Tag: Social Media

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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! 

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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! 

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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! 

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Episode 32: Adventures in Social Media

With the launch of Meta’s new social networking platform, Threads, we dedicate this week’s episode to the good, the bad, and the ugly of social media.

As Twitter circulates slowly down the drain (taking TweetDeck with it, apparently), we discuss the toxicity of that platform and whether Threads is a viable alternative. We also talk about the relationship between Threads and Instagram, our own various social media accounts, and learning how to deal with trolls — including one very angry, unemployed rage-aholic from Torrence, California — without losing your mind.

And speaking of our various accounts, you can follow us on: 

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! 

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