The JV Club with Janet Varney

This is an episode that can only be described as second to nun. [insert 100 groans here] But really! It’s the amazing and wonderful Maureen Johnson (The Name of the Star) and talk of metaphorical time traveling via one strict Catholic high school (shhhh… don’t tell anyone she was a Protestant!). Advisory: This episode may be habit-forming. “Habit" forming. Get it? Nuns? Habits? [slams door in own face]

Following the old adage “Write what you know,” episode 137’s guest could have her very own One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest! Janet welcomes author (and woodworker!) Marci Crestani (Halfway to Dead) for a deep-dive into expanding your social horizons, whether empathy is a blessing or a curse, and of course, whether paintings can be “evil."

If you’ve been worried that there hasn’t been quite enough talk about being a teenage goth lately, worry not! Sarah Burns (Enlightened) brings her A game with just the right amount of Skinny Puppy and Bauhuas. Plus a brand-new MASH question submitted by a listener finds much success!

What do you get when you cross a Renaissance Faire with Disney World, add a dose of psychopathy,  and throw a few wigs and fake nails and a bedazzled sweater or two? Why, you get Episode 135 of the JV Club with Jamie Denbo (The Heat), of course! Meet the Beverly to Jessica Chaffin’s (ep 143) Ronna. Spoiler: She’s a dream!

SPOILER ALERT! You are cleared to listen to this episode if you are A. All caught up with the Serial podcast or B. Totally not interested in the Serial podcast. If B, Jessica Chaffin (Ronna and Beverly) and Janet apologize for talking so much about it. But not to worry- they also discuss several other disturbing events. SECOND SPOILER ALERT: Jessica Chaffin is terrific.

This week’s guest, the extraordinary Sarah Thyre, answers possibly the most pressing question facing Americans today: Where can you go to practice walking in high heels on cobblestone before your trip to Europe? And perhaps just as vital: How have Playboy boobs changed over the decades? Also, guess what? Sarah’s awesome!

Janet finds a new way to make peace with spiders thanks to Episode 132’s guest, the wise and wonderful Shadi Petosky. This sage advice and more stories of nature’s bounteous forests, lakes and guitar by the campfire. And as if that weren’t enough, get ready for some frank, fascinating and important talk about how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.

Put on your best 60’s dress and grab a book, because you’re probably not going to get to watch much television tonight in the world of the disarming Jenny Wade’s childhood. If you’re a young woman without many resources on how the body works, get ready to get REALLY informed! Everyone else… saddle up!

Things aren't always what they seem with Episode 130's guest, the lovely Noureen DeWulf (Anger Management, Burning Love). Tips on how to get out of the house to the movies, the pizza place, and oh-so-much-more, even when your parents forbid it. Espionage!

Pull on your sequined unitard and clip in your feathered headdress for the Dance Drill of podcast episodes with Annie Savage (Thrilling Adventure Hour). It’s raining tap shoes, airsickness bags, and actual rain in episode 128, where the especially important factoid of where Janet and Annie clean out their purses is finally revealed (no one cares).