Talk Straight

This week Alicia talks to Emily Higgins from the Tasteless Podcast about songs that define movie scenes and the movie soundtracks that stick with you. Over on our website, we've compiled a video playlist of 20+ tracks we talk about here, and you're just not ready. These are some of the coolest moments in popular films from the '80s to today, set to some of the best songs ever. Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion? Yup. Footloose? You bet. Practical Magic, Cruel Intentions, Miss Congeniality, Almost Famous, Pitch Perfect, and a lot more. Plug in your headphones and wander down memory lane with us. Thanks so much to Emily for joining Talk Straight this week – she was instrumental in helping us getting the pod off the ground. Tasteless is a fun and insightful pairing of a well-regarded movie with one that's perhaps garnered less respect – and which she thinks you should watch instead. Check it out!

Beautiful lushes, in today's daydrinking episode, Alicia and Stacie lily-thought-pad-hop through middle age, and our appreciation of a stellar weather update site and tips for hosting happy wedding guests. If you've been following the weather at all, you know we're all in trouble (East Coast listeners only). We have a little chat about the Internet's weather sensation: Mike. At Mike's Weather Page on Facebook, and his website spaghettimodels.com, Mike has been keeping us fully informed and on the edge of our seats as Florence has made her weird approach. Stay safe, friends.  Then, we talk cash bars at weddings – and drinking at weddings in general. All the tips!  We tipsy-stumble upon an idea to open a liquor shop called Weer & Bine and chat about the ways people can avoid dropping their life savings on booze at their weddings without pulling all the way back to a cash bar.  We also mention DD-Alt.com, a "designated driver alternative" that we think is in beta in the Atlanta-area only rig

No one bitches on a holiday Monday - least of all us! In this week's episode, Alicia and Stacie continue to suffer September's high Georgia temps. Alicia reminisces about Back to School editions of 17 Magazine, and Stacie talks about brewing a cream stout.  Football started! And Alicia is very, very happy with how all that went down. We give you the least stats-based Week One wrap-up you're likely to hear anywhere (EXCLUSIVE!) and celebrate Auburn's "struggle win" against Washington.   Then, we take some time to celebrate Atlanta on Labor Day Weekend. It's the best weekend of the year in our fair city - Dragon*Con brings out hordes of cosplayers, Black Gay Pride is in full celebration, the start of football brings flocks of fans to the city's yard, and the Decatur Book Festival lights up the lit set. It's a really wonderful weekend, year after year.  Then, Stacie goes on an approximately factual explanation of the IPA style - the classic India Pale Ale of British origin - and how hops t

Alicia and Stacie sit down with an old friend, Billy the Barrister and Political Operative, possible Future Governor of Georgia (he has our early endorsement). A practicing attorney who worked on his first political campaign at the age of 12, we talk for a few minutes about how campaigns have changed in the post-2016 landscape. But mostly… we talk football – and bourbon!  Billy is a UGA alum and passionate Georgia Bulldogs fan. Alicia lives her split life as an Auburn kid who went to Georgia, and she has some questions about Georgia's (allegedly) easy schedule this year, particularly when compared to Auburn's much tougher one. They chat about it, getting pretty deeply in the weeds about scheduling, lower-tier teams who are secret powerhouses, and all sorts of victory/loss combos that could lead a team to the post-season. Alicia gives up an update on her jury duty experience in our midroll. Spoiler: she wasn't selected, but strangely, she had a great time. After the break, Alicia and Billy reminisce abo

Welcome to a special bonus Saturday edition of Talk Straight, because Alicia is FIRED UP about college football's return one week from today. In an effort to utilize the Grand Marnier we purchased for Suffragette City, we're sipping Tequila Sunrises (more or less) and talking all things Eagles – the band and the Auburn Tigers football team, which for some reason has the rallying cry "War Eagle." We don't understand either.  After some '70s and '80s music nostalgia featuring the Eagles and Michael Jackson, we get into it about SEC Football. Alicia shares some pro-tips on the rules of football, and Stacie asks pointed questions about Auburn's last few seasons. One of the big things we miss in the off-season: Weekly videos from comedian Jermaine "Funnymaine" Johnson, who hilariously captures the highs and lows of Saturday on the gridiron in the south.  Alicia and Stacie relive some of their favorite moments from recent Auburn football seasons, notably the 2013 Iron Bowl when the Tigers pulled

This week, we celebrate the 98th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which delivered unto women the incontrovertible right to vote in the United States. In the process, Alicia and Stacie marvel at the calm, even boring America they're living in under the government of the first woman president (hey, it only took 96 years!).  What's a Lucy Stoner? It's an old-school name for a feminist and then became the name for married women who kept their maiden names. Alicia and Stacie realize they are both Lucy Stoners!  Alicia shares stats about the amazing number of women seeking political office in 2018 (it's big, y'all), and the number of women currently serving in the House and Senate (it's small, y'all. This year is our chance to do better).  In the second half, we remember Aretha Franklin, share a listener story from an eagle-eyed Aussie who might just have saved someone else's relationship, talk about the Agnes Scott College 1966 College Bowl defeat of Princeton, and share a little about some of our

Do you like history? Then we're really sorry for all sorts of things we get wrong in this episode! But it's an exciting one all the same. We celebrate International Cat Day by tasting and exploring the history of Holland's spirited spirit Genever, with a bottle by Lucas Bols & Co. Founded in 1575, we use the experience to take a tipsy tour of the history of the liquor, how it eventually moved to England and became Gin, and mention some other stuff that was happening in 1575. We reminisce about our travel to Amsterdam, the deliciousness of stroopwafels, share the tale of the worst cab ride ever, and sigh about our jaunts through art and liquor museums. Stuff to check out:  House of Bols Cocktail & Genever Experience Van Gogh Museum MOCO Madonna of the Cat

It's Alicia's birthday week - she's been doing some birthday celebrating - and we're back with a quick episode for you because... wait for it... we seem to have caused a run on White Claw Hard Seltzer. (Seriously, beautiful lushes, leave some for us!)  This has forced us to sample various other similar brands, including Truly and Mighty Swell. We rank them, but also issue a general warning for parents of young children when it comes to these seductively flavored products.  We give some shout outs to listeners (thank you, as always). And we're actually researching and planning for next week's episode. We'll take a journey to Stacie's ancestral homeland, the Netherlands, and sample Bols Genever, a forerunner to the spirit we know and love as gin.  Stuff we talk about: Boise's goat infestation - note this amazing NPR headline: "Kids these days: Unruly goats graze hell across suburban Boise." A little girl tells her teacher that her dad grows weed. Dad films a video of the girl explaining.&

Alicia and Stacie sit down FOR SCIENCE! to investigate the hot new drink craze sweeping the nation: White Claw Hard Seltzer. In this - our 25th episode - we take one for the team and delight ourselves in doing it through a delicious four-flavor taste test. We talk Alicia's birthday month, college football, the upcoming election, and new analytics that our podcast host unveiled for us. Oslo, we love you back! Alicia names our forthcoming cat colony (keep working hard, family members!) and talks about her "Meowseum" series of paintings. Check our social media for pictures. Stacie gives an update on her Harry Potter reading and movie watching and Alicia wonders whether probiotics fight with antibiotics. Bottom line: White Claw is unexpectedly great, and we are big fans. Give it a try if you're looking for a tasty, refreshing, low-grav summer drink. And, if you're willing to risk a next-day headache, make yourself a low calorie margarita knock off with White Claw Natural Lime and a splash of tequila. It was

It's Alicia's birthday month - which just means that everything has gotten very hectic. In this Talk Straight quick hit, Alicia sits down with Stacie to flavor-rank Seagram's Wine Coolers, as well as consider the ways that Seagram's may have come up with those colors. Are smurfs involved? Is smurf blood involved? Maybe. Probably? Then Alicia introduces us to Clare Bronfman, heiress to the Seagram's fortune and former leading member of the NXIVM sex cult. Two words for you on this one: $100,000,000 bond. She probably should have called her dad years ago, but instead she apparently dumped $150,000,000 into this garbage sex cult. To balance out this "rich person behaving badly" story, she also shares the heartwarming tale of Susan Unterberg, a New York photographer who inherited a considerable amount of money and has been anonymously granting $25,000 awards to women artists over the age of 40 for the last 22 years. In total, Unterberg has granted more than $5.5 million to women artists. Talk about making a diffe

Hello, you beautiful lushes! This week, Alicia chats over ye olde internet with the fabulous Justine from the Disney's Follies podcast! They talk grandparents and the weird experience of watching your own parents transform into grandparents. Justine tells us about Disney's Follies, which will be dropping its Cinderella episode soon, and these two Disney superfans compare notes on favorite Disney movies (and cocktails appropriate to them, natch). They plan out a future crossover of watching Disney's "The Story of Menstruation" together, and we're soliciting your period stories! A conversation about Jaws-related injuries recalls a long-ago snow day in Georgia. Justine attended the most sadistic and atmospheric screening of Jaws we've ever heard of, by the way. Texans, man. Alicia received a summons for jury duty, which has thrilled her true-crime loving heart to no end. She shares her Ultimate Family Jury Duty Story, which may or may not have banned her family from the jury duty pool in their home county for li

After all the fun we had with our Red Velvet Colon bonus episode, we asked Brett to return and to bring his awesome wife Alicia. Yes, we had two Alicias in the studio. Listen in for an assortment of stories, including the time Brett suffered an Underroos trauma and ended up in front of a social worker, how Alicia's niece dealt with a malfunctioning wand, reasons not to watch The Walking Dead on the night shift, how to (not) deal with dangerous animals who've stolen your home, what happens when a perfectly preppy suburbanite lands at Grady Hospital after a night at the bars (hint: she'll never return to Atlanta), delivering first aid at a 5k run by doctors, how EMS helpfully promotes tourism to our fine city, using Hogwart's Houses to figure out your placement on a trail hike, and The Paramedic's Trash Pocket. Also: be careful about your ringtone selection if you ever go to work in a hospital. Seriously. Thanks to Brett and Alicia for being silly with us. We love you both. No signature cocktail this week, but

Oh, the Lemon Drop. So delicious and so simple, at least until the peanut gallery chimes in with suggestions like "Set it on fire!" In this week's episode, Alicia commits to finally reading A Wrinkle in Time for our drunk book club on Patreon. We give shout outs to the podcasts Tasteless with Emily Higgins, Disney's Follies, and I'm Horrified, while giving further discussion to periods, teen angst, and Disney's pathbreaking "The Story of Menstruation." Jana worries about the sinkholes that have opened up in her street, and we ponder the wisdom of purchasing an Alexa device. (We've craftily bleeped out all mention of "Alexa" so we don't make yours do anything.) We talk more about "Angel Shots," which is a coded way to let your bartender know that you need help extricating yourself from a creeper. Seriously, talk to your favorite bartenders about it and spread the word. Alicia shares some favorite memories from TV's Friends, and Jana admits to missing the Friends boat a bit. Stacie owns a Chewbacca onesie (this

While you can expect a little chiding about the taste test gone r-o-n-g and being left unattended, this week we drink the delicious Daiquiri and Jana tells us some of the murky history of this venerable beverage, all while we muse about pirate jokes, hopeless students, summertime pregnancy, watching Tinder dates, and the fact that drunk girls and lady bartenders are always your best friends. Alicia shares a story from a long-ago summer session at college and Jana tells us about bartending another person's blind date. Plus, we answer (or do we?) a listener question about overrated alcohol and share a listener story about some velour booze smuggling, too.  A genuinely worthwhile thing Jana and Alicia discuss: "Angel Shots." Talk to your local's bartenders about this so they'll be ready if anyone orders one.  Want Talk Straight stickers? The next seven listeners who send us stories about smuggling booze into places (or, really, any cool booze stories) to talkstraightpod@gmail.com get stickers! Just inc

INDEPENDENCE DAY EMERGENCY BONUS POD! Not so fast on your holiday shenanigans, you beautiful lushes! Before you get down with your bourbon and fireworks, listen to Brett, our paramedic friend, share some of his favorite stories from his ambulance driving days. Some are gross, some are furry, scaly, and even feature feathers, but they're all really funny. Brett also shares tips for surviving the 4th of July, hangovers, and gives us a handy primer on the EMT difference between "assess" and "assault." For longtime listeners, sit tight for the previously referenced "Fuzzy Navel story," which Alicia swore would never make it onto the pod. Never say never! Big thanks to Brett for coming on and sharing. We'll have more of his stories available on our new Patreon page later this week - check it out at patreon.com/talkstraightpod. Stuff Alicia and Brett talk about that you may want to check out: Syrian Refugees Arrive at Vancouver Hotel Hosting "VancouFur" Furry Convention. SWEETNESS ENSUES! (This really was a feel-go

Look out world, we're all back together! It's time for a bit of coffee talk - with Bailey's, of course. Jana and Alicia catch up about what-they-did-on-summer-vacation, including Bonnaroo hits, nakedness, and near misses, beach disappearance shenanigans, Alicia solving the Jon-Benet Ramsey case, and a heck of a lot of chiding about last week's Flav-o-Rong rule breaking. Take a break from the headlines with us and get "Wild Thong" stuck in your head!

This week, Jana leaves Alicia and Stacie unsupervised to drink... wait for it... a selection of Bud Light Lime's canned "o-Rita" series, in our first Talk Straight taste test. Lemon-Ade-Rita, Peach-a-Rita, Mang-o-Rita, and Straw-Ber-Rita. It didn't exactly go well. Jana chastised us via voicemail, which was more than appropriate, and we learned why Talk Straight's drinking rules matter. Hit us with your angry defenses of canned margarita knock offs at talkstraightpod@gmail.com!

Welcome to the Origin Story! This week, we share our first-ever episode, recorded back in March, for your listening enjoyment. Vacation is just about over and we'll be back with a fresh pod next week. Hit us with your questions/stories/drink recipes/musings at talkstraightpod@gmail.com and check us out wherever you get your social media. 

This week, we dive into our vault to bring you an episode where Alicia and Jana sat down to record a two-minute teaser for the pod, which turned into a classic Talk Straight gabfest. Topics include meeses, rats, and the best advice you can give yourself, all while we drink Crown and Diet Cokes. Enjoy this vacation episode while we enjoy our vacations! Subscribe, rate, and review, and as always, listener questions and stories to talkstraightpod@gmail.com.

Oh, the Aviation - a classic, gin-soaked, sky blue, pre-Prohibition cocktail that was lost for decades for want of a single flower of a liqueur. Some say it spearheaded the resurgence of American cocktail culture, others say it tastes like soap. Step back, haters! We love the Aviation, and this week, Jana fills us in on the history of this amazing cocktail, we muse about life, love, and ghosts, and we open a box. Hm, what could that be about? Keep your stories and questions coming at talkstraightpod@gmail.com.