Like Whatever

Heather Jolley and Nicole Barr
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Comedy
  • Updated Weekly

Join Heather and Nicole as we discuss all things Gen-X with personal nostalgia, current events, and an advocacy for the rights of all humans.  From music to movies to television and so much more, revisit the generational trauma we all experienced as we talk about it all. Take a break from today and travel back to the long hot summer days of the 80s and 90s.  Come on slackers, f**k around and find out with us!

  1. 4d ago

    Who's That Girl

    You know that one sibling who grew up in the same house but somehow got a completely different childhood? Heather’s sister Jessica joins us as our late Gen X, 1979-born “cusp” kid, and we get honest about what changed between our eras and what stayed exactly the same. We talk feral independence, family weirdness, and the kind of small-town freedom that meant you were either outside all day or getting yelled “in or out” from the doorway.  Jessica takes us through her version of growing up: being the social one, shutting down bullies, living for 90s nostalgia, and loving the classic staples like Barbie gear, Popples, Pound Puppies, and Delia’s catalog style. We also hit the oddly practical side of life before always-on internet, including mail-order patience, rural logistics, and even a surprisingly useful USPS tip about getting stamps from your mail carrier. If you miss the pre-streaming, pre-smartphone world, this conversation will feel like a time capsule with sharp edges.  Then we fast-forward to adulthood: how Gen X parenting values show up when your kids are older, why trust matters more than hovering, and what it feels like watching milestones like turning 21 or graduating hit your own sense of time. We close with family movie memories, aging-parent reality, and the big takeaway that growing up feral taught us more than we realized. Subscribe, share with a fellow Gen Xer or Xennial, and leave a review, then tell us what’s your most “feral kid” story? Send us an email Support the show #genx #80s #90s https://youtube.com/@likewhateverpod?si=ChGIAEDqb7H2AN0J https://www.tiktok.com/@likewhateverpod?_t=ZT-8v3hQFb73Wg&_r=1

  2. Jul 10

    Two Hundred Candles

    America turning 200 in 1976 was not a normal birthday party. It was a year-long, red-white-and-blue fever dream that somehow doubled as a group therapy session, and we get into why that matters now that the 250th anniversary is here. Along the way, we start exactly where real life starts: surviving a brutal heat wave, watching fireworks from the kitchen window, and taking in a tiny four-week-old kitten who shows up sick, starving, and instantly becomes family.  We also hit the fun and messy corners of modern culture, from celebrity wedding rumors to the bigger question hiding underneath it all: what do we actually think about billionaire wealth? We are not here to pretend money is evil, but we are here to say the quiet part out loud about taxes, loopholes, and why “pay your fair share” is the baseline for a society that works. That thread ties straight into our history brain this week, including The American Experiment and what it reveals about the founders, democracy, and the contradictions we inherit.  Then we go deep on the 1976 Bicentennial celebration: the mid-70s mood after Vietnam and Watergate, the merch explosion, the Tall Ships in New York Harbor, the Freedom Train, and the sense that America was performing patriotism as a way to cope. We even detour into modern celebrations, fireworks versus drone shows, and a wild local detail about Delaware declaring cats as wildlife.  If you love Gen X nostalgia, American history, pop culture commentary, and honest takes on what “celebration” really means, hit play, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave us a review. What’s your strongest Bicentennial memory, or your hottest Fourth of July opinion? Send us an email Support the show #genx #80s #90s https://youtube.com/@likewhateverpod?si=ChGIAEDqb7H2AN0J https://www.tiktok.com/@likewhateverpod?_t=ZT-8v3hQFb73Wg&_r=1

  3. Jul 3

    Red, White, and Like Whatever

    The heat is disrespectful, Prime Week is annoying, and we’re both one weird interaction away from snapping, so we’re channeling it into something useful and way more entertaining. We start with real life updates (Nicole moves, Heather is melting on the route) and then get oddly practical about summer survival: what to say to your mail carrier, what not to say, and how a cold drink can change somebody’s entire day. From there, the conversation takes a sharp turn into true crime with reactions to Maternal Instinct, including the gut-punch details that raise big questions about accountability, warning signs, and what happens when institutions hide behind rules. That naturally opens the door to a second kind of outrage: the recycled claim that women are “too emotional” to lead. We talk emotional regulation, double standards, and why the world might look different if leadership actually valued listening and restraint. Then we build a July 4 “on this day” timeline that doubles as a Gen X nostalgia hit: early Independence Day celebrations, Jefferson and Adams dying on the same date, slavery ending in New York, Walt Whitman, the Statue of Liberty, Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 debut, Two Live Crew’s Banned in the USA free speech fight, and Hotmail launching on July 4 as internet-era “freedom.” We close with beach town fireworks memories, traffic realities, and the kind of chaotic water park stories that only make sense if you grew up the way we did. Subscribe, share with your favorite Gen X friend, and leave a review. What’s your most memorable Fourth of July story? Send us an email Support the show #genx #80s #90s https://youtube.com/@likewhateverpod?si=ChGIAEDqb7H2AN0J https://www.tiktok.com/@likewhateverpod?_t=ZT-8v3hQFb73Wg&_r=1

  4. Jun 26

    Slay The House Of Ru Down

    Your hormones are missing, you’re sweating through black clothes, and the pharmacy is looking at you like you asked for contraband, so naturally we end up talking about RuPaul. That’s the energy today: messy midlife reality, sharp Gen X humor, and a surprisingly moving look at reinvention when your body and your life refuse to stay the same. We start with the menopause patch shortage and what it does to sleep, mood, and that unforgettable “itchy ear” sensation that feels like a tiny gremlin pulling your strings. From there we jump into a true fight-or-flight story from the retail trenches, plus side quests through disaster documentaries, sports dopamine, and the special kind of rage that comes with assembling furniture right before a move during a divorce. Then we go deep on RuPaul Andre Charles, from San Diego to Atlanta’s underground scene to New York City clubs, and into the mainstream explosion of “Supermodel (You Better Work),” the MAC Viva Glam era, and the long game that becomes RuPaul’s Drag Race. We talk about branding, criticism, inclusivity, and why the show’s mentorship moments hit so hard. The big takeaway we keep circling is simple and searchable for a reason: self-love, queer visibility, drag culture, and the power of self-creation. If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else? Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a friend who needs a boost, and leave us a review. What’s your favorite RuPaul quote or your all-time favorite Drag Race queen? Send us an email Support the show #genx #80s #90s https://youtube.com/@likewhateverpod?si=ChGIAEDqb7H2AN0J https://www.tiktok.com/@likewhateverpod?_t=ZT-8v3hQFb73Wg&_r=1

  5. Jun 19

    Movie Night At Camp Rainbow

    The World Cup hits the United States and we expect to feel annoyed, embarrassed, or defensive. Instead, we end up watching visitors from Europe, Australia, and beyond fall hard for the stuff we barely notice anymore: strangers saying good morning, random compliments on the street, the sheer size of our states, the chaos of thunderstorms, and the kind of natural beauty that stops you in your tracks. When people start saying “we were lied to about Americans,” it pushes us into a bigger conversation about identity, perception, and why the loudest political voices are not the whole story of this country. From the Grand Canyon to Yosemite to small cities that tourists usually skip, we talk about what it means to feel proud again without getting boxed into performative, exclusionary patriotism. There’s a difference between loving your home and loving a slogan, and seeing the U.S. through fresh eyes helps us separate the two. If you’ve ever felt like you have to stay quiet about what you love here because you do not want to be mistaken for something you are not, you’ll recognize yourself in this part of the conversation. Then we switch gears for Pride Month with a film guide built around empathy and queer history. We dig into seminal LGBTQ movies that shaped culture and visibility across decades, including Rocky Horror, Paris Is Burning, Priscilla, To Wong Foo, The Birdcage, Boys Don’t Cry, Hedwig, and more, plus why classics like Philadelphia still matter if you want to understand the AIDS era and what came before today’s representation. Listen, share with a friend, and if you like the show, subscribe and leave a review so more people can find us. Send us an email Support the show #genx #80s #90s https://youtube.com/@likewhateverpod?si=ChGIAEDqb7H2AN0J https://www.tiktok.com/@likewhateverpod?_t=ZT-8v3hQFb73Wg&_r=1

  6. Jun 12

    Family: Some Assembly Required

    Blood doesn’t automatically make someone safe, loving, or present and Gen X learned that lesson early. After a quick round of travel chaos, cats, and the kind of airport anxiety that ends with an $11 beer and no time to eat, we pivot into a Pride Month conversation about chosen family and why it became a lifeline for so many LGBTQ people coming of age in the 1970s through the 1990s.  We talk about what it meant to grow up with scarce queer representation, casual cruelty like “that’s so gay,” and almost no institutional protection. Without the internet, community was built through coded signals, subcultures, and the places you could finally exhale. We dig into how the AIDS crisis reshaped queer kinship in real, practical ways: caregiving networks, grief rituals, legal advocacy, and the often-underrated role lesbians played in showing up for gay men when families and systems refused.  From there, we look at how PFLAG changed the script for parents who wanted to learn how to love their kids out loud, and how nightlife and performance spaces became more than entertainment. Drag families, ballroom houses, goth scenes, and club communities created mentorship, safety, and belonging long before “found family” became mainstream language. We also share support resources, including The Trevor Project, Trans Lifeline, SAGE, PFLAG, and The Black Line.  If this hits home, subscribe, share the episode with someone in your circle, and leave a review so more people can find it. Who counts as family to you, and why? Send us an email Support the show #genx #80s #90s https://youtube.com/@likewhateverpod?si=ChGIAEDqb7H2AN0J https://www.tiktok.com/@likewhateverpod?_t=ZT-8v3hQFb73Wg&_r=1

  7. Jun 5

    Sometimes The Clothes Do Not Make The Man

    One dumb joke can derail hundreds of people’s day, and one great song can define a decade. We start out in classic Like Whatever mode with best-friend banter, post-sickness exhaustion, and a headline that’s equal parts funny and infuriating: a passenger naming their in-flight Wi‑Fi device “BOMB” and forcing a transatlantic flight to turn back. From there, we dig into a question that gets uncomfortably personal: would you rather know exactly when you’re going to die, or live without the countdown?  Then we shift into our main story for Pride Month: George Michael. We trace his path from Wham’s bright MTV-era pop to the swagger and craftsmanship of Faith, including the moments that proved he wasn’t just a teen idol, but a writer, producer, and performer with serious range. We talk through the songs we can’t stop replaying, what Kissing A Fool and One More Try reveal about longing and emotional risk, and why Careless Whisper still lands like a gut punch. We also unpack the music industry side, including the Sony contract fight and the way fame can turn into a cage.  We don’t dodge the hard parts either: the 1998 arrest that the media treated like a spectacle, the pressure to “explain” his sexuality, and the broader context of LGBTQ+ visibility during the AIDS epidemic. And yes, we go there on the state of the world and why history feels like it’s rhyming. If you’ve been craving a Gen X podcast that can laugh, mourn, rage, and still love pop music, you’re in the right place.  Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a friend who still knows every word to Faith, and leave a rating and review so more people can find us. Send us an email Support the show #genx #80s #90s https://youtube.com/@likewhateverpod?si=ChGIAEDqb7H2AN0J https://www.tiktok.com/@likewhateverpod?_t=ZT-8v3hQFb73Wg&_r=1

  8. May 29

    Please Don't Die

    You can’t forget a slogan that’s been burned into your brain since elementary school, and that’s exactly what makes America’s safety mascots so fascinating. We’re Gen X, so our childhood came with a rotating cast of animated guardians, trench coat enforcers, and neon warning faces that somehow taught us real world habits before we even understood what “public health messaging” meant.  We talk through the biggest icons and what they were designed to do: Smokey Bear and wildfire prevention, Woodsy Owl and anti pollution messaging, McGruff the Crime Dog and stranger danger era anxiety, Mr. Yuck and poison control stickers, plus Vince and Larry the Crash Test Dummies turning seatbelt safety into slapstick you still remember. We also get into the complicated side of PSA history, including how some campaigns oversimplified the problem or leaned too hard on fear, and why they still changed behavior anyway.  Along the way, we keep it very us: a quick question of the week about favorite animals, an update on feeding the crows and earning our “crow army” trust, and a few real life moments from the mail route that remind us how much people rely on small kindness. Then we zoom out to the internet era where nostalgia, memes, and social media give these old characters a second life, even as modern dangers shift toward cybercrime, mental health, and climate change.  If you grew up on classic PSAs, you’re going to have opinions. Listen, then subscribe, share the episode with a fellow Gen Xer, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Send us an email Support the show #genx #80s #90s https://youtube.com/@likewhateverpod?si=ChGIAEDqb7H2AN0J https://www.tiktok.com/@likewhateverpod?_t=ZT-8v3hQFb73Wg&_r=1

    Please Don't Die
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About

Join Heather and Nicole as we discuss all things Gen-X with personal nostalgia, current events, and an advocacy for the rights of all humans.  From music to movies to television and so much more, revisit the generational trauma we all experienced as we talk about it all. Take a break from today and travel back to the long hot summer days of the 80s and 90s.  Come on slackers, f**k around and find out with us!

Information

  • Creator
    Heather Jolley and Nicole Barr
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    93
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Like Whatever
  • Show Website
    Like Whatever