media posts and the new GoFundMe to support him. Please consider making a donation!

Anyway, please enjoy this week’s episode, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, and, as always, support the rights of LGBTQIA people everywhere! And follow us on Twitter at @itsotetPodcast and @JennandDave1.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download