Brandon Prosek is a Renaissance man. Comedian, host, playwright, writer of a graphic novel about pirates, connoisseur of bad movies. This, however, is about a good movie, and how the 2017 romantic comedy The Big Sick got him through a rough time in his personal life. May it give you some comfort while we all deal with, well, a Big Sick. Take care of yourselves & each other out there. IBTFY loves you. Topics include: Pirate content, the box-office bomb Cutthroat Island, Brandon's favorite good and bad movies, writing about mental health, the importance of representation, humor cutting through the tension, stanning Madeline Kahn and more.

Do you remember your first post-college/"adulthood" living situation? What were you listening to or watching to get you through that time? In this episode, writer and academic Molly Horan (Refinery29, Mashable, Buzzfeed) shares her experiences moving to New York and coping with the isolation of moving to the city through Mad Men. Topics include: Unlikable protagonists, trying to meet people after college, fighting loneliness, idealized depictions of New York, the impact of RENT on impressionable young minds, prestige TV, "having it all" as depicted in 30 Rock and The Witcher, how to find a parkour class in New York, how TV impacts our recreational activities and more.

Content Note: This episode contains references to the death of a parent and eating disorders. Season 2 of IBTFY is here! Excited to be back with more stories from funny, talented people and the pop culture that got them through rough times. For our first episode of this new season, actor/comedian/musician/multihyphenate James Bradford ("The Chris Gethard Show," the upcoming "Mare of Easttown") recounts his time as an Ear With Feet, or a devout fan of singer-songwriter Tori Amos, & how her music helped him through times of big transitions and a difficult loss. Topics include: The inspiration for James's memorable memoir title, the episode of Murder, She Wrote where they took a swing at Friends, what the Amos-Bradford wedding would look like, Beyoncé and the Communal Music Video Moment, Tori Amos meet and greets, fan communities in the '90s and playing Dashboard Confessional for leather daddies.

Content Note: This episode deals heavily with matters of loss, grieving and addiction. We've made it to our Season Finale! Thanks to everyone who stuck with the first season of IBTFY and helped build this little community. Our final Season 1 guest is LeeAnn Yops, storyteller, comedian and 90210 fan site curator. LeeAnn came to IBTFY to share her love of Luke Perry, right down to "dating" a mini-Luke doll and appearing on the Steve Harvey Show, the 90210 fan community and her experiences dealing with the loss of a favorite cultural icon and a loss much closer to home in rapid succession.

IBTFY was honored to be a part of Podslam 2019, Arcade Audio's annual podcast marathon for Connor's Cure. We were especially honored to have one of our favorite funny Chicagoans, Jeremy Owens of You're Being Ridiculous, at iO with us to talk about the Bravo'verse and coping. And yes, there were two Bravoverse episodes in a row. It's fine. Donations are still open for Podslam's 2019 Fundraiser for Connor's Cure! Help us fight childhood cancer! http://jimmyv.convio.net/site/TR?team_id=3180&fr_id=1521&pg=team

We're back! Comedian, writer and Internet legend John Sundholm discusses navigating family life, mental health, coming out & his fandom of Madonna through the ages & many reinventions, and the joys of coping and escapism with the Real Housewives of New York. Topics include: Your first Madonna experiences, the Blonde Ambition tour, what's the best Madonna song and why is it "Hung Up," AIDS activism, family relationships & dysfunctions, mental health everything, the inherent queerness of reality TV, Disaster Bisexual Sonja Morgan, rating the dog funerals on RHONY & more.

(Heads up: Apologies in advance for some echoey/muffled bits on this one, it was our first recording with a new setup and we were still working out the bugs. We did our best to remediate and Archy was such a wonderful guest that we think you'll enjoy it anyway.) Archy Jamjun is a hilarious and caring storyteller, curator and teacher, who helps run OUTSpoken, Chicago's LGBT storytelling night, the first Tuesday of every month at Sidetrack. Here he shares the inspiration behind his one-man show, A Boy and a Diva, and the divas who have inspired him throughout his life. Also, a discussion of the World Figure Skating Championships that goes completely off the rails. Topics include: Cool relatives that help you figure yourself out, Surya Bonaly, the Evgenia Medvedeva comeback, protecting Serena Williams at all costs, Whitney Houston, divas of hip-hop, Tyra Banks as cultural touchstone, the eternal coming-out process and more.

Hey, teens! This episode is a lot about you and how to relate to what you're going through! Journalist and fiction writer Rosamund Lannin has written for /Film, Vice, Lifehacker and more, and today she comes on to the podcast to talk about two works that helped her get through stretches of her teenage years: Craig Thompson's graphic novel "Blankets" and Sam Cooke's iconic album, Night Beat. Topics include: the realities and grind of day jobs, shitty boyfriends, your first romance and first heartbreak, comics and graphic novels, relating to the news in a healthy manner, why you and everyone should go to therapy (and therapy should be free and available to everyone), the particular melancholy of summer, adults and how we don't always know everything & more.

It's IBTFY's first CROSSOVER epsiode! We're celebrating the new season of one of our other favorite local podcasts, Beyond Queer Stories, with a special crossover episode! BQS co-producers and hosts Dawn Brown and Ashabi Owagboriaye discuss channeling emotions through anime, growing into your queer identity alongside the old & new versions of Queer Eye & lots of other stuff. Topics include: The "Can Antoni Cook?" debate, the importance of queer storytelling (and everyone's favorite episodes of BQS), queer representation on Sailor Moon, a particularly upsetting Cowboy Bebop plotline, the legacy of the Real World & more.

Proving this show contains multitudes and occasionally our guests delve into ~*~cUlTuRe~*~, the hilarious and generous writer, producer and comedian Patrick Gill shares stories of building a better relationship with your body from ballerina Maria Tallchief and falling in love with the world of Pedro Almodóvar. Topics include: Raccoons vs. opossums, our relationships with our bodies, the importance of The Firebird, Surya Bonaly (again), grand movie palaces, the loneliness and observance of gay childhood, where to start on your Pedro Almodóvar journey, the best shea butter in Chicago and more.