Stay ConnectedPodcrushed — the podcast where Penn Badgley reads your middle school story — explores the heartbreak, anxiety and self-discovery of being a teenager. Hosts Penn Badgley, Nava Kavelin, and Sophie Ansari bring you stories and conversations about middle school – from childhood crushes, to battles with body hair, to schoolyard scuffles. The results are sometimes awkward, sometimes heartwarming, and always relatable.
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Copyright: © 2025 Penn Badgley, Nava Kavelin, Sophie Ansari
**This episode of Podcrushed was recorded prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.** Our guest this week is none other than Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless, Gossip Girl). She and Penn reunite for the first time since filming the season finale of Gossip Girl in 2012. Taylor shares what it was like being the youngest actor on set, her impressions of working with Penn, and why it was important for her to give her all to pursuing a career in music. Taylor lets us in on her creative muses, how she's drawn inspiration from the darkest moments of her life, and how she's learned to pick herself up after facing heartbreaking losses.
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Today we bring you an episode from "I Weigh", the podcast against shame hosted by Jameela Jamil, where she sits down with Penn for a wide-spanning conversation. From Jameela's feed: "Actor, podcaster, and most thoughtful man Penn Badgley joins Jameela and the two ponder life, love and fame. They discuss his experience becoming an adult in the limelight, what it feels like to be heavily sexualized, why they both don't enjoy sex scenes, how his fame affects his children, his personal journey with finding peace and happiness, and together they ask the toughest question - what is love?"
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The hosts are back with their S2 AMA (or should we say AUA -- Ask Us Anything) episode. They reflect on who their favorite guests have been, their most vulnerable moments on the show, things they’ve learned about each other in the process of making Podcrushed, and everyone shares a critical lesson they’ve learned about love.
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**This episode of Podcrushed was recorded prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.** Today we're joined by actor, podcaster, and certified Hollywood icon Rob Lowe, who spares no details about the highs and lows of his truly remarkable life. Nothing is off the table -- from stories of his teenagehood in the limelight, to his journey with sobriety and spirituality, to his discoveries about parenthood, Rob's signature blend of honesty and optimism is in full force throughout.
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You may know her from her viral Netflix specials, "Quarter Life Crisis" and "Look at You", but this week's guest, the bright, witty, and ludicrously funny Taylor Tomlinson, feels duped! She thought she was coming on for a breezy conversation on first periods and childhood crushes, and instead found herself deep in a conversation on heartbreak, rejection, death, and mental health. The hosts hold nothing back, too, this week as they reflect on sudden loss and middle school trauma. This is a special episode of Podcrushed you won't wanna miss.
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ALOK (author, poet, comedian) wows the Podcrushed gang with their deep insights into human nature, connection, friendship, and identity. They share stories of self-discovery and acceptance, healing and growing with compassion — all with their trademark blend of wry humor and deep wisdom.
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**This episode of Podcrushed was recorded prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.** Nina Dobrev (Vampire Diaries) stops by the pod to share recollections from her early adolescence, including her time as a substitute on the national Canadian gymnastics team, navigating Canadian culture under a strict Bulgarian upbringing, and recognizing how recreating family-seeking patterns in romantic relationships was preventing her from finding real love.
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This week the brilliant Jenny Han—creator of To All the Boys I've Ever Loved, XO Kitty and The Summer I Turned Pretty—shares the real story behind the letters she wrote to all the boys she'd ever loved. She also talks about the importance of protecting her young actors, investing in new talent, and how she convinced Taylor Swift to let her use a track off the unreleased 1989 (Taylor’s Version!)
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Kelly Clarkson, the award-winning singer, songwriter, and television personality, brings her buoyant spirit to the pod for a wide-ranging chat about everything from winning the very first season of American Idol, to living out of her car after her apartment burned down, to the moment she had as a middle schooler when she realized she could sing. (Like, SING sing).
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Today we're running back one of our favorite episodes! America's favorite friend Lisa Kudrow speaks candidly about her adolescence, family tragedy, her days in a comedy troupe with Conan O'Brien, and what it was really like to revisit "Friends" after all these years.
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