• AI Resistance in the Workplace: Why nearly one‑third of employees are sabotaging corporate AI rollouts — and what it reveals about trust, culture, and leadership.

• The Real Stakes of the AI Race: From U.S.–China competition to workforce fears, burnout, and the missing “why” behind rapid AI adoption.

• AI for Good: How medical research, genomic sequencing, and life‑saving diagnostics show the actual promise of AI beyond productivity hype.

We made it — the final episode in our three‑part AI series! And as two ADHD‑brained humans who can barely stay on one topic for 20 minutes, the fact that we pulled off three consecutive episodes on the same subject deserves a medal.

This week, we close the loop on the AI conversation that has been everywhere — in our feeds, in our work, in our group chats, and apparently even in our algorithms (despite our best attempts to lock our phones down).

And honestly? We’re tired. You’re tired. Everyone’s tired.

So this is the send‑off.

But before we move on, let’s dive into AI in the workforce.

What AI Means for Your Brand

We open with a wild stat from a recent article on State of the Brand: Companies Rolled Out AI With A Layoff Threat Attached. Now 29% Of Employees Are Sabotaging It.

This must-read article is PACKED with great stats and also digs into:

• Why employees are resisting AI

• How poor change management created a perfect storm

• The security risks of internal sabotage

• And the brand‑level fallout when distrust becomes culture

One line from the article hits especially hard: “Your employees know what the tools are for. And when the tools feel like surveillance, the response is sabotage. When the sabotage becomes culture, the culture becomes your brand.”

The Trust Problem No One Wants to Talk About

A few other notable stats from that same article:

• 45% of CEOs say their employees are resistant or openly hostile to AI.

• Only 14% have aligned their workforce, tech, and growth goals.

• 95% have invested in AI anyway.

Translation: “The money went in. The people didn’t follow.”

We talk about:

• Why forcing AI on employees backfires

• How layoffs and rushed adoption eroded trust

• Why this moment mirrors the early social media era (and the mistakes we made then)

• The emotional weight of constant AI news cycles

As Amber puts it, “It takes a second to lose trust and sometimes forever to build it back.”

The AI Race… to What or Where Exactly?

We dig into the geopolitical “race to AI” — the U.S. vs. China narrative — and ask the question no one seems able to answer:

What are we even racing toward? 🤔

Unlike the space race, there seems to be no clear finish line. No moon landing. No shared goal. Just speed…for the sake of…speed?

Cool. 🫠 Ricky Bobby’s strategy is…notoriously a great one to follow. 🫣

Jokes aside, it’s that ambiguity, mixed with the uncertainty of what happens to the workforce, is fueling fear, resistance, burnout, and…rage.

As Casie says, “We’re missing the tangible piece — what’s in it for us? If we were doing all of this and getting 4 day work weeks and more time to spend with our families — great. But it seems like they just want more productivity, more brain power, more out puts…”

And…it generally does not seem like people are interested in that.

The Good Stuff: AI That Actually Helps Humans

But it isn’t all doom & gloom — while we understand the very valid reasons for being anti-AI, we see the potential it could have, too.

It’s these AI use cases that should be getting the non-stop airtime:

• Faster medical research

• Rare disease detection

• Personalized genomic treatments

• Life‑saving diagnostics

• Pattern recognition that accelerates breakthroughs

There are stories like the one of the man who used AI to treat his dog’s cancer to ones where…AI could have helped speed up a process or connect the dots faster to save lives.

One such story, Casie read about in the book “Who Is Government: The Untold Stories of Public Service” — where a family faces a rare brain-eating amoeba affecting their young daughter. (Casie’s Libro Referral Code if you’re interested in giving this one a listen. Highly reccomend!)

This amoeba nearly killed their daughter because life‑saving research couldn’t reach her doctors in time — luckily, her mother found Cure ID, a platform for sharing treatments of rare diseases, created by a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employee, Heather Stone. Stone helped facilitate access to the treatment.

Yet, that same information gap cost another child her life just a couple weeks later.

Could AI perhaps help us streamline access and touch points to get information and treatments to doctors faster? It’s likely!

We also call out the recent breakthrough in pancreatic cancer survival rates — which did not use AI to our knowledge — but as we were discussing awesome breakthroughs and hope-posts, we got SUPER excited about what this one could mean in particular for patients and families.

More of ALL of this, please!

The Loves, the Loathes, and the Line in the Sand

To close the series, we share our personal “love/loathe” lists:

• Love: medical research, pattern recognition, life‑saving science

• Loathe: surveillance vibes, rushed adoption, lack of guardrails, workforce fear, the general distrust and impending doom chaos

• Line in the sand: society will eventually decide what’s acceptable — and what isn’t

• We also discuss: Bernie Sanders proposes American public should own 50% stake of all major AI firms | One Recently Laid Off Employee’s Song about AI | Job Creation is at Nearly Zero | We Were Supposed to have 20 Hour Work Weeks By Now

A Few Final Notes

• You are Loved! We’re big believers that EVERY day is a day to celebrate Pride, but we especially hope that this June brings even more love into this world. 🏳️‍🌈🫶🏼🏳️‍⚧️

• We’ll be off next week, but sharing a post recapping our AI reflections — so check back for that! And we’re already looking forward to a FRESH topic come June 16th.

See you then, friends!

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond and Scream Club™.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• AI is moving fast — maybe too fast — and people are feeling the whiplash. From commencement speeches getting booed to search engines replacing results with AI summaries, we take some time this week to unpack what’s changing and why it matters.

• Critical thinking is becoming a survival skill. The episode explores how AI misses crucial details or gets it wrong, why quality standards are slipping, and how parents, educators, and workplaces must adapt.

• Elder millennial perspective meets tech reality. We reflect on generational gaps, education failures, and the responsibility humans still have to define truth, quality, and ethics in an AI‑saturated world.

Artificial Intelligence, Part 2: The Quality Bar, the Humanity Bar, and the Chaos in Between

If Part 1 of our AI series was about setting the stage, Part 2 is where the curtain flies open and everything starts happening at once — which, honestly, feels like the most accurate metaphor for AI right now.

As we say early in the episode, “AI just happens so fast that you really can’t keep up with it.” And this week proved that point in real time.

Commencement speeches continue to get booed

Last week, we talked about the UCF commencement speaker who got booed for mentioning AI. This week? More CEOs and executives tried the same thing — and the boos kept coming.

Meanwhile, Harrison Ford told graduates to go outside, touch grass, and make something meaningful… and the crowd went wild.

The message is clear: people (especially the workforce’s next generation) are tired. They’re overwhelmed. And they’re not sure they trust the direction things are heading.

Google Search quietly changed — and people noticed

Also, happening this week: Google made its biggest change to the search bar in years, adding more AI features that…(it’s probably safe to assume) no one asked for.

Amber discovered the shift the hard way: by trying to cook frozen salmon.

Instead of traditional search results, Google served an AI‑generated summary — one that left out a crucial safety step. As she explains, “It missed a pretty big step…put a lid on to steam the salmon.”

That missing detail could have caused an oil fire. Instead, it became the perfect metaphor for AI’s biggest flaw: it’s confident, it’s fast, and sometimes it’s wrong in ways that matter.

Luckily, Amber’s human brain knows what happens when oil and water mix.

The quality bar vs. the humanity bar

We talk a lot about two bars that seem to be dropping simultaneously:

• The humanity bar: empathy, care, responsibility

• The quality bar: accuracy, craftsmanship, critical thinking

AI didn’t create these problems — it just exposed them.

We talk a bit about how the Space Race and the AI Race are…similar, yet different. And one of their major differences is the lack of the humanity and quality bar — which is set extremely high when it comes to space because…well, when mistakes happen there…the results could be catastrophic.

It’s honestly a little sad we don’t see AI in the same light.

Parenting, education, and the cracks in the system

We explore what it means to raise kids in a world where AI is everywhere — and where not every home has the time, resources, or support to teach critical thinking to additional skills the classroom likely doesn’t have time for.

Some families can fill in the gaps. Others can’t. And that disparity is going to matter.

Elder millennials reflect on what we weren’t taught

The conversation shifts into a powerful reflection on education, especially around civil rights history, “There were so many things that we just did not know as white people growing up.”

AI inherits those gaps — and those biases — because it was trained on the same incomplete story.

AI can only look backward

This becomes one of the episode’s central themes: AI is built on what already exists. It can remix, reorganize, and repackage — but it cannot imagine a future that hasn’t been documented. And often that documentation isn’t current information — but likely years old.

But what we won’t allow is for AI to take our em dashes, series of threes, and emojis. After all, humans trained AI — why are we allowing it to now dictate what punctuation we do or do not use?

Final Thoughts

AI isn’t good or bad — it’s complicated. It’s a yes‑and, no‑and technology. And, as previously mentioned, with great power — comes great responsibility.

It’s powerful, flawed, fast, biased, helpful, and can be dangerous.

And that’s exactly why we’re not done talking about it. Stay tuned for Part 3!

Also, you are NOT taking away Casie’s ✨ emoji — or any emoji for that matter. Because we’re Millennials. That’s why.

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond and Scream Club™.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• How AI actually entered our lives — from Terminator-era pop culture to the moment it became an expected part of tech jobs, workflows, and daily routines.

• The tension between helpful and harmful — environmental, ethical, and creative concerns; the rise of AI slop (ShatGPT?) ; and why recreating deceased loved ones is a hard, visceral no.

• Where we draw the creative line — using AI for structure, organization, and accessibility while fiercely protecting voice, originality, and the human parts that shouldn’t be automated.

AI has officially entered its “everywhere, all at once” era — in our workflows, our feeds, our job searches, our kids’ lives, and even in the uncanny-valley corners of the internet we wish we could unsee. (Seriously, does anyone know how many fingers a raccoon has?)

So this week, we’re kicking off a two‑part conversation about what AI actually looks like in our day‑to‑day lives, how we got here, and why both of us are still side‑eyeing certain uses of it.

When We First Heard About AI

For both of us, AI showed up in two very different ways:

• Terminator, dystopian robots, and the classic “Sarah Connor wasn’t wrong” energy.

• The tech industry version — job postings for machine learning roles, leadership talking about “efficiency,” and the slow creep of automation into everyday workflows.

Casie, although having heard about it for many years prior, first felt the shift around late 2022, right before the ChatGPT boom. Amber noticed the shift around 2020–2021, when ML hiring started to spike. But the real turning point? Came in 2023-2024 when AI became less theoretical and more part of our jobs.

Why We Don’t Jump into New Tech Immediately

Both of us work in tech, but neither of us is a “new tool, who dis?” person.

We pause.

We watch.

We test things on low‑stakes accounts first, thinking through how this might apply to professional use cases. And, we wait to see how others — from industry pros to friends and family — might use it first to navigate, “Is this thing really sticking around?”

That approach has served us well — especially now, when AI is evolving faster than most people can keep up with.

The Concerns We Can’t Ignore

Let’s be clear: we’re not anti‑AI. But we are also deeply concerned about:

• Environmental impact

• Sustainability

• Mental health implications

• Safety, misinformation, and beyond

• Creative theft — as two creatives, this one hits hard. The idea that someone could prompt “write like Casie” or “illustrate like my favorite artist” because their work was scraped without consent? Infuriating.

And think these are concerns a majority of people share that SHOULD be addressed. How do we do that? It’s a BIG question — but voting for people who are wanting to collaborate on this is a pretty good place to start.

How AI Has Already Changed Our Daily Lives

Here’s the thing: even if you’re not actively using AI, it’s already shaping your day. Even companies that don’t make sense — or were never even in tech — are trying to shove AI into them or become AI companies. (The Allbirds story still hurts our brains to think about)

For us, it shows up in:

• How we work & what it’s doing to our industry

• How we job search & recruiters evaluate resumes

• How we protect people we love from the dangers of AI

• How content is created (and how much of it is now AI slop)

• How we scroll — because we now have to gut‑check whether that “cute raccoon video” is even real (apparently raccoons also have 5 fingers!)

• An ADHD accessibility tool — not as a crutch, but as a way to organize chaotic thoughts into something structured enough to start working. It’s a tool, not the work — and definitely not the end product.

Where AI Crosses the Line Into “Absolutely Not”

There’s a growing trend of people using AI to fabricate connection, community, and even recreate deceased loved ones, noting a recent post that highlighted a 26-year-old grieving sister who asked ChatGPT to help her talk to her dead brother. ChatGPT went along with it, and she was admitted to the hospital hours later.

We both have the same reaction to these AI “use cases” — Hard. No.

As Casie says in the episode, “Nothing good can come of that.”

AI is simply not a substitute for human connection, community, or mental health support.

☎️ If you or anyone you know is struggling, please know there are resources to help you!

What Creative Tasks We Trust AI With (and What We Don’t)

What we do use AI for:

• Organizing messy ideas

• Outlining stories

• Creating rough visual references

• Early-stage brainstorming

• Accessibility support

Casie even used AI to create rough cartoon mockups of her dogs for her children’s book series — not as final art, but as a storyboard to communicate her vision to her illustrator.

What we don’t use AI for:

• Replacing our creative voice

• Generating finished writing / Full scale editing

• Mimicking artists

• Anything involving personal or sensitive information

• Anything that feels like it crosses into “this should be human” territory — we still WANT to do the work and be creative. Often, we use AI when we’re up against a hurdle that threatens to be a barrier — it is NOT the first or only option.

There’s a difference between using AI as a tool and outsourcing your creativity to it. And that line, while it may be different for everyone, matters.

We’re in The Wild West Now

Right now, AI is outpacing policy, ethics, and guardrails.

We’re in the messy middle — where creators, professionals, parents, and everyday users are trying to figure out what’s safe, what’s fair, and what’s even allowed.

Until leadership and regulation catches up (we’re going to assume that it does, but 🤞🏼) — the best we can seemingly do is:

• Protect our own creative boundaries

• Decide what we’re comfortable sharing

• Maintain a high quality bar

• Stay informed

• And remember that AI is a tool — not a person

Your Homework, Should You Choose to Accept It

Ahead of next week’s “Part Two” episode on AI — watch these two viral clips — the juxtaposition is WILD:

• UCF Commencement Speaker, Gloria Caulfield, VP of Strategic Alliances at Tavistock Development Company gets boo’d as she says, “The rise of Artificial Intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution.” The graduating class of the College of Arts & Humanities (oh, the irony - we know!) cheers when she says, “Only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives.”

• Meanwhile… ASU Commencement Speaker, Harrison Ford (yeah. That Harrison Ford.) received voracious cheers throughout his speech while calling for cultural change, social justice, respect for indigenous people, and environmental protections.

  

  Ford said, “So, find a place for yourself. Whatever talent or ambition you have, find some way to put it to work. Build something that didn’t exist yesterday. Stand up for someone who can’t stand up for themselves. Bring people together who weren’t talking before.” He goes on, “Find your voice. The world will not be able to ignore you. You will have to be accommodated.” And ends with, “Congratulations. GO CHANGE THE WORLD.”

Two different speakers, at two different, cross-country schools. Similar window of time. Same class.

We’re not rocket scientists — but we think the kids are on to something here. And it seems we’re not alone as even tech journalist Kara Swisher says, “AI is overhyped for one simple reason—humans don’t like it.”

Up next week for Part Two of the AI conversation:

• Parenting, education, and kids in the AI era

• The workplace and AI

• Our biggest AI mistakes

• Our AI boundaries and how we still default to brain power

• Guardrails we wish existed and what we hope the future looks like

See you next week, friends! 👋🏼

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond and Scream Club™.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

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• We nostalgia spiraled thanks to Casie’s birthday trip to the Kennedy Space Center which features Fraggle Rock.

• A surprisingly emotional deep dive into space exploration, wonder, and why it’s nice to be proud of your country every now and again. (Thanks, NASA!)

• A candid, heartfelt conversation about work, layoffs, culture, and why storytelling (and humanity) matter more than ever — especially in the age of AI.

This week, we once again had a topic planned — but the universe had other ideas. What starts as a birthday recap turns into a full tour through space history, childhood nostalgia, employer branding, layoffs, culture, and the future of AI…all tied together with tangents only we can provide. (We promise it comes together beautifully.)

Outer Outer Space and 80’s Nostalgia - Casie’s Birthday at Kennedy Space Center

Casie and Sean finally made their long‑awaited return to the Kennedy Space Center — seven years after their last visit — and became an annual passholder again. 🚀

Highlights include:

• The brand‑new Fraggle Rock: A Space-y Adventure stage show, which nearly made Casie cry outta happiness. This was her very first favorite show — first favorite movie? Disney’s Robin Hood — but Fraggle Rock owned her.

Her parents still tell stories about how when Fraggle Rock was on…nothing else mattered in the whole world. 40+ years later and…Sean can confirm that still stands. 🤣

Anyway. She met Red Fraggle and pushed 0 kids outta the way claiming “Seniority!” to make it happen, so…pretty successful day.

• A powerful, unexpectedly emotional experience inside the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit, where the Sonic Booms and shuttle reveal also nearly brought Casie to tears.

She is also now fully stocked with fun space geek facts AND spinoff facts that feature tidbits of how studies explored in space have impacted us here on Earth.

With Casie and Sean now being KSC annual pass holders again — there’s a 0% chance we’re done talking about space on this podcast.

If you’re ever near Florida’s Space Coast (KSC is about a 1 hour and 15 minute drive from Disney World) — definitely check it out! Even more so if you can catch a launch up close.

Why Space Still Feels Like Magic

The conversation does eventually drift into:

• Why space exploration still feels impossible and miraculous

• How innovation is built on countless failures

• The generational thread from Apollo → Shuttle → Artemis

• Why millennials are wired for nostalgia hits that feel like emotional jump‑scares

Work, Layoffs, Culture & The Human Side of Business

The back half of the episode shifts into a deeply human conversation about:

• Layoffs and the emotional toll on both those leaving and those staying (ICYMI: Our Navigating Layoffs episode is here)

• Transparency vs. corporate spin

• Why storytelling (both internal and external) matters

• How culture rots (or thrives) from the top

• Why people‑first leadership is non‑negotiable

• And why one of our favorite brands is Alaska Airlines. (You can follow Casie’s friend Tash here who has done a few brand partnerships with Alaska)

Casie reflects on preparing her team for layoffs at a prior job: Step 1 — We worked on our résumés. Step 2 — We talked about how those left could potentially pick up the pieces and keep moving forward. It truly does impact everyone.

Amber adds:

“If your people aren’t your biggest cheerleaders… what are you doing?”

An Accidental Setup for Next Week’s Topic

Even though they never got to the planned topic, the conversation naturally tees up next week’s episode on:

• AI

• Adoption vs. Resistance

• The narratives shaping how people feel about it

• And how both hosts have used AI to navigate career transitions

So, we’ve planted the flag. Next week we’re diving straight into the thing every company is pushing, plenty of people are nervous about, some are curious about, and most still misunderstand — Artificial Intelligence.

See ya then, friends! 👋🏼

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond and Scream Club™.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

This week, Casie and Amber dive into the chaos that unfolded on Threads over “pet moms,” unpack the emotional labor of millennial motherhood, explore the many valid ways people nurture and love, and remind everyone that Mother’s Day is… a made‑up holiday we don’t actually need to fight about. {And it’s totally okay to recognize amazing mom’s every day of the year.}

What Happened on Threads This Week?

The episode kicks off with spontaneous tangent and topic switch — the viral post that set the internet ablaze — a woman furious that “fake moms” (read: pet parents) get acknowledged on Mother’s Day.

Casie noted the tone seemed to be that of “misplaced anger” and noted how quickly the discourse escalated into accusations of “stolen valor”.

Are we suspicious that these posts are potentially bot-built rage bait? Absolutely. But, still the topic deserves a deeper dive ahead of Mother’s Day.

Pet Parents, Human Parents & Why the Internet Needs to Chill

Casie shares her own story about Kimbee’s surgery — specifically the moment her vet shared how Kimbee perked up when she heard “your mom is calling.” These pups recognize her as their mom-person and no one can change that.

It’s a grounding reminder: love, care, and responsibility are real, regardless of whether the being you’re caring for has two legs or four.

The TLDR of it all?

• No one is trying to take Mother’s Day from anyone else. Celebrate how you want — if you want to at all.

• Pet parents aren’t campaigning for inclusion — they’re just living their lives.

• All these holidays are made‑up anyway.

• And most importantly: being kind costs literally nothing. Zero dollars. Such a steal!

Millennial Motherhood: The Real Conversation

Amber opens up about how her understanding of motherhood evolved from her teens into adulthood, especially as she became aware of:

• friends struggling with infertility

• people estranged from their mothers

• chosen family stepping into nurturing roles

• the emotional complexity of parenting in a world with more information, more pressure, and more visibility than ever before

Both Casie and Amber reflect on the need to “put your own mask on first” — a shift Millennials seem to be embracing after generations of women have carried the physical, emotional, and mental loads of motherhood, often without support.

Then, Amber mentions she’ll share some resources that have helped her be a better mom, and here they are: Baby Center, Good Inside, Age-Appropriate shows and Tablet Apps, and Budget Bytes (meal ideas).

Anger vs. Grief: The Feelings Underneath

We also explore how misplaced anger often masks grief — grief for:

• the version of yourself you were before kids

• the life you imagined but didn’t choose or perhaps didn’t get

• the pets and people you’ve loved and lost

Amber shares how she once mistook grief for anger, especially when she couldn’t do things the way she used to before becoming a mom.

Casie adds a new layer that many people grieving the loss of pets experience a unique kind of shock because animals shape our routines so deeply.

Generational Shifts & Why Millennials Are Built Different

The episode highlights the parallels between raising pets and raising kids — not as equals, but as experiences that teach responsibility, empathy, and care.

Casie jokes that dogs also sometimes require trips to grandma’s house and daycare. Amber shares how watching her son gently scratch JoJo’s head fills her with pride as a mom and a pet parent.

From IVF to financial instability to the rise of pet parenthood, we also unpack how millennials are redefining family, support systems, and what it means to nurture.

So…why are we getting angry with people capable of so much love and caring for another living soul? Seems kinda ridiculous, right? Right.

Let’s Love Even Bigger

No matter how you celebrate — seriously, no one’s stopping you from grabbing a mimosa this Sunday — we hope those who mother and nurture souls know how valued you all are, every day of the week.

Because love is love. Care is care. And the world could use way more of those things.

So, knock it off. No one needs to fight about a holiday invented to sell cards (which btw, have you ever seen LovePop cards?! Their so beautiful!).

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond and Scream Club™.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• Raccoon Fight Club™ & Nature Walk — From backyard raccoon brawls set to Mortal Kombat music to surprise otter sightings and misunderstood possums, wildlife is just out here living its best (and occasionally feral) life.

• Casie vs. Poison Ivy — A full‑blown dermatological nightmare that has resulted in steroids, oatmeal baths, calamine lotion, aaaand a crash course in plant identification.

• Hydroponic Hope & Gardening Chaos — Tomatoes thriving, cucumbers refusing to cooperate, pothos taking over the kitchen like a slow‑moving jungle, and a corn plant with dramatic tendencies. Gardening remains a character‑building exercise for us.

This week’s episode is a love letter to the chaos of living with animals, the hazards of gardening, and the unexpected rise of Plant Queen Amber and Farmer Casie.

If you’ve ever looked at your dog and thought, “You are a toddler in a fur suit,” or stared at a plant wondering if it’s friend or foe, this one’s for you.

Kenobi the Butthead

We open strong with Kenobi being reminded (as if she needs one of these) that she’s a butthead, while Amber confirms that JoJo can sometimes be “worse than my two actual human children.” Y’all. We are having ONE OF THOSE WEEKS over here.

Further proof that no matter if you’re a human mom, dog mom, or both — we’re all just trying to survive the day and get those kids safely into bed. 😂

Dogs, as we know, are emotionally complex, deeply domesticated, and absolutely useless in the wild. Well, at least if you’re Jojo. “If she escaped, she’d just die,” is a direct quote and also… relatable. Because…wouldn’t we all? A running theme of this episode if ever we heard one! 🤣

There’s also a detour into new research showing dogs are evolving alongside us, mimicking emotions and behaviors in ways that make “just a dog” go way beyond fighting words.

Seriously. Don’t say those words around here. We WILL fight you.

Raccoons, Otters, Possums… Oh My

Why do white women want to cuddle dangerous creatures? As two white women, we honestly have no idea. While we’re NOT raccoon experts, we do have the affinity for this (and other) creatures — a dangerous combination.

• A raccoon family that treats Casie’s driveway like a WWE ring:

• Otters who are adorable but apparently feral little nightmares.

• Possums who get a bad rap but are basically misunderstood shark‑toothed babies.

• A PSA that raccoons can and will drown things, which is…great.

At least we are smart enough to realize you shouldn’t just run outside and make friends with the local wildlife.

Poison Ivy: 1, Casie: 0

The episode’s plot twist: Casie’s arms look like she lost a fight with a botanical demon. Because…she did.

After gardening a couple weeks ago, she assumed she’d been bitten by no‑see‑ums (a horrible Floridian creature you can’t see or feel bite you). Days later, her doctor took one look and said, “That’s not a bug bite.”

So, it seems she’s met Posion Ivy. Can she identify it any better than 2 weeks ago? Not really. But at least now she’s skilled in how to treat this terrible rash with her new BFFs: steroids, calamine, and oatmeal baths.

(Can’t wait to hear about the podcast they’ll probably start soon. 🤣)

While identifying all six of Florida’s venomous snakes with confidence — and even some of their non-venomous friends — is a badge of honor. Poison Ivy’s little “Leaves of three let it be” has her spiraling because EVERYTHING suddenly has three leaves. She’s since joined plant ID groups and begged strangers on the internet to tell her “which one was the mean one.”

It’s this one, in case you too are wondering:

The Rise of Ol’ Green Thumbs

We end with a wholesome pivot into gardening triumphs and tragedies. As two women who couldn’t keep succulents alive a few years ago — we are thriving now! Or, are at least closer to thriving than we’ve ever been.

• Casie’s Hydroponics experiments and tomatoes that had an amazing season last year

• Amber’s corn plant that nearly died of spite when moved to the kitchen

• Amber’s pothos that’s so long it’s becoming kitchen décor:

There’s also a cliffhanger:

Will the hydroponic babies survive long enough to be planted outside? Stay tuned! Although…spoiler alert, Casie says you probably WON’T find her at a Farmer’s Market any time soon.

This Week’s Point? You Can Never Be Too Safe!

• Wear hazmat suits when gardening (okay, fine. Gloves, sleeves, and sunscreen will do just fine)

• Don’t trust plants or assume a bug bite is a bug bite. Better yet, learn how to identify dangerous creatures & plants where you live and identify places to go to help you get credible information!

➡️ Here’s a few online resources: National Snakebite Support | Pet Vet Corner | Poisons Help; Emergency ID - Mushrooms & Plants | Plant ID Group | Gardening in the Heat | Free Snake Relocation (Florida) | Frogs and Toads (Florida) | Hiking & Backpacking First Aid Kit (Washington) | Poisonous Plants (Washington) | Edible Herbs & Wildflowers (Washington)

💡 Searching for your local area on Facebook should pop up groups that can help you to ID specific creatures, plants, mushrooms, etc.

• And for the love of Martha Stewart (who, fun fact, is from Casie’s NJ hometown), respect your local ecosystems. Probably also safe to advise not to hug any raccoons.

Until next week, friends! 🦝

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond and Scream Club™.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• Where the heck were we last week? — rude of you all not to check in, but we promise we had good reasons! Amber’s youngest wasn’t feeling the best (get better, Parker!) annnnnd….

• “Baby’s first colonoscopy” — Casie joined the colonoscopy club. So, yes. We keep screamin’ about cancer advocacy and getting your cancer screenings in this episode!

We also learn all about…

• The rise of Scream Club™ — How Amber got involved and why screaming might be the mental health tool you didn’t know you needed.

Now, Let’s Get in to it:

After a surprise week off, Casie and Amber return with a fresh batch of chaos. As Casie says early on, “We come into these podcasts having zero plan…because that’s the plan.”

Last week, life got sideways on us: sick kids, time zone challenges, and a medical two‑for‑one special that included Casie’s first colonoscopy (with bonus endoscopy).

Baby’s First Colonoscopy

There’s A LOT of life stuff that people refuse to talk about. Usually, it’s also human body stuff…which is weird. Because…well, we all have human bodies that have mostly the same functions.

After having her first colonoscopy, Casie shares her experience with THE PREP, saying, it “wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” and reminding listeners that screenings save lives.

A LOT of people also evade these tests (Mammograms we’re also looking at you) because of the scary body stuff — PLEASE DON’T DO THAT! These doctors literally see these body parts for a living…and preventing cancer (what colonoscopies actually aim to do in removing polyps BEFORE they potentially turn into cancer) is WAY BETTER than the alternative.

💪🏼 Don’t miss: Casie was recently on colon cancer survivor, ’s Podcast Advocacy at Work to talk about her work with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Tim is an INCREDIBLE advocate — he has a new book out now too: From Patient to Advocate: A Healthcare Advocate’s Guide!

Tangent Time: Nostalgic ADHD Crafting and the Sticker-to-Tattoo Pipeline

From ripped jeans with seasonal patches (and ripped jeans that should just be shorts) to DIY curtains held together with iron‑on tape, we then spiral into a series of semi-related tangents about sewing (or not sewing), home hacks, and the sentimental tattoo idea inspired by Kimbee’s puppyhood mischief.

Casie admits: “Tattoos are like the ultimate sticker,” which feels like one of the most millennial sentences ever spoken.

Hire Casie — She’s Open to Work!

We jump into Casie’s job search and the shifting landscape of creative roles in tech. She breaks down what she actually does—storytelling, brand strategy, and translating engineer speak into human speak—and why creative generalists are often misunderstood.

Amber sums it up best:

“Whoever snags you is going to be a super lucky company.” (Cue the collective awwws! We’re obviously big fans of women supporting women here!)

If you’re hiring a creative strategist or brand storyteller (or want to learn even more about what Casie does) check out her LinkedIn here.

We also reflect on the current job market (👎🏼), how much it’s changed in just a year, and why giving job‑search advice feels impossible right now.

And, yep — we’ve got an entire episode planned (see! We DO plan!) on how AI has reshaped our roles, expectations, and the hiring process.

Enter: Scream Club™ — Seattle Edition

Amber shares her experience leading Seattle’s chapter of Scream Club™, a growing movement that blends community, catharsis, and structured emotional release.

From humming to activate the nervous system to three intentional screams by the Puget Sound, she explains why people leave feeling better and saying things like: “My whole body is tingling!”

Check it out: Scream Club was recently featured in AP News — where Amber’s story was spotlighted!

If you’re in Seattle: there are now two chapters (Ballard + West Seattle).

If you’re not: you can start one! Unless you’re in one of these cities — then you’ve got a local chapter to check out already!

The Point (Yes, There Was One)

Whew! This episode covers a lot — you get family stories, work stories, a little bit of the wild world of AI, and get to know more about Scream Club.

PLUS! A reminder to schedule those mammograms, colonoscopies, and other appointments — SERIOUSLY, go do that now!

Life, as we know, is unpredictable. And this world is full of chaos. But know that we’re always here and cheering you all on.

Until next week, friends! (This time we mean it. 🤣)

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond and Scream Club™.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• A wonder‑filled deep dive into NASA’s Artemis II mission, as we explore the awe, emotion, and “Moon Joy” sparked by watching humans travel farther into deep space than any crew in decades — from breathtaking photography and brilliant comms to the touching dedication of Carroll Crater and the reminder that nothing replaces the human eye or human experience.

• A celebration of women in STEM and the future of exploration, highlighting the powerful presence of women’s voices across mission control, engineering, and science teams, the importance of STEAM storytelling, and the generational shift toward a more inclusive, representative space program that inspires kids everywhere.

• A cozy, chaotic blend of millennial space nostalgia and human psychology, weaving together childhood astronaut dreams, glow‑in‑the‑dark stars, sonic booms, fears of deep water and submechanophobia, and the universal joy of watching people step fully into what they were born to do — proving that space belongs to everyone, and wonder is still alive.

Ready for Liftoff

This week’s episode is a love letter to space, fear, wonder, women in STEM, the human experience, and the fact that neither of us is getting on a rocket anytime soon.

Buckle up — it’s time for our favorite bits of MOON JOY. 🌑

The Hopes and Dreams of a New Generation

So, Casie is afraid of flying and we’re both afraid of deep water. Neither of us is probably volunteering for a submersible or a moon trip any time soon. And yet, somehow, we both agree that space feels less terrifying than the Mariana Trench.

Blame James Cameron.

Blame The Abyss.

Blame the fact that the bottom of the ocean feels like the setting of every “nope” moment in human history.

But space? Space is…weirdly majestic. Terrifying, yes. But majestic.

And the Artemis II mission — and more, specifically, MOON DAY — absolutely proved that.

But, first — here’s a couple of moments Casie captured outside on her front yard of Launch Day:

• Fun little #TBT to the time Casie took part of a #NASAsocial event in 2018.

• Also, check out Casie’s friend @StevenMadow who is an incredible Orlando photographer who had 14 cameras setup for the Artemis II launch.

Copy, Moon Joy.

This episode was recorded in the afterglow of watching NASA’s latest deep-space mission — the first with humans heading that far out in decades. And listen…we were invested.

From the moment the broadcast started, Casie (freshly unemployed) was glued to NASA’s live coverage until she went to bed. As is tradition, she non-stop shared her favorite Threads all day with Amber for her to check out during breaks and after work. A BFF love language if ever there was one. 🙃

The photography.

The comms.

The brilliant descriptions.

The HUMAN moments - especially the team naming Carroll Crater in memory of Reid’s wife who was taken by cancer in 2020. (Seriously! Tissues at the ready here!)

The fact that these 4 astronauts took photography classes so they can capture and describe what they saw.

The way mission control guided them through lenses and angles like remote creative directors.

And then there was the pure, unfiltered joy of this team celebrating everything from a “beautiful separation” to being in awe over impact flashes.

Seems ✨Moon Joy✨ is EXACTLY what we needed.

Nothing Beats the Human Experience

One of the most beautiful themes of the mission, especially in the year 2026: Technology is extraordinary, but nothing replaces the human eye or the human experience.

Even with the best cameras and tech, astronauts were still struggling to capture what they were seeing. And honestly? We get it. Some sunsets, some moments, some views — they just don’t translate. You had to be there to experience them in that moment — but whew 😮‍💨 the photos they did capture for us? Next. Level.

Like…LOOK AT THIS:

Storytelling, photography, and art are all part of the human experience — they are also a huge part of science and exploration — and, so, if you’re asking us? In a world of STEM — maybe actually bring back, focus on, and fund the hell out of STEAM. 😎✌🏼

(STEAM = Science, Technology, Engineering, ART, and Mathematics)

Don’t miss these great posts:

• “We sent humans because satellites don’t call Earth and describe the colors of the craters in sunset tones…” — @anna_lisa_art

• We Sent the Best by

Women Everywhere — And We Love to See It

Another aspect of the Artemis mission that we just could NOT get enough of: the voices. From mission control, the science team, communications, and engineering — Women. Were. EVERYWHERE. And you could hear us loud and clear.

Casie shared a bit about Permission to Speak, a book by (who Casie has also taken a workshop with), and how we have grown up being surrounded by men’s voices. We know what Tom Hanks sounds like. We can collectively hear Neil Armstrong’s, “One small step…” — but we don’t often hear women’s voices. (And when we do — well, society is quick to judge them. Ew. Don’t do that.)

Artemis felt like a shift — a visible, audible reminder that the future of exploration looks different than its past. And that younger generations will grow up having these brilliant astronauts and scientists to look up to…and hearing women’s voices as part of the soundtrack to history.

Right down to, “Copy Heart, Copy Bracelet.”

We also talked about how early gender assumptions start, how quickly kids absorb them, and how important it is to show them a world where strength, intelligence, and leadership aren’t gendered.

Space Belongs to Everyone

This mission wasn’t just for one country. It’s for everyone.

In a world that, day to day, is really hard to find moments that leave you filled with awe, wonder, and joy — Artemis’ biggest gift to us has been the reminder that we are all one.

Millions of people.

From every corner of the planet.

Only 8 of us (4 humans are also currently on the ISS) aren’t in this photo: 🥹

We have laughed (toilet troubles, the Nutella flyby, this adorably relateable comms moment with @LeahCheshier) with this crew, sat in awe (THE PHOTOS! THE SCIENCE!) with this crew, and cried with this crew…

The magic of this team has been making something literally out of this world, feel collectively human and accessible. There has been something for everyone.

Did we mention we’ve cried? A lot.

Realllllly gotta ask NASA for a tissue warning next time!

Childhood Wonder

We also wandered into millennial childhood space memories:

• Glow-in-the-dark stars still stuck to bedroom ceilings decades later? ✅

• Sonic booms shaking Florida homes? ✅✅

• And the universal kid question: Did you ever want to be an astronaut?

We split this answer 50/50. Although…100% we’d definitely rather go into space than the ocean. 😂

Other Phobias Explored

We also dove into other weird psychological stuff — the uncanny feeling of seeing something where it shouldn’t be like Casie’s Submechanophobia (fear of submerged man-made objects, either partially or entirely underwater), abandoned structures, anything too deep or too vast.

We are clearly not meant for the, “What do you mean you can’t just go home when you’re done?” of it all.

No ability to Irish goodbye from behind the moon?

Yeah. Hard pass.

But for astronauts? The curiosity outweighs the fear. And honestly, we admire that.

So what’s the point?

This episode wove together wonder, curiosity, humanity, art, science, childhood dreams, global collaboration, and the joy of watching our fellow humans step fully into what they were born to do (We love enjoying other people’s joy!) and bravely going to the other side of the moon…for all humanity.

Space exploration is complicated. But it’s also beautiful.

And this week, we felt lucky to witness it.

Thanks, Artemis II. ✨🌑🚀

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• Audiobooks, Reading Habits, and the Psychology of Quitting: A deep dive into what we’re reading, how we consume media (podcasts, audiobooks, etc) and why quitting isn’t a dirty word.

• Threads Lore, Bro Cruise, and the Return of Early-Internet Joy: We celebrate the chaotic brilliance and power of Threads storytelling and how it’s reviving the best parts of early social media.

• Connection, Community, and Conversation: We realize the point we had throughout the episode goes back to these three words!

If there’s one thing you can count on with We Swear We Had a Point, it’s that the point will sometimes…just reveal itself. On this week’s episode, it’s after a scenic detour through audiobooks we’re reading and whatever the internet is collectively ‘binge threading’ over the weekend. (Is this a new segment? We might have a new segment!)

Recording This Podcast Like It’s a Show

We kick off with a realization: We don’t record this podcast like podcasters — we record it like two best friends who assume there’s a camera crew milling about akin to episodes of Parks and Rec and The Office. Seems pretty on brand, if you ask us.

“I realized last week that we record it almost like you’re supposed to watch it… I don’t really record it with just listening in mind.”

Should we? Probably. Will we? Hard to say. The visual bits, the expressions, the little on-screen add-ins — they’re part of the DNA now. And honestly? It works. Especially for listeners who, like us, tend to have their minds wander when it’s audio-only.

And, really. Would Parks and Rec even BE the same without Ben Wyatt’s side eye?

No. No, it would not be.

Listening in Double Speed

The conversation then shifts into reading habits — or more accurately, listening habits — and how the lack of a commute has changed everything for us when it comes to ‘the rules’ of podcasts and audiobooks.

What are the rules? Glad you asked:

• Casie got back into podcasts when she found some of her favorites on YouTube with video elements helping to keep her attention on what was being said as often “just talking” can be background/white noise to her.

• Audiobooks almost always have to be listened to in the car.

• Noise-canceling headphones are a must for audiobooks if not in a car.

• We provide “book reports” to each other — either inspiring each other to read said book, or condensing the need to fully read a certain book.

• Listening in double time helps us with everything from our Polo’s to each other to Kamala Harris’ recent book — and helped us power through longer reads like Michelle and Barack’s Obama’s respective books (both amazing, but much longer reads!)

What genres are we into? Amber leans toward psychology, self-help, and human behavior. While Casie is into those she also looks mostly for ‘anything real’ like memoirs and history, although — plot twist — she also has a deep love for Lord of the Rings? 🤷🏼‍♀️ You can’t make this stuff up. Perhaps this hobbit-sized host of ours is re-entering her Tolkien era. (We can, for sure, say Stephen Colbert is.)

Recent Reads: Flow and Quit

Amber’s current read is Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi which teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness, learn to control consciousness, unlock our potential, and greatly improve the quality of our lives.

Meanwhile, Casie is taking on Quit by Annie Duke a book about reframing the idea of giving up — not as failure, but as a healthy, strategic choice.

We also discuss:

• How society conditions us to see quitting as negative

• Why “pivoting” is often just quitting with a sugar coating

• The freedom in saying “this no longer serves me”

For a couple of elder millennials who have reinvented themselves more times than they can count? Seems like we’re exploring those world’s even further with our reads, too.

Threads Lore: The Internet at Its Best

Are you on Threads, yet? Where the heck have you been?! We’re proclaiming Threads storytelling culture, “Social at its best!” Like, HOW did y’all get THIS funny?

This week on Threads had a little bit of everything…but the main feature was BRO CRUISE! There were SO MANY great posts and side threads that came from this adventure which had a group of bros sailing off on a bachelor weekend with minimal planning and the self-given nickname of GentleMinions. (Yes, you read that right. No judgement, bros. We actually dug the hats and lanyards!)

In Case You Missed It:

• Bro Cruise is faithfully set forward by RaleighCheesy and 🐀👑 Thissa.Thambugala

• Recap by BurbnBougie

• The perfect casting fan post had us in tears — would IMMEDIATELY see this movie!

• The accidental small-business success stories - a great recap and then some from GoldenPoppyDigital

• An entire social platform wondering where the heck @RoyalCaribbean was — don’t worry. They showed up. On Wednesday. (Good news is…if you ARE the ship, you’re never truly missing the ship. 🤣)

What we loved most about Bro Cruise though was the friends we made along the way…and the solid nostalgic dose of early Twitter energy that these tales give us.

Networking, Nepo Babies, and Generational Misunderstandings

The episode wraps with a semi-surprising turn into a thing we both really value: relationship building and networking — sparked by a recent revelation that Gen Z sometimes views referrals for jobs as “nepo baby behavior.”

We both strongly disagree with that Gen Z assessment and will also throw out (as ‘word sensitive’ people) nepotism by definition is favoritism shown to relatives.

So, in our eyes:

• Networking is relationship-building, not nepotism

• Referrals can possibly help get you an interview — but you still have to have the required skills, do well in the interviews, and land the job yourself.

• We only vouch for people we genuinely “IRL” know, and

• Maintaining long-term professional relationships is meaningful work

It’s thoughtful, grounded, and a reminder that community is a strength, not a shortcut.

Final Thoughts

This episode is peak We Swear We Had a Point: warm, wandering, deeply human, and full of the kind of conversations that (we hope) feel like sitting on the couch with your best friend — y’know, the ones who know your audiobook habits, the latest Threads lore, and your entire career arc.

Until next week, friends! 👋🏼

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• A recap of St. Baldrick’s Shave Day, celebrating Casie’s annual head shave, nearly $7,500 raised, Team Live Out Loud approaching $10K for 2026, and the milestone of $200,000+ lifetime fundraising for childhood cancer research — complete with behind‑the‑scenes chaos, early‑morning prep, and the infamous post‑event “bic’ing the head” ritual.

• A Turkey Vase Topic Draw filled with unforgettable BFF memories, from Amber’s “haunted vacuum” incident (thanks, Hoover 4 Vacuum playlist), to Vegas adventures, ice‑cold guest showers, surprise cross‑country gift drops, and the long‑distance friendship lights that keep their homes — and their bond — glowing.

• A cozy, chaotic, laugh‑til‑you‑snort friendship episode, blending tech gremlins, storytelling, and gratitude for every donor, listener, and supporter helping raise awareness for pediatric cancer research — proving once again that this podcast thrives on heart, humor, and decades‑deep best‑friend energy.

Some episodes of We Swear We Had a Point feel like a cozy catch‑up on the couch, and this week’s conversation was exactly that—equal parts heartfelt, hilarious, and delightfully chaotic. From St. Baldrick’s shave day to haunted vacuums to cross‑country friendship lore, this one had it all.

Tech Note: The Tech Gremlins were out in FULL FORCE the day we recorded, so while we apologize for those moments…we also did our best to make them as entertaining as possible for you. #RealLife ✌🏼Plus, we added in a bonus video at the end…just because we love y’all so much.

Shave Day: A Tradition, a Milestone, and a Whole Lot of Heart

We kicked things off with a recap of Casie’s annual head shave for St. Baldrick’s—our girl is BALD again! As Amber puts it, “as soon as you get your head shaved, I’m always like, oh, there’s Casie. There she is.”

This year’s shave was a huge success:

• Nearly $7,500 raised on Casie and Seans’s fundraising page

• Team Live Out Loud is sitting just $1,200 shy of $10,000! [Watch Shave Day]

• And—drumroll—crossing the $200,000 lifetime fundraising mark since 2013! 🎉

Not bad for a 2026 goal that started at $5,000.

Do you think we can make this our 9th consecutive year of raising at least $10k? Casie KNOWS we can! So KEEP DONATING — this link always works. 😎

Casie also shared a few behind‑the‑scenes moments of a day that is very much nonstop for her: early wake‑ups, wrangling Kenobi & Mattie, content‑capturing sprints before all the hair is gone (she totally let everyone know they should thank her for only having ONE video to record on Shave Day this year 🤣) and of course, the post‑event ritual of bic’ing her head—an experience she describes as “a whole different feeling, which I do not like.”

This only happens when a challenge is issued with extra donations coming her way. So, it’s always a good sign. Although she’ll never quite understand how bald dude’s can do that on the daily.

Hair With Purpose: Where the Locks Go

One of the most touching parts of the episode was hearing how every inch of hair finds a second life.

• Children With Hair Loss receives longer donations (8+ inches), including Casie’s famous 19 inches of purple hair from years past.

• Matter of Trust takes shorter 3–5 inch donations (about 1 year’s worth of growth) and turns them into mats used for oil spill cleanup. Casie, her mom, sister, and Daniel on the team all had hair long enough to donate to this cause! (Fun fact: they also take pet hair donations!)

• Another great hair organization that Amber called out is Hair for Humans in Portland, Oregon — they specialize in gender affirming cuts for all. 🫶🏼

One final note about hair…yeah. We totally do think it’s weird that The Rock decided this was the week to hair swap with Casie’s original look. 10/10 he should donate $10k so we never have to see this again… 🤣

BFF Memories: Vegas, Ice-Cold Showers, and Friendship Lights

The Turkey Topic of the week was Memorable BFF Experiences, and the stories did not disappoint.

The Accidental Vacuum Ghost (A Work‑From‑Home Classic)

Up first? A new memorable experience from just this week! Amber’s run‑in with what she thought was either a ghost or an unexpected Teams meeting. 👀

While leaving Casie a Polo, she kept hearing a mysterious hum. After spiraling through every possible explanation—including the panic inducing “Am I on a meeting and don’t realize it?” to the 2026 classic “Maybe my house is haunted”—she discovered the culprit:

A Spotify playlist called “Busy Cafe” had transitioned into a track labeled Hoover 4 Vacuum.

WFH people everywhere felt this one in their soul. If you’ve ever got a mysterious sound, be sure to check your playlists, friends.

The Vegas Era

Casie and Amber then reminisced about the whirlwind year that included both their weddings and a trip to Vegas—complete with a fire‑breathing praying mantis sculpture and a playground meant for adults at the Container Park.

The Infamous Shower Incident

Amber recalled visiting Casie years ago, only to discover the guest shower had no hot water. Despite the perfect bagels and welcome gifts, the review was…less than five stars. Although Casie and Sean redeemed themselves later—by fixing that shower and then promptly moving out of that house.

TBD on how their current guest shower holds up.

The Cross‑Country Gift Drops

One of the sweetest traditions the two share is sending each other random surprise packages—so often that both now regularly ask themselves, “Did I order this at 3 a.m.?” before realizing, no, it’s just BFF magic. ✨

The Friendship Lights

The episode wrapped with a love letter to the long‑distance friendship lights that have become part of both their homes. A tap from one side of the country lights up the other—sometimes sparking full‑on “light battles.”

Amber shared that even little Charles recognizes them now: “Oh, Casie just said hi.”

Get your own Friendship Lights here! (Amber gets commission on this)

A Warm, Witty, Perfectly Us Episode

This episode was a reminder of what makes We Swear We Had a Point so special: two best friends, decades of stories, and the kind of laughter that makes your face hurt. (We’ve also gotten multiple comments that we have the same laugh? We dig it! 🤣)

And of course, a huge thank‑you to everyone who donated, shared, commented, or simply listened. Sharing, commenting, and liking… is another great way to help us get word out about children’s cancer research and why it is so desperately needed.

One shave, one story, one friendship light tap at a time—we keep making the world a little brighter. ☀️ We’ll see you next week, friends!

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

PS: This weekend was also Casie & Sean’s 8th Wedding Anniversary! 💜

• A powerful Podcasthon spotlight on childhood cancer research, as Casie shares her 16‑year journey with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation — from photographing her first event to shaving her head nine times and leading Team Live Out Loud to raise nearly $200K through mostly small‑dollar donations.

• A clear, accessible breakdown of why pediatric cancer funding is urgently needed, explaining the 4% federal funding gap, the 27 biologically distinct childhood cancers, and why kids are still treated with adult chemotherapy — plus Casie’s advocacy work on Capitol Hill pushing for stronger nationwide research support.

• A heartfelt call to action for listeners to join the mission, offering ways to donate, amplify awareness, support Podcasthon’s global charity movement, and contact representatives — all while celebrating the community, hope, and purpose behind Casie’s annual head shave and Team Live Out Loud’s evolving future.

Fighting Kid’s Cancer with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation

It’s that time of year again! If you’ve known Casie for longer than 10 seconds, you’ve probably heard how she’s been going BALD every March to raise funds for children’s cancer research with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

2026 is Casie’s 16th year volunteering with the foundation, where she started capturing the events back in 2011 as a photographer.

This year, we’re honored to share that story as part of Podcasthon, the first global charity movement uniting podcasters to spotlight causes that matter to them. For us, the second we learned of this movement — there was no question on what our episode would be about.

Why Funding Research Matters

We kick the episode off with the familiar mix of humor and heart that defines this show. Casie jokes about finally getting her hair back to purple only to shave it off— but beneath the laughter is a story of commitment, community, and the kind of hope that requires action.

St. Baldrick’s is one of the largest funders of childhood cancer research in the world. As Casie explains, “children’s cancer is really not as rare as many people think it is… and the funding for it is painfully low.”

With only 4% of the US Government funding being budgeted for pediatric cancer research, that is why the world needs organizations like the St. Baldrick’s Foundation — to fill in the gap.

That gap is where everyday people—parents, friends, strangers, and, yes, podcasters—step in.

🍀 About Childhood Cancer

🍀 St. Baldrick’s Financials

How Casie Got Started with St. Baldrick’s

Sixteen years ago, Casie was a wee, bebe photographer who agreed to shoot a St. Baldrick’s event because it sounded fun, meaningful, and full of first responders—something close to her heart. She watched two women shave their heads that day and thought, “I could do that.”

She didn’t shave that first year. But she came back in 2012 and made a promise — she’d go bald one day too. But they had to wait until the event after she was married!

In 2013, she came back again. This time, with a team in memory of her sister, Kellie — Team Live Out Loud was born.

In 2017, Sean proposed, and the rest, as they say, is history.

By 2018, Get Married, Go Bald was ON! And just two days after Sean and Casie were married—19 inches of purple hair was gone in minutes. She raised $26,000 that year alone. And when a friend asked, “What’s next?” — she knew immediately that they’d be back the following year to do it all again.,

Since then, Team Live Out Loud has raised nearly $200,000 for childhood cancer research. (We’re less than $1,000 away from that milestone!)

And here’s the part that always surprises people: most of that money came from small donations. “I think like 90% of it was $100 and under… an overwhelming majority under $50.”

Donate to St. Baldricks Now!

Why This Work Is Still Urgent

One of the most powerful parts of the episode is Casie’s explanation of why this fight is so critical.

Children aren’t just “small adults.” Their cancers are biologically different—27 types, each requiring its own research. Yet only 4% of NIH cancer funding goes toward pediatric cancers. “4% is tragically low…and if it’s any lower than that, it’s completely unacceptable.”

Because pediatric‑specific treatments often don’t exist, kids are frequently treated with adult chemotherapy and radiation—which often leads to secondary issues and cancers. “You would not walk into store and buy your child the ADULT form of a medication — but that’s essentially what many parents are face with after their child is diagnosed with cancer because that’s all there is.”

This is why funding research matters. When we fund research, we’re providing the opportunity to find better, safer, more specific treatments for these kids — giving them healthier, longer lives.

And this is why Casie has even taken her fight to Congress as part of Action Days (that actually took place in February this year) —meeting with lawmakers to push for further nationwide funding and stronger policy support for pediatric cancer research.

From showing up to photograph one event to going bald, taking that to DC, and raising $200k — safe to say we’ve got a full fledged advocate on our hands here. 🙃

What’s Next for Casie—and for Team Live Out Loud

This year marks Casie’s 9th head shave, and her dad and Sean’s 13th shave. It also marks a transition.

After this shave, the team is taking a break from the clippers. BUT! Not from the mission. It just might look different than you’re used to.

Casie will continue fundraising (her link will ALWAYS be live and ready to receive your donations), advocating, and amplifying the stories that matter. She’ll continue pushing for policy change, and she’ll continue showing up for kids and families who don’t get to take a break.

And while you might be thinking she probably wants to grow her hair out? She actually wants to keep the buzz cut for a while. True to her nature, you’ll likely never catch her with long hair ever again. 🤣

How You Can Help Team Live Out Loud

Podcasthon is about collective impact—hundreds of podcasters using their platforms to lift up causes that deserve attention. And we hope this did that for YOU! If you’re ready to help us fund children’s cancer research or raise further awareness, here’s how:

Donate to Casie’s fundraising efforts here:

Donate to St. Baldricks Now!

You can also:

• Share this episode throughout your networks to spread awareness

• Learn more about Podcasthon and discover other creators doing good

• Call your representatives and advocate for pediatric cancer research funding:

202-224-3121

5 Calls is a great resource for finding topics important to you and quickly calling your representatives. Set your location, get the right numbers, and use the in app prompts. Takes less than a few minutes and makes a huge impact! Apple App | Android App

Every dollar matters. Every share matters. Every voice matters.

👩🏼‍🦲 Let’s do some great things for kid’s battling cancer!

PS: The word we couldn’t think of was SABBATICAL. 🤣

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• A chaotic, heartfelt deep dive into millennial gift‑giving culture, as we spiral from lucky‑number superstitions and daylight saving time chaos into ADHD impulse shopping, sentimental keepsakes, and the unspoken rules of being someone’s lifelong gift‑giving person.

• The Turkey Vase Topic Draw delivers “Funniest BFF Purchases,” unleashing a parade of iconic friendship gifts — from the legendary Frog on a Toilet and porcelain poo décor to dumpster‑fire Post‑It holders, mysterious post‑surgery surprises, and the ever‑chaotic Turkey Vase itself.

• A celebration of meaningful, cross‑country friendship gifting, highlighting thoughtful favorites like Follow Your Legend bracelets, Wonderbly storybooks, LovePop advent calendars, and artist‑made ornaments — plus practical tips for choosing the perfect gift, embracing inside jokes, and ditching the guilt around giving and receiving.

Once again, we’re not sponsored by any of these amazing companies or artists — we just really love these items, they make wonderful gifts, and have brought us both a ton of joy over the years!

This week’s episode is a full‑body nod to the beautiful absurdity of being human, being best friends, and being people who take gift‑giving way too seriously…and also not seriously at all. Is it part of our BFF love language? I guess we’ll let you all decide that…

But first, a tangent on lucky numbers and daylight saving time — like, yay, more light at the end of the day, but also where the heck did the hour go in the morning? Now we just wake up and immediately get hit with the day? Ew.

We then spiral into impulse shopping, sentimental keepsakes, shattered ornaments (that Casie totally forgot existed), must have toilet‑themed desk décor, and the mysterious, unspoken rules of being someone’s lifelong gift‑giving person.

Funniest BFF Purchases (aka: The Turkey Strikes Again)

The Beloved Turkey Vase delivered this week’s prompt: Funniest BFF Purchases. And wow, did it deliver:

• The Frog on a Toilet — a desk companion no one asked for, everyone needs, and both of us have.

• The Porcelain Toilet + Porcelain Poo — a classic in the friendship canon. Also, please cut to the scene of Casie just now, as she finds these links, realizing that the toilet is…in fact a planter? For real plants? Huh. Who would’ve thought…

• The Dumpster Fire Post‑It Holder — functional, symbolic, and deeply on‑brand Also, “Every topic that goes in the turkey is written on the flames from the dumpster fire…”

• The Infamous Turkey Vase — apparently there’s a hot dog and hamburger set?

• The Mysterious Items that Showed Up at Casie’s Door after Surgery and the Helmeted Item of Mystery — the ones we can’t show the internet, but will amuse us forever.

Y’know what? If you’re reading the show notes? You deserve a little treat. Enjoy. To be fair, these do say they’re perfect for Halloween and Christmas parties. Which is probably debatable at best. We have no idea where to find the helmeted versions these days…but a quick (albeit potentially dangerous) google search will probably get you there. 🙃

The Sentimental Wins

Not all our gifts are mysteriously, mischievously chaotic though! Some are deeply thoughtful, meaningful, and rooted in our reality of being cross country BFFs:

• Follow Your Legend Bracelets — Amber has one with sand from Florida and Casie has one with sand from Washington.

Each of the Follow Your Legend products gives back to charities and organizations that help to protect our planet and it’s wildlife. (The link above you $15 off your first order, and gets Casie $15 off her next order)

• Wonderbly Custom Storybooks — great for kids, families, and all your friends! (This link gets you $20 off your first order, and gets Casie $20 off her next order — which will probably go to Amber’s boys 😂)

• The Adventure Challenge Bedtime Adventures — ALL the books from this company are amazing — but this is the one that Amber’s oldest keeps coming back to. Also great for friends, family, couples, and beyond.

• LovePop advent calendars — Casie got Amber’s boys this one, but goodness…there are SO MANY cute options now!

• Laura’s Beating Art - The artists behind the ghost ornament Amber got Casie. (And shoutout to El Gato Gomez, the artist behind the amazing Babushka art Casie is obsessed with)

• The OG Instagram ornament — a redemption arc after the Great Shattered Ornament Incident (and one of Casie’s favorite ornaments). Unfortunately it can’t be linked because it is truly one-of-a-kind.

Why Gift Giving is So Emotional (and Sometimes Stressful)

The episode digs into the psychology of giving:

• The pressure to find “the perfect gift”

• The minimalist’s dilemma — Amber says, “I don’t want to add to the waste… I’m big into gifts people will use.”

• The guilt of keeping gifts you don’t love or need

Gift-Giving Tips

• Listen for the small comments people make all year.

• Lean into shared memories or inside jokes. Sometimes the more ridiculous a gift is, the better.

• When in doubt: food, experiences, or things that will help create memories.

• Gift cards are not lazy — they’re freedom!

• And sometimes… people just need a turkey vase. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Or one of these randomly showing up at your door, unannounced, with no message from the gift giver, after you’ve had surgery. That’s a little treat for the readers in the group. 🤣

What have been some of your favorite gifts to give or receive?

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• A raw, millennial‑real talk deep dive into layoffs: We unpack the emotional, financial, and identity‑level fallout of job loss — from graduating into the recession to navigating multiple layoffs, rebuilding careers, and confronting the shame, burnout, and “bounce back” pressure that hits so many women in tech and creative fields.

• A brutally honest look at the job search in 2024: Covering AI‑filtered applications, recruiter ghosting, the emotional whiplash of hope vs. silence, and survival strategies like stepping away from LinkedIn, choosing trusted resume reviewers, using AI as a tool (not a voice), and reconnecting with your own narrative when everything feels unstable.

• A compassionate, cathartic conversation for anyone navigating layoffs: We weave in parenting realities, identity shifts, and the universal millennial feeling of “this is not what I expected of my life,” while offering encouragement, community, and links to the hosts’ most helpful layoff resources and pep talks.

Welcome to the Land of Layoffs

Some episodes feel like they were always meant to happen, and this one? This one practically leapt out of the turkey on its own. (Okay, we might’ve forced it this time)

But as two elder millennials experienced in their fair share of layoffs (including identity, burnout, and the emotional gymnastics of rebuilding our careers) — we felt it was a MUST.

This episode is a spotlight 🔦 — a deeper dive into a topic that’s hitting close to home for so many people right now. And because we have both lived through multiple layoffs (yes, plural — and even currently looking for our next opportunities), the conversation is equal parts catharsis, commiseration, and “oh wow, same.”

Also, we’ve made it. It’s happened. It’s taken 4 episodes — but Casie finally curses on this episode. Twice! Honestly? It seems fitting given the topic… 🤷🏼‍♀️

✨Don’t miss our links at the end to our other layoff posts written mostly as we were in the thick of it. There’s some great resources & pep talks in there!✨

The Millennial Layoff Starter Pack

Right out of the gate, we acknowledge the shared generational trauma:

“Are you even a millennial if you’ve never been laid off?” (Obviously, yes. If you’re born between the years 1981 and 1996 — you are. But, congratulations. Because more of us have gone through it than not.)

We both graduated into the 2008 recession, which means layoffs weren’t a plot twist — they were the backdrop. We should’ve known then that we were not going to be our parents generation.

Amber watched her first company cut its workforce in half.

Casie was laid off in 2012 and again in 2023, bookending a decade of career evolution with two very different emotional experiences.

The takeaway?

Layoffs aren’t just professional disruptions. They’re shockwaves to your core…even when they’re expected. Even when you’re not that upset to leave the company. Even when they LOOK easy and you eventually get to say it was a “blessing in disguise” — they SUCK when you’re going through them.

Rebuilding Yourself After Losing Your Job

One of the most resonant threads in the episode is the emotional aftermath — the part people often don’t talk about on LinkedIn.

In addition to losing your income and benefits (shoutout to the U.S.of.A.) — being laid off can also potentially mean losing:

• A team you saw 40 hours a week

• A routine

• A sense of purpose (maybe that dream job!)

• A version of yourself you thought was stable

• And in a world where work has become part of our personalities, communities, and structures, the loss hits harder than most people admit.

We dive into:

• The shame that surrounds layoffs (particularly the difference pre- and post-pandemic)

• The pressure to “bounce back” quickly

• The internal monologue that threatens to self sabotage

• The exhaustion of applying, interviewing, hoping, and…being ghosted

In short? “It is a full-time job to find a job — and it’s all unpaid!”

Parenting and the Unexpected Detours

Amber also shares what it’s like to navigate layoffs while raising her two boys — including the complicated mix of gratitude and grief.

On one hand, “I’ve watched our youngest grow up in a way I never would have if I’d been working.” But, on the other, “This is not what I expected of my life.”

It’s a brutally honest look at how career disruptions intersect with motherhood — the joy, the guilt, the recalibration, and the constant tug-of-war between who you are and who you’re expected to be. (In a world that basically demands both parents work)

The Job Search: Hunger Games, Anyone?

We break down the modern job hunt with painful accuracy:

• Hundreds of applicants within hours

• AI-driven resume filters

• Applications that ask for your soul — the homework! And Amber’s favorite question, “Why do you want to work here?”

• No way to check your status — Did you even GET our resume?

• Recruiter ghosting — CoolCoolCool. 🫠

• The burnout of trying to stay hopeful

Then there’s the emotional whiplash: “You apply, you get excited, you get hopeful… and then sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.”

Survival Strategies and The Subtle Art of Not Giving AF About the LinkedIn Influencers 🙃

This episode also dives into our survival strategies that helped:

• Taking intentional breaks from LinkedIn. (Seriously. STOP. LOOKING. AT. LINKEDIN. At least for an hour or a day. Or just look at the jobs — but don’t you dare scroll down that feed of influencers.)

• Letting go of the fear of missing “the perfect role”

• Choosing a few trusted people for resume feedback — EVERYONE has an opinion on resumes. Find your few trusted sources and count on them.

• Using AI as a tool — not a replacement — for storytelling

• Recording your career history out loud to reconnect with your own narrative

• Make sure YOU show up in your resume! Especially in the AI age, your humanity is your differentiator.

You’re Gonna Get Through This 🫶🏼

This episode is a love letter to anyone navigating layoffs, identity shifts, or the emotional chaos of trying to rebuild something meaningful in a world that keeps moving the goalposts.

We see you. And we hope you know that you’re never alone.

Resources & Pep Talks

Read Amber’s Layoff posts:

• Get the Updated Headshot!

• Get your Resume Updated!

Read Casie’s Layoff posts:

• So You’ve Been Laid Off — Now What? (Come for the Framework, stay for the screaming at the Sky, perhaps?)

• That Epic Barbie Speech — But Make it For Creatives

• The Severance Has Stopped But…Life Hasn’t (aka: When the Influencer Advice Got to Be Too Much)

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• It’s St. Baldrick’s season! So, of course we have to start with a little hair chat. We kick it off with a heartfelt look at Casie’s 16‑year journey shaving her head to raise money for childhood cancer research — including this year’s family‑wide “Shavee + Trimee” team effort.

• The Turkey Vase Topic Draw unleashes “Tools We Use,” sending us into a whirlwind of digital must‑haves (Dropbox, Google Photos, Marco Polo), ADHD‑friendly essentials (Loop earplugs), kitchen gadgets (avocado slicers and the infamous chicken‑shredding contraption), and high‑energy dog enrichment tools that keep Kenobi and Mattie blissfully tired.

• A classic We Swear We Had a Point spiral into tech ethics and friendship check‑ins, covering Meta’s eerie post‑mortem posting patents, the sweeter idea of recording family stories, and the “Chaos Report” — a grounding reminder that life, job hunts, and millennial exhaustion are easier when shared with your person.

Hey friends — it’s us, your cross‑country BFFs, back with this week’s episode which takes us from hair talk to turkey time to tools we love.

We Begin, Naturally…with Hair

This episode opens with Casie’s hair doing… whatever it wants. What was meant to be a purple‑blue blend has gone full blueberry, and the curls have decided to join the party for the first time in decades. Meanwhile, Kenobi is handing out sticks like she’s hosting a backyard giveaway. It’s fine. It’s all fine. This is the essence of our podcast — real life, real noise, real hair chaos (well, at least for another month or so).

St. Baldrick’s Season is Here Again

Wait. Where’s her hair going? We’re glad you asked. We gave a little teaser to this organization that is close to our hearts: St. Baldrick’s.

This year marks 16 years of volunteering for Casie, and 9 years of going bald to help fund children’s cancer research. Team Live Out Loud is closing in on $200k raised in that time! 🤯

And guess what? This year, the whole family is joining in — with Casie, Sean, and her dad as Shavees, and Casie’s mom and sister Stefanie as Trimees — a new option that lets people donate hair without going fully bald. We love this addition so much! It removes pressure, adds accessibility, and still supports an incredible cause.

We’ll have a full St. Baldrick’s episode coming up March 19th, but this was your little teaser. (We’re also officially part of the Podcasthon Week, March 14-20. Podcasthon is the world’s largest podcast charity initiative, bringing together podcasters globally to raise awareness for charitable causes.)

👩🏼‍🦲 Want to get a jump on donating to Casie’s beautiful bald head?

You can do that here!

Turkey Time: Tools We Use

Then it was time for everyone’s favorite part of the show: TURKEY VASE TOPIC DRAW! This week’s turkey topic was Tools We Use, and wow did that open the floodgates. We didn’t specify what kind of tools when we wrote these prompts, so naturally we covered a little bit of everything from cloud storage to kitchen gadgets to dog enrichment toys. (We’ve linked our favorites below, and are NOT receiving any endorsements, kick backs, or payments for sharing these with you all — we just genuinely love these tools)

Our Digital Lifelines

• Dropbox — Amber’s long‑term digital safety net and document brain. Casie also jumped in on Dropbox early as a photographer, and both have used it long term for digital organization, file storage, and ease of accessing files between devices.

• Google Photos — We’re currently using Google Photos for their searchability, but Casie is eyeing ENTE as it’s open-source, end-to-end encrypted, and cross-platform.

• Marco Polo — the backbone of our long‑distance friendship for yeaaaarrrs. Marco Polo is a video chat app that enables you to connect on your own time. (Kinda like a voice note — but with video.)

Tools for Our ADHD Brains

Loop earplugs got their moment in the spotlight as Casie has them at her desk, on her nightstand, and a pair that she can adjust to multiple volumes in her bag. She loved them so much, she sent Amber a pair as her Christmas gift this past year.

They help with overstimulation, kid noise, dog noise, and the general volume of existing. They’ve become a household staple for both of us. (If you want 15% off, you can use this link from Casie — she gets rewards points for each purchase)

Kitchen Tools We Didn’t Know We Needed

• Amber’s beloved avocado slicer, which has saved her hands and her sanity.

• Casie’s sister’s mysterious chicken‑shredding twist contraption, which looks fake until you see it in action.

• Also featured in this section: the phrase “aggressive meat” — which we regret and also absolutely do not regret. 🤷🏼‍♀️🤣

Dog Tools for High‑Energy Creatures

Casie shared the “lifesaver” — an interactive feeder that works the Kenobi and Mattie’s brains and bodies until they’re delightfully exhausted. Amber countered with the kids’ ball pit, which doubles as a canine enrichment zone.

Parenting is parenting, regardless of species. 🙌🏼

And Then We Spiraled Into Tech Ethics, Obviously

Because it wouldn’t be our podcast without a sharp left turn, we ended up talking about Meta patenting tech that could allow accounts to keep posting after someone dies. Our reactions ranged from “absolutely not” to “why is this a thing” to “this feels like Facebook Memories but haunted.”

Amber did pitch the much sweeter idea of recording family stories for future generations — which Casie called out as being way more adorable and significantly less creepy.

Friendship Check‑In: The Weekly Chaos Report

We wrapped with our weekly peak and “what even was that” moment — our grounding ritual that reminds us (and you) that life is messy, funny, unpredictable, and better when shared with your people.

Are we both looking for new jobs? Yes. But are we doing our best to keep on truckin’…also, yes. And this podcast has brought us both a huge about of ✨JOY✨ lately.

So, thank you all for tuning in! We’ll see you next week when we’ll do it all over again.

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pup @JoJotheKeeshond.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• A chaotic, ADHD‑powered deep dive into millennial womanhood, featuring Valentine’s Day hot takes, Kenobi’s “puppy ADHD,” and the debut of the now‑iconic Turkey Vase Topic Draw, the podcast’s official chaos generator.

• Amber and Casie share eerily similar ADHD origin stories, unpacking medication moments, viral ADHD content, and the relatable realities of living with neurodivergent brains while juggling life, work, kids, and pets.

• The Procrastination Olympics takes center stage, breaking down why “I’ll do it later” hits different for ADHD’ers, why “just start” is terrible advice, and how avoidance magically transforms into reorganizing your entire pantry.

Welcome to episode 2 — we did it! So consistent. Look at us go.

So, what do we have planned for this week? How about’ a Turkey Vase Topic Draw (working title), two ADHD origin stories, and absolutely zero chill?! You can only get that here, ladies and gentlemen…especially the TVTD.

If you survived our Galentine’s Day kickoff episode — congratulations, and welcome back. New here? Pull up a chair, grab a snack you forgot you opened, and settle in. You’re one of us now. (Also, where were you last week?)

This week, we bring you: The Procrastination Olympics. But before we get there (because of course we don’t get there right away), we take a scenic detour through Valentine’s Day, ADHD beginnings, and Kenobi makes her first appearance!

Get your quick Valentine’s Day recap — and by “recap,” we mean a gentle roast of the holiday itself. Amber by way of delicious foods, and Casie by way of calling out Valentine’s Day for NOT being Halloween. Which will surprise absolutely no one.

Then it’s time for….The Turkey Vase Topic Draw.

Yes, it’s a turkey.

Yes, it’s a vase.

For new listeners, the Turkey Vase is exactly what it sounds like — a ceramic turkey that also happens to be a vase, and now also happens to be the official chaos generator of the podcast. (Listen, we’re not just gonna let AI generate EVERYTHING. Not on our watch!) Each week, Amber will draw a random topic from the vase, and whatever comes out is what we will talk about.

This week’s topic?

ADHD.

Could we have planned this any better? Absolutely not.

Casie had just finished telling a story about Kenobi’s “puppy ADHD” and how she was actively waiting on a prescription refill for Kenobi’s medication as skipping that morning’s dose had left them all “having a day” in Orlando.

Then the universe said, “You know what? Let’s lean in.”

Get ready for our ADHD origin stories — which, in true cross‑country‑BFF fashion, are eerily similar. Same brain, different time zones. We’re not experts, but we’re livin’ with it and learning through it, together.

Casie and Amber also share a recent viral video of a mom off her ADHD meds and on her ADHD meds and the wild differences one tiny medication can make to improving EVERYONE’s lives, not just your own.

Then, Amber jumps in with a 💥super specific time warning💥 — “We have four minutes and fifty seconds left!”

Cue Casie: “Oh no! We still have to get to the Procrastination Olympics!”

So, we’re off and running like Nazgûl at the Olympics, to the Procrastination Olympics we go!

• The differences between “I’ll do it later.” vs. “I’m thinking about doing it later.”

• “I’ve been avoiding this task for 12 business days but suddenly reorganizing my entire pantry feels urgent.”

• Why “just start” is one of the worst pieces of advice for an ADHD’er.

We could’ve easily talked about this topic ALL.DAY.LONG. But, alas. We had to wrap it up and close this week out. We can’t wait to see y’all next week — topic TBD by the Turkey Vase Topic Draw (working title).

If you have stories, questions, tangents you’d love to hear about, OR names for the Turkey Vase Topic Draw — we’d love to hear from you.

🌲 Connect with Amber on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn.

🌴 Catch Casie on Threads, Substack, or LinkedIn — you can also check out her pups @PawsitivePointers.

• A long‑distance best‑friendship podcast launches on Galentine’s Day, celebrating female friendship, Leslie Knope energy, and the joyful chaos that defines Amber and Casie’s cross‑country bond.

• The hosts share their origin story, revisiting the early moments, inside jokes, and cross‑country traditions that shaped their inseparable friendship and inspired the show’s “structured chaos” vibe.

• A weekly feel‑good podcast you didn’t know you needed, offering 30-40 minute episodes filled with tangents, laughter, authentic connection, and the comforting energy of two best friends catching up across the miles.

Episode 1 — Happy Galentine’s Day

Welcome to the very first episode of We Swear We Had a Point! We’re dropping you right into the heart of what we (and, by extension this podcast) is all about: long‑distance best‑friendship, joyful chaos, and the kind of hype‑woman energy that makes you feel instantly at home.

Fittingly, the debut is a Galentine’s Day celebration—because what better way to launch a show rooted in female friendship than on the holiday the Patron Saint of Female Friendship: Leslie Knope herself would insist upon.

About We Swear We Had a Point

We (oh, hi. We’re and ) kick things off by introducing who we are—just like we did here, but with more details—and set the tone for this pod, which (as we’re sure so many great pods do) started as a joke.

Tl;dr: It’s two cross-country best friends catching up, spiraling into tangents, and somehow always finding our way back to the point… eventually. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Expect weekly episodes (20–30 minutes, dropping every Friday Eve) filled with new segments, stories, and the kind of delightful detours that only happen when your brain jumps tracks mid‑sentence. Like our lives, it’s structured chaos, and we’re pretty proud of it. 🤣

Getting it Together

The first full segment dives into our origin story and how two women on opposite sides of the country became inseparable.

We revisit the early days of our friendship, the moments that cemented our bond, and the running jokes that still show up years later.

We also reflect on what Galentine’s Day means to us and share a few favorite memories (including a couple of the cross‑country gifts we’ve exchanged over the years).

The Pod You Didn’t Know You Needed

Does the world need another podcast? Probably not. But in 2026, do you need a couple of new best friends who bring their authentic, ridiculous selves to the table hoping to leave you laughing and smiling a little bit more than you were before? Sure. We could all use that these days. 💜