The long, dark Midwest winter can take a real toll on motivation, energy, and mental health. In this episode of Wait, You’re Mad?, Madi and Lexie break down a practical Midwest Winter Survival Guide — sharing realistic ways to support your mood, protect your energy, and avoid seasonal depression to the best of our ability. From daily routines to light exposure, cozy systems, and emotional expectations, this episode is about making winter livable.

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We’re fixing your holiday season with a gift guide for every personality: the hostess, the wellness girly, the chaotic friend, the person who owns everything, your emotionally unavailable cousin, and of course — the Midwestern man. Also inside: wedding ring disasters, ghost orbs, and us realizing we’re the losers, not you.

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This week on Wait, You’re Mad?, we’re diving into something that feels Midwestern: drinking culture. Not the frat-boy kind — the “meet at a bar to decompress, overshare, and solve all of life’s problems in one night” kind.

We’re joined by Carl Busch, award-winning mixologist and owner of EJ’s Wine Shop in Dubuque’s Historic Millwork District — a tasting room known for cozy vibes, curated wines, thoughtful cocktails, and the type of staff who actually help you figure out what you like instead of making you pretend you know tannins.

Together, we cover:

• How Carl became one of Iowa’s Top Mixologists
• The story behind EJ’s Wine Shop & how he builds his seasonal menus
• The chaos, the beauty, and the unhinged memories from years behind the bar
• AND we kick off the episode with a very on-brand wine chug
  
  

Then we wrap with Pair It or Spare It — a rapid-fire game where Carl has to pair drinks with chaotic life situations (Target holiday shopping carts, Sunday Scaries, hometown Facebook fights… you get it).

Follow EJ’s Wine Shop @EJsWineShop for events, tastings, and winter menu drops.

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Tis the season… to lose your mind. This episode of Wait, You’re Mad? is a full-blown holiday meltdown in the best possible way. We’re talking the chaos, the crowds, the forced festivity, the Elf-on-a-Shelf emotional terrorism, the disappointing Christmas snacks, the boomer gift over-buying, and the Target parking lots that become war zones.

You sent us your Irrational Holiday Mads, and honestly? You’re so valid. So valid that we ditched our own mads this week and handed the mic to you. Together we’re normalizing holiday burnout, laughing at the absurdity, and coping through pure seasonal commiseration.

If you’ve ever been overwhelmed, annoyed, or feral between November and January, welcome home. This is your episode.

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This week on Wait, You’re Mad? we’re having a full Friendsgiving-energy conversation about adult friendship — the beautiful parts, the complicated parts, and the parts we never expected to navigate in our 30s.

Madi and Lexie break down what modern friendship really looks like: the people who stayed through every life phase, the ones we quietly outgrew, and the surprising friendships that became core memories. From unspoken boundaries to recurring arguments to the emotional shift from “friends out of convenience” to “friends built on alignment,” we’re unpacking it all — with honesty, humor, and a little Midwest sentimentality.

We’ll also tackle some Friendship Hot Takes:
✨ Mixing friend groups
✨ Venting about one friend to another
✨ Unspoken “friendship contracts”
✨ Friends who get weird when you make new friends
✨ Friendship in the “relationship era”
✨ And why reassurance should not feel like a full-time job

Think of this episode as sitting around a long table with people who get you — cozy, a little messy, and full of appreciation for the magic of chosen family.

Whether you’re redefining your circle, missing an old friend, or feeling grateful for the ones who show up every time, we hope this one makes you feel seen.

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We’re officially entering hibernation mode: fuzzy socks, crockpots, seasonal delusion, and one Disneyland meltdown. This week we’re sharing our winter Wishes, Yes’s, and Magic — the tiny joys getting us through the cold months. We’re talking cozy habits, unexpected moments of joy, and what we’re clinging onto as the sun sets at 4:30 p.m. Grab a blanket, pour something warm, and hibernate with us.

Follow comedian Darius Daye:

• Instagram: @comediandariusdaye
• Tiktok: @comediandariusdaye
• Buy tickets to his Saturday, November 15th show in Des Moines, IA: SpeakEasyComedyDSM.com

Booking a Disney trip? Contact Ally Downey!

• Email: ally@dreamcometruevacations.com
• DM on Instagram: @magicwithally

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Consider this your millennial-friendly breakdown of what’s making the internet mad — BeanTok, weird number chants, AI yearbook photos — and explain it like you’re 30 and too tired to keep up. Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater break up? Sabrina Carpenter dating someone new? Then it’s time for Celebrity Emergency Contacts, where the girls decide which famous faces they’d call for everything from emotional support to snow-shoveling duty.

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We’re fine. Totally fine. Just casually unpacking decades of millennial anxiety, from timed tests and dial-up internet to the chaos of social media and “you’re fine” parenting. Lexie and Madi dive into what it means to grow up both before and during the digital age — where overthinking is a hobby, self-awareness is survival, and we’re all just trying not to spiral before 9 a.m.

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Subscribe and Listen to New Episodes Every Friday!