Under The Influencer

This week: A special episode looking back at 2025 and catching up as we gear up for season 2. Inconvenient white elephant gifts. Sam’s big year of change. Exploring New Orleans in 3-hour wake windows. Fake man cry acting. Max’s trivia nights. The end of Stranger Things. Getting the girls and gays to watch the Super Bowl. Living in the time of Labubu. Selling rocks. Being fooled by AI videos. Becoming a US citizen. Bad audio at funerals. The 10-items-or-less line at Publix.

This week: We decide to wrap up a season of recording on the eve of Sam’s move to New Orleans. Being spoiled as the out of town kid. The 4th street urgent care boom. Car wash me-time. Instagram giveaways. The Rayban scam. Friends with no social media. 90's chain mail. Wake windows. The many homes of Sam’s cat Willy. Dog flights. The moving company racket. Moving our CD collections. Max’s turkey beanie baby. Labubu mania. Everyone else’s opinions on your kid. Max speaks on the new Instagram font. Plans for season 2.

This week: Catching up after a few weeks away. St. Pete Sam on leaving St. Pete. The future of the podcast. Sleep positions. Rebranding cribs. Rubber baby buggy bumpers. Baby corporate lingo. When did baby become a proper noun. Sleep sacks. The left turn lane. How to use ChatGPT. Back when Geeves had all the answers. The Plains. How to hide an Instagram handle. Learning about New Orleans via TikTok. Selena Gomez Oreos.

This week: Recapping this year’s first quarter. Going through Max’s bathroom garbage. Naturdays. Late night pump wine. The White Lotus tourism effect. Water cooler television. Girl group drama. Selling wares at the community yard sale. What does one do with 3,000 cds? Crafting the perfect mix CD. The Spotify algorithm. The wasteland of Facebook marketplace. Online correspondence with strangers. The hex block hustle. An Oreo update. A dairy panic.

This week: It’s spring break in Florida. Sam brings the baby to studio. Max’s arch-nemesis returns to town. St. Patrick’s Day festivities. The difference between “lactose-free”” and “dairy-free.” Sponge cutting. Dishwasher mysteries. Ladies who lunch. Dogs in restaurants. The rays in limbo. Pickle ball attitude. Pants with snaps. Making broth.

This week: Catching up with new mom Sam from her newly renovated kitchen island. Boba wraps. Choosing kitchen cabinet handles. Max’s tennis-girlie era. Tasting French Oreos. Breakfast at Skyway Jacks. A community yard sale. The lasting millenial trauma of Final Destination 2. Emilia Perez drama. The Substance in real life. The future of the Bond franchise.

This week: We welcome Sam’s baby Beau to the world! When you realize today is the day. The hospital waiting game. Barf in your hair. The drama of the name reveal. Learning to swaddle. Finessing the hospital room service menu. Facebook mommy groups. Nipple shields. Doechii giving Tampa its flowers. Recession pop is BACK. Taylor getting booed. Kendrick’s hlaftime show. Circling back on the fair foods. A ferris wheel scam. A big new Oreo drop. Causing a scene at the Publix checkout counter.

This week: It's fair season in Florida. Max plays smash-or-pass with the 2025 Florida State Fair lineup of foods. Pageant chickens. Sam's rabbit problem. The Oscar nominations. The meat on meat trend. We need a new eggroll. Making a scene when your water breaks. Blind tasting bizarre soda flavors. Butter soda. Gasparilla corsets.

This week: The forecast of possible snow in Florida has us reminiscing on winter fun times past. The tiktok ban. The dawn of Red Note. Profiling tiktok food influencers. When the cats get cold. Sam’s mom-cozy-pregnancy-pillow. Becoming a skiing family. Pizza vs. French fries. Sam’s grand mountain descent. The carpet conveyor belt at Bill Jacksons. Snowboard lessons after dark. Disney Channel’s anti-skiing propaganda. Snowboard fashions at the lodge buffet. Standing on the subway platform in a blizzard. Spontaneous combustion. An update on the dark entity that’s been haunting Max.

This week: A list of things we want to leave behind this year. 2025 brought the Watergate of the font community. Approaching the year with Calibri energy. Avocado packaging. An issue with Publix bogo wines. Firehouse subs needs an employee training refresher course. A plea for all future bathroom construction. When you have to read during a movie. The jumpscare inducing Netflix sound. Changing how we deal with change. We need more bowl-plates. St. Pete’s road work. Choosing an ad experience. Tiptoe the tortoise’s race to escape the LA fires.

This week: We take a listen to predictions made and recorded one year ago by shoppers at St. Pete’s Indie Flea for what 2024 had in store for them as we build a bingo card for the year. How many came true? The Election. The Economy. Aliens. Bill Murray.

This week: It’s a wrap on 2024 as we take a look back on pop culture moments from the past year. Tasting Taco Bell’s viral chicken nuggies. The time when Kate Middleton went missing. JLo’s bodega order. Katy Perry's flop era. Brat Summer. The rise of Chappell Roan. Turning down a 12 million dollar NDA. The Katt Williams prophecies. Watching a 50-part tiktok. Rap battles. A tough summer for Tampa Bay. A baby on the way!

This week: It's our second annual Christmas special! The stalker tendencies of the TikTok shop. Beware the metal cat litter box trend. A sampling of holiday sweet treats. ASMR sound triggers. Infuriating grocery store layouts. Did grandma really get runover by a reindeer? Who was mommy kissing underneath the mistletoe? Grinch trauma. The most unhinged Christmas song. Mannheim Steamroller's cinnamon hot chocolate. A very Mean Girls Christmas. Hot frosty. Ornament placement politics. Max's tree of HORRORS. Keeping up with the elf on the shelf.

This week: A look back at some favorite holiday moments from the past year. Corn Pudding: revisited. Holding space for Defying Gravity in 2004. Christmas morning in St. Pete circa 1898. Going out on the town with grandma. Witnessing a Christmas miracle on US-19. The great stuffing vs. dressing debate. A rum ball incident. Grammy’s never-walk-again egg nog. Mom’s egg muck.

This week: How to act at a holiday party. Max's Christmas balls. The yoohoo house. Secrets of the Publix wine bag. Sam's poodle drama continues. Teresa Giudice comes to town. Building a party guest list. Being a "show-up" person. What and what not to bring as a host gift. The lore of Max's red salad bowl. A call to bring back birds as gifts. Getting trapped in a conversation. Finding a mutual break in talking. Treading lightly with shoe policies. Managing dietary restrictions. Circling back in January.

This week: A look at Thanksgiving traditions. Max's homemade ravioli experiment. Riffing on classics. Stop putting turkey in pillowcases. The politics of carving. The late night mystique of Emeril Live. Revisiting the refrigerator handle debate. Sam's vacuum trauma. A poll listener poll of favorite dishes. Stuffing is turkey's PR firm. We will not accept any Velveeta slander. Mac and cheese as a cult. Sam's run-in with a poodle. Turkey joints. Getting out ahead of the dark entity. Holding space for the Wicked movie. Finding a moment to enjoy the holiday. A maple pie for the soul.

This week: We take a look at Tampa Bay Times food critic Helen Freund's list of top 30 restaurants in the area. Our after school snack routines. Home Depot glizzys. Max's grievance with refrigerators and bottled liquids. How do build a top 30 list? Beach Drive’s Renaissance. Max's latest feud with a font. Chili's triple dipper. Fish places known for things other than fish. Josh wine. Is there Port Richey territory beef? Industry Night. The treasure island fun center. A quest for curry puffs. The mozz lady.

This week: Sam is serving MOTHER as we catch up on her pregnancy. Max takes a turn asking the stupid questions. Measuring age in months. What fruit is it? An update the dark entity. Round ligament pain. Weird cravings. Unhinged advice from a dental hygienist. Max's tepid relationship with dairy. Things not to say to a pregnant person. The spectacle of gender reveal parties. Going back to work after the baby. Pregnancy nose. Rubbing the belly. Accepting the "fun uncle" role. Mourning your old life.

This week: We're back after two century storms and the horrors stay persisting. Reclaiming our spooky season time. Return of the 12-foot skeleton. Helene's horrors. Flesh-eating bacteria. The chilling sounds of Milton. Opening a restaurant after a disaster. Unincorporated Pinellas Park. The Oreo spooky castle cookie kit. The dark entity that has been haunting Max all summer.

This week: We're joined by Rob Castellon, managing partner of Hi Hospitality, the group behind St. Pete's upcoming food hall Central Park. The logistical stress of opening a restaurant. The resurgence of members-only experiences. Checklists! Max's past restaurant traumas. Florida basements. Tampa Bay's close-knit bartending community. Being a B-list wedding guest. "Skunks" in the restaurant. a system for toilet paper. The surprising reputation of The Emerald Bar. The mystique of celebrity dining.

This week: Whether you like it or not, it's pumpkin spice season. We taste a variety of seasonal treats. The Trader Joes pumpkin drop. Why does every Trader Joes employee want to know our plans? A Boar's Head omen. The wine and cheese karen. Shopping with an ice cream cone in hand. That one black and white photo of a buffalo. A dark Target conspiracy. The barren wasteland of CVS self checkout. Pumpkin flaps return! Teeny tiny pretzels. A pumpkin spice wine tasting. Have we grown out of the VMAs?

This week: Cinematic psych groove band Soft Cuff is in the house. Starting a band after riffing in the studio. The T-shirt shops of Clearwater. Band name R&D. The curse of Rod Stewart. Band interview etiquette. Profoundness in silence. Spotify daylist themes. The specificity of genres. Doof Doof music. Sam's never-ending fear of the dance circle. Roller rink politics. Fomo marketing. Mildred's howling hour. The night Max got so high he thought he was going to explode. Categorizing your vinyl collection. The art of sampling. Stuffed animals.

This week: It’s snack time. Max does a blind sweet tea tasting. specific ice dilution. Mukbanging in the car. The mystique of drinking root beer out of a glass bottle. Sam's villain era. The laws surrounding boneless wings. When coke had coke in it. Chicken in a biscuit. Self-checkout etiquette. A journey around the world with the new Lay's chips flavors. The best imitation krab. Chinese fig Oreos are very demure. Cucumber TikTok. Edible essence.

This week: Finding fame dancing on TikTok. Gen alpha language. Falling for the Barbizon scam. When being plus-size comes in and out of fashion. A call with Meta. Accidentally inviting all your contacts to Threads. Turning Tiktok dances into a career. When brand deals flop. Targeted ads. Clapping back at the haters. Recreational outrage. Thriving through a lipedema diagnosis. Max explains BRAT summer. The financial burden of the TI-85 calculator. Manifesting Meghan Trainor. Are trappers cool?

This week: Taking 12 trips in 12 months with travel writer Jen Ruiz. Writing the book people want to buy. The typical south Florida birthday party. Hiker math. Digestible stories. Going on your first book tour. Airport reading. TedX talks. Finding legitimacy in being a “travel blogger.” The money dam. Finding the big cheese. Overcoming the fear of solo travel. Cruise lines as a retirement plan. Staying price loyal over brand loyal. The cold pink refrigerator in the the desert.

This week: We're stuck in the house with Hurricane Debby outside. Max's falling palm tree incident. Directing water. Finding artistic inspiration while school is closed for weather. Port wine cheese. A thrilling post-storm bike ride in Old Northeast. Recapping the annual family reunion. Taking the family pressure away from the holidays. Cooking chicken marsala for 25 in a hotel room. Cannoli cake. Being the scorekeeper. Hopscotch.

This week: A look at the events of 2024 so far. The unstoppable force of BRAT summer. A proper election fight. A Cup Noodle crisis. When making a salad causes a meltdown. The Paris Olympics are GAY gay. Happy horses. Pumpkins in July. Being triggered by back-to-school shopping. Jansport backpacks as a fashion accessory. Trapper Keeper art. Sam’s jelly bracelet incident. The year of pop girlies. Kesha’s free! Jumping from child star to adult star. A TikTok recap of the past 6 months. The flopping of Katy Perry.

This week: A look back at a few highlight conversations with early guests of the show. Danielle’s piccolo. Little Debbies and sasquatch with John Senning. Alexia Gonzalez’s latin pop girlie beginnings. The horse girl fantasies of St. Pete Mood Board’s Bryant Nardozzi. Being on the front lines of the St. Pete Rising comment section. Chad Mize’s early inspirations. Pirating music with Jayda Abello. A poetry reading by Gloria Munoz.

This week: Cleaning out our google drive of hot takes. Reading through Sam's angry hate comments. Tasting Cup Noodles new s'mores flavor. A bubble gum conundrum. A mysterious donut factory in Queens. Max's sauce intuitions. Flats or flaps? Backstreet Boys deep lore. The open book boy hair part. Bad breath at Pollo Tropical. Pick-me behavior in the comments. The Zaneissance. Sam's side part dilemma. A hack for food blog recipes. Upsetting dog mom culture. Artificial flavors.

This week: Tampa Bay Food bloggers Darren and Danessa join us to chat about the local food scene. A proper South Tampa Gasparilla. Florida kids in a snowstorm. Becoming an elite Yelper. the impact of positive reviews. Max's white square aesthetic. A viral rat video. Sam's tiktok haters. The blurry line between influencing and advertising. The need for more diverse food options in town. Ask the locals. Tortilla fingers. Combat camera photography. Hidden gems around town. Pencil sharpener trauma.

This week: Exploring Busch Gardens with J.P. Taylor, the park’s manger of promotions and partnerships. Max's middle school girlfriend dragging him on Montu. Phoenix Rising. The Busch Gardens R&D labs. Riding the Serengeti Flier after fooding and wining. Lorikeet Landing. TikTok influencers ruining the alligator experience. Selling fun for a living. The original dueling Gwazi. Hidden park easter eggs. Cocktails with the giraffes. Free beer! Howl-O-Scream is turning 25. Haunted corn fields. Zombie zoom meetings. Twerking down the Pride parade. A port-a-potty problem. Baby Orangutans. Climbing a coaster.

This week: Conceptualizing an emo cabaret. Mashing 90's emo music with the roaring 20's. Getting Scarlet Fever. Don't touch the dancers. Thewine list at the strip club. The art of the tease. Convincing our mom to take us to a Vegas burlesque show. Being a Coyote Ugly girl. Wagon wheel watusi. Behind the scenes of Miss America. Working the auto show circuit. Talking trash in the DnD discord chat. Max's karaoke room tantrums over acoustics. A very balanced birthday solstice. Singing at biker bars.

This week: A look back at growing up as Universal kids in the 90's. sleep aids. Pre-ride line lore. Riding Back to the Future pregnant. Risking it all to ride Kong-frontation. The meta-movie making experience of Earthquake. The pure camp of the Jaws boat guides. Watching the Twister "ride". Solving mysteries with Jessica Fletcher. The pageantry of Poseidon's Fury. Being the wet kid. The sideways stuck-o-saur. Compies. Chasing the high of first riding The Hulk. Don’t mess with Brendan Fraser. The dawn of Epic Universe.

This week: We welcome Dr. Kanika Tomalin, CEO and founder of the Foundation for a Heathy St. Pete and former deputy mayor of St. Petersburg. Shaping the story rather than just writing about it. Making the leap into political life. Overseeing a rapidly growing city. Building the Pier. Looking to St. Pete as a beacon of health. Growing up before St. Pete was the “it girl.” Eradicating the disparities of healthcare in the community. Publishing a cookbook as a covid-collab with local restaurants. Terry would go. Ankle sock drama.

This week: Airline Travel. The world's most beautiful McDonald's. Wanting to move everywhere we travel. The de-glamorizing of airline travel. The buddy pass dress code. Reclining your seat is pick-me behavior. Having to pee in a window seat. It's ok to say dam as kid as long as it's about Hoover. The c*nty Southwest staff. Airport safety snacks. Max's medicine for motion sickness. Sam's online haters. The ever-changing rules of the TSA. Tampa airport does it right. Getting a drunk guy kicked off the flight. Vacation friends. When to unpack.

This week: A look back at Enterprise Village, Finance Park and school field trips past. A kiki at Kissin Cuzzins. Learning how to write checks. Excel spreadsheet wizards. Being assigned a personality at Finance Park. The Sims cheat codes. Waiting 2 hours for a song to download on Napster. The Arch Deluxe. A visit to the farm. Getting lost in St Augustine. Participation ribbons on field day. Trouble sleeping at Space Camp. The line for the water fountain. Sour Patch Oreos.

This week: We sit down and chat with St. Pete bar owner and city council candidate, Pete Boland. A corn nut crisis. Max’s 2002 yearbook omission. School nightmares. The cursed block. Reimagining Williams Park. Growing up in a flood zone neighborhood and running to represent it. The Shore Acres Facebook group. Hoping for better turnout for local elections. Finding political common ground. Working the early shift at the Islander market. The YMCA glow-up. How to run for public office.

This week: How to act at work. The liminal space of restaurant offices. Gay trivia! Calendar invites used in marriage. The art of dovetailing. Is low hanging fruit good or bad? Keeping the Zoom camera on. Small talk on Teams. Self check-out. The shared microwave. The flavor of Diet Coke. Managing your own notifications. Breaking down silos. Post vacation small talk.

This week: We sit down and tidy up with professional organizer Diane Crespo. Mandatory dance recitals in our family. Sam’s Julia Styles era. American Stage in the Park. Goldfever at St. Pete High. Learning people’s stories through their clutter. The perils of fast fashion. Vacation alter-egos. Auntie Anne’s staffing issues. Working in retail. Getting stuck in the back rooms of International Mall. Who says you have to fold your clothes? The middle clothes on the chair. The stanky drawer smell. A sock folding debate. Decanting snacks. Max’s Oreo birthday cake.

This week: A look back at some of the "once-in-a-generation" we've lived through. Eclipse mania. The Beyhive. The Tortured Podcast Department review of Taylor's album. The double brood awakens. Searching tiktok for explanations. Dunkin's spiked iced coffees. Our secret Ovaltine addictions. Apple's peer pressure marketing. The Y2K apocalypse gave us the best year in pop music. Catherine Zeta Jones' laser dance. The Mayan calender's end. The aliens that Sam thinks she can take in a fight. When the Virgin Mary appeared on an office building off US-19.

This week: Radio Legend Drew Garabo of 102.5 The Bone on coming up on the shock-jock circuit. The origins of Max’s Oreo eating habits. Gifted programs. Roasting the recruiter. The fear of going on vacation in radio. The 9am management meeting invite. Bubba the Love Sponge. Radio DJ’s nicknames. Being replaced by a computer. Finding a talk radio niche. Fighting with callers. Finding levity in a deeply divided country. CSPAN election coverage. The cat-dad life. Battling testicular cancer.

This week: Sarah Weaver of Bandit Coffee stops in to talk all things coffee and gives a peak of Bandit’s next moves. Becoming a cornerstone of the neighborhood. Max’s memories of Cafe Bohemia. 3D-Printed sandwiches. The record for most broken glass. The bonds of Pinellas County Catholic schools. Taking Improv classes. The scene at the Baywalk Starbucks in 2003. The strange lawless times of Covid. When your partner in business is also your life partner. Taming the never-ending line. Sam learns about beans.

This week: It’s wedding season in Florida. Max’s Ina Garten era. Passion fruit cocktails. A Golden Globes wedding. Heavy snacks. A big fat greek wedding. Max’s cost cutting tips. Doing big arms. Closing down the afterparty. Making mercury glass. Delta variant deviations. Blessings from bubby. Wedding ettiquette circa 1925 from Emily Post. The awkwardness of garter fishing. Escape from New York...with a wedding cake in the trunk. The play/don’t play list of reception music. Lots of feelings about Cotton-eye Joe. Whipping and nae naeing it. Unwanted conga line groping.

This week: An XXL sized episode with Drag performer and entertainment director Adriana Sparkle. The Smush Room. Daddy Sparkle. The most round lake in the country. corporate workplace discrimination. The evolution of Rupaul’s Drag Race. Seeking “permission” to start drag. Being read for filth. Call it Christmas! Trying on heels in the mall. Reigniting a passion for design. Max’s drag mother era. Sam’s fear of losing her fingers. Wearing a unit. Men’s hair loss. Becoming your inspiration. Headlining St. Pete Pride. Winter Pride. The type-A gays. Challenging gender perceptions. Support your local drag queens.

This week: Drummer TL Jentgens on redefining the one-man-band. Twins days in Twinsville. Show Choir. Mapping out an escape from Ohio. Letting fate decide where to move. Rocking out at Mars Music. The no-armed man selling a drum set. The struggle with describing a one-of-a-kind music act. The punk scene of Ohio. Playing the bowling alley circuit. Treating every venue like it’s the biggest venue. Risking lots of credit card debt to build a show. Bargaining with bar owners for a booking. Planning a nationwide tour.

This week: It’s Spring Break in Florida. Mother nature woke up ready to fight. General itchiness. Those weird caterpillars from childhood. Max’s arch nemesis is back. Anarchist children running amok. Miami’s break up with Spring break. Destroying a St Pete Beach hotel for Hollywood. The Clearwater roundabout. A trip to the Jersey Shore for happy hour. Sam’s Florida road trip. Weeble mania. The crack cocaine puppet show. New Oreo drop.

This week: Chef Jason Lutzk of Grace restaurant and event planner and PR specialist Brooke Palmer join us to discuss bringing fine(er) dining to the beaches and what it takes to survive in the modern hospitality landscape. Revitalizing Pass-a-Grille. The ostrich farms of 1902. Finding the hidden gems outside of the downtown scene. The grand dutchess of Christmas. Max's reputation for ordering statement dishes. How the time change effects restaurants. Lizzie the cow. The CIA. Being hospitable in the hospitality industry. Balancing innovation and comfort on a menu.

This week: Nicole and Brian from Car-Free St. Pete. No, they're not coming for your cars. Exploring alternative ways of getting around town. The Garden restaurant. Halloween on Central. The Strazza. NYC's High Line Park. A riverwalk day with mom. Rebranding bus travel with the Sunrunner. First Friday. The new Whole Foods. Living without a driver’s license. Using the comments to complain.

This week: We're 50! To celebrate committing ourselves to 50 episodes (so far) we take a look back at some of our less successful side hustles. Max's first podcast venture. Bartending from home in pandemic times. Sam's calligraphy plans. A lost career in Egyptology. The Lisa Frankification of our childhoods. Trauma-bonding though the hospitality industry. Starting an ice cream business. Walkies and weewees. The Punxsutawney Phil musical. Ghosts of past instagram handles. A look to the next 50 episodes.

This week: In honor of the return of the Florida State Fair, we reminisce on fairs past and memories of Catholic school festivals. The social allegiances made at the fair. Sam's villain era. The wine toss. Bargaining with parents for an armband. The reason Max blames Van Halen for his motion sickness. A hero moment for Max on the Orbiter. Something else is going on inside the Gravitron. What do you do with a 6 foot Tweety Bird? The lucky goldfish. Strawberry picking. We discover the sound effects bar. Smash or Pass on fair foods.