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 role of pop music in Disney Channel's success (Samantha Mumba!), and get all the tea from our favorite 90s and 2000s shows and DCOMs. And last but not least, we can’t help but touch on how things have changed since our Zoog Disney days—from modern media consumption patterns, the implications of binge-watching, and the loss of monoculture. And don’t forget to check out Ashley’s book below! Enjoy.

Read Disney High by Ashley Spencer: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250283450/disneyhigh

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TAGS: Ashley Spencer, DCOM, Disney, Interview, Guest, Disney Channel, High School Musical, Zac Efron, Hilary Duff, Hannah Montana

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 episode of IUM discusses Seth and Jenna Wright, Ballerina Farm relatives who were formerly known as @whiteshantyathome, and their home construction project that grew their social media following in 2019-2020 due to sharing the process of building an unusual but grand English manor-style home made entirely of limestone by hand in Utah. They appeared to pour their hearts and souls into creating their “little piece of England” on a homestead in Utah, where they planned to raise their seven homeschooled kids (and Scottish Highland cows that matched their aesthetic). But one night in August 2020, everything they worked for went up in flames in the blink of an eye, and the half-finished custom home they built themselves stone by stone was destroyed in a matter of minutes by a house fire. What happened? What details did we miss about that tragic night due to their not explaining more until they went private? Why did they nearly disappear from social media for the past four years? Why are they back now? Is it to share their latest renovation? Or because they became known for posting far-right conspiracy theories the last time they were active in the fall of 2020? Tune into this BTI5 deep dive to see what we can find.

If you like this series, call or text 775-HEY-BETH to nominate your next influencer mystery. No topic is too light or heavy, whether an active account abruptly went dark, a friendship had a falling out, or a normal-seeming person went from zero to zealot faster than you can say, “Do your research.” The goal isn’t to drag anybody, but to have a watering hole for those of us who were chronically online before it was a term and check in on the bloggers and influencers of yesteryear we obsessed over, how they relate to current issues, and revisit their stories through a comedic, critical, and [where warranted] compassionate lens.

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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 publisher. They discuss some LOL and heartfelt challenges about new motherhood, like the shift from infant to toddler, Lyndsay’s tips for meeting mom friends, and Kate’s formal apology to the wine mom community. They then dive into topics related to Lyndsay’s new book of poems, ‘A Bit Much,” and meander through topics like snacks, nostalgia, quirky inventions, and childhood hobbies (among other topics) and end with us offering up some options for Taylor Swift-related food and drink wordplay for your next themed party. Enjoy!

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