The Really Very Crunchy Podcast

In this episode, Emily and Jason sit down with Ryan Holiday’s “22 Rules for Reading” and put them to the test. As two people who genuinely love books but approach reading very differently, they talk through which rules they wholeheartedly agree with, which ones feel unrealistic for busy parents, and which ones might be a little too rigid for real life. Emily’s Book: Really Very Crunchy https://amzn.to/4cX9JmH Little Helper Big Imagination https://amzn.to/4lbNufe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s bonus episode, we’re talking about one of the biggest parenting tensions no one really prepares you for: are we supposed to constantly build our kids up, or do go all in on intrinsic value? What actually forms a confident adult? With a new baby on the way, parenting suddenly feels different at this stage of life. We’re older. A little calmer. Maybe a little more tired. And we’re raising a newborn alongside an 8- and 6-year-old who are very aware of everything. How does perspective change? What matters more this time?  Musicbed License MB01B3JB9OQCVRU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Jason and Emily break down the famous 85-year Harvard Study on Adult Development, the one that followed people for decades to figure out what actually makes for a good life. It turns out it’s not just money or success, but relationships, purpose, stress, habits, and how you handle conflict over time. Naturally, instead of calmly reflecting on this like mature adults, they ranked themselves and each other on a scale of 1–10 in several of the study’s core areas. The result is equal parts thoughtful, competitive, revealing, and mildly dangerous for a marriage. If you’ve ever wondered how you’d score in the “good life” department, this episode might make you want to find out. Musicbed License MB01LB14RC1PRTN MB01LPNLPFWSBVO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a term floating around the internet called “man keeping.” The idea? That women often carry the mental and emotional load of maintaining friendships, family connections, holiday plans, thank-you notes, birthday texts, and basically the entire social ecosystem of a household. Meanwhile, many men… just don’t think about it. Or don’t care in the same way. In this episode, Emily and Jason talk about why that dynamic exists. Is it laziness? Wiring? Cultural expectation? Or are men and women simply valuing different things? Musicbed License  MB01OKDEEVEDRAK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when generosity meets the internet? This week, Emily and Jason talk about GoFundMe campaigns, cheerful giving, and the awkward tension of watching someone you donated to book a beach vacation.  They unpack the heart behind giving, the expectations we attach to it, and why it’s harder than we think to truly let go. Also: the end of the world, and the presidential announcement that aliens are real. Music Bed Licenses MB01DWKDR4I03W0 MB01UEBR9CKWXDV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when you scroll past a big creator’s video and realize… you’ve seen it before because … it was yours?  In this episode, Emily and Jason unpack the growing problem of content creators lifting ideas, formats, and even full concepts, then presenting them as original work. They explain the real difference between joining a trend and crossing the line into plagiarism, and why that distinction matters for creative integrity.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re sporty people, but we have a confession: we aren’t into sports. That means no favorite teams, no water cooler discussions about the game, no getting invited to Super Bowl parties. Anyone else out there like that? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you heard about Moltbook? Even when the AI agents aren't being sinister, there's just something icky about it. The next five years is going to be interesting... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason and Emily wade into the Reddit comment swamp after Emily’s birth announcement goes mildly viral, unpacking why enjoying motherhood somehow earned them the labels “pro-natalist” and “ultra-conservative.” They talk through what was actually said, what people heard, and why the internet seems allergic to women liking their own lives. Along the way, they share a scary moment when one of their kids was almost taken in a Walmart, plus the latest baffling wellness trend sweeping the nation: house burping. Because in 2026, nothing says cultural discourse like kidnapping scares and releasing trapped air from your living room. Music Licenses MB017SLUKDRFXVY MB01HIWLCGGK8EC MB01XGNSQWVJCRI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily and Jason sit down to discuss their current birth “plan”… which is really more of a loose collection of highly questionable options. There’s the hospital. There’s the shack. There’s the home birth. There’s the possibility of free-birthing on their way to Alaska.  No matter where it happens, one thing is non-negotiable: the birth must be Middle-earth themed. 00:00 Prepping for the Winter Storm 10:53 Lord of the Rings 20:29 Feeling unprepared for birth 25:37 Free-birthing 29:22 Disclaimer: Emily’s content warning 46:30 Modern medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We made it to 100 episodes, so we’re doing what felt right: answering your questions. No theme, no agenda, just a wide-ranging Q&A covering parenting, marriage, crunchy life choices, content creation, homeschooling, fears, habits, things we’ve changed our minds about, and things we probably never will. Thanks for listening, watching, sharing, and sticking with us for 100 episodes. We genuinely couldn’t do this without you. 00:00 Our 100th Episode! 05:30 Emily gives someone a talkin’ to 22:33 Are we going on tour again? 23:37 What is our favorite most embarrassing memory together? 26:05 The Two Towers 30:08 Baby number three? 32:32 When will Emily’s next book be published? 33:24 Spirit animals? 35:11 Jigsaw puzzles? 38:16 Favorite homeschool curriculum? 42:00 Where would we live outside of Kentucky? 46:00 Favorite part of RVC? 50:44 Favorite novel/non-fiction? 56:17 What shampoo do we use? 57:21 Is it expensive to shop crunchy? 01:00:34 The least crunchy thing we do? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What actually makes a fear irrational—and who gets to decide? This week, Jason and Emily talk about the fears that don’t always make sense… and the ones that absolutely do. From being afraid of the dark to worrying about things that may never happen, they unpack where fear comes from, why some people carry more of it than others, and how much of it is instinct versus imagination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we talk about heroes in children’s fiction and whether kids actually need moral ambiguity or if that’s something adults project onto stories meant for younger minds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s the final episode of the year, and we are going out exactly the way you’d expect. Emily admits she simply cannot handle getting a talking to, no matter how gentle or well intentioned it is, and Jason has thoughts about that. From there, the conversation turns reflective as we talk honestly about where we think we’ll be in five years and what we hope life, work, family, and the show might look like beyond that. We wrap things up by closing the year together and sharing some BIG NEWS that sets the tone for what’s coming next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s the most emotional time of the year. At least according to the internet. In this episode, Jason and Emily talk about why so many holiday videos right now feel designed to make you cry and whether that kind of sentiment actually connects or just feels forced. They discuss the pressure to manufacture meaningful moments, the difference between genuine nostalgia and emotional marketing, and why Christmas content has turned into a competition for tears. They also get into holiday get-togethers, family dynamics, and the expectations that come with them, plus a look back at old Christmas ad campaigns and why they felt different. Funny, honest, and refreshingly grounded, this episode is a breather from the seasonal overload. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode starts off festive and quickly turns into a surprisingly strong opinion about movies, including a few Christmas favorites you might not expect and a brief but passionate conversation about why some beloved actors just do not hit the same anymore. From there, things take a turn into the real holiday struggle: talking to other humans. We get into why Christmas parties feel so awkward, the subtle conversation habits that quietly ruin a good interaction, and how everyone seems to forget how to talk the moment they’re holding a paper plate of cookies. If you’ve ever left a gathering replaying a conversation in your head or wondering why small talk feels so painful, this one’s for you. Festive, slightly unhinged, and way too honest, this episode is basically a survival guide for holiday conversations with a side of movie opinions you may strongly disagree with. Voetberg Method Experience This month, use my code: CRUNCHY20 to get 20% off each month you’re subscribed. Get 20% off the  proprietary Voetberg Method Experience, where siblings can share lessons  and learn music in a way they’ll never forget, even when lessons stop. https://tinyurl.com/RVCNowThatWereFamily ——— Sweets Elderberry https://tinyurl.com/RVCSweetsElderberry ———  Wayfair Cozify your space with Wayfair’s curated collection of easy, affordable fall updates. https://tinyurl.com/RVCWayfair _____ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason and Emily are in full holiday chaos mode and nothing is going according to the Hallmark script. Jason is trying (and failing) to figure out what to buy the woman who hates everything in the “Gifts for Her” section, while Emily has accidentally become the kind of person who takes Christmas parade floats a little too seriously. Somewhere between a live nativity that might just be in the wrong town and a very opinionated rant about what churches are doing with kids these days, they stumble into a surprisingly honest conversation about what actually makes the season feel holy, fun, and not completely unhinged. If you like your Christmas episodes cozy, unfiltered, and a little bit feral, this one is it. 00:00 Christmas Parade Float 08:33 Paducah is BIG TIME 14:44 Family money 15:24 Mayfield…not so big time… 16:37 Bethlehem is amazing! 17:40 Children’s church sure is something… 24:27 Bethlehem continued… 29:19 Emily’s germaphobeness… 35:50 Christmas shopping is hard. 49:02 Having the right tools Sponsors for this episode include: Voetberg Method Experience This month, use my code: CRUNCHY20 to get 20% off each month you’re subscribed. Get 20% off the  proprietary Voetberg Method Experience, where siblings can share lessons  and learn music in a way they’ll never forget, even when lessons stop. https://tinyurl.com/RVCNowThatWereFamily ——— Sweets Elderberry https://tinyurl.com/RVCSweetsElderberry ———  Wayfair Cozify your space with Wayfair’s curated collection of easy, affordable fall updates. https://tinyurl.com/RVCWayfair Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason has always been the rule breaker, Emily has always been the rule follower. In this episode, they talk about when it actually makes sense to bend or break the rules, and when it is a hard no. From childhood stories and school rules to parenting, speed limits, and “suggested” bedtimes, they explore how to respect authority, use common sense, and teach kids the difference between pointless rules and important ones. 00:00 Bread 05:25 Spiritual Objects 14:12 Trophy for Emily 15:09 Emily’s Public Apology  18:03 Let’s diagnose Emily 21:29 People’s opinion 24:57 Are we bad parents? 27:25 We’re just too messy.  34:03 Breaking the rules… 37:09 Getting pulled over 41:32 Rule breakers 50:19 Rule breakers are innovators 55:52 Good student or bad student? 58:36 Lotto Flower might be right… 1:01:33 Opening a business Sponsors for this episode include:  Voetberg Method Experience This month, use my code: CRUNCHY20 to get 20% off each month you’re subscribed. Get 20% off the  proprietary Voetberg Method Experience, where siblings can share lessons  and learn music in a way they’ll never forget, even when lessons stop. https://tinyurl.com/RVCNowThatWereFamily ——— Sweets Elderberry https://tinyurl.com/RVCSweetsElderberry ———  Wayfair Cozify your space with Wayfair’s curated collection of easy, affordable fall updates. https://tinyurl.com/RVCWayfair --- Please donate today at MercyShips.org/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason and Emily kick off Thanksgiving by sharing wild and fascinating facts you can use to wow (or mildly unsettle) your dinner guests, from why “Jingle Bells” was originally a Thanksgiving song to why Snuggies might have been the downfall of society. Along the way, Jason talks about his chaotic childhood Thanksgivings, they rant about why concerts are no longer fun, and things get just a little unhinged in the best possible way. 00:00 Old Science 05:53 Christmas Lights Before Thanksgiving? 08:04 Michael Bublé 13:09 We don’t like concerts… 15:21 Jason’s family 20:00 The Downfall of Society… 23:47 Thanksgiving Facts to wow your guests… 29:37 The quilt lady… 32:19 Pies 37:25 More facts 41:45 Campbell’s Soup 45:32 Balloons  52:40 Attitude of Gratitude Sponsors for this episode include:  Voetberg Method Experience This month, use my code: CRUNCHY20 to get 20% off each month you’re subscribed. Get 20% off the  proprietary Voetberg Method Experience, where siblings can share lessons  and learn music in a way they’ll never forget, even when lessons stop. https://tinyurl.com/RVCNowThatWereFamily ——— Sweets Elderberry https://tinyurl.com/RVCSweetsElderberry ———  Wayfair Cozify your space with Wayfair’s curated collection of easy, affordable fall updates. https://tinyurl.com/RVCWayfair Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sponsors for this episode include: Voetberg Method Experience This month, use my code: CRUNCHY20 to get 20% off each month you’re subscribed. Get 20% off the  proprietary Voetberg Method Experience, where siblings can share lessons  and learn music in a way they’ll never forget, even when lessons stop. https://tinyurl.com/RVCNowThatWereFamily ——— Sweets Elderberry https://tinyurl.com/RVCSweetsElderberry ———  Wayfair Cozify your space with Wayfair’s curated collection of easy, affordable fall updates. https://tinyurl.com/RVCWayfair 00:00 Sorry YouTube 00:46 Season colors? 07:56 National Christmas Tree 12:30 Holidays are too busy… 16:34 When should the kids leave? 22:21 The world is changing fast. 30:15 Getting Ads all the time.  32:31 AI is going too far… 37:50 A family that stays together… 46:14 And there was college… 53:47 The future is unsure. Episode Description: Jason and Emily open up about a question every parent is starting to lose sleep over: what do you do with your kids when they turn 18? They grew up in a world with a simple script. Graduate, leave home, go to college, figure it out. That script does not fit anymore, and today’s parents are the first generation raising kids without a clear roadmap for adulthood. In this episode, they talk about the pressure to launch, the changing value of college, the fear of doing too much or too little, and what it means to guide your kids when the cultural guidebook is basically gone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices