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Episode Summary
Sam, Zara, and guest Katie Beach (@katiebeach, content creator and co-host of Just Us Girls) go deep on the Summer House three-part reunion — and they are not letting anyone off easy. From the Amanda and West emotional affair and beta blocker gate, to Kyle's financial situation, Ciara’s dignity, and West's pattern of gaslighting women of color, this episode covers every layer. They also get into GLP-1 culture postpartum, raising sons in the age of the manosphere, and why Bravo is genuinely a sociological study in disguise.

Episode Description

Sam and Zara are joined by content creator and Just Us Girls podcast co-host Katie Beach for a full Summer House reunion autopsy — and honestly, we have so many questions that still aren't answered.

Do you believe nothing physical happened between Amanda and West? Because we don't. We're breaking down the beta blocker situation, Amanda's persistent victim complex, the way she said "you don't deserve a friend like me" to Ciara (girl — wrong direction), and why West Wilson may just be the most dangerous man in the room precisely because he performs feminism so loudly.

We also talk about: Kyle's DJ era hitting different now that we know about the $2.9M loan, the Raquel/Ariana parallel that is impossible to unsee, why the Plan Bree podcast about West's friend is sending us, and what it actually means that West gave Amanda everything he told Ciara he wasn't capable of giving — after two years.

Plus: raising sons after watching this reunion (terrifying), being postpartum in a GLP-1 world, why Bravo fans are actually the most intelligent women in any room, and our predictions for what happens next with Amanda and West. Spoiler: Sam thinks they're getting married. Katie thinks Kyle and Amanda are getting back together. We're all just waiting.

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Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/

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This week, Sam and Zara are calling everyone out. Everlane built their whole brand on sustainability — then sold to Shein for $100M. Summer House editors have been leading us to believe that Kyle's the only problem for years. West and Amanda's "friendship" has been a lot more than that...obviously. And Hayden Panettiere's sponsors dropped her for talking about postpartum depression while protecting the very men who made her life a nightmare. This episode is about the brands, the people, and the relationships that have not been telling us the truth — and what happens when the truth finally comes out anyway.

Plus: the $2.9M Loverboy loan detail that reframes Kyle's entire season, Jesse crying at the reunion, Alex Cooper's very well-timed pregnancy news, and a genuinely honest conversation about fertility struggles and what to say to a friend going through it.

Recorded before the Summer House Finale aired

🎙 Jason Tartik's Podcast

💰 The Truth behind Everlane's Shein Acquisition

📋 The list of retailers to avoid - Shein does top the list after all!

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/

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In this episode, Sam & Zara break down our real experience at Mom 2.0—from imposter syndrome and “blogger energy” to the surprising moments that actually felt empowering and healing.

Then we get into the conversation everyone is having: Emma Grede’s controversial take on motherhood, ambition, and whether women can truly “have it all.” Is she being honest—or is this just late-stage capitalism in a blazer?

We also dive into:

• Meeting influencers (like Carli Bybel) IRL
• The reality of finding yourself again after motherhood
• Why “mom guilt” might be a myth (and what actually replaces it)
• The Summer House drama that has us questioning everything
• Alex Cooper vs. Alix Earle—and why we’re obsessed with women feuding
• The unspoken truth about privilege, parenting, and success

This is your unfiltered, honest, slightly chaotic pop culture + motherhood debrief—the kind of conversation you wish you had with your friends after a long weekend away.

Influences mentioned: https://www.instagram.com/sharon.a.life/

My month with a billionaire https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT9NBN6oKkfg8-UI0Wr/

https://www.instagram.com/thefashionbybel/

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/

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You can feel it in families right now: everyone is tired, kids are wired, and a simple “How was school?” gets you absolutely nowhere. We sit down with Gayle Alexander, a licensed professional counselor who works with teens, young adults, and parents, to unpack what actually helps kids talk and what quietly shuts them down. We get practical about the moments that matter most like the car ride home, the bedtime confession, and the first sentence you say when your child finally opens up.

We also go straight to the big stressors shaping teen mental health: smartphones, social media, sleep loss, comparison, and the anxiety loop of constant dopamine hits. Gail explains why the issue is not a phone call or a text; it is unlimited internet access in a developing brain, plus the pressure to look perfect. We talk about realistic screen time boundaries, why devices should stay out of bedrooms at night, and how family dinners with no phones can rebuild connection without turning into an interrogation.

Then we zoom out to what’s missing for a lot of kids and parents: community. Gail shares how Project Safe creates in-person support through group therapy and family work, and why being around peers helps teens feel less alone while they learn communication and coping skills. We also touch on vaping, marijuana, and other ways kids numb discomfort, plus what parents can watch for and how to start hard conversations without blowing up trust.

If you want better conversations, calmer boundaries, and tools that work in real life, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a parent friend, and leave a review with the one rule or question you’re going to try this week.

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/

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The internet doesn’t just “share” your child. It archives them, copies them, and can weaponize them.

We’re joined by journalist Fortesa, author of Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online, to talk about what happens when parenting becomes a content pipeline. We get into the uncomfortable stuff creators rarely say out loud: why brands pressure parents to “show the kids,” how followers feel entitled to a family’s private life, and why the algorithm often rewards the most vulnerable moments. If you’ve ever wondered whether posting a sick kid, a tantrum, or a hospital scare crosses a line, this conversation will give you language for what your gut already knows.

We also dig into the bigger system around family vlogging and influencer marketing: FTC disclosure incentives, hidden sponsorship dynamics, and why child labor laws still don’t cleanly apply to kids working on camera at home. Fortesa explains how a patchwork of state laws is trying to catch up, and we talk about newer threats like AI deepfakes and broad “usage rights” that can let brands reuse a creator’s likeness indefinitely, raising serious questions about consent and long-term digital privacy for minors.

And because real life is always in the room, we go personal too: emergency C-section recovery, building a parenting village, and hyperemesis gravidarum, including emerging research on metformin that may offer hope for future pregnancies.

If this hit home, subscribe, share with a parent group chat, and leave a review so more families can find it. What’s your boundary on posting kids online?

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/

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In this raw, wide-ranging Pop Culture Mom Talk episode, Sam and Zara are joined by new co-host Rachel Gibbs (@rachonlife) for an unfiltered conversation about what’s flooding women’s algorithms — and why it feels so overwhelming right now.

They unpack everything from toxic TV relationships like Tell Me Lies to the unsettling ripple effects of the Epstein files, the Blake Lively / Justin Baldoni discourse, and why so many women feel like pop culture has crossed from escapism into emotional overload.

The conversation weaves through influencer ethics, why more moms are pulling their kids off social media, how motherhood changes your tolerance for “hot mom” culture, and what it really means to parent intentionally in a world that feels increasingly unsafe and unregulated. From unaccompanied minors on flights to uncomfortable truths about privacy, power, and who actually gets held accountable — nothing is off-limits.

It’s funny, uncomfortable, validating, and very much a reflection of the moment we’re all living in. If your algorithm feels dark, confusing, or too real lately — you’re not alone.

pop culture podcast, mom podcast, motherhood and pop culture, Epstein files discussion, Blake Lively controversy, influencer kids privacy, parenting in 2026, intentional parenting, mom mental load, TikTok algorithm moms, Instagram motherhood, child privacy online, influencer ethics, modern motherhood stress, parenting and social media, pop culture commentary women, millennial moms podcast, Gen X moms podcast, women talking pop culture, internet safety for kids

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/

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A high-pressure desk at JP Morgan. A meal-prep side account called Freckled Foodie. A car accident that made everything loud and urgent. Cameron Rogers takes us through the leap from finance to full-time creator and the even bigger transition that came with becoming a mother during a global pandemic. We get candid about how identity can fracture and reform in those first months, why postpartum depression doesn’t always look like you expect, and how honest help—childcare, a cleaning routine, and a truly shared division of labor—keeps families and careers afloat.

We dig into the mental health side that rarely shows up on glossy feeds: intrusive thoughts that arrive like movie scenes you never asked to see, anxiety that clings to every doorbell, and the slow recalibration of medication, sleep, and boundaries that make days feel doable again. Cameron shares how she set guardrails around her kids’ privacy while still speaking openly about motherhood’s hardest edges, and why transparency about support matters. You’ll hear how she reframed “real work,” built a financial runway, and grew a sustainable creator business—with a podcast schedule, a team, and a product designed for busy, buzzing minds: Quiet Your Mind and Busy Your Hands.

There’s practical wisdom here too: swapping but for and to hold two truths without guilt, carving out time that belongs only to you, and using small joys like romance novels to reset attention and rekindle desire. We also talk Fair Play, the realities of entrepreneurship, the loss of corporate stability, and the joy of building your own team. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re allowed to love your kids and need space, to be grateful for work and still crave rest, this conversation offers language, tools, and relief.

If this resonated, follow and subscribe for more real talk on motherhood, mental health, and creative work. Share the episode with a friend who needs permission to say and instead of but, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/

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From Blake Lively to Bank Accounts: Casting Kids, Quitting Hollywood & Making Money Online

What happens when a former Hollywood casting director walks away from Disney, kid actors, and a very dark industry… and accidentally builds a wildly profitable pop-culture media empire?

In this episode, @thisisdanabowling (TT/YT) pulls back the curtain on everything — from casting Zendaya and Jenna Ortega to why she would never let her own kids enter the entertainment industry. We talk Blake Lively headlines, the uncomfortable truth about child actors, and how millennial women were sold a How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days fantasy career that never actually existed.

Dana opens up about hitting financial rock bottom while “keeping up with the LA mom crowd” (that included actually Real Housewives like Teddi Mellencamp) while quietly drowning in debt, and the exact pivot that helped her rebuild — fast. She breaks down how Daily Dose of Dana really makes money (YouTube, podcast ads, Patreon, brand deals), why content creation is not a get-rich-quick scheme, and what most people don’t understand about going viral.

We also get real about:

• The hidden power (and emotional cost) of being able to pivot
• Why your friends won’t support you when you start posting online
• The Blake Lively coverage that sent her views through the roof
• Why women are better at reinvention than men (sorry, not sorry)
• Raising kids in a world where everything is content
• And what it means to be unapologetically Jewish in today’s pop-culture landscape

If you’ve ever fantasized about quitting your job, side-eyed influencer money, or wondered what actually happens behind the scenes in Hollywood — this episode is the reality check you didn’t know you needed.

🎧 Listen now — especially if you love pop culture, money talk, and the truth about motherhood no one says out loud.

#BlakeLively
#BethennyFrankel

#motherhood

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/