What's it like working for a company owned by private equity? Lauren and Anna share the real real. Well, Anna more than Lauren because Lauren wants to keep her job for a while longer. But not our gal Anna - she's got all the tea on the PE disaster she worked for.

This is definitely one of the most meandering episodes to date, so buckle up, buttercup.

Guides Anna mentioned for bowing out of mega corps:

Cut Off the Spigot substack

Cut Off the Spigot, specifically browsers

Connect with us at literallytheworstpod.com. Or to buy us a coffee, visit buymeacoffee.com/igjm23pjux.

You can find Lauren at www.laurenmhight.com where you can learn more about her end-of-life planning and support offerings.

You can find Anna at www.annaschmunk.com, where you can learn more about spiritual direction and subscribe to her free newsletter, Everything is Connected.

Is there anything easier to hate than a Cybertruck? We don't think so. Lauren and Anna dive into Cybertruck recalls, it's design (or lack thereof), and its general horrendous-ness for passengers and anyone within a crash-able range of the dumpster on wheels.

Connect with us at literallytheworstpod.com. Or to buy us a coffee, visit buymeacoffee.com/igjm23pjux.

You can find Lauren at www.laurenmhight.com where you can learn more about her end-of-life planning and support offerings.

You can find Anna at www.annaschmunk.com, where you can learn more about spiritual direction and subscribe to her free newsletter, Everything is Connected.

In this week’s episode of Literally the Worst, Anna and Lauren dive into their most frustrating petty peeves and explore their deconstruction around their beliefs around capitalism. They start by unpacking a shared definition of what capitalism is, how it works, and why it's not necessarily working anymore.

Connect with us at literallytheworstpod.com. Or to buy us a coffee, visit buymeacoffee.com/igjm23pjux.

You can find Lauren at www.laurenmhight.com where you can learn more about her end-of-life planning and support offerings.

You can find Anna at www.annaschmunk.com, where you can learn more about spiritual direction and subscribe to her free newsletter, Everything is Connected.

A goofy gameshow clips gets this party started and begs the question, "Is it war?" Lauren brings the receipts on the Iran war - what has been spent, who has been killed, and why calling something “kinetic military action” does not make it less like a real war.

Anna brings clarity and polish to frame what counts as an act of war even when Congress avoids the word. Together, they unpack the gap between political spin and reality, especially when the consequences are already measurable.

There are several things we can do, and a very important one is coming up soon - VOTE in the midterms! Check vote.gov to ensure your registration is good to go (deadline varies by state), get registered, and check your polling location since those have changed for a lot of folks.

Is It War? gameshow clip

Connect with us at literallytheworstpod.com. Or to buy us a coffee, visit buymeacoffee.com/igjm23pjux.

You can find Lauren at www.laurenmhight.com where you can learn more about her end-of-life planning and support offerings.

You can find Anna at www.annaschmunk.com, where you can learn more about spiritual direction and subscribe to her free newsletter, Everything is Connected.

A creepy story from Yosemite in September is resurrecting the Man vs Bear question for women. Anna and Lauren explore the nuance of that question. Do you think they'll agree? Also, Lauren gets into starting TMS, we dream about living in a land of Moomin, and we discover yet another layer of nerdy-ness together.

Connect with us at literallytheworstpod.com. Or to buy us a coffee, visit buymeacoffee.com/igjm23pjux.

You can find Lauren at www.laurenmhight.com where you can learn more about her end-of-life planning and support offerings.

You can find Anna at www.annaschmunk.com, where you can learn more about spiritual direction and subscribe to her free newsletter, Everything is Connected.

Anna and Lauren dive into what happens when models in magazines are no longer real, what that means for the beauty industrial complex and how it impacts beauty standards.

Threads Post that Kicks Off this Convo

Mentioned in this episode

Scene on Radio Episode 9, Season 7: The Tipping Point

Connect with us at literallytheworstpod.com. Or to buy us a coffee, visit buymeacoffee.com/igjm23pjux.

You can find Lauren at www.laurenmhight.com where you can learn more about her end-of-life support offerings and systems management work.

You can find Anna at www.annaschmunk.com, where you can learn more about spiritual direction and subscribe to her free newsletter, Everything is Connected.

• Anna and Lauren kick it off by discussing things they find "the worst" that are just petty - like dirty sinks and construction too close to car washes.
• Then, they discuss a recent episode of Pantsuit Politics that Anna listened to that triggered a memory of study findings that found that women, in general, have less hope for the future of America.
• Anna and Lauren explore why that might be, through the lens of the issues discussed in the Pantsuit episode. Could it be the growing misogyny that women are dealing with in the United States?

Articles discussed and referenced:

• He says most women should be denied the vote (Steve Inskeep)
• Defense Secretary Hegseth intervened to stop promotions of Black and female officers (NPR)
• Sew long, farewell: 43-year creator of Blue Angels flight suits supplanted by new contract (Stars and Stripes)
• What to Know About Trump’s Aide Natalie Harp (TIME)
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is freezing her eggs and sharing the process online (The 19th)
• Prior backing for fertility care reversed in Senate panel’s NDAA (Roll Call)

Connect with us at literallytheworstpod.com. Or to buy us a coffee, visit buymeacoffee.com/igjm23pjux.

You can find Lauren at www.laurenmhight.com where you can learn more about her end-of-life support offerings and systems management work.

You can find Anna at www.annaschmunk.com, where you can learn more about spiritual direction and subscribe to her free newsletter, Everything is Connected.