Podcrushed

I don’t know how I stumbled upon Podcrushed, but I’m so warmly happy that I did. I think many came for Penn, but I didn’t know much about him. I ended up staying for Nava and Sophie, though. No hate to Penn, he’s lovely, but it’s such a refreshing and comforting thing to hear two intelligent women ask meaningful questions and give thoughtful prompts to the guests. Nava is so relatable in so much of her struggles and areas she finds peace. Sophie is a beacon of light and honesty. Both of them should narrate audiobooks and both *definitely* need to narrate guided meditations on YouTube. PLEASE!!🥰 Penn, you’re great too. My first crush was in 7th grade and I fell so hard for him, that when we broke up, I cried so hard I threw up. He was my first *real* kiss and to this day, I remember it as being a really nice first kiss. It wasn’t awkward or gross, it was sweet. An embarrassing moment from middle school was getting my period in class while wearing khaki overalls. I had no idea until someone I knew who wasn’t a close friend, took me aside in sixth period PE and told me. It must’ve been there all day. I remember feeling so vulnerable and exposed. To this day, I remember exactly how the shame felt in my cheeks. I wish I could hug 13 year old Abby.

The concept of this show was to discuss middle school aged stories and experiences. One of the hosts is a celebrity which also helps to get celebrity guests to talk about their own experiences. This is incredibly interesting for people as it helps relate their lives to their favorite celebrities. There are even shared stories from listeners at the end of the episodes. However, the tone has seemed to change and there’s an obvious effort to bring the conversations back to middle school. Even the opening “title” introductions have changed to remove the fact this is a middle school podcast. In addition to the loss of theme, it’s hard to know when the show is back from commercial breaks since there’s no music, there’s obviously a lot of content removed from editing, and there’s way too much focus on Penn’s celebrity status. An episode now and then about his show “You” is totally fine but sometimes this feels like a “You” podcast. Again, I enjoy the connectivity of something we all relate to (middle school/puberty) with the extra touch of relating to celebrities. But that’s not what this podcast is anymore.

Just found this podcast recently after watching some old school Penn Badgley videos. Didn’t realize he had a podcast. The chemistry between he and the other hosts is phenomenal, and their conversation is a wonderful mix of light hearted and poignant. The questions they ask their guests and the answers they elicit are the true strength. Different from many podcasts they stick solely to sugar level topics. The Ariana Grande episodes are must listen for all

clicked for Penn, stayed for Nava, Sophie, the amazing conversations and how obviously kind and good-hearted all three hosts are! I love the genuine conversations and the moments when everybody breaks out into laughter. They have a good time, I have a good time. I also appreciate them making people that seem out of reach seem so unbelievably human and approachable. All in all, great podcast!