Still Trying
35 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 4 years ago - ★★★★ - 23 ratingsLeyla and Josh are still trying to figure it all out after 30: friendships, work life, mental health, dating, romance, and community building. All under the crushing gaze of late-stage capitalism.
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Episodes
EP 43 - Corona Virus Melt Down: Anti-Vaxx Sci-Fi Dys-to Fan-Fic - STAGE 6
July 22, 2020 13:57 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBWe briefly revisited our old format to explore how dating under COVID might go. It’s not great. We also explore the outlook on what fall has in store for COVID rates. It’s not great. Finally, we do a dramatic reading of some Anti-vaxxer, conspiracy theorist, dystopian, sci-fi fan fiction. It is FANTASTIC. Keep your eyes on the sky to spot Neowise cus’ it aint coming back for 6,500 years (…the full life span of the planet Earth!) Email us: [email protected]
EP 42 - Corona Virus Melt Down: I'll Post My Way Out - STAGE 5
July 03, 2020 15:17 - 1 hour - 113 MBAs you settle into your holiday weekend, likely alone and away from family and friends so that you don’t accidentally make Grandma sick, Josh and Leyla offer you a reminder of where the discourse was two weeks ago (and an entertaining way to kill an hour or so). That’s because we recorded this mid-June and then sat on it while busy with other things. Whoops. In this episode we answer that age old question: Can you post, purchase, and read your way out of hundreds of years of systemic racism...
EP 41 - Corona Virus Melt Down: BUT MEH APPLEBEES
May 13, 2020 20:15 - 1 hour - 84.3 MBGood news! America has decided Corona Virus is over. That’s right. The whole deadly pandemic thing? Yeah. We’re not doing that anymore. We’re done with it. Beat it. Kicked it to the curb. So it’s time to open up shop and get back to it. In today’s episode we will calmly and politely explain to you why that is a problematic way to look at things. Naw, I’m kidding. We’re gonna be freaked out, panicked, pissed off, and screaming at everyone for causing unnecessary sickness, death, and extended...
EP 40 - Corona Virus Melt Down: But Who Will Think of The Petty Bourgeoisie? - STAGE 3
April 24, 2020 17:49 - 1 hour - 87.5 MBProducers Note: we do a reading series about halfway through this episode about a coffee shop closing. Ive since learned the couple who owns it are Harvard alum and professors, who moved to eastern Kentucky to I dunno… civilize the place? Also the husband started his first tech company with connections to the Jeffrey Epstein funded MIT Media Lab. So, speaking only for myself (Josh), i actually feel I went too easy on them. Anyway, on with the show. This ones an all-timer folks. It hits ever...
EP 39 - Corona Virus Melt Down: Helpful Hints - STAGE 2
April 07, 2020 20:41 - 1 hour - 108 MBIt’s STAGE 2 folks. Time to take on the DEEP STATE. #WWG1WGA They can’t stop all of us from dying for believing a global health pandemic is just a hoax of the global liberal commie elites. But in all seriousness, Josh delivers some of his latest Helpful Hints (TM) for dealing in stressful times and we’ll keep airing out life under Corona quarantine. Email us: [email protected] Support the show: ko-fi.com/elstroproduction
EP 38 - Corona Virus Melt Down: Boring Apocalypse - STAGE 1
March 30, 2020 14:43 - 1 hour - 97 MBDisclaimer: This episode was recorded about a week before posting, which in todays world is about a decade. So, sorry for the dated material but Josh’s schedule as an “essential worker” got too out of control to be able to post in a timely manner. Also release schedules might be weird for a while… some weeks maybe we’ll have 2 episodes. Some weeks maybe we will have none. But we appreciate you sticking it out with your pals Josh and Leyla! Anyway… Guess what b****! It’s here. The ‘Rona has ...
EP 37 - Still Trying 2.0
March 11, 2020 20:11 - 38 minutes - 52.8 MBHello world. We are back. Things are changing. Deal with it. Email us: [email protected] Support the show: ko-fi.com/elstroproduction (Note: Some weird skipping happened during our raw recordings in a few spots, so no, your podcast player isn’t scerwed up. It’s just a tech error that couldn’t be fixed)
EP 36 - Mid Level Marketing Madness
December 30, 2019 11:00 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBLeyla was gracious enough to open up about her experience in a cult… er… pyramid scheme, uh… I mean “money making opportunity”. We hear Leyla’s story and discuss the means by which such companies prey on loneliness, especially in women. So Join Us In Creating Energy and GET FIRED UP!! Support the Show: ko-fi.com/elstroproduction Email us: [email protected]
EP 35 - #FartGate EXPOSED!
November 22, 2019 20:46 - 1 hour - 84.1 MBWho really farted on the mic? Eric Swallwell? Chris Matthews? Or was it a squeaky chair? And where is Ghislaine Maxwell!?!?! AND WHO IS DEEP THROAT?! We’ll solve none of this because we have more important things to do like critique very lengthy Ok Cupid profiles. Also, join us for a deep meta-analysis of our own previous episode… It sounds stupid but it’s worth it. The conversation evolves into some really insightful mental health discussion and advice. Support the show: ko-fi.com/elstrop...
EP 34 - Just Say Hello To The Pregnant Woman!!
November 07, 2019 23:06 - 1 hour - 98.2 MBThe ways you’re supposed to deal with anxiety are bizarre and seemingly stupid. But it really is that hard to say hello to a pregnant woman on the street for some of us. Let’s dissect that. Leyla’s scheduled to reconnect with someone from her past to see if she can empty some baggage. Most importantly this episode is part birthday present for “Rebecca”… which doesn’t mean anything to you until you listen to the episode. Watch Rebecca’s birthday present Support the show: ko-fi.com/elstropro...
EP 33 - One For The Parents
October 24, 2019 22:09 - 1 hour - 94.6 MBIn case anyone was thinking that finding a lifelong partner and having a family with them means you’re done trying and have reached endless bliss and fairy tale endings, we decided we had a responsibility to burst that bubble. Enter our special guest, Josh’s sister, mother of two and wife, roommate of Maine Coon named Pete, and tiny one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment dweller Steph. Steph gets in the mix to tell us about what’s great about parenting and married life with a pretty measured take… ...
EP 32 - Starring Ellen Degeneres as JOKER
October 10, 2019 20:12 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MBVery minor spoilers in this episode for Joker, Season 2 of Grey’s Anatomy, and the awful class solidarity fo the ultra wealthy. Folks. It’s time to get a little weird. Get a little twisted. True PSYCHOS know the new movie Joker is a dangerous trigger waiting to ignite a sleeper Incel …uhh… cell to come online and shoot up every movie theater in America. This is the end. This is what women MADE these men do and the media wants you to know that. But more importantly they want you to be scared...
Still Trying - EP 31 - Men Are Dirtbags, Women Are Fleabags (It's Science)
September 25, 2019 20:53 - 45 minutes - 62.9 MBTrigger Warning: This episode discusses a bizarre and uncomfortable form of sexual assault. Congrats to Phoebe Waller-Bridge for winning some Emmy’s for her performance in Fleabag …which in turn gives a chance to discuss and critique it’s takes on relationships. We’ll explore it’s relevance to women vs. men and reflect on what it says about us. And is the whole 4th wall breaking, omniscient narrator thing trope played out in the “golden age of television”? In this episode, we’ll also go me...
Still Trying - EP 30 - Vab On Em'
September 11, 2019 20:42 - 1 hour - 91.6 MBLet us just say, don’t look up “vabbing” before listening to this podcast. It will ruin the fun. Otherwise we’re talking about when second chances pay off and you find yourself pleasantly surprised. Josh does a bit deeper analysis of dating app Hinge; exploring some educated guesses about what’s really happening under the hood with its algorithms. This episode also turned out to be a pretty good explainer of some buzzwords we’ve found ourselves throwing around this podcast for a while, but ...
Still Trying - EP 29 - The Boys of London
August 28, 2019 13:34 - 45 minutes - 62.9 MBGreat Epstein’s ghost! We are finally back from summer vacation and things are humming along in standard order around here… The world is still being run by a cabal of billionaire pedophiles, the debate over what it takes to mow down 30-50 feral hogs has died down, and any actual worldly concern is diminished by a marketing ploy to have us foaming at the mouth about whose chicken sandwich is better. Some of you seemed upset about us being gone, but trust us, you’re better off missing out on J...
Still Trying - EP 28 - Here's To a Year of Trying!
July 24, 2019 18:44 - 51 minutes - 70.2 MBIt’s been a year of airing out our personal lives for you all while mining the news and culture for understanding why developing relationships is so damn hard. What have we learned? Uhhh…. Plenty! We’ll revisit some of our favorite moments and personal revelations from the past year and explore thoughts on where we can take things in the next year! Other topics include why you’re getting a lil’ depressed and discouraged at the height of summer and explore a recently updated study from Stan...
Still Trying - EP 27 - In Defense of Gamer Girl Bathwater
July 10, 2019 17:28 - 48 minutes - 65.9 MBDo you find yourself reaching out in the night, desiring the warm touch of another human? A companion who you can trust with your closest guarded secrets? Someone to hold you and tell you everything’s going to be okay? Well, we’re all out of that. What we do have is certified Gamer Girl Bathwater. Literally bathwater that has been waded in by your favorite cosplayers and streamers on sale for $30 a jar because this is 2019 and that’s a thing we do now. On today’s episode we’ll break down t...
Still Trying - EP 26 - The Handmaid's Tale Themed B-Day Party of Which We Do Not Speak
June 26, 2019 18:37 - 54 minutes - 75.5 MBReality TV is here to rectify the way we perceive relationships for us without us knowing. And we’re so here for it. Josh has fallen in love with the Bachelorette… the show. Not Hannah Brown herself. Although who could blame him if he did? It’s cultural conditioning. But in all seriousness, Josh takes to his critical media theory corner going to bat for the series as a work of modern art that teaches us about ourselves. We’ll also debate the use of the term “Emotional Labor” in correlation ...
Still Trying - EP 25 - Aloof Girls
June 12, 2019 16:58 - 37 minutes - 51 MB*Note: We somehow ran out of tape recording this episode, so the last 10-15 minutes are gone forever. Whoops! Clean out your SD cards folks. We’re discussing the mental results of removing oneself from all dating apps. The calming highs and the lonesome lows. The mystery of aloof cool girls is uncovered with an exploration of Mashable article In the dating game, women are pressured to play the part of a stereotypical 'cool girl'" by Rachel Thompson. And some unrelated content: Josh gives ya...
Still Trying - EP 24 - Ode to the 'Wife Guy'
May 28, 2019 01:07 - 57 minutes - 79.4 MBOn this Memorial Day we remember the fallen. That’s right, #MeltdownMay 2019 is dedicated to all the Wife Guys out there who have so savagely embarrassed themselves and their (often ex) wives in the court of public opinion. Are you totally lost reading this? That’s fine. Josh explains the beautiful social experiment turned works of art that is a “wife guy” through the lens of fallen from grace YouTuber, Pro Jared, his very public, very awkward divorce and subsequently leaked dick-pics. Yikes...
Still Trying - EP 23 - 75th Percentile Avocado Fetus
May 14, 2019 15:50 - 1 hour - 86.7 MBFrom first kisses to first times crankin’ it, middle school (and high school for others… no shame) is a weird ass time. So let’s dive in with the blunt-force help of the new Hulu Original series Pen15. We’ll discuss how we’ve connected with this fantastically accurate depiction of pre-9/11, pre-teen life. What were friendships like? What were crushes like? Why didn’t we act on intelligence regarding domestic terror activity? Josh also develops the One Dating App to Rule Them All (TM) while ...
Still Trying - EP 22 (Featuring Peter Coffin) - Who’s Your Cultural Daddy(s) : Jordan Peterson vs. The Fab 5
April 24, 2019 02:51 - 1 hour - 118 MBIn this corner we’ve got a meat eating, room cleaning, lobster loving daddy to incels everywhere, iiiiiiit’s JORDAN PETERSON. He’s got 12 Rules ready to take straight to the chins of his opponents. From the trend reviving, self-love preaching, French tuck sporting world of Netflix iiiiiiit’s QUEER EYE’S FAB FIVE! Now gentleman, I wanna see a clean fight with no patriarchy affirming or neoliberal, materialist success platitudes! And FIGHT! Round 1 - Josh explains his thesis on the growing ...
Still Trying - EP 21 - "Treat Yo Self" Mentality Has Us Hugging Toilet Bowls
April 08, 2019 18:51 - 1 hour - 87.2 MBOn today’s episode, our hosts’ thirst is being quenched by Topo Chico! The best of all mineral waters. Are you also getting just a little bit tired of trying to find a welcoming social space that doesn’t involve booze? Then you just might be “Sober Curious”. We explore this creeping trend, it’s merits, and the difficulties exploring sobriety fuels in the dating culture and socializing market. That market wants you to drink. It NEEDS you drink. It’s built it’s entire brand and profit model o...
Still Trying - EP 20 - The Timeline in Which We'd Have Been Lifelong Sailor Moon Super Fans
March 25, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 67.6 MBWe have both officially been sucked back into the dating app world, but Josh wants to go cold turkey off the damn things. Can he do it? It's also birthday time for Josh and we'll discuss what it feels like to hit these milestone dates with and without a significant other in the picture; as well as whether or not that even matters to give yourself a special day. We'll also hit the r/askwomen and r/askmen subreddits for some light fun regarding non-sexual things that are pretty damn sexy. Ca...
Still Trying - EP 19 - Unpacking "A Girl Who Takes Herself Too Seriously"
March 11, 2019 18:11 - 48 minutes - 67.2 MBLeyla’s ready to go OFF on some guys who need to rethink what they’re looking for in women. And yeah, they kind of deserve it. Most of this episode we’re devoting to a couple pieces of dating media we came across these past few weeks. First up, new Netflix original series Dating Around. Five singles. One… uh… singleton? Who comes out making us want to be their friend? And who is a douche who deserves to get sent back to Staten Island? We’ll also put our feet in our respective mouths discus...
Still Trying - EP 18 - Having a Bit of a Week...
February 25, 2019 19:34 - 1 hour - 83.6 MBJosh survived speed dating, but it may have caused him to have a mental breakdown over Climate Change? Somehow? He’ll break it all down for you with his play-by-play of the most grueling and demanding sport a human can put their body through. And yes, we’re still talking about speed dating. And we continue to meditate on the question, “Should I be dating?” This time the question gets more specific, “When watching Senator Diane Feinstein condescend to children is launching me into a spiral o...
Still Trying - EP 17 - NO SNITCH TAGGING
February 12, 2019 15:17 - 44 minutes - 61.7 MBSnitch Tagging - n. When someone is being talked about discreetly and somebody else tags the person who is being mentioned. Just don’t do it. Be cool. If your friend is punching down, by all means, have a conversation with them. But don’t publicly call them out or anonymously squeal to an authority and try to get them cancelled. That my friends, is a bish move. Nobody likes a snitch. But we’re approaching Valentine’s Day so like many cliched singles we’re out here living real existential d...
Still Trying - EP 16 - Life Integration Strategies for Efficient Relationships and Maximized Emotional ROI
January 28, 2019 17:37 - 52 minutes - 52 MBYou’ll be like Neo seeing the code in the Matrix after this one baby! Romance, dating, love, are all just transactions in the marketplace of ideas! Your emotions, your feelings, your hopes, your dreams; they’re all just products waiting to be bought and sold to and by the holders of the most impressive personality resumes. Oh, and billionaires. They’re DEFINITELY taking their cut. We’re going to tackle socializing and befriending Normies when you’re an elitist brat. It’s also our first fora...
Still Trying - EP 14 - A Very Soft Pants New Year
December 31, 2018 14:00 - 45 minutes - 58.5 MBNew year! New y- No. Not really. Nothing will change, so just put on your soft pants, listen to our podcast, and watch cartoons. Do you really want to be a part of the hedonist mob vomiting and crying in the streets as the clock strikes midnight and society tells you to instantly be horny or die alone? Hell no. Leave that to the “cool kids”, whose approval you’ll never get. So why bother? We’ll discuss why we impart so much importance on the being with someone as we witness the changing of ...
Still Trying - EP 13 - Bros in Brogues
December 17, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 67 MBRelationships are simple. Just communicate clearly and don’t lie. Especially don’t post your friend’s personal contact info on Craigslist. They will get SO many unsolicited dick pics. You’ve also gotta understand, if you’re dating anyone with depression and anxiety who is going through Zoloft withdrawal, you’re going to want to tell that person to drink water. That’s all you really need to do. If your partner’s expecting a banana, and all you’ve got is a cherry, don’t surprise them. Just be u...
Still Trying - EP 12 - History of Western Lit
December 03, 2018 05:00 - 57 minutes - 59.3 MBSEX! Now that we have your attention! Ugh… That was cheap. But for real. Let’s talk about it. When should we do that? When’s it okay? When’s it not okay? (Hint: Most ways the Catholics are doing it, not okay). A simple discussion of when it feels right to get down with a new partner, somehow descends into an exploration of the history of Catholicism and male power and control of the means of reproduction. Leyla name drops em’ all trying to confuse Josh: Mary Wolstencraft, Dickens, Hawthorne...
Still Trying - EP 11 - Low Key Stalking
November 19, 2018 05:00 - 47 minutes - 60.1 MBOur dear friend Heather is on the show today to teach us the secrets to finding a partner: Low key stalk somebody. She would know. She’s married to “a literal angel”. (Her words. Seriously!) That’s not to say she didn’t experience bumps in the road along the way. We’ll hear of her experience getting out of the single world just before the Tinder craze swiped the nation and dating someone with a screamo band neck tattoo. It involves a car theft. It gets pretty wild. After hearing how easy mar...
Still Trying - EP 10 - All Beef Diet
November 05, 2018 16:00 - 50 minutes - 66.5 MBYou know Josh loves kooky right wing conspiracy theories and will use any excuse he can to tie them back to relationships and male/female power dynamics. So we’re diving in to explore what the cultural implications may be of the bizarre attempt to weaponize the #MeToo movement by Twitter provocateurs Jacob Wohl and Jack Berkman. …Plus it’s just too hilarious not to talk about. Leyla’s getting deep about the romantic relationships of her youth in discussions with her dad (Unfortunately he’s n...
Still Trying - EP 9 - Brought To You By Trains
October 15, 2018 05:00 - 43 minutes - 54.6 MBThat’s right bay-bay! Trains are making a comeback in a BIG way. Keep your eyes peeled in 2019 because your two year old nephew has his pulse on all the hottest trends. In this episode we’ll wipe our hands clean of Brett Kavanaugh and remind you that Bill Clinton’s treatment of women is actually worse. (Send your angry emails to [email protected]) Josh dabbles in a real world version of scenes from the Netflix series Love, taking a date to his version of the Magic Castle. Will he an...
Still Trying - EP 8 - KavaNaw... Oh Hell Naw
October 01, 2018 13:17 - 57 minutes - 73.7 MBTW: This episode contains frank discussion about sexual assault and rape culture that may be difficult for some listeners. Are we living in a hell world folks? Sure. But (if we may loosely steal from Prince) are we all gathered here today to get through this thing called life? Absolutely. We’re doing our unqualified best on this episode to help navigate the Brett Kavanaugh issue; the fact that as of writing these notes, a man credibly accused of sexual assault who stood in front of a Senate...