Why This, Why Now?

What happens when your best friend of 22 years is a feminist pop culture critic who left social media—and you decide to give her a microphone? Pure magic. In this episode, Stacy sits down with her longtime bestie Daynah Burnett to get real about everything from TikTok slang confusion and “Love is Blind” hot takes to why reality TV might be secretly good for your emotional intelligence. They unpack the state of media, generational drama (yes, your mom did mess up your bangs and your boundaries), emotional intelligence on screen, and why Pedro Pascal is everyone’s daddy. It’s sharp, hilarious, occasionally spicy, and exactly the kind of late-night-deep-dive-energy your group text wishes it had. Spoiler alert: there are actual spoilers. For “The Last of Us,” “Hacks,” “Love on the Spectrum,” and probably whatever you’re watching next. 00:00 | Introducing Daynah + Friendship Origins 02:00 | English Majors, Feminism, and Cultural Criticism 06:00 | Career in Tech, Leaving Social Media, and Ethical Work 11:00 | Social Media, Teen Slang, and Digital Overload 16:00 | Pop Culture Consumption Without Social Media 21:00 | The Last of Us, Grief, and Emotional Intelligence in TV 27:00 | Generational Trauma in Media: Hacks + Representation 32:00 | Reality TV as Emotional Modeling: Love on the Spectrum 38:00 | Neurodivergent Representation + Viewer Bias Awareness 44:00 | Recommendations: The Rehearsal, Sirens, The Goat, Studio 50:00 | Book Recs, Celebrity Bios, and Pandemic Storytelling 55:00 | Celebrity Encounters + Shared Memories 58:00 | Closing Thoughts + Listener Invitation Find Stacy: ⁠realeverything.com⁠ ⁠instagram.com/realstacytoth⁠ ⁠missionmakersart.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices