GenX Women are Sick of This Shit!

Megan Bennett & Lesley Meier
  • 4.9 (113)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

GenX Women are Sick of This Shit is a nostalgic nod to the humans of GenX in the Midwest. Each episode, co-hosts Megan Bennett and Lesley Meier, have an ADHD driven conversation about GenX history and pop culture using their own lives and experiences growing up in Indianapolis as the backdrop. The podcast is a creative project inspired by the Facebook group 'GenX Women are Sick of This Shit', created by Megan Bennett in 2023. "Five Minutes of Fame" stories and "Dear GenX Women" letters are sent in by listeners and members of the Facebook group and are shared with consent. The original Facebook group is a mosh pit of menopausal women talking about all things GenX culture and life in the 70s, 80s and 90s as well as being a GenXer today. GenX Women are Sick of This Shit is part of Latchkey Kids Media, LLC where we make things we like because we want to. Copyright 2025, Latchkey Kids Media, LLC

  1. Deaths, Donations & our 80s Obsession - Goodbye to 2025!

    5D AGO

    Deaths, Donations & our 80s Obsession - Goodbye to 2025!

    Want to weigh in? Send us a text! Lesley & Megan here! Thanks so much for lending us your ears twice a month! Thank you to everyone in the Facebook group, our sisters in L.Y.L.A.S & everyone who has sent a comment or a text along the way. We really do have fun creating this pod twice a month. It is a labor of love and we hope that it helps you remember all the nostalgic random shit in your mind-tunnels as well. We will be back in the first quarter of 2026 some time. We are gonna take some time off to rest and re-charge & see what else we can remember. Peace & Love! A candy cane cold open turns into a clear-eyed look at public grief, internet conspiracies, and how Gen X learned to hold two things at once: humor and heartbreak. We honor the lives and legacies of Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer Reiner, soap legend Anthony Geary, and Buck Rogers star Gil Gerard, while pushing back on the frenzy that fills the gap before facts do. The tributes are thoughtful, the memories are specific, and the message is simple—slow down, remember well. Then we go full Hawkins. With clocks, bridges, and portals as our breadcrumbs, we map a Stranger Things endgame that feels true to the show’s 80s DNA. Our working theory: the Mind Flayer breach lands, the team loses ground, and the only fix is a time reset that prevents Henry’s flaying—restoring lives at the cost of relationships we’ve grown to love. We weigh the emotional math of that choice against a darker 80s twist and unpack why satisfying finales honor the rules they’ve built. Expect deep cuts, from Goonies and Poltergeist to St. Elsewhere, plus a reality check on why some endings are infamous for a reason. We also trade New Year touchstones—corned beef and cabbage, black-eyed peas, “white rabbit” for luck—and that unmistakable Gen X pragmatism about amateur night. And because community matters, we share a year of member-powered donations to the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, Indy Pride, WFYI, the ACLU, and Second Helpings, funded through LYLAS memberships and merch. Want in on movie nights, book club, and real-time chats off the algorithm? Join us at genxwomenpod.com. If this mix of smart nostalgia, cultural critique, and bold TV theory hits your swe Support the show Get your hands on our MERCH!!! DONATION SCHEDULE! We donate $1 per item sold with a minimum of $200 to each organization! Jan-Feb 2025 - Center for Reproductive Rights March-April - Planned Parenthood May-June 2025 - Indy Pride July-August 2025 - WFYI September-October - ACLU November-December 2025 - Second Helpings Love the pod? Love us? Love GenX? Let us know! SUPPORT THE POD HERE! Want to continue the conversation? Sign up for our newsletter! HERE Tell us your own 5 Minutes of Fame story or call it in at 1-888-GEN-XPOD Send us your Dear GenX Women letters! Join us for Meet-Ups and Expert led Discussions JOIN US in L.Y.L.A.S a GenX Women's Social Club L.Y.L.A.S (Love You Like a Sis) is our paid membership platform where you can have real-life conversations while supporting this podcast and the work we do in the Facebook group. Follow us on ...

    51 min
  2. Holiday Chaos, Gen X Toys

    12/13/2025

    Holiday Chaos, Gen X Toys

    Want to weigh in? Send us a text! We are back! Schedules - what can we say? Glad you're here to enjoy this little walk down memory lane! We are also happy to report we have made 4 of our six donations for the year! The final two are in process. Thanks to those of you who helped make this possible through your monthly membership and merch sales!  The holidays bring out our best rituals and our strangest stories, so we leaned all the way in—burned-out schedules, half-dressed trees, and the secret rules of outdoor lights—before heading straight to the toys that defined a generation. We revisit the Cabbage Patch craze with clear eyes: the handmade “Little People” roots, the mall stampedes, the classifieds side hustles, and the often-overlooked contribution of folk artist Martha Nelson Thomas, whose work shaped the look long before it became a juggernaut. It’s a lesson in craft, credit, and how scarcity turns a simple doll into a cultural moment. Then we geek out on Teddy Ruxpin, the soft-spoken marvel engineered by former Disney Imagineer Ken Forsse. A cassette with two tracks—one for story, one for motor control—let Teddy sync his eyes and mouth like a tiny animatronic at home. We talk marketing smarts (ABC specials, a full animated series, and a safety partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children), plus the infamous sidekick Grubby and why some accessories never quite make it. Along the way, we thread in lightning-struck Cookie Monsters, Tom Selleck mustache nostalgia, and the way small rituals carry us through seasons that are equal parts joy and ache. If you grew up watching adults chase the “it” toy or felt the thrill of finding one tucked on a back shelf, this conversation will hit home. We celebrate the makers, name the mess, and honor the memories—because the magic wasn’t in the plastic, it was in the people who showed up for us. If this episode sparks a memory, share it with a friend, subscribe for the next drop, and leave a review so more Gen X ears can find their way here. Support the show Get your hands on our MERCH!!! DONATION SCHEDULE! We donate $1 per item sold with a minimum of $200 to each organization! Jan-Feb 2025 - Center for Reproductive Rights March-April - Planned Parenthood May-June 2025 - Indy Pride July-August 2025 - WFYI September-October - ACLU November-December 2025 - Second Helpings Love the pod? Love us? Love GenX? Let us know! SUPPORT THE POD HERE! Want to continue the conversation? Sign up for our newsletter! HERE Tell us your own 5 Minutes of Fame story or call it in at 1-888-GEN-XPOD Send us your Dear GenX Women letters! Join us for Meet-Ups and Expert led Discussions JOIN US in L.Y.L.A.S a GenX Women's Social Club L.Y.L.A.S (Love You Like a Sis) is our paid membership platform where you can have real-life conversations while supporting this podcast and the work we do in the Facebook group. Follow us on ...

    1h 5m

  3. 11/22/2025

    From Victorian Party Tricks To Disco To Derby: How Roller Rinks Shaped Gen X

    Want to weigh in? Send us a text! A dark afternoon, a good cider, and one glittering memory: the roller rink. We follow that spark into a full ride through roller skating’s wild history and why it mattered so much to Gen X. From a violin-playing inventor crashing into a mirror to James Plimpton’s quad revolution, we connect the dots between Victorian spectacle, postwar neon boxes, and the utilitarian warehouses that became our weekend temples. We talk about what those rinks gave us as kids: a semi-supervised freedom loop, a place to test courage on turns, and our first real music community. The DJ calls. The panic of couple skate. The pride when Another One Bites the Dust hit and you didn’t wipe out. Then we pull back the curtain on the deeper story—rinks as battlegrounds and sanctuaries. Black skaters staged skate-ins, built iconic styles like JB and Philly backwards, and turned rinks into essential venues for funk, disco, and early hip hop. Flippers in West Hollywood mixed drag, punk, and pop royalty; roller derby revived the punk-feminist spirit with women taking up blistering speed and space. We track the shift to rollerblades, the tug of cable TV and video games, and why so many rinks closed or morphed into birthday factories. And just when it felt like the music faded, the pandemic sent wheels flying again: pastel quads on boardwalks, jam lines in parking lots, adult skate nights with old-school grooves. The recipe still works—smooth floor, lights overhead, music that moves your feet, and a little bravery to let go of the wall. Got a rink story, your anthem, or a legendary wipeout? We want to hear it. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with the friend who always yelled “reverse skate.” Your turn: what song instantly drops you back onto that maple floor? Support the show Get your hands on our MERCH!!! DONATION SCHEDULE! We donate $1 per item sold with a minimum of $200 to each organization! Jan-Feb 2025 - Center for Reproductive Rights March-April - Planned Parenthood May-June 2025 - Indy Pride July-August 2025 - WFYI September-October - ACLU November-December 2025 - Second Helpings Love the pod? Love us? Love GenX? Let us know! SUPPORT THE POD HERE! Want to continue the conversation? Sign up for our newsletter! HERE Tell us your own 5 Minutes of Fame story or call it in at 1-888-GEN-XPOD Send us your Dear GenX Women letters! Join us for Meet-Ups and Expert led Discussions JOIN US in L.Y.L.A.S a GenX Women's Social Club L.Y.L.A.S (Love You Like a Sis) is our paid membership platform where you can have real-life conversations while supporting this podcast and the work we do in the Facebook group. Follow us on ...

    1h 12m
  4. GenX Slumber Party Movie Night: They Moved The Headstones, Karen, But Not The Goo Hole

    11/08/2025

    GenX Slumber Party Movie Night: They Moved The Headstones, Karen, But Not The Goo Hole

    Want to weigh in? Send us a text! TV static used to mean the world went quiet. We start there—two Gen X hosts trading dog stories and daylight saving brain fog—then pivot hard into Poltergeist, the 1982 suburban haunt that turned a living room ritual into a gateway for the uncanny. If you remember falling asleep to the national anthem and waking to snow on the screen, this breakdown will hit with a very specific chill. We dig into why Poltergeist still works: the time-capsule set design (Star Wars cases, Speak & Spell, Alien posters), the sly social commentary hiding in a pool excavation, and the way the film never wastes a second arguing about belief. From the storm that swallows a tree to the rope-and-goo rescue that births a thousand parodies, the beats are tight, weird, and deeply human. We talk Spielberg’s fingerprints versus Tobe Hooper’s credit, ILM’s effects wizardry, and the infamous “they moved the headstones” twist that made cul-de-sacs feel like thin ground. Tangina’s entrance, the “They’re here” whisper, and the final motel TV toss get the love they deserve. The conversation widens to the eerie production lore—the real skeletons, the so-called curse—and what the movie says about technology creep and American expansion. Along the way, we vent about SNAP cuts and why food is a human right, reflect on daylight saving fatigue, and share a Comic Con clown encounter neither of us needed. It’s nostalgia with teeth: equal parts critique, laughter, and heartfelt memory. If you’re a horror fan, a Gen X kid, or just someone who loves a sharp cultural rewatch, you’ll find plenty to chew on. Hit play, then tell us: which 80s artifact still haunts you, and what movie should we tackle next? Subscribe, rate, and share to keep the conversation going. Support the show Get your hands on our MERCH!!! DONATION SCHEDULE! We donate $1 per item sold with a minimum of $200 to each organization! Jan-Feb 2025 - Center for Reproductive Rights March-April - Planned Parenthood May-June 2025 - Indy Pride July-August 2025 - WFYI September-October - ACLU November-December 2025 - Second Helpings Love the pod? Love us? Love GenX? Let us know! SUPPORT THE POD HERE! Want to continue the conversation? Sign up for our newsletter! HERE Tell us your own 5 Minutes of Fame story or call it in at 1-888-GEN-XPOD Send us your Dear GenX Women letters! Join us for Meet-Ups and Expert led Discussions JOIN US in L.Y.L.A.S a GenX Women's Social Club L.Y.L.A.S (Love You Like a Sis) is our paid membership platform where you can have real-life conversations while supporting this podcast and the work we do in the Facebook group. Follow us on ...

    1h 15m
  5. A Gen X After School Special: The Halloween Candy Panic of the 70s & 80s

    10/25/2025

    A Gen X After School Special: The Halloween Candy Panic of the 70s & 80s

    Want to weigh in? Send us a text! This episode was recorded remotely and there are changes in sound quality. We will be back in our usual digs next time! Megan and Lesley unpack the “poisoned candy” panic of the 70s & 80s , track its roots in one tragic crime and the Tylenol tampering case, and explore how fear reshaped Halloween traditions. We trade haunted house confessions, Irvington lore, Disney delight, and a saving-ghost story. • Irvington’s festival and neighborhood Halloween culture • Disney’s Haunted Mansion and safe scares • The myth of stranger-poisoned candy debunked • 1974 pixie stick murder and its ripple effects • 1982 Tylenol tampering and safety seals • Why homemade treats disappeared from Halloween • Trunk or Treat and mixed safety messages • Social anxiety, Watergate, and horror’s rise • Personal trick-or-treat memories and haunted houses • Local legends, friendly ghosts, and community lore Visit us: genxwomenpod.com Follow on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok “Give us a review. Throw some stars at us. And make sure that you are hitting subscribe so that you’re notified whenever a new episode.” “Send your Five Minutes of Fame stories on the website, or call 1-888-Gen X Pod and leave your story for us, and we will play it live in our next episode.” Support the show Get your hands on our MERCH!!! DONATION SCHEDULE! We donate $1 per item sold with a minimum of $200 to each organization! Jan-Feb 2025 - Center for Reproductive Rights March-April - Planned Parenthood May-June 2025 - Indy Pride July-August 2025 - WFYI September-October - ACLU November-December 2025 - Second Helpings Love the pod? Love us? Love GenX? Let us know! SUPPORT THE POD HERE! Want to continue the conversation? Sign up for our newsletter! HERE Tell us your own 5 Minutes of Fame story or call it in at 1-888-GEN-XPOD Send us your Dear GenX Women letters! Join us for Meet-Ups and Expert led Discussions JOIN US in L.Y.L.A.S a GenX Women's Social Club L.Y.L.A.S (Love You Like a Sis) is our paid membership platform where you can have real-life conversations while supporting this podcast and the work we do in the Facebook group. Follow us on ...

    48 min
  6. We Interrupt This Program: The Challenger Disaster

    10/11/2025

    We Interrupt This Program: The Challenger Disaster

    Want to weigh in? Send us a text! A caregiver makes a hard call, the internet sharpens its knives, and an entire generation remembers the day a teacher aimed to teach from orbit. We kick off with real talk about Emma Heming Willis, the relentless scrutiny women face around caregiving, and why “do everything alone” is a dangerous myth. From online backlash to real-world limits—Medicaid cuts, underpaid care workers, and families stretched thin—we pull the conversation back to compassion, resources, and the right to choose what keeps a loved one safe and comfortable. Then we turn to a defining Gen X memory: the Space Shuttle Challenger launch on January 28, 1986. Krista McAuliffe, a social studies teacher selected for NASA’s Teacher in Space program, had millions of kids and educators watching live. Seventy-three seconds after liftoff, the shuttle broke apart. We unpack the chain of failure—frigid temperatures, O-ring warnings raised by engineers, and a culture that prioritized schedule over risk signals—and trace how the Rogers Commission reshaped NASA’s safety culture. What does it look like to trust expertise, slow down under pressure, and protect people over PR? The answers connect classrooms, caregivers, and mission control. Along the way, we share personal memories of watching the broadcast at school, the weight teachers carried in the aftermath, and how these moments changed the way we think about progress. If science is our North Star, then listening to engineers, supporting caregivers, and funding the systems that hold families together are the course corrections we can make right now. If this conversation resonates, tap follow, share it with a friend who remembers Challenger, and leave a rating or review to help more Gen X women find the show. Tell us your memories and your caregiver wins—we’ll feature them in a future episode. Show Notes:  “TV Brought the Trauma to Classroom Millions” — an article from Education Week that describes how millions of students were watching live, how teachers reacted, and how schools immediately responded. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/tv-brought-the Support the show Get your hands on our MERCH!!! DONATION SCHEDULE! We donate $1 per item sold with a minimum of $200 to each organization! Jan-Feb 2025 - Center for Reproductive Rights March-April - Planned Parenthood May-June 2025 - Indy Pride July-August 2025 - WFYI September-October - ACLU November-December 2025 - Second Helpings Love the pod? Love us? Love GenX? Let us know! SUPPORT THE POD HERE! Want to continue the conversation? Sign up for our newsletter! HERE Tell us your own 5 Minutes of Fame story or call it in at 1-888-GEN-XPOD Send us your Dear GenX Women letters! Join us for Meet-Ups and Expert led Discussions JOIN US in L.Y.L.A.S a GenX Women's Social Club L.Y.L.A.S (Love You Like a Sis) is our paid membership platform where you can have real-life conversations while supporting this podcast and the work we do in the Facebook group. Follow us on ...

    59 min
  7. We Interrupt This Program: The Regan Assassination Attempt

    09/27/2025

    We Interrupt This Program: The Regan Assassination Attempt

    Want to weigh in? Send us a text! Welcome back! On "Who Died This Week?" Megan and Lesley talk about the ever so talented and foxy, Robert Redford (1936-2025) (though we have a terrible time remembering his filmography).   In this latest episode Megan asks, "Where were you when Reagan was shot?" For many Gen X kids, the 1981 assassination attempt marks our first collective news trauma—that shocking moment when regular programming was interrupted and the world seemed to pause. What began as a routine presidential appearance spiraled into a national crisis when John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots in less than two seconds outside the Washington Hilton. As Reagan lost nearly half his blood volume, Washington descended into constitutional chaos. Secretary of State Alexander Haig's infamous declaration "I'm in control here" revealed dangerous gaps in crisis management, while networks scrambled to report accurate information in an era before instant updates. Beyond the political dimensions, this episode uncovers the strange, forgotten details that made this event uniquely bizarre. Hinckley's obsession with 18-year-old Jodie Foster dragged the young actress unwillingly into a national nightmare. Nancy Reagan's subsequent turn to astrology for White House scheduling decisions became both fascination and mockery. Meanwhile, Reagan's humor during the crisis—reportedly telling his wife "Honey, I forgot to duck"—transformed his public image into that of an invincible "Teflon Ron." Most significantly, we explore how this single event catalyzed lasting change across American institutions. The Secret Service rewrote protection protocols, medical teams developed presidential emergency response systems, Congress tightened insanity defense standards, and the Brady Bill eventually introduced meaningful gun control legislation. Join us for this nostalgic yet substantive dive into a pivotal moment when Gen X kids first witnessed history unfolding in real-time, complete with our personal memories of where we were when the world briefly stood still. If you remember this moment or want to understand how it shaped a generation's consciousness, this episode offers both personal reflection and historical insight that resonates even t Support the show Get your hands on our MERCH!!! DONATION SCHEDULE! We donate $1 per item sold with a minimum of $200 to each organization! Jan-Feb 2025 - Center for Reproductive Rights March-April - Planned Parenthood May-June 2025 - Indy Pride July-August 2025 - WFYI September-October - ACLU November-December 2025 - Second Helpings Love the pod? Love us? Love GenX? Let us know! SUPPORT THE POD HERE! Want to continue the conversation? Sign up for our newsletter! HERE Tell us your own 5 Minutes of Fame story or call it in at 1-888-GEN-XPOD Send us your Dear GenX Women letters! Join us for Meet-Ups and Expert led Discussions JOIN US in L.Y.L.A.S a GenX Women's Social Club L.Y.L.A.S (Love You Like a Sis) is our paid membership platform where you can have real-life conversations while supporting this podcast and the work we do in the Facebook group. Follow us on ...

    52 min
  8. Devil's Playground: The Satanic Panic and Its Gen X Legacy

    09/13/2025

    Devil's Playground: The Satanic Panic and Its Gen X Legacy

    Want to weigh in? Send us a text! Remember when your Dungeons & Dragons dice might summon demons and heavy metal albums contained secret Satanic messages? If you grew up in the 1980s, you lived through one of America's strangest cultural moments – the Satanic Panic. We're taking a deep dive into this bizarre phenomenon that had parents checking under beds for devil worshippers and police departments training officers to spot "occult crime" using horror paperbacks as manuals. From the infamous McMartin preschool trial that cost taxpayers $15 million without securing a single conviction, to the demonization of everything from rock music to role-playing games, we unpack how mass hysteria shaped an entire generation. This wasn't a random occurrence – we trace the pattern of moral panics from ancient Rome through medieval blood libel accusations and into modern times, revealing how fear of shadowy cabals has been recycled throughout history. The targets change, but the template remains eerily similar. For those of us who grew up during this era, the Satanic Panic wasn't just headline news – it shaped our relationship with authority, media, and moral crusades. Yet ironically, Gen X didn't just survive these fears – we reclaimed and transformed them. The very things once considered gateways to hell became celebrated cornerstones of our culture. Dungeons & Dragons experienced a renaissance, heavy metal thrived, and the aesthetic elements once deemed "Satanic" now feature prominently in nostalgic pop culture. Join us for a fascinating exploration of how the devil went from terrifying America to rocking out with Jack Black – and what this strange chapter in our cultural history reveals about the cyclical nature of fear. When you understand the Satanic Panic, you might just recognize its patterns in today's headlines. Support the show Get your hands on our MERCH!!! DONATION SCHEDULE! We donate $1 per item sold with a minimum of $200 to each organization! Jan-Feb 2025 - Center for Reproductive Rights March-April - Planned Parenthood May-June 2025 - Indy Pride July-August 2025 - WFYI September-October - ACLU November-December 2025 - Second Helpings Love the pod? Love us? Love GenX? Let us know! SUPPORT THE POD HERE! Want to continue the conversation? Sign up for our newsletter! HERE Tell us your own 5 Minutes of Fame story or call it in at 1-888-GEN-XPOD Send us your Dear GenX Women letters! Join us for Meet-Ups and Expert led Discussions JOIN US in L.Y.L.A.S a GenX Women's Social Club L.Y.L.A.S (Love You Like a Sis) is our paid membership platform where you can have real-life conversations while supporting this podcast and the work we do in the Facebook group. Follow us on ...

    52 min
See All (40)

4.9
out of 5
113 Ratings

About

GenX Women are Sick of This Shit is a nostalgic nod to the humans of GenX in the Midwest. Each episode, co-hosts Megan Bennett and Lesley Meier, have an ADHD driven conversation about GenX history and pop culture using their own lives and experiences growing up in Indianapolis as the backdrop. The podcast is a creative project inspired by the Facebook group 'GenX Women are Sick of This Shit', created by Megan Bennett in 2023. "Five Minutes of Fame" stories and "Dear GenX Women" letters are sent in by listeners and members of the Facebook group and are shared with consent. The original Facebook group is a mosh pit of menopausal women talking about all things GenX culture and life in the 70s, 80s and 90s as well as being a GenXer today. GenX Women are Sick of This Shit is part of Latchkey Kids Media, LLC where we make things we like because we want to. Copyright 2025, Latchkey Kids Media, LLC

Information

  • Creator
    Megan Bennett & Lesley Meier
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 GenX Women are Sick of This Shit!
  • Show Website
    GenX Women are Sick of This Shit!

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