Be There in Five

This week, Kate has a grab bag of an episode, combining some current pop culture updates with some of the hotline questions from the past month. This episode discusses Meghan & Harry's vulnerable interview, the public backlash, and Kate's thoughts on if privileged people can publicly complain. Beyond that, she answers listener voicemails about a variety of topics: from who ate the muffins and a few other sorority related questions from the deep dive, to handling one's emotions at work and the trick she has for getting herself out of ANYTHING, to her favorite 90s foods, to discussing how to become an influencer and pitch brands, and also dives into what to do if you know someone is cheating on a friend. She also follows up re: if Kelly has ever been set up from the podcast. Beyond listener questions, a variety of other topics are covered as usual, but even more exciting, instead of ads this week, Kate uses the air space to talk about her listeners' favorite non-profits, causes, and charities and you'll learn about how to get involved with some truly incredible organizations.

This week, Kate sits down with Katelyn James, of Katelyn James Photography (@katelynjames), who is a force in the photography world, an accomplished entrepreneur, an educator to thousands of aspiring creatives, an influencer (not by trade, but through her brand's following) that prioritizes transparency, and last but not least, she also was Kate's wedding photographer in Italy in 2017. In their second hangout ever (first being Kate's wedding), they walk through a broad range of professional and personal topics; such as starting, sustaining, and scaling her business, building a community and client experience, dealing with slow growth periods, learning how to slow down and step away from all-consuming self-employment, projects that did and didn't land, transitioning her work from photography to education, and her million dollar idea that has Kate rethinking her entire career because it's genius. Following that, they have a discussion about her (former) and Kate's (current) fears about having children when there's already not enough time in the day, what has and has not changed with motherhood, and then have a meaningful conversation about influence in a much different way than has ever been discussed on this podcast. Katelyn shares how she draws boundaries as it relates to how much of her real life she puts on social media, talks about finding impact and purpose through difficult seasons, and then discusses the importance of sharing her son James' story to honor his life and give hope to other families enduring an unthinkable loss. This is truly a special episode with an incredible woman; you will marvel at her honesty, openness, and insight, and understand within minutes why Kate has been a KJ superfan for the better part of a decade.

This week, Kate dives into her favorite stories sweeping the internet. First, a sober, yet wild (but not really?) blogger bachelorette party that has us all looking in a mirror and wondering, why are we morally repulsed by the notion of a party bus while sober? And who is Kate to talk when she nearly lost her mind on a bachelorette party tractor mere days ago? Followed by a discussion of the savage instagram investigation held by Coleen Rooney, who is now being dubbed WAGatha Christie, due to her clever approach for calling out a fellow WAG for leaking stories about her to the press. Followed by a bizarre Facebook rabbit hole Kate found herself in that involves a cheater named Clayton and his maybe stepsister Lacy, but most importantly, it all goes down at a Chili's. Here's to hoping it does not, in fact, get his baby back.

Welcome back! For part two of our trip down memory lane (or if you went to VT, Oak Lane), Kate reads submissions from listeners about their standout stories from the time they were in a sorority. Some are funny, some are incredibly difficult, and some are sweet, but overall Kate wanted to showcase a wide range of experiences as it relates to the very different experiences that can occur depending on school, chapter, members, and leadership. Commentary and occasional anecdotes are shared by Kate, from her time as a clergywoman in the sorority, to a few awkward interactions with sisters, to a heartwarming experience she had that was a turning point. All in all, an interesting cross-section of experiences from actual listeners of the podcast who were kind enough to contribute their stories. If you have a story to share, send it to podcast@bethereinfive.com and Kate will share along with the extras she didn't get to on Patreon. Enjoy!

This week, Kate looks under the (sister)hood. A former, nay, forever (it's not four years, it's FOR LIFE!) sorority girl herself, she loves to reminisce and laugh about the years where we took standards more seriously than the FBI, where we wanted to dance like no one was watching but unfortunately council was watching and if both feet weren't on the ground you were on social probation. To muse about a time where there was no currency more important than being hot, no crime greater than stealing someone's food in a late night drunken racoon rummage, and no greater challenge than enduring the painstaking hours, high heel wearing, aggressive clapping, and syncronized chanting during the week of recruitment. The first episode sets the stage, talks about sororities in general, goes through how recruitment works, discusses some of Kate's experience as an extension from Ep 52 "Ween Pics," and a few stories from listeners are told. In part 2, Kate will be telling the rest of the listener stories and detailing the submissions about inappropriate sorority/frat/philanthropy t-shirts from instagram submissions. All in good fun; every school, every sorority and every chapter is different, and this is far more a deep dive into what happens when a large group of young women are thrust into an organization with a ton of rules during the peak age of no one wanting to follow rules. Enjoy! This episode is brought to you by FabFitFun - use code bethereinfive at checkout via fabfitfun.com for $10 off your box of full-size products worth over $200 for just $49.99! #fabfitfunpartner

This week, Kate starts by trying to explain to everyone the anatomy of a current pop cultural phenomenon called a VSCO girl, but inevitably gets a bit sidetracked by the soundtrack to her teen years, largely spearheaded by Dashboard Confessional. She walks through what the VSCO girl trend means, how to spot one, why it's confusing, and why it's basically a lot of stuff we've all been wearing this whole time, albeit a lot less annoyingly. She intertwines the analysis with reminiscing about her sickest AIM away messages using emo band lyrics designed to really strike an unrequited crush where it hurts. She also makes an argument for resisting dismissing all things pumpkin and general Autumnal joy as "basic" when it's popular for a reason: it's cozy AF. Then she pivots to talk about Rachel Hollis and her two very popular books, "Girl, Wash Your Face" and "Girl, Stop Apologizing," and how advice that relates to highly situational finances and levels of privilege paired with misguided advice about mental health is, at times, a concerning formula for the most popular self-help book in recent years. Following that, Kate reads her listeners' submissions for their most embarrassing Facebook album titles in high school and college and has a good laugh at her listeners' expense, or should she say her "SKANKZZZZ" expense. Enjoy! This episode is brought to you by Helix sleep - go to helixsleep.com/bethereinfive for up to $125 off your purchase!

HOTLINE: 312-379-9676 Questions answered in this episode: -How do I make friends as an adult? The bulk of the episode, Kate talks about how difficult this has been for her and shares some stories about her experience trying to find BFFs in a life stage not very well suited for BFF making. She also details her experience with social anxiety and how to work through some of the nerves as it relates to these get togethers. -How does Kate trace back her tangents? What's a trick of editing vs. stream of consciousness? -A wedding etiquette question - am you obligated to go to a wedding for a person you're not that close to anymore? -Topic request: Lenovo picking influencers & T Swift Paris concert -Does Kate have a prediction for the fate of legacies on this season of DCC: Making the Team? -Does Kate think the drunk Taylor pictures were released as album promo? -What are some activities/ways I've made friends as an adult? Plus plenty of commentary peppered in about other topics! Enjoy!

We are so excited to have Merritt Beck (The Style Scribe, Sussex Style Watch) back on the podcast to discuss what's been going on with Harry & Meg since we last recorded together. Starting with some musings from Kate about Disney one-hit wonders, to the inevitable Princess Diaries discussion that happens when anything royal is brought up, to what they didn’t cover as it relates to Royal news from the summer, followed by Merritt's piece that starts around the half hour mark. From there, Kate and Merritt discuss the scandalous stories, like Wimbledon's no-photo policy, a non-"boastful" British Vogue cover, the Christening, and 4 private jets in 11 days, to the some of the wins, like her SmartWorks collection for charity, we discuss what's happened during this summer that's been particularly rough press-wise for MM. Even better, Kate and Merritt go off on a number of tangents, from discussing Kaylor, to what it's like being in a relationship and having a public job, to Kate's head nearly exploding when she hears about Merritt's introduction to society. A well-rounded pop culture palate cleanser for the books. Enjoy!

On this episode of Be There in Five's Under the Influencer Series, Kate talks to Grace Atwood, the blogger behind The Stripe, who is also a content creator, podcast host, avid reader, and most recently, proprietor of the Amazon nightgown movement. Listen as she and Kate drink wine and discuss her career path, days at Bauble Bar, how she got started on her blog, transitioned from working with influencers to being the influencer, rebranding her blog, and how she got to where she is today. Beyond that, she also tackles other frequently asked questions (that are seldom answered), such as, complaining about DMs and PR mail, caring about getting verified, how removal of likes would impact her business, and perhaps least importantly answers an age-old (pun intended) question, has she REALLY never had botox? Yep, that's what we call a teaser folks. Enjoy!

On this week's episode, the most requested guest of all time graces us with her thin ankles and presence. Comedian, actress, and Instagram icon Heather McMahan joins Kate to talk Instagram stardom, mesothelioma, college, being southern, sororities, the friend zone, confidence, relationships, body image, wellness, and more on this bucket list episode for Kate.

Part III dives more into scandals and tragedies, as well as some recent events that have been hot topics, as well as some listener submitted favorite anecdotes from internet rabbit holes. Topics include quick engagement turnover, as well as other stories involving bloggers such as Freckled Fox, Ashlee Swenson, Shannon Bird, and more. In this series, Kate dives further into her most requested topic of all time. While not an expert, she's been a reader/fan/critic of many bloggers over the past decade. This episode is a stream of consciousness examination of the world of influence and specifically, as it relates to the (apparent) prevalence of Mormon/LDS mommy bloggers in the fashion/lifestyle/beauty blogging world. A lighthearted look at Kate's obsession with many of their impossible good looks, sprawling new construction compounds, lowkey business empires, seemingly well-behaved children, and consistent fresh blowouts, along with a deeper look at the implications of this (perhaps) intentional projection of perfection that lies within a faith that (seems to, from her research) prioritize appearances.

Part II of the Mormon Mommy Blogger series (used for continuity, now aware name has changed) is designed to go through listener feedback from Part I, correct some inaccuracies, and bridge to the next episode by separating the culture of the church from the doctrine of the church as it relates to the stereotypes surrounding many Utah-based bloggers. Kate also responds to a blogger who was discussed in episode 1 that reached out to her after listening to the episode and also discusses surprising news from another blogger as it relates to her growing brood of children. She also revisits questions after reading more information from scripture and conferences, such as, how much pressure is put on women to have kids? To marry young? What was the feedback like from people within the church who have felt both embraced and unwelcome as a result of decisions in their personal life? Additionally, she goes through some of the dark implications of intolerance as it relates to LGBTQ individuals' rights to be in relationships, marry, etc. and what studies have been done that link youth suicide rates to areas with a high concentration of church members. Part 3 will dive more into scandals and tragedies, as well as some recent events that have been hot topics, as well as some listener submitted favorite anecdotes from internet rabbit holes. Not intended to offend or condemn, rather connect the dots related to questions surrounding the zeitgeists' current fascination with public facing bloggers that happen to be a part of this church, and listener feedback is read in this episode in order to ensure that fairness is delivered in terms of the accuracy of church teachings, even if interpretations are, well, up for interpretation. All stories are grounded in information shared or ascertained from actual events on the blogger/influencer's individual pages, social media, or other properties and all opinions expressed are Kate's own unless otherwise noted as a quote from thechurchofjesuschrist.org, the Benjamin Kroll study, or listener e-mails.

A sleepy but necessary run-through of my first impressions of the 14 songs we had not yet heard on Lover. I love logging these thoughts because they tend to change so drastically as I listen more and more. Please consider this a bonus episode as opposed to a well-thought-out deep dive, as this was a last-minute decision but one I could not ignore, given I'm so thrilled with the outcome of this album. It was Lover at first sight!

A quick intermission in between LDS Mommy Blogger deep dives (the second one takes more research) but I didn't want you to be without an episode this week! Answering listener questions from the BTI5 hotline while nursing an accidental hangover (which makes for a lot of weird commentary?) and covering a myriad of topics from general current pop culture, 90s music, Bravo-related, Taylor Swift related content!

On this episode, Kate dives into her most requested topic of all time. While not an expert, she's been a reader/fan/critic of many bloggers over the past decade. This episode is a stream of consciousness examination of the world of influence and specifically, as it relates to the (apparent) prevalence of Mormon/LDS mommy bloggers in the fashion/lifestyle/beauty blogging world. A lighthearted look at Kate's obsession with many of their impossible good looks, sprawling new construction compounds, lowkey business empires, seemingly well-behaved children, and consistent fresh blowouts, along with a deeper look at the implications of this (perhaps) intentional projection of perfection that lies within a faith that (seems to, from her research) prioritize appearances. Part 2 will dive more into scandals and tragedies, but this episode starts with the ties of core Mormon values (in the words of journalists and listeners who are current and ex-Mormons) that may lend themselves to blogging success, and how these women are shaping the influencer realm, one butler's pantry at a time.