This week, Kate tests out a new format with Courtney sitting in as a "body double" to keep her on track, and it quickly goes off the rails: Kelly Clarkson vs. Dragons Love Tacos, Teddy's brutally honest observations, a coffee shop Pretty Woman moment, why Courtney hates magicians, Shane Gillis' gas station sunglasses energy, and a mysterious Chicago conspiracy involving a billionaire, dark money, rats, and a luxury melange of nuts that leads to a truly shocking revelation Kate never saw coming. She closes with how this week's accidental theme of deception connects to the new Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything and gives a high-level, spoiler-free review. For a deeper dive, go to patreon.com/bethereinfive. Enjoy!

PRE-ORDER Kate's upcoming book, She's Let Herself Go, out 4/27/27! And, if you haven't picked up her first book, the NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial, check it out here!

Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH!

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This week, Kate is joined by fellow Chicagoan Katie Shober, founder of Beach Reads & Bubbly, the beloved book community that started as recommendations on her personal Instagram and grew into roughly 300 book clubs around the world. First, Kate introduces her new book's title and concept and shares more context for what she's been working on the past three years (feel free to skip to the interview!) Then, Kate and Katie get into Goodreads finally adding half stars, the Alix Earle "Dr. Seuss" discourse, the chili pepper spice economy, why romance keeps publishing afloat while getting none of the respect, and the Edward Cullen to mob boss pipeline. They also talk about how anyone with small kids actually finds time to read, the Yesteryear backlash, and how reading got swept up in optimization culture. Plus, Katie brings a stack of recs: reading-rut breakers, a Halloween murder mystery, an entry-level "Brad," and an underrated book she thinks everyone should be talking about. Enjoy!

Pre-order Kate's new book here!!!

Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here!

Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH!

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The Cornell 7, Consent, Why are you adding me on LinkedIn?

This week, Kate is up late whisper-screaming into the mic, starting with condescending religious commenters and meandering into a conversation about the Cornell 7 that wasn't going to be the episode but then became the episode. Kate walks through what the lawsuit and Jane Doe's 2024 statements actually say, asks why a DA publicly litigated her account before a grand jury could hear it, and talks about the pride she feels toward the student journalists at the Cornell Daily Sun who broke the story. From there, she turns to why this story hits women so hard beyond just, like, having a pulse, and why so many millennial women are sitting with the discomfort of the blackout culture we laughed off, the Wedding Crashers and Tucker Max era that made boundaries feel negotiable, the whiplash of going from purity culture to trying to pretend to be "chill," and the gray areas so many of us are still sorting through. Plus: what she's thinking about as the mom of a little boy, why every choice is its own choice (not consented to by the last one) and the most unhinged LinkedIn request of her life.

If these topics are triggering or upsetting in any way, please skip this one, and if you're ever in need of help, you can reach RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673 or online at rainn.org.

Hear Kate's full reaction to Life of a Showgirl: The Encore at patreon.com/bethereinfive

Order Kate's NYT Bestselling book, One in a Millennial here!

Text or leave a voicemail for Kate at 775-HEY-BETH!

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