Raising Barbara Jean and Wanda

STP Productions
  • 4.9 (61)
  • Comedy
  • Semiweekly

"Raising Barbara Jean and Wanda" is a captivating and wildly entertaining podcast brought to you by TikTok sensations, Kila Carr and Ashley Lamar. Known for their viral stories, "My Lost and Found Sisters" and "Trailer Park Chronicles," Kila and Ashley have joined forces to bring you a unique podcast experience that's as heartwarming as it is hilarious. The podcast revolves around their unconventional upbringings under the care of their mothers, Barbara Jean and Wanda. Tune in as they delve into a world of hilarious anecdotes, tear-jerking moments, startling revelations, and tales so zany they could only be true. While their mothers' parenting styles may have been far from traditional, the life lessons, love, and resilience they instilled are a testament to their unique brands of motherhood. Kila and Ashley are passionate about sharing stories of those who have discovered family through DNA tests and offering support to those raising children in challenging circumstances. Their stories are a roller-coaster of emotions, peppered with raw honesty and infectious humor, which makes for a podcast experience unlike any other. But remember, only Kila and Ashley are allowed to talk about their mommas like this! Buckle up and get ready for a wild ride as these two ladies share their world with you. Whether you're looking for a good laugh, a cathartic cry, or a bit of unconventional wisdom, "Raising Barbara Jean and Wanda" delivers. Launching on Mother's Day, it's a testament to the fact that there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to parenting, and that's perfectly okay. After all, it's the wild, crazy, and heartwarming stories that make a family, a family.

  1. 4h ago

    Thankful & Unhinged: Government Cheese, Bar Mat Shots & Sturdy B*tches

    It's Thankful November, and the girls had two very different ideas of what that meant. Kila wrote a real list, through tears. Ashley heard "thankful" and thought "dodge that bullet." So you get both: the sentimental version and the unhinged version, sometimes in the same sentence. Kila is thankful for Willemay, for Emily's sperm donor being a dud (she got a real dad instead), for a mama who was crazy enough to teach her how to survive, and for Barbara Jean raising no phonies. Ashley is thankful she struggled with money, because her kids learned to be grateful, and that nobody told them they were poor. There's a real conversation in here about breaking cycles, parentified kids, and the question of the night: if you could undo the worst thing that ever happened to you but had to give up something wonderful you have now, would you? (No. They're sturdy.) Also: Hagen bought his parents cheese for Christmas and that's how Ashley knew she married up. Government cheese made the best grilled cheese in history. Goodwill gift cards and TJ Maxx snack aisles. Gulf Shores girls' trip rules (nobody is on anybody's itinerary). Why 1000-lb Sisters should be guests. Dolly costumes, food-coloring face paint, and a lady who threw four Halloween parties. Clase Azul versus Don Julio 1942. A Nashville bartender offered Ashley a choice between her bra and a shot from the bar mat, and Hagen drank the mat. Kila would make an excellent homeless person. Ashley is a sturdy b*tch from her teeth to her toenails. And it always loops back to government cheese. Send us what you're thankful for, unhinged or otherwise: BarbaraJeanAndWanda@gmail.com. Like, subscribe, and send this to somebody with a sense of humor. In the Centerville area? Go see Sisters with Scissors. This episode is brought to you by Bryan Nale. To get in touch with Bryan check out naleyourmortgage.com Raising Barbara Jean & Wanda is a proud member of the Spread The Positive Network! For more information visit spreadthepositive.net

    Thankful & Unhinged: Government Cheese, Bar Mat Shots & Sturdy B*tches

  2. Oct 29

    Halloween Special: Sally Jessy Raphael & Ellen Take the Mic (and the Shop Is Haunted)

    DESCRIPTION It's the Raising Barbara Jean & Wanda Halloween party, and the girls came dressed as the talk show hosts who raised them. Ashley is Sally Jessy Raphael (red blazer, spray-painted red glasses, do not spray paint your glasses). Kila is Ellen (blonde wig cut by Aaron, Stewie from Family Guy per Ashley) after very nearly coming as Dr. Phil. What's in the show: why Trent, born in the '90s, had never heard of Sally. Ashley emails Hallmark about the Golden Girls volume and has submitted her scary stories to at least three podcasts, none of which used them. The great download debate: Apple vs. Spotify, and why the numbers are dumb. The Walmart hate crime, in which Kila was the victim of a basketball and Malaya chose grace. A 64-year-old who taped his wife to a chair so he could watch football. Kate Plus 8 and what Collin's book says happened to him. Wynonna's interview. Then the real one. Ashley's salon has been acting up for two weeks: Mae's vacuum, Mae's clippers, lights blinking three times, a picture frame flying off a desk. After a lame Halloween party, Ashley and her ghost-hunting friends go down to the shop with the REM pod, the EMF reader, and a flashlight. Chris says "I know who it is." The flashlight goes bright. It's Rick: their client, Ashley's beta reader, the retired airline pilot who died in February, the one who wrote "slightly overweight Asian woman" in an incident report out of spite. What happened next with the flashlight, the alphabet game, and the letter is the best story this show has ever told. Also: Pounds Holler by Amy from 1000-lb Sisters, Kila's Ellen closing (do something nice for somebody this week, or heck, just don't be a jerk), ChatGPT wrote them a song, Winnie the Pooh is public domain, and whether you really need to check your candy. Next week: Christmas outfits are already picked out. Send your stories to BarbaraJeanAndWanda@gmail.com. Like, subscribe, and send this to somebody with a sense of humor. In the Centerville area? Go see Sisters with Scissors. This episode is brought to you by Bryan Nale. To get in touch with Bryan be sure to check out naleyourmortgage.com!

    Halloween Special: Sally Jessy Raphael & Ellen Take the Mic (and the Shop Is Haunted)

  3. Oct 15

    Christa Pike Woke Up, a Death on the Goliath & Is Locks of Love Legit?

    Kila came in with a plan for a feet account (working title: This Little Piggy) and a story about her favorite rollercoaster. The Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia is where she and Brian ride 28 times a trip with platinum passes, and this week a 42-year-old teacher, a robotics coach and two-time cancer survivor, was thrown from it. The girls walk through what's known, why the lap bar design matters, the phone-lunge theory, and the one place Kila will never trust an elevator unless Sherry Berry signed off on it. Then Disney, where they allegedly can't pronounce anyone dead on property, and why wooden coasters make you feel like a bobblehead in a tornado. Christa Pike update: she woke up, she's walking, and she's back on death row. The hosts can't wrap their heads around any of it. Why the ambulance sat outside for 30 minutes (only the Tennessee Highway Patrol has jurisdiction inside a state prison), why the state hired a doctor with botched executions on his record, and Ashley's position that if the lethal injection doesn't take, "I completed my sentence when you injected me." The live stream chimes in with questions from Ashley's coworkers. Then the one they promised: Locks of Love. Ashley has been telling clients for years that it's a scam. Kila did the research. What the applications actually require, why they prioritize permanent hair loss over chemo patients, the prosthetic hairpieces that take months, the sliding fee scale, where the unused hair goes, how many pieces they really made in 2021, and who funds them. Which turns into a bigger conversation about nonprofits in general, Goodwill, March of Dimes, YouTube families, and how much money gets wagered every Saturday and Sunday. They close on getting canceled, Chris Rock, why their logo should be "we slander everybody," the inhumane-or-not debate, and Todd Chrisley, who Ashley would like to be her dad. Next week: spooky stories, including Ashley's haunted shop and a client who may have lost two hours to aliens. Send yours to BarbaraJeanAndWanda@gmail.com. Like, subscribe, and send this to somebody with a sense of humor. In the Centerville area? Go see Sisters with Scissors. This episode is brought to you by Bryan Nale. Raising Barbara Jean & Wanda is part of the Spread The Positive Network! For more information for spreadthepositive.net

    Christa Pike Woke Up, a Death on the Goliath & Is Locks of Love Legit?

  4. Oct 8

    Christa Pike's Botched Execution, Juvenile Lifers & the Mnemonic Plague

    The plan was hair-donation charities. Then Tennessee made world news by failing to execute Christa Pike, the second botched execution in the state this year, so Ashley changed the topic on the drive in and Kila found out when the mic went live. Ashley brought notes. Christa Pike's crime, the 30 years of appeals, the request for a firing squad, the vein disease, the 40 minutes of searching for a vein, the burning, the blinds coming down, and the ambulance that took 52 minutes after her attorney demanded one. Kila has the timeline: first drug at 7:36, ambulance at 9:14. They dig into the doctor who oversaw it (multiple botched executions on his record), why the state switched from three drugs to one, the 2001 boot-lace attack in prison, and the fact that Pike is now the only person known to have survived a complete execution attempt in the United States. Also: whether watching an execution is a practice that should still exist, and Ashley's post-Prozac stance on loving everybody. Second half: Kila listened to a Dateline episode on juvenile lifers and the Parole Project, which turns into a real conversation about 151-year sentences for cocaine next to 27 years for murder, whether drugs should be decriminalized, and what Oregon actually did with Measure 110. Then the manager drops a conspiracy about a Russian plague lab and Taylor Swift's "Patient Zero," Kila's husband says the AI is going to kill us in five to seven years, and Kila cannot say "bubonic." Recommendations: $19 kids' Levi's at Sam's Club, and The Good Daughter. Next week: hair-donation charities, for real this time. Send us your spooky stories for Halloween: BarbaraJeanAndWanda@gmail.com. Like, subscribe, and send this to somebody with a sense of humor. In the Centerville area? Go see Sisters with Scissors.  This episode is brought to you by Bryan Nale be sure to check out naleyourmortgage.com for more information and to get in touch with Bryan. Raising Barbara Jean & Wanda is part of the Spread The Positive Network.

    Christa Pike's Botched Execution, Juvenile Lifers & the Mnemonic Plague

  5. Oct 1

    Feet Pics, a "Stripper" & Child Support 101

    Ashley shows up with a press-on nail permanently stuck to her toe, which leads directly to a business discussion about feet pics, because the salon has been slow and gas is high. That reminds her of the house-cleaning client who once asked her to "dance clean" in her underwear. Nobody in the room had heard that one before. The girls have a new manager (eight kids, zero patience) and big plans: more structure, real topics, guests, seasons, merch, and weekly recommendations. They also confess to a Whatnot live-shopping problem that has so far produced a $70 speaker, seven pairs of pants, and at least one wheelchair. Kila's sister Dixie had a birthday at the fancy golf course, where Kila spent the day asking everyone "who brought the stripper?" about a guest who turned out not to be one. That guest was headed to court the next morning over unpaid child support, and the episode turns into the most useful thing these two have ever recorded. From their own experience as single moms in Tennessee: how the system really works, why you call the child support office every single day, why child support and custody are separate cases, why being married-but-separated without a parenting plan is a risk, and why you never let him claim the kids on taxes. This is lived experience, not legal advice. Talk to an attorney about your own situation, and if you can't afford one, ask anyway. You have more options than you think. They close with recommendations: Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson, Christina Applegate's memoir, The Women and The Nightingale, Ted Lasso, Scariest House in America, and a Mexican pineapple-coconut ice cream from Walmart. Next week: hair-donation charities, and what the girls found when they looked into them. Tell us what you want more of. Email BarbaraJeanAndWanda@gmail.com, or comment here. Like, subscribe, and send this to somebody with a sense of humor. In the Centerville area? Go see Sisters with Scissors. This episode is brought to you by Bryan Nale.  If you want to get involved with the show be sure to reach out to us at raisingbarbarajeanandwanda@gmail.com Raising Barbara Jean & Wanda is part of the Spread The Positive Network! For more information visit spreadthepositive.net

    Feet Pics, a "Stripper" & Child Support 101

  6. Sep 24

    Back From Vacation & Already Losing It

    Ashley is back from Universal with the Williamses and she should be rejuvenated. She is not. The babysitters are reporting Bub's every move, nobody has a will, and the question of who gets the kids ends in a plea of the Fifth. Then the vacation stories start: the closed pool at the Hard Rock, jaywalking back from Portofino Bay, and the moment Ashley laughed so hard she left a trail across four lanes of Universal Boulevard. Shout-out to Beebs at the Simpsons bar, who did NOT need the $20 apology note, because she knew Ashley was joking the whole time (somebody tell Jeremy and Hagen). Kila lost a friend to CJD in a matter of days and wants more people to know what it is. Brian's sister's court case is finally closed, which leads to a very real conversation about "estates" when your mama's will said "sell my ring." Then both girls dig into the Lindsay Clancy trial: the 37 minutes that don't add up, the crushed pills, the 60 Minutes segment that asked nothing, and why every case like this needs a woman investigator. It wraps with mama bear stories (Kila will bully a bully for her kids, and her mama once boarded a school bus to do the same), big news that Sisters with Scissors made finalist in every category it was nominated for in Centerville's best-of awards, and the announcement that the mailing list, merch, and a Patreon are on the way. Halloween is coming. Send us your scary stories, your hauntings, and your favorite scary movies: BarbaraJeanAndWanda@gmail.com, or reply on TikTok. This episode is brought to you by Bryan Nale. Raising Barbara Jean & Wanda is part of the Spread The Positive Network

    Back From Vacation & Already Losing It

  7. Aug 13

    The Court System Is A Joke: A True Crime Rant

    Holly Bobo's retrial had us flip on Zach Adams, plus ADHD time, late-mom chaos, and the night Hagan got stabbed. We open on why last week never got published (turns out we shared too much and it was nobody's business), then get into the everyday hard stuff: CC putting her hands on her back her first day of big-school kindergarten, a first grader looking up like "all right, tell me" while he sounds out letters, firing a client over Ashley being late and her coming right back because she likes her haircut, and showing up 25 minutes late because the cat that never wants to be held finally wanted to be held. Then we get into the Holly Bobo retrial. We watched the whole thing on Case in Trial, went in 100% sure Zach Adams did it, and came out unsure. We walk through the $5 in gas, the ATM footage, the Sonic run, and the 911 call that puts him across town at the same time every officer is already out looking for Holly. Who this is for: moms raising little ones and grown ones at the same time, chronically late people who run on "now and not now," and true crime fans who want a case argued out in plain talk, not big legal words. What you'll get out of it: Our full breakdown of the Holly Bobo retrial and the receipts that never made the first trial Why "you either did it or you didn't" is not how the court system actually works The plea-deal trap: 20 years and live, or trial and the death penalty How we talk to our kids about bullies without telling them to be scared.  FAQs this episode answers: 1. What is the Holly Bobo retrial about, and why did Zach Adams get a hearing?  Holly Bobo was a nursing student who went missing around 2011, Zach Adams got convicted, and now about 15 years later a local attorney named Douglas is fighting to get him a retrial over evidence that never made the first trial.  2. What evidence was left out of the original Holly Bobo trial? Time-stamped receipts and footage, the $5 in gas, the ATM video, the Sonic run, and a 911 call, all put him across town while every officer was already out looking for Holly, but the ATM video got mislabeled "BP footage" and never got entered.  3. What is the only physical evidence tying Zach Adams to Holly Bobo? It's a single chip of Cajun Shrimp OPI nail polish found in his couch cushions, with no DNA on it, and half the county owned that color back in 2005.  4. Why do so many innocent people take plea deals? Because when you're innocent but broke, taking 20 years and living beats rolling the dice at trial and risking the death penalty with a defense attorney you can't afford.  5. How do you explain bullies to a kid without making them scared? We tell them hurt people hurt people, so instead of being scared you can almost feel sorry for a bully and ask them "who hurt you?" If you have ever sat down 100% sure somebody did it and changed your mind by the end, hit play and argue it out with us.

    The Court System Is A Joke: A True Crime Rant

  8. Jul 23

    "Being a Child of an Addict Is Your Superpower" — Breaking the Cycle with Stacee Reed (NACoA)

    Ashley is flying solo this week (Kila's on vacation, back next week!) and this one hits close to home. She sits down with Stacee Reed, Director of Innovation at the National Association for Children of Addiction (NACoA), for an honest, funny, and deeply personal conversation about what addiction does to the kids in the room — and how we break the cycle for good. As a child of an addict herself — dad sober 31 years and running a recovery house, a brother still in active addiction, and two babies she and her husband recently adopted out of the system — Ashley brings lived experience to Stacy's 15 years in the field. Together they unpack the shame, the science, and the small things that actually help. In this episode: - Why addiction is a disease, not a choice — "nobody wakes up and says I'm going to be a crappy parent today" - The Seven C's every kid needs to hear: you didn't cause it, can't cure it, can't control it - The casserole problem: why we bring meals for cancer but gossip for addiction - Person-first language, and how to be a safe adult a kid can talk to - The ACE study — how adverse childhood experiences raise the odds, and why they're not your destiny - Family roles (the hero, the clown, the perfectionist) and carrying them into adulthood - Ashley's raw take on the foster/DCS system and the resources families never get - Why first responders and teachers need training to see the children at the scene "We don't shame people for getting cancer, but we do shame people for being an addict. It's not a moral failing — it's a disease." If you grew up around addiction, love someone who did, or work with kids who do — this one's for you. You're not alone, and it was never your fault. 📌 Resources: National Association for Children of Addiction — free parent, caregiver, and children's toolkits, the Children's Program Kit, and the Seven C's at nacoa.org. Family support through Al-Anon. September is Recovery Month. 🎙️ Raising Barbara Jean & Wanda is part of the Spread The Positive Network — new episodes weekly. Like, subscribe, and share with someone who needs to hear it.

    "Being a Child of an Addict Is Your Superpower" — Breaking the Cycle with Stacee Reed (NACoA)
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4.9
out of 5
61 Ratings

About

"Raising Barbara Jean and Wanda" is a captivating and wildly entertaining podcast brought to you by TikTok sensations, Kila Carr and Ashley Lamar. Known for their viral stories, "My Lost and Found Sisters" and "Trailer Park Chronicles," Kila and Ashley have joined forces to bring you a unique podcast experience that's as heartwarming as it is hilarious. The podcast revolves around their unconventional upbringings under the care of their mothers, Barbara Jean and Wanda. Tune in as they delve into a world of hilarious anecdotes, tear-jerking moments, startling revelations, and tales so zany they could only be true. While their mothers' parenting styles may have been far from traditional, the life lessons, love, and resilience they instilled are a testament to their unique brands of motherhood. Kila and Ashley are passionate about sharing stories of those who have discovered family through DNA tests and offering support to those raising children in challenging circumstances. Their stories are a roller-coaster of emotions, peppered with raw honesty and infectious humor, which makes for a podcast experience unlike any other. But remember, only Kila and Ashley are allowed to talk about their mommas like this! Buckle up and get ready for a wild ride as these two ladies share their world with you. Whether you're looking for a good laugh, a cathartic cry, or a bit of unconventional wisdom, "Raising Barbara Jean and Wanda" delivers. Launching on Mother's Day, it's a testament to the fact that there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to parenting, and that's perfectly okay. After all, it's the wild, crazy, and heartwarming stories that make a family, a family.

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