The Really Very Crunchy Podcast

Latest Episodes:

AI is Plotting Our Death on Moltbook Feb 06, 2026

Show notes

Have you heard about Moltbook? Even when the AI agents aren't being sinister, there's just something icky about it. The next five years is going to be interesting...

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We Announced a Baby and Reddit Declared War Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

Jason and Emily wade into the Reddit comment swamp after Emily’s birth announcement goes mildly viral, unpacking why enjoying motherhood somehow earned them the labels “pro-natalist” and “ultra-conservative.” They talk through what was actually said, what people heard, and why the internet seems allergic to women liking their own lives. Along the way, they share a scary moment when one of their kids was almost taken in a Walmart, plus the latest baffling wellness trend sweeping the nation: house burping. Because in 2026, nothing says cultural discourse like kidnapping scares and releasing trapped air from your living room.

Music Licenses

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Emily’s Middle Earth Birth Plan Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

Emily and Jason sit down to discuss their current birth “plan”… which is really more of a loose collection of highly questionable options. There’s the hospital. There’s the shack. There’s the home birth. There’s the possibility of free-birthing on their way to Alaska.

No matter where it happens, one thing is non-negotiable: the birth must be Middle-earth themed.

00:00 Prepping for the Winter Storm

10:53 Lord of the Rings

20:29 Feeling unprepared for birth

25:37 Free-birthing

29:22 Disclaimer: Emily’s content warning

46:30 Modern medicine

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100th Episode Q&A Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

We made it to 100 episodes, so we’re doing what felt right: answering your questions. No theme, no agenda, just a wide-ranging Q&A covering parenting, marriage, crunchy life choices, content creation, homeschooling, fears, habits, things we’ve changed our minds about, and things we probably never will.

Thanks for listening, watching, sharing, and sticking with us for 100 episodes. We genuinely couldn’t do this without you.

00:00 Our 100th Episode!

05:30 Emily gives someone a talkin’ to

22:33 Are we going on tour again?

23:37 What is our favorite most embarrassing memory together?

26:05 The Two Towers

30:08 Baby number three?

32:32 When will Emily’s next book be published?

33:24 Spirit animals?

35:11 Jigsaw puzzles?

38:16 Favorite homeschool curriculum?

42:00 Where would we live outside of Kentucky?

46:00 Favorite part of RVC?

50:44 Favorite novel/non-fiction?

56:17 What shampoo do we use?

57:21 Is it expensive to shop crunchy?

01:00:34 The least crunchy thing we do?

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Reflection in the Darkness Jan 14, 2026

Show notes

What actually makes a fear irrational—and who gets to decide?

This week, Jason and Emily talk about the fears that don’t always make sense… and the ones that absolutely do. From being afraid of the dark to worrying about things that may never happen, they unpack where fear comes from, why some people carry more of it than others, and how much of it is instinct versus imagination.

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When Did Heroes Stop Being the Good Guys? Jan 07, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, we talk about heroes in children’s fiction and whether kids actually need moral ambiguity or if that’s something adults project onto stories meant for younger minds.

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Emily Can’t Handle a Talking To (Plus Big News) Dec 31, 2025

Show notes

It’s the final episode of the year, and we are going out exactly the way you’d expect. Emily admits she simply cannot handle getting a talking to, no matter how gentle or well intentioned it is, and Jason has thoughts about that. From there, the conversation turns reflective as we talk honestly about where we think we’ll be in five years and what we hope life, work, family, and the show might look like beyond that. We wrap things up by closing the year together and sharing some BIG NEWS that sets the tone for what’s coming next.

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Are we doing enough? Dec 24, 2025

Show notes

It’s the most emotional time of the year. At least according to the internet.

In this episode, Jason and Emily talk about why so many holiday videos right now feel designed to make you cry and whether that kind of sentiment actually connects or just feels forced. They discuss the pressure to manufacture meaningful moments, the difference between genuine nostalgia and emotional marketing, and why Christmas content has turned into a competition for tears.

They also get into holiday get-togethers, family dynamics, and the expectations that come with them, plus a look back at old Christmas ad campaigns and why they felt different. Funny, honest, and refreshingly grounded, this episode is a breather from the seasonal overload.

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Why are people so bad at conversations? Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

This episode starts off festive and quickly turns into a surprisingly strong opinion about movies, including a few Christmas favorites you might not expect and a brief but passionate conversation about why some beloved actors just do not hit the same anymore. From there, things take a turn into the real holiday struggle: talking to other humans.

We get into why Christmas parties feel so awkward, the subtle conversation habits that quietly ruin a good interaction, and how everyone seems to forget how to talk the moment they’re holding a paper plate of cookies. If you’ve ever left a gathering replaying a conversation in your head or wondering why small talk feels so painful, this one’s for you.

Festive, slightly unhinged, and way too honest, this episode is basically a survival guide for holiday conversations with a side of movie opinions you may strongly disagree with.

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Emily is IMPOSSIBLE to buy for… Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

Jason and Emily are in full holiday chaos mode and nothing is going according to the Hallmark script. Jason is trying (and failing) to figure out what to buy the woman who hates everything in the “Gifts for Her” section, while Emily has accidentally become the kind of person who takes Christmas parade floats a little too seriously.

Somewhere between a live nativity that might just be in the wrong town and a very opinionated rant about what churches are doing with kids these days, they stumble into a surprisingly honest conversation about what actually makes the season feel holy, fun, and not completely unhinged.

If you like your Christmas episodes cozy, unfiltered, and a little bit feral, this one is it.

00:00 Christmas Parade Float

08:33 Paducah is BIG TIME

14:44 Family money

15:24 Mayfield…not so big time…

16:37 Bethlehem is amazing!

17:40 Children’s church sure is something…

24:27 Bethlehem continued…

29:19 Emily’s germaphobeness…

35:50 Christmas shopping is hard.

49:02 Having the right tools

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