Talk Nerdy To Me

Jen Friel
  • 5.0 (3)
  • True Crime
  • Updated Weekly

What happens when a late-diagnosed autistic woman with synesthesia decides to hack her own life in the name of adventure? Meet Jen Friel—writer, entrepreneur, and accidental internet pioneer—who once quit her job to "give up everything she owned" (pre-influencer marketing being a 'thing') and live off of social media. Her experiment turned into a viral brand that was optioned by Jerry Bruckheimer and purchased as a put-pilot at CBS (after a four-way bidding war between ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX ... of course). This isn't just another podcast—it's a ride through identity, chaos, resilience, and the weirdly wonderful ways we find our place in the world. If you've ever felt "too much" or "not enough," Jen's story might be just for you.

  1. Aug 21

    EP. 12 - That Time a Ghost Town Leads to a Revelation in the Stalking

    Some goodbyes require a road trip. This one required a full tank, a packed passport, and a skeleton onesie. Jen and Jeff are driving out of El Paso and into the West Texas desert to bury one of the six people Jen calls family. Gil Prather was a Mensa-level genius, a mentor, and the one person who kept telling her, for years, that she processed the world differently than everyone around her. She spent a long time arguing with him about that. She is finally ready to admit he was right. What she is not ready for is what the desert does to people who are already paying too much attention. Because West Texas is a vortex. Hours of nothing between towns, a breakfast spot that technically sits in another country, a friend who arrives in something closer to a tank than a car, and a lunch table so improbable that Jen would not believe it herself if her husband had not been sitting right beside her. In the middle of all of it, something happens that has never happened to her before, a new way of perceiving two strangers that she has no language for, and no idea what to do with. So she asks the only person she trusts to explain it: her eighth grade art teacher. The answer she gets back reframes everything.   Then there is the funeral itself, which is less a service than a twenty-four-hour jam band send-off in a ghost town, and Jen, the woman who gives a very good funeral, quietly running the logistics in a black tulle dress. It ends the only way a life like Gil's could end. And somewhere between the river, the ceremony, and the after-after party, a thought surfaces about the person who has been following her for months. One detail about this trip does not fit the pattern. That detail is a tell. Grief, genius, and a diagnosis that keeps getting louder. This is the episode where the middle of nowhere finally hands Jen a direction.   That Time a Ghost Town Leads to a Revelation in the Stalking — a story about being seen on every level, hearing what nobody else hears, and the kind of goodbye that sends everyone home carrying a piece of it.

    EP. 12 - That Time a Ghost Town Leads to a Revelation in the Stalking

  2. Aug 13

    EP. 11 - That Time Jack Dorsey & Rick Rubin Met A Nerd Dressed as a Skeleton

    For years, people told Jen she was smart. One man ... a genius himself ... spent seven years trying to get her to believe it. She brushed it off every single time. She wasn't ready to hear it. She wasn't ready to be different. This episode is about what happens when you finally reach for answers and the first hand extended to you belongs to a con man. It's about a message sent into the void to a personal idol, a phone call placed to GoDaddy in front of someone who helped build the internet, a skeleton onesie, a ghost town, and a goodbye to the one person who always saw the truth — even when Jen couldn't see it herself.   Some people spend their whole lives looking for a guru. Sometimes the guru tells you to stop looking.   Episode 11: That Time Jack Dorsey & Rick Rubin Met A Nerd Dressed as a Skeleton is a story about fraud, grief, validation, and a teepee with a hand-painted Wi-Fi sign in the middle of nowhere.

    EP. 11 - That Time Jack Dorsey & Rick Rubin Met A Nerd Dressed as a Skeleton

  3. Aug 6

    EP. 10 - That Time I Discovered My Wires Were Crossed

    For her entire life, Jen knew she processed the world differently. The vivid colors. The physical sensations tied to a voice. The uncanny ability to see the architecture of a problem before anyone else even realized something was wrong. But for decades, this profound intuition was dismissed, misdiagnosed, or simply chalked up to being "special"—leaving her searching for answers while navigating a reality no one else could see.   This episode is about the moment the puzzle pieces finally snap into place. From a surprisingly profound Zoom call on a regular Tuesday afternoon to a dive into her own extraordinary family lineage, Jen receives a framework that changes everything. And as she uncovers the truth about her own wiring, she must also confront the unsettling reality of a man who claims to read others but refuses to examine himself.   Sometimes, the most shocking revelations don't come with fireworks—they arrive quietly, confirming what you knew all along. This is the episode where the lifelong mystery gets a name. That Time I Discovered My Wires Were Crossed — a story about unexpected diagnoses, setting boundaries, and realizing that seeing things differently isn't a flaw; it's a superpower.

    EP. 10 - That Time I Discovered My Wires Were Crossed

  4. Jul 30

    EP. 9 - That Time I Wanted Blood from The Human Lie Detector

    For months, Jen had been paying a highly credentialed "human lie detector" for validation, only to be met with professional deflection and silence. This episode is about the moment that changed. From the shocking history of a 1970s kidnapping on sovereign land to a deeply vulnerable revelation in a therapist's office, Jen pieces together a story that is stranger ... and more validating than anything she could have imagined. And somewhere in the middle of it all, an actual medical professional confirms what she has known all along. Some people really do see what others miss. This is the episode where the truth finally takes shape.  Talk Nerdy to Me® ... Jen Friel's personal experience about instincts, a life changing diagnosis, and the dangerous illusion of authority.

    EP. 9 - That Time I Wanted Blood from The Human Lie Detector

  5. Jul 23

    EP. 8 - That Time My Maid of Honor Said What Nobody Else Would

    Some people come into your life at exactly the right moment. Not because they planned it. Not because you asked. But because they see what you cannot, and they love you too much to stay quiet.   Jen is deep in the process. The sessions are ongoing. The training is in motion. And for the first time in a long time, something feels like it might actually be working.   Then her phone rings.   This is the episode where the person who knows Jen best sits down at her dinner table, opens a laptop, and starts asking the questions nobody else thought to ask. No agenda. No drama. Just a best friend who had a bad feeling and refused to let it go.   This is the episode where things get very uncomfortable, very fast. The human lie detector said he could read anyone. He never accounted for her.

    EP. 8 - That Time My Maid of Honor Said What Nobody Else Would

  6. Jul 16

    EP. 7 - That Time a Human Lie Detector Presented a Black Parachute & a Loaded Gun

    For most of her life, Jen believed she understood why she experienced the world differently. She noticed patterns, documented everything, and trusted what she could see, even when no one else seemed to see it. Then she met a man who claimed he could read what people never said aloud.   What begins as a series of intense, repetitive sessions slowly becomes something far more personal. Every answer is tested. Every expression feels exposed. And somewhere between a childhood diary, a blurred set of credentials, and a late-night internet search, Jen begins to realize that the mystery in front of her may not be the one she thought she was solving. Sometimes the most unsettling truth is the one that explains everything.   Episode 7: "That Time a Human Lie Detector Presented a Black Parachute & a Loaded Gun " is a story about perception, identity, and what happens when the person trained to see through everyone else turns his attention toward you.   Learn more about Jen and read the original blog posts for Talk Nerdy to Me   Contact Jen for interviews.   © 2026 Jen Friel - All rights reserved.

    EP. 7 - That Time a Human Lie Detector Presented a Black Parachute & a Loaded Gun

  7. Jul 9

    EP. 6 - That Time a Thud in the Hallway Led to an Actor & an Almost Impossible Phone Contact

    You know the saying: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. But no one talks about what happens when you say the same thing over and over. When you keep telling a story that sounds impossible to people who aren't quite ready to believe it, and you say it anyway, because you know what you saw.   This is the episode where Jen stops waiting to be believed and starts collecting proof that she already is.   Between sessions with the human lie detector, a series of synchronicities so specific they defy any reasonable explanation begin stacking up around her. A familiar face. A name that shouldn't be in someone's phone. A moment of being seen, fully, clearly, without having to explain herself, by someone who had no reason to look.   Learn more about Jen and read the original blog posts for Talk Nerdy to Me   Contact Jen for interviews.   © 2026 Jen Friel - All rights reserved.

    EP. 6 - That Time a Thud in the Hallway Led to an Actor & an Almost Impossible Phone Contact

  8. Jul 2

    EP. 5 - That Time I Met A Human Lie Detector

    When every option narrows to one — disappear — Jen does what she's always done. She refuses. Armed with new information and a growing list of people willing to help, she follows a thread that leads her to one of the most credible truth detectors in the country. But getting answers isn't as simple as asking the right questions. Sometimes the person you trust to find the truth is hiding one of their own. This is the episode where Jen stops running, starts hunting, and discovers that the line between protector and predator isn't always visible — until it's too late. Learn more about Jen and read the original blog posts for Talk Nerdy to Me   Contact Jen for interviews.   © 2026 Jen Friel - All rights reserved.

    EP. 5 - That Time I Met A Human Lie Detector
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

What happens when a late-diagnosed autistic woman with synesthesia decides to hack her own life in the name of adventure? Meet Jen Friel—writer, entrepreneur, and accidental internet pioneer—who once quit her job to "give up everything she owned" (pre-influencer marketing being a 'thing') and live off of social media. Her experiment turned into a viral brand that was optioned by Jerry Bruckheimer and purchased as a put-pilot at CBS (after a four-way bidding war between ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX ... of course). This isn't just another podcast—it's a ride through identity, chaos, resilience, and the weirdly wonderful ways we find our place in the world. If you've ever felt "too much" or "not enough," Jen's story might be just for you.

Information

  • Creator
    Jen Friel
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Jen Friel - All Rights Reserved
  • Show Website
    Talk Nerdy To Me