Episodes

Kate's under the weather but over the moon to do some nostalgic reminiscing about staying home sick as a kid with a bed pillow on the couch, knowing exaggerating symptoms may be wrong but at least she got to watch The Price is Right. Then, she crowdsources wellness related Old Wives Tales/urban legends, and fact checks them live on-air, like if wet hair in the cold makes you sick, you shouldn't swim after you eat, or if cracking your knuckles makes them bigger. News you can use! Sick! SUPPORT O...

In this episode, we're joined by Ashley Spencer, author of Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire. She shares her four-year journey researching Disney becoming the choice tween TV channel, and shares details from her interviews with former executives and cast/crew members, like the infamous Hilary Duff and LaLaine fallout or how the Zac/Vanessa High School Musical romance came to be IRL. We explore Disney's internal culture and show development, the r...

This week, inspired by the nostalgic TV masterpiece (excl. reboot) on Lifetime, Unsolved Mysteries, Kate introduces a (maybe?) new series she's testing called "Influencer Unsolved Mysteries," where she wants to deep dive into niche influencer lore, specifically times when fans/followers have been left with unanswered questions or presented with mysterious explanations for something that wouldn't usually be our business, but they told us about it first and it's their literal business. The first ...

In this episode, Kate opens by talking about top-of-mind things for everyone, like P. Diddy's indictment, Sabrina Carpenter's album, and if she actually cut her own face-framing layers this weekend. Then she invites her friend, author, and beloved IG poet (@maryoliversdrunkcousin) Lyndsay Rush on the pod to talk about a variety of things, like Single-White-Femaling each other's lives and careers, e.g. having babies within a day of each other and books come out the same year with the same publish...

Kate recaps the new Hulu series, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Will MomTok survive this episode??! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here! Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH! Want to send a text to Kate or leave a voicemail she might read and Right now, Hungryroot is offering Be There In Five listeners 30% off your first delivery and free veggies for life. Just go to Hungryroot.com/BETHEREINFIVE, to get 30% off your first delivery...

In the season 1 finale, Kate decides she should have another season after over 6 years of not realizing she was still technically in season one of Be There in Five, then delves into her candid experience with motherhood she's promised the main feed for the last year. Enjoy a follow-up from Childless Mill, some cheesy mom thoughts about cuteness aggression & having no chill, practical tips about L&D, surviving months 1-3, and feeling surprised by her social identity, among many other discussions ...

This week, Kate explores the Ballerina Farm article heard 'round the World Wide Web and reacts to the Times UK profile of homesteaders Hannah Neeleman and her husband Daniel, who run a picturesque farm in Utah with their eight children. Kate high-level examines Neeleman's portrayal of farm life, the influence of their Mormon faith on gender roles, how that lack of context likely made the article more inflammatory to a secular audience, and discusses the complexities of claimed empowerment in our...

This week, Kate is joined by Hannah Berner, comedian and host of the popular podcasts Giggly Squad and Berner Phone, and the star of her new Netflix special, We Ride at Dawn. Broadcasting from a studio in NYC, Kate asks about her trajectory since reality TV, the flawless burnt amber matching set outfit choice, navigating the male-dominated stand-up scene, and the importance of centering niche female humor in mainstream spaces. They also discuss the pressure women face in their 30s, the ever-pres...

This week, we're joined by two friends of the pod, Sami Sage (Betches Co-Founder) and Emily Amick (@emilyinyourphone) about their book Democracy in Retrograde (released 7/9). The discussion focuses on how to spark civic engagement amid increased societal polarization, challenges in public civic life, the importance of making civic duties enjoyable, and how digital lives influence political participation. From pivotal issues like minority rule to voter suppression, Sami and Emily offer practical ...

This week, Kate is deep-diving into America's Sweethearts, a docu-series about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which recently debuted on the heels of a canceled reality show Kate had a love/hate relationship with (but watched for 16 seasons): Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team. Victoria's interview starts at ~1:00:00 In the first hour, Kate reviews the docuseries solo and gives her lukewarm takes about their choice to give up production control, her deep-seated fear of Kelli McGonagi...

This week, we've got a highly anticipated podcast crossover—Jac Vanek, Becca Tobin, and Keltie Knight from LadyGang join Be There in Five! The discussion journeys through their early days of rebranding (IYKYK) to classic millennial nostalgia and the not-so-hidden issues that accompanied some of our favorite pastimes. They discuss dance culture's economic and cultural challenges, the problematic nature of early internet culture (looking at you, AIM chat rooms), and interactions with celebrities f...

This week, Kate is answering listener voicemails, like dishing on the culinary delight of buffalo chicken wraps while exploring the dynamics of grilled vs. breaded chicken. Then, she discusses how she thinks people conflate data about screen time overuse with general screen time use and rants about not buying into the "mom guilt." She also delves into hot pop culture topics, including Taylor Swift's chart strategies against artists like Billie Eilish and Charli XCX, and revisits Olivia Rodrigo's...

This week, Kate critiques the stagnant nature of traditional Father's Day gift guides and compares them to the rapidly changing trends for women like "office siren," which leads her to snorkel through the current male microtrend: having a "rat boy summer" or taking on a "rodent boyfriend." She also discusses how aggressive the gals on TikTok are getting about items being on sale and reflects upon why she's being followed by a product called Bovine colostrum. Then, after a detour about irreverent...

This week, Kate is solo and snorkeling through some of the latest and oldest of topics, like time. She warms up by wandering through things like grandfather clocks, the true crime history of the Magdalene Laundries (aka "Maggies") in Ireland, Harrison Butker's speech, lyrics where people quote Taylor Swift but don't realize she's quoting someone else, and ponders why we treat punctuality like it's an inherent virtue to the human condition when people had no way of knowing the precise time until ...

This week, beloved #1 best-selling author Emily Henry (Beach Read, Book Lovers, Happy Place, etc.) is back for Millennial Ennui: the Sequel to chat about her latest romance novel, Funny Story. Kate and Em Hen (she delusionally thinks they're BFFs/on a nickname basis) talk about a variety of topics, from gift shop enthusiasm to the characters we problematically root for in RomComs, to the prevalence of fudge in touristy areas. They also discuss female friendships, what it's like behind-the-scenes...

This week, Kate's chatting with co-author of the audiobook The Art of Small Talk (also actress, comedian, host of The Deep Dive podcast), Jessica St. Clair. Jessica shares her personal experience with the gift of gab and gives advice about the art of casual conversation, with topics ranging from how to be friendly with neighbors to stories about pleasant celeb run-ins. Overall, a joyful interaction that is essentially a celebration of the joys of everyday interactions. Enjoy! SUPPORT OUR SPONSO...

This week, Kate interviews podcast listener and NFL WAG Haley Pepper, who shares her experiences with a lot of BTI5 adjacent topics, like pageants, Bama sororities, and being in a relationship with a professional athlete. She discusses the misconceptions and realities of this lifestyle, including the lack of job security, the high expenses, and the pressure of constantly moving and adapting, along with the challenges of motherhood. Enjoy! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book,...

This week, Kate is joined by NYT bestselling romance author Carley Fortune (Meet Me at the Lake, Every Summer After) to discuss her latest book, dropping on May 7th, This Summer Will Be Different. They discuss Carley's former "RomCom job" as an editor at Refinery29 Canada and her pivot to becoming a romance writer, the importance of strong female friendships and real experiences represented in literature, and why Prince Edward Island may be the next hot vacation spot. They also touch on literary...

This week, Kate crowdsources stories about attempting to, getting away with, or getting caught consuming age-inappropriate content as a kid and reads brave and inspiring stories from pop culture champions who fought for lyrics that weren't clean and movies only suitable for ages over thirteen. From tales from the locked-and-loaded thumbs on the 'back' button of the remote control to the trials of the photocopiers and/or printers of the lyrics to "What's Your Fantasy," to the tribulations of thos...

First impressions of Taylor Swift's 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. See Kate and her sister Kelly's live reactions in 4 parts on patreon.com/bethereinfive if you're in the crowd and screaming MORE! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here! Use my link butcherbox.com/BETHEREINFIVE and use code BETHEREINFIVE to get $20 off your first order. That's butcherbox.com/BETHEREINFIVE and code BETHEREINFIVE. Get 20% off your first order of Liqui...

This week, a magical marvel of a solar event stuns the world, and Kate and Caroline can't be bothered to go outside. Instead, they take a look into their mirrored furniture and do some self-reflection, such as why we always think the current version of ourselves participating in lightning-fast trend turnover is "timeless." They also discuss various topics like avoiding popular movies and tv shows that will bum them out, fast furniture, SoulCycle music, etc. At one point, Kate goes on a rant abou...

This week, Amanda Montell (linguist and bestselling author of Cultish) is back on the pod for the first time since the LuLaRoe deep dive. This time, they're discussing Amanda's new book (out April 9) called The Age of Magical Overthinking, which explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking. Broadly defined as the belief that one's internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world, the book (and this episode) examines topics like...

This week, Kate is joined by Cassey Ho, best known for her blog/brand/YouTube channel Blogilates and also for being CEO and lead designer behind her apparel line POPFLEX. As the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Cassey's non-negotiable, pre-destined career path was medicine. Despite her dream of becoming a fashion designer being severely suppressed, she found her way out of biology and into design and fitness influencing in the heyday of YouTube and now has amassed millions of subscribers and f...

This week, Kate solo snorkels through a variety of topics, including but not limited to: Power ranking Ms. Rachel songs Calculating how much money she probs makes Hand-slapping campfire songs as millennial folklore 2000s songs with a maybe problematic cultural flair The Giving Tree is not the vibe Minor controversies with Ms. Rachel's troupe Olivia Rodrigo Concert People don't understand Plan B A Frito Pie/Traveling Nacho hangover Hero school cafeteria lunches Dodgeball as a torture m...