What's Your Damage?

AJ and AJ

What’s Your Damage? is a comedy and opinion podcast hosted by two anonymous comedians—AJ (former Mormon) and AJ (former Catholic). We share true traumatic life stories and break down the movies, TV, music, and pop culture that helped us cope. Radical honesty, humor, and zero secrets—except our identities. New Episodes every Friday.

  1. 5d ago

    Episode 30: The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives/The Royal Tenenbaums

    Episode 30: AJ & AJ are talking first impressions—and all the ways they can fool us. "A" kicks things off by reflecting on the surprising way people react to Little A, and how adults often project their own judgments onto a toddler. How can a baby possibly have that kind of power? That conversation leads "A" into a deeper reflection on motherhood, raising a child while healing from her own trauma, and the constant questioning that comes with trying to break generational cycles. Oddly enough, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives becomes an unexpected source of reassurance, reminding her just how present, patient, and intentional she is as a parent. She also sees unsettling parallels between Taylor Frankie Paul's toxic relationship with her ex and her own past relationship with an addict, recognizing just how easily her life could have taken a very different path. Then "J" revisits Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums. The first time she watched it, she simply didn't get it. The humor, the style, the pacing—it all missed the mark. Years later, after leaving Mormonism and growing into a different version of herself, she gave it another chance and completely fell in love with it. That experience becomes a reflection on how our first impressions are often shaped by who we are in the moment, and why people—and art—sometimes deserve a second look. "J" also shares how first impressions can evolve in the opposite direction. One friendship began with an immediate connection before slowly revealing patterns that reminded her of the painful dynamic she had with her bullying sister. In contrast, she recalls a coworker who completely misread her when they first met, only for that relationship to grow into one of mutual trust and genuine friendship.

    40 min
  2. May 29

    Episode 26: The Rules of Attraction/ Flatliners

    This week on What's Your Damage?, AJ and AJ revisit some of their greatest hits in the Regret Department. “A” kicks things off with a trip back to college, when she somehow convinced herself that being a theater kid dating a baseball player was a good idea. What followed was a masterclass in accepting less than the bare minimum: being treated like a booty call, getting cheated on, getting financially drained, and eventually getting dumped after paying for the guy to come see her. Naturally, she traces part of the blame back to The Rules of Attraction, a movie that taught an entire generation that toxic relationships were sexy and emotional self-destruction was a personality. Meanwhile, “J” dives into Flatliners, the movie that asks, "What if a bunch of doctors deliberately died for science?" and somehow got made. The film's regret-fueled hallucinations lead her to reflect on her youngest sibling and the reality that she and her other siblings were largely left to raise him when their parents were running on empty. Looking back, she wishes she'd had more tools, more support, and significantly fewer responsibilities for someone who was still figuring out childhood herself. Along the way, AJ and AJ discuss hindsight, guilt, terrible role models, and the uncomfortable realization that sometimes your younger self was doing the best she could with information primarily gathered from questionable movies and untreated emotional baggage.

    49 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

What’s Your Damage? is a comedy and opinion podcast hosted by two anonymous comedians—AJ (former Mormon) and AJ (former Catholic). We share true traumatic life stories and break down the movies, TV, music, and pop culture that helped us cope. Radical honesty, humor, and zero secrets—except our identities. New Episodes every Friday.