PODCAST · comedy
Strangers With Kittens: Gen X Stories from the Least Parented Generation.
by Eileen Kelly
Welcome to Strangers With Kittens, the ultimate Gen X comedy podcast celebrating the least parented generation in history. We might have been labeled the "slacker" generation, but we somehow raised ourselves, parented our kids, and are taking care of our aging parents. Hosted by Eileen Kelly, this Society & Culture show brings you unfiltered comedy interviews and raw storytelling. We dive deep into childhood trauma, midlife crisis moments, relational struggles, and the dark humor required to survive the 70s, 80s, 90s and modern adulthood. Laugh through the breakdowns, toxic family dynamics, and chaotic memories. It's time to finally give credit where credit is due—here’s to Generation X-CELLENT!
Episodes
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Getting Haunted With Emily Winter: Ghost Stories Worth The Goosebumps
In this episode, Eileen Kelly and Emily Winter swap some ghost stories and share a little practical magic with pendulums and energy work. This paranormal episode lifts the veil dividing this realm and the next, although this realm is not without its horrors. Find out if modern culture has killed...
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80s Slang & Retro Pop Culture: Words Gen X Refuses To Give Up Part 2
Eileen ruminates on her most recent slang episode. As it turns out, she’s more embedded in slang than she originally realized. She shares new thoughts about how slang continues to evolve over generations, noting how words have different meanings based on our experiences. Eileen shares her shock...
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Gen X Style Overhaul: How to Shop Your Own Closet with Alix Robinson
Staring at a wardrobe full of clothes but feel like you have absolutely nothing to wear? This week on Strangers With Kittens, we are diving deep into Gen X fashion and closet organization. Eileen is joined by Alix from The Unruly Closet Co and @outfits.with.alix to bring you realistic, accessible...
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Gen X Childhood, Religious Trauma & Healing Through Travel with Heidi K. Brown
Remember 70s and 80s beach trips? It was all zero sunscreen, looking out for Jaws, and getting sun poisoning so bad you and your siblings would take turns peeling each other's skin off. But for author Heidi K. Brown, the beach meant working—specifically, pounding the hot sand to recruit kids for...
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80s Slang & Retro Pop Culture: Words Gen X Refuses to Give Up
Is your vocabulary still stuck in the 1980s? This week on Strangers With Kittens, we are diving into the world of Gen X slang and proving exactly why our generation refuses to lose its cool. Eileen breaks down the legendary 80s slang and 90s phrases that still slip off our tongues today. We look…
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Rock Your Look! From Melting Eyeliner to Midlife Beauty: Aging Powerfully with Michelle Spieler
For girls growing up in the 70s and 80s, retro skincare meant exfoliating with harsh apricot scrubs until you bled and washing your face with generic bar soap. And 80s makeup? It was bold, expressive, and completely chaotic. We applied eyeshadow with tiny foam Q-tips, used our fingers, and...
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Overcoming Midlife Burnout, Ageism, and AI: A Gen X Guide to Reinvention
Remember the electricity of childhood when the world could still surprise you? When you snuck out after dark, read the jokes on popsicle sticks, and didn't look at the future through a lens of fear or cynicism? These days, after decades of navigating love, heartbreak, divorce, and career…
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70s, 80s & 90s Feminist TV History: Iconic Women of Television with Cynthia Bemis-Abrams
Don't touch that clicker! Keep your dial tuned right here for a special nostalgic episode of Strangers With Kittens. This week Eileen is joined by special guest Cynthia Bemis-Abrams, the creator and host of the Advanced TV Herstory podcast. Together, they are diving deep into classic television...
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Feral 80s Pets vs. Modern Fur Babies: The Gen X Pet Evolution
Back in the 70s and 80s, Gen X pets were just as feral as the latchkey kids. They roamed the neighborhood streets, marked their territory, and didn't hesitate to scratch or bite if you got too close. There were no puppuccinos, no "gotcha days," no fancy groomers, and they definitely weren't…
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Toxic Gen X Bullshit - Unpacking Latchkey Trauma & the Coping Habits We Wear as a Badge of Honor with Kira Sabin
We’ve all seen the memes celebrating how "tough" our generation is—but how much of that is actually just unhealed generational trauma? This week on Strangers With Kittens, host Eileen meets a real-life stranger from the internet: the incredible Kira Sabin. Together, they connect, cackle, and dive...
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Mixtapes, Arcades & 80s Sunburns: A Gen X Summer Portal
Picture this: It's an 80s summer. You have sunshine for days, a bike, and a neighborhood ripe with opportunities. Your days are filled with movies at the drive-in, hours at the video arcade, a custom 80s mixtape pumping through the cassette player, and ice cream for a dollar. Could you do it all...
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Little Episode Big Personality
This week, Strangers With Kittens is celebrating National Gen X Day with a minisode. An episode that combines some of our favorite moments on the show. Revisit clips with guests: Chris Shahnahian, Vijai Nathan, Cynthia Levin, and Becky Veduccio. Strangers With Kittens returns to their regular...
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Dark Humor, Vulnerability & Healing Gen X Trauma with Becky Veduccio
Why are the things we are most afraid to say out loud often the exact stories that need to be heard? This week on Strangers With Kittens, special guest Becky Veduccio joins host Eileen Kelly. These two instantly reconnect through invisible threads, shared memories, and a healthy dose of dark…
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Suddenly Single: Dating At 50 with Kristi Belcamino
Relationships are complicated. If you are a woman who currently finds herself stuck in a toxic relationship or a loveless marriage, this episode is a warm embrace just for you. This week on Strangers With Kittens, Eileen is joined by guest Kristi Belcamino to talk about the terrifying but...
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Boston '76: Toxic Parenting and The Gen X Family Vacation That Never Was
What happens when you grow up in a world where you have to figure out everything for yourself? This week on Strangers With Kittens, Eileen looks back at a poignant moment between the latchkey generation and younger generations. She reflects on the universal truth that we are all just trying to...
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Crystal Pepsi, Weight Loss Culture & Minding Your Own Business
We are ushering in the summer season just a little bit early with a fast-paced Strangers With Kittens minisode! This week, Eileen takes a trip down memory lane to recall some of the most obscure, long-forgotten 80s products (The AYDS Diet Plan, anyone? Anyone? Bueller?). Were they actually too...
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Badass Single Moms, Cereal-Eating Strangers & 9/11 with Emmy Winner Taigi Smith
When you think San Francisco in the 70s and 80s you think the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement, the AIDS crisis, rampant drug use, a thriving music and counterculture scene, and profound social challenges. Now imagine navigating this scene as a kid and throw in an earthquake. This week on Strangers...
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Hey Mama, You're Doing Great
Motherhood is hard, and if you are struggling to "enjoy every moment," you are not alone. In this special Mother's Day parenting episode, Eileen sits down with psychotherapist and mom Audra Socinski to have an honest conversation about motherhood—including the exhausting moments that nearly knock...
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Hey Gen Z! Navigating a Brutal Job Market? Been There. xo, Gen X
Are you looking at the news headlines and wondering what year it is? This week on Strangers With Kittens, Eileen dives into the striking similarities between Gen Z and Gen X in the workplace. Inspired by her daughter's upcoming college graduation, Eileen looks at the harsh realities of entering…
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Boys Don't Cry (And That's A Problem)
Why are we still telling young boys to toughen up? This week on Strangers With Kittens, Eileen sits down with Kimmi Berlin, founder of the non-profit organization BuildUpBoys, for an honest conversation about parenting boys and eschewing outdated gender roles. Gen X moms Eileen and Kimmi…
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Overwhelmed Autism Parenting & Self-Care with Dr. Theresa Lyons
Feeling completely overwhelmed by an autism diagnosis? This week on Strangers With Kittens, Eileen sits down with Yale-educated scientist, medical strategist, and autism parent Dr. Theresa Lyons PhD, founder of Awetism.net. Eileen and Dr. Lyons dive deep into the raw, unspoken realities of autism...
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Toxic Sibling Relationships: Bad Blood or Bad Parenting?
Did you grow up in a household where you had to fend for yourself? This week on Strangers With Kittens, host Eileen Kelly dredges up the hidden stories behind childhood trauma, sibling scars, and intense family drama. Look back at what it was really like growing up Gen X—a generation often...
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Breaking Generational Trauma & Setting Healthy Boundaries with Katrina Oliver
As Gen Xers, many of us grew up with the phrase "suck it up." But as adults, we are finally learning that protecting our peace is essential. This week on Strangers With Kittens, we are exploring how to build healthy boundaries without shutting the world out. Host Eileen is joined by licensed...
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Surviving Action Park & Jungle Habitat: 1970s New Jersey Nostalgia
Yearning for the blissful days of youth? This week on Strangers With Kittens, host Eileen Kelly dives into the wild, terrifying, and 100% real reality of surviving summer and spring break in 1970s New Jersey. We are looking back at the infamous Action Park history—home to concrete water slides,...
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Were the 90s really a "Love Story"?
Did we really love the 1990s, or are we just looking back through our Buddy Holly rose-tinted glasses? This week on Strangers With Kittens, Eileen sits down with Carey Reilly for a hilarious comedy interview about the raw, unfiltered reality of growing up in the 90s. Before smartphones and...
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Generation X-Hausted: Surviving Sandwich Generation Burnout & Midlife
Generation X has been called a lot of things: cynical, detached, slackers, just to name a few. But the truth is? We are just completely exhausted. This week on Strangers With Kittens, host Eileen Kelly delivers a raw, honest look at the heavy burdens carrying the sandwich generation. As a group...
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Hitting Rock Bottom With Nikki Mammano: Making The Best Of Bad Situations
Eileen invites Nikki Mammano, author of Breaking Good to the show. Without spoiling the memoir the two discuss addiction, drug abuse, bad decisions, and even worse consequences. A harrowing and suspenseful glimpse in time that reminds us that sometimes breaking completely is the only way to…
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Good Grief
Strangers With Kittens returns this week after a 2-week hiatus. This week, Eileen confronts death and explores grief within our society. After losing a close friend, Eileen reflects on that core relationship. Wrestling with death, end-of-life care, relationships, this life, and after. Get one...
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More Woo Please
Just can't get enough woo with Chris Nolan. This episode includes all the moments you missed from the previous episode. Think of it as a little treat. A bonus. Special Edition. Director's Cut. You've been fighting fascism all week; you deserve a little something extra. To find the post on...
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I'm Glad My Mom Is WooWoo
Everyone has that one book that fundamentally alters their perceptions, perspectives, or, in this case, their future. We can't say that everyone finds their purpose in the eighth grade, but this week's guest will make you think about your life's purpose and proves Mom really does know best. Join...
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Burning Down The House
This kitten is sincerely torn to pieces. Burning Down the House is an episode about releasing pent-up emotions, frustrations, and fears. Eileen confronts the social need to find a distraction or tune out during a time when it's crucial to tune in. The distractions diffuse the harsh reality that...
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Girls Just Wanna Live Unapologetically
This week, my Producer, Ashley, joins me on the podcast to hash out deep-rooted conflicts that have warped women's minds for generations. In this cross-generational episode, we confront some of the reasons we tend to feel crippled by comparison, run-down as parents, depressed in our careers, or...
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L'eggo My Ego
You know that loud and inflated voice that asserts itself like some kind of arrogant moron? That's your ego talkin'. This is the second half of the episode with special guest Cynthia Levin and we get into the pits of ego and self-identity. Making sense of emotions, ego and art. Support the show...
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My Gen X Rockin' NYE
This year, we skipped the ball drop and did something a little different. Bring in the new year with Cynthia Levin and I. Together, we reflect on the year past and what we hope to do more of in 2026. They aren't really resolutions per se, but they are quintessentially GenX. Grab Your 2026 Bingo...
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Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animals
Twas the week before Christmas and only chaos was brewing. Tune in with some strangers for comedic interviewing. Special guest Sam Tschida joins in on the fun. Sharing stories both bizarre and gleefully spun. Support the show Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and…
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I Want My Mtv…and CDs and Concerts Back
Remember when you made mixtapes for your friends and every song was a reference and ode to your relationship? Or spending your entire check at Sam Goody? Eileen and special guest Chris Hajian are dusting off some of their most memorable music memories. This episode is one you won't wanna skip....
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The Nitty Gritty and Shitty Jobs Of Gen X
Have you ever looked back at your job history and wondered how the hell you ended up where you are today? Gen X, the generation that started working at the age of 10 hasn't stopped working in 40 years. We have worked in some of the most obscure and bizarre positions. This was before OSHA, before...
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From Bullies To Billionaires
The bullies have become the billionaires. In this minisode, Eileen draws distinct parallels between the kids who stole our lunch money in the fourth grade and those who are stealing our tax dollars today. The kids who made us feel scared, guilty, and worst of all, complicit in their terror are…
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"It's Not Your Birthday Until You Cry"
GenX in the hood. Childhood. Adulthood. Parenthood. You aren't having fun unless you're crying. But this episode has plenty of fun & hugs, thanks to special guest Vijai Nathan. Support the show Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music...
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Strangers With Kittens 2.0
In this brand-spanking new episode of Strangers With Kittens, Eileen lets listeners know what's been going on and what we can expect from this new era of the podcast. Expect some changes, but don't expect Eileen to lose her cool. There is lots to look forward to, including a new way to listen 🎧...
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Hippie Camp (Minisode)
Realizing her daughter's entire social circle consists of her great aunt Lily, a 65 year-old woman who subsists on half a can of Campbell's soup, soap operas, and cigarettes, Maryanne's mother decides it's time for hippie camp. Support the show Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by…
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Bad Haircuts
Bad haircuts. We've all gotten them. Even my dog. Support the show Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast episodes on Spotify, Amazon, Audible, and Apple…
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My First Date
There's nothing in the world like Action Park! Especially when you're an awkward teenage girl and you're on your first date. What could possibly go wrong? Support the show Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and…
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Boomers Blew It - Minisode
Remember in "Stranger Things" Max had that mean older brother Billy? And she loved him because he was her brother but he was scary and awful? That's Boomers to Gen X. They've been driving the car like a maniac and we'd just like to get out. Support the show Strangers With Kittens is a podcast...
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Jr. High Bar Fly
Junior High hits different these days. Maryanne remembers when after-school enrichment was spent where everybody knew her name. Belly up, kittens! Support the show Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by…
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A Very Special Strangers With Kittens
Remember when sitcoms would bum us out with a very special episode? Like the very special "Family Ties" when guest start Tom Hanks played an alcoholic uncle? Well, lots of people have asked where the name of the podcast comes from. Here's your answer. Support the show Strangers With Kittens is a...
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War Games
World feeling chaotic? Current war games got you on edge? Welcome to Gen X! We've got music and movie recs to get you through these trying times. We can't keep Drunk Uncle President from dropping bombs, but we can make you feel like you're stressing in excellent company. Support the show…
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I'm Not Mad
We're Gen X. We parented ourselves, we parented our kids, and now we're parenting our parents while living in the age of competitive menopause. That's fine. No, we're not mad at all. Support the show Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original...
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And I Don't Feel Fine
The recent New York Times article, "The Gen X Career Meltdown" by Stephen Kurutz makes us feel seen. Support the show Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast...
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HIV, 80s TV & Susan Lucci
Comedian turned teacher Tarik Daniels talks growing up Gen X and gay, soap operas, sitcom crushes, and his love for Susan Lucci. Support the show Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to Strangers With Kittens, the ultimate Gen X comedy podcast celebrating the least parented generation in history. We might have been labeled the "slacker" generation, but we somehow raised ourselves, parented our kids, and are taking care of our aging parents.
Hosted by Eileen Kelly, this Society & Culture show brings you unfiltered comedy interviews and raw storytelling. We dive deep into childhood trauma, midlife crisis moments, relational struggles, and the dark humor required to survive the 70s, 80s, 90s and modern adulthood. Laugh through the breakdowns, toxic family dynamics, and chaotic memories. It's time to finally give credit where credit is due—here’s to Generation X-CELLENT!
HOSTED BY
Eileen Kelly
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Strangers With Kittens: Gen X Stories from the Least Parented Generation. have?
Strangers With Kittens: Gen X Stories from the Least Parented Generation. currently has 60 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Strangers With Kittens: Gen X Stories from the Least Parented Generation. about?
Welcome to Strangers With Kittens, the ultimate Gen X comedy podcast celebrating the least parented generation in history. We might have been labeled the "slacker" generation, but we somehow raised ourselves, parented our kids, and are taking care of our aging parents. Hosted by Eileen Kelly, this...
How often does Strangers With Kittens: Gen X Stories from the Least Parented Generation. release new episodes?
Strangers With Kittens: Gen X Stories from the Least Parented Generation. has 60 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Strangers With Kittens: Gen X Stories from the Least Parented Generation.?
You can listen to Strangers With Kittens: Gen X Stories from the Least Parented Generation. on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Strangers With Kittens: Gen X Stories from the Least Parented Generation.?
Strangers With Kittens: Gen X Stories from the Least Parented Generation. is created and hosted by Eileen Kelly.
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