Binchtopia

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The 2025 Pop Culture Recap: WE NEEDED THIS! Dec 24, 2025

Show notes

In the final episode of the year, Julia and Nick deliver our annual pop culture recap, revisiting the most absurd moments of 2025, including Hawk Tuah insisting she did a Zoom in North Korea, JoJo Siwa's straight rebrand, and the birth of Aquaman Moses Paytas-Hacmon. Digressions include: Nick's Looney Tunes–ass passport horrors, modern headphone dependency, and the importance of having mutuals with a baby.

This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette.

If you're looking for ways to get involved, support your community, or stay connected:

RESOURCES:

Find local actions, rallies, trainings, phone banking opportunities, and community events near you here: https://www.mobilize.us/

To find, join, or start mutual aid efforts ranging from food support to community care: https://www.mutualaidhub.org/

Connect with a national grassroots network organizing in solidarity with marginalized communities through civic education and political action: https://indivisible.org/

Resources for families facing deportation, including legal support and community assistance: https://immigrantsrising.org/support-for-immigrant-families-targeted-for-deportation/

Lemme Ruin Christmas *TEASER* Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

This week Julia and Nick bring you a holiday horrors episode full of festive chaos! They unpack their own holiday traditions and react to cursed listener stories including a dad who got too kooky, a dramatic dog on a mission, and a girl who received heartbreaking news about her dentist. Digressions include the tooth fairy's terrible work life balance, the beautiful lives of leaf cutter ants, and Oil.

This is a teaser for a Patreon-exclusive episode. To listen to the full episode and access over 50 bonus episodes, mediasodes, and our monthly news broadcast What the Hell Sure NEWS, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

God Forbid We Linger Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

Julia and Eliza are back in the stu for a deep dive into hostile architecture, unpacking the spikes, slopes, bars, and billion-dollar "design choices" that quietly shape our cities and public spaces. In analyzing bisected benches, shadeless streets, and the Evil of Robert Moses, the girlies consider what it means to live in a world built to restrict movement and community. Digressions include the sacred magic of knitting tutorials, NYC's food poisoning themed Erewhon, and Eliza staying bricked up.

This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette.

To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

SOURCES

Behavioral designs defined: how to understand and why it is important to differentiate between "defensive," "hostile," "disciplinary", and other designs in the urban landscape'

Cities Are Spending More to Brutalize Homeless People Than It Would Cost to House Them

City Beautiful Movement

Defending Suburbia

Examining Anti-Homeless Architecture

Fortress LA by Mike Davis (excerpt from City of Quartz)

Hostile Architecture: Behind the Buzzword

Hostile Architecture in the United States: Productive or Harmful?

Hostile urban architecture: A critical discussion of the seemingly offensive art of keeping people away

How Valuable Is Public Space? Priceless, Argues a New Book by Setha Low

Jane Jacobs, a Rebel with a Cause

Setha Low | Why Public Space Matters | Fast Forward 2022

The Economic Value of Health Benefits Associated with Urban Park Investment?

The Highway That Sparked the Demise of an Iconic Black Street in New Orleans

The Inescapable Robert Moses

The Right to the City

The Power Broker by Robert Caro

Understanding Hostile Architecture: The Cause and Effect of Restricting Public Space

Understanding Urban Renewal

Julia's Fireside Chat *TEASER* Dec 03, 2025

Show notes

Julia cozies up in her childhood bedroom for her first-ever solo episode, providing a little life update from the trenches of her PhD program and giving the binchies some sage advice. Digressions include whatever the hell is going on with the Wicked cast, New York apartment vermin, and the strange comfort of magical thinking.

Against The Big Light w/ Roxy Jamin Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

Julia is joined by artist and candlelight devotee Roxy Jamin for an illuminating episode examining The Big Light. Together, the girlies explore how modern LED lighting and the death of neon have slowly divorced us from nature, mystery, and the romance of the hearth, while keeping us trapped in a world of endless noon. Digressions include the shame of using an Instagram Reel as a flashlight, the false promise of a pink drill, and the occasional need to admire the Amish.

This episode was produced by Julia Hava and edited by Livi Burdette.

To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

You can pre-order Roxy's manifesto AND purchase her stickers here: https://spiralingpress.com/

Roxy's Website: https://rjamin.net/

SOURCES

A Brief History of Lighting

ATTENTION AND DISTRACTION IN THE LIGHTING OF WORK-PLACES

Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind

Fading glory: the fight to save Hong Kong's beloved neon signs

Home lighting: In defense of "The Big Light."

Humans perceive flicker artifacts at 500 Hz

Last Call for Neon in New York City

Life before artificial light | Life and style | The Guardian

Lighting - IEA

Psychological processes influencing lighting quality

Psychology of Light: How Light Influences the Health and Psyche

The Difference Between Halogen and LED Lights in Surgical Rooms

The History of Fluorescent Lights

The Social History of Lighting

Thousands of drivers sign petition calling for ban on 'blinding' vehicle headlights.

The potential influence of LED lighting on mental illness

Where Did All the Hong Kong Neon Go? - The New York Times

Going Feast Mode *TEASER* Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

In this truly chaotic Thanksgiving-themed episode, Julia and Nick celebrate the holiday the only way that makes sense: unpacking the LIES and encasing everything in jello. Course by course, the binchies revisit the original feast of 1621, the one 19th century lady who kept trying to make Thanksgiving happen, and your insane family stories and recipes. Digressions include the French winning the IDGAF war, Kim Kardashian's ChatGPT induced academic failure, and a surprise attack in the stu.

DIYers Make Do w/ Nick Garros Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

Reporting live from the newly DIY'ed stu, Julia is joined by beautiful Nick, the king of DIY, to chart the chaotic history of "doing it yourself." From ancient Greeks assembling Ikea-style furniture to TikTokers accidentally creating mustard gas in their homes, they uncover how the urge to DIY is fundamentally human. Along the way, they discuss Victorian men who couldn't do shit, 1950s dads working through PTSD by tinkering in their garages, the health benefits of working with your hands, and the scientific proof that gay people are superior at home improvement.

Digressions include Nick's evil brother's latest crimes against humanity, the life-saving potential of eliminating daylight savings times, and a new candy that awakens something ancient within us.

This episode was produced by Julia Hava and edited by Livi Burdette.

To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

SOURCES

A brief history of DIY, from the shed to the maker movement | Science Museum

A New Generation of Influencers Has Discovered DIY on a Tiny Budget

Barry Bucknell | | The Guardian

Despite a Pandemic Remodeling Boom, Aging US Homes Require Additional Investment

Dig for Victory! New histories of wartime gardening in Britain - ScienceDirect

Do It Yourself...and the Movement Beyond Capitalism

Do-It-Yourself: Constructing, Repairing and Maintaining Domestic Masculinity

First episode of Bucknell's House

Homeownership by Selected Demographic and Housing Characteristics

How the lesbian squats of London Fields influenced queer DIY culture

In These D.I.Y. Groups, 'You Don't Have to Prove That You Belong' - The New York Times

Make Do and Mend, 1943

Man makes nuclear reactor in garage

Men change tires: Lesbians unfazed by flat packs

Psychological benefits of the "maker" or do-it-yourself movement in young adults: A pathway towards subjective well-being.

The King of D.I.Y. Dwellings - The New York Times

The new crisis of masculinity

The Strange Allure of Watching Other People Tear Up Their Homes - The New York Times

Think DIY Saves Money? Here's What Really Happened When I Tried It

Understanding the do-it-yourself consumer: DIY motivations and outcomes | AMS Review

Was punk DIY? Is DIY punk? Interrogating the DIY/punk nexus, with particular reference to the early UK punk scene, c. 1976–1984 - George McKay, 2024

What's the Matter with Men?

Dear Binchie w/ Eli Rallo *TEASER* Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

This week, Julia is joined by internet advicestress Eli Rallo to chart the history of the advice column. From Victorian agony aunts to the iconic twin-sister rivals Ann Landers and Dear Abby, they follow how advice became both moral instruction and mass entertainment. Plus, the girlies weigh in on history's biggest dilemmas, like: is a ginger man doomed to be single forever? Is my dog gay? And is my hot wife allowed to be naked in our own home? Digressions include crowdfunding therapy for trauma candy salad victims, the female urge to visit a psychic, and advice for living your most slayful life.

Check out Eli's new book: Does Anyone Else Feel This Way?

So There's This Curse... w/ Nick Garros Oct 22, 2025

Show notes

BOO! It's time for another binchtacular Halloween episode! Join Julia and Nick in costume as they explore humanity's pettiest tradition: CURSES! From blighted crops and ancient binding spells to Etsy witches who can hex your ex, they unpack the storied history of transforming rage into ritual — while cackling hysterically along the way. Digressions include sad crab facts, the burden of being bald, and a Halloween abortion story with a happy ending.

This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette.

To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

SOURCES

10 Famous Curses from History

11 of the Most Infamous Ancient Curses in History

1973: England's Deadliest Chair?

6 Famous Curses and Their Origins

8 Hilarious Curse Tablets from the Roman World

Ancient Christians and the Power of Curses

Ancient Greek Curse Tablets

Are Curses Real? A Psychological Perspective on a Perennial Belief

Curse Tablets: The History Of A Technology

How Curses Impact People and Biblical Responses

How to Do Things with Words

In Blood and Ashes: Curse Tablets and Binding Spells in Ancient Greece

The Curse of King Tut's Tomb

The Curse Tablets of Carthage

The Pharaoh's Curse or the Pharaoh's Cure?

Want to get rid of a toxic ex? Or curse someone? Hire an Etsy witch.

Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic among the Azande

Grad School Is a Masochistic Act w/ Aliza Jay *TEASER* Oct 15, 2025

Show notes

In a long-awaited episode, Julia is joined by her PhD bestina Jewish Aliza for a multifaceted discussion about mental illness, psychology programs, and the hell of grad school. The girlies differentiate between the many ways to become a therapist, affirm psychodynamic supremacy, navigate how to practice with an online presence, and unpack how they try (and fail) to maintain their sanity. Digressions include the need for bipolar lesbian representation, Aliza's Catherine Zeta-Jones themed Bat Mitzvah, and the importance of reaching out to randos.

This is a teaser for a Patreon-exclusive episode. To listen to the full episode and access over 50 bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

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