The JV Club with Janet Varney

In what might qualify as the biggest “no-brainer” in the history of The JV Club, we’re thrilled to welcome superstars Tegan and Sara, whose fantastic multi-media memoir “High School” is about to be followed up with their take on “Junior High.” Feast your ears on this convo— we DARE you not to relate to their experience!

This episode is part of the #MaxFunDrive! To directly help this show for as little as $5 a month, you can join, upgrade or boost your membership just by visiting maximumfun.org/join. There’s TONS of bonus content, gifts and MORE! It’s the final week of Max Fun Drive and we’re celebrating with the divine Ella McLeod ("Comfort Creatures" pod!)! Ella was born and lives in London, and this is one of our favorite convos about “where we come from” and “who we are” and “how we reconcile conflicting realities” of all time! She’s the perfect guest to celebrate everything that’s uniquely special about all of the hosts and podcasts on Maximum Fun, and why we’re all so proud to be a part of this diverse and joyful community. Of which YOU are a huge part!This show was edited with help from Daniel Zafran.

This is a special preview of a bonus episode of The JV Club. To hear the full episode, go sign up to become a MaxFun Member at maximumfun.org/join! For as little as $5 a month, you can help this podcast continue and earn access to tons of other members-only episodes of the show. JV is joined by familiar face Carrie Poppy from the "Oh No, Ross and Carrie!" podcast to open up their high school diaries. They'll discover such long-forgotten secrets like Carrie's hilarious list of “favorites," Janet's (topless??) trips with friends, the age of self-discovery and so much more!

This episode is part of the #MaxFunDrive! To directly help this show for as little as $5 a month, you can join, upgrade or boost your membership just by visiting maximumfun.org/join. There’s TONS of bonus content, gifts and MORE! #MaxFunDrive 2023 kicks off with a MaxFun pod crossover! It’s Maddy Myers of Triple Click hanging with JV for a chew about video games, early fan fic, Massachusetts pride, and the mystical M.A.S.H. power of the grapevine! Thanks for making The JV Club possible with your support, Wonderfuls!

It’s the legendary Annette O’Toole! JV is thrilled to welcome Annette to talk about her migration from Texas to LA just in time for adolescence, her early love of dance and music, and her prodigious and inspiring career (Smallville! Halt and Catch Fire! Virgin River! So much more!). The ladies also reminisce about Annette’s performances at the most recent SF Sketchfest, including a performance of two songs she and husband Michael McKean wrote for A Mighty Wind. This show was edited by Daniel Zafran with help from Julian Burrell

JV and her buddy, filmmaker/writer/actor Christine Weatherup sit down to chat about canine adventures during the Northridge earthquake, the inspiring Ms. Foster, and Christine’s film (that JV is in, and YOU can watch), See You Next Christmas!

Catch and release those sewer crawdads and pop into your yurt for this chat with FOGO s creator and host, Ivy Le! Ivy dishes on her 5,000-person high school in Dallas, her distrust of the outdoors (hence her hit podcast), and crushes on the folks in Band. Plus! What if you could sniff out the danger of, say, snakes?

Grab your late-night pop tart and get ready to DIG DEEP with JV and her scrumptious guest, Holly Laurent of the fabulous MEGA podcast! Seriously, Wonderfuls, this is an emotional, philosophical, and deeply sincere episode that also MAY OR MAY NOT BE RIGHT ABOUT GREYHOUNDS. From moms to Jesus to “What About Bob,” we GO THERE.

Load up your San Francisco burrito and hit the beach for some shark-adjacent surfing! Or maybe just one of those things! It’s the great Sarah Lane, who hosts the Daily Tech News Show and Have Such a Good Day, among other cool stuff. From only child bonding with JV to apple orchards and books, there’s plenty of No-Cal love to go around in this week’s ep!

The dynamic and awesome Margo Donohue, author of Filmed in Brooklyn and host of several sweet pods including Book Vs. Movie, talks with JV about great horror villains, the white witch (Stevie Nicks!), and her own teen years filled with so many familiar teen feels. If you love movies, books, or can relate to being a human, this episode is a must!

Settle in for this great conversation with awesome guest Cristen Conger, creator and co-host of the Webby Award-winning podcast "Unladylike" (you might also know her from the podcast "Stuff Mom Never Told You")! From the Athens, GA music scene to dreams of patisseries and "ER"-era Clooney, Cristen delights with a series of conversational gems!

It’s The JV Club’s 500th episode! We did it, everybody! And to celebrate this landmark, JV is joined by the Journos podcast’s Stephen Jackson and Brandon R. Reynolds to talk about some bigger picture teenage stuff. We get philosophical! We get scientific! We get silly! All this, PLUS some very special messages from some very special folks celebrating JV’s 500th ep. Happy Birthday, kind of!If you want to hear more from Brandon and Stephen, listen to the episode of "The Journos" where they spoke with Mark Gagliardi and Hal Lulblin.

This episode was originally published in 2013.Hear her on The JV Club before she rises to the top of the arm-wrestling world! It’s Edi Patterson (The Groundlings), who bonds with Janet over the appeal of the celluloid “horndog,” pygmy unicorns, and being the good girl.

Blue Sunsets! Runescapes! Cinnabon! This week’s guest, the wonderful Joalda Morancy (author of Aliens: Join the Scientists Searching Space for Extraterrestrial Life) brings teenage years of curiosity and dedication, humor and more. You too will want to watch the sun go down from Mars!

We hope you’re in the mood to start 2023 with the shining gem that is Amy Nicholson, who in addition to being a New York Times and Variety Film Critic also happens to have a fabulous podcast — Unspooled — with Mr. Paul Scheer. Ring in the New Year with JV, Amy, Rhett, Danny, and Jimmy strolling on the San Antonio River Walk.

THIS EPISODE ORIGINALLY AIRED IN JUNE 2013Janet and guest Kristen Schaal (The Bob's Burgers Movie) put the “cyst” back in “sisterhood” with tales of OB-GYN terror, Twin Peaks-themed shopping malls, and good boys, bad boys, and no boys at all. Want more? How about the non-revelation of how delicious cereal is?This episode was reproduced with help from Marissa Flaxbart

THIS EPISODE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN APRIL 2014In this very special episode, Janet podcasts her very own DAUGHTER! … Well, at least someone who played her daughter in a thing. It’s the terrific Jennette McCurdy (Sam and Cat) and a sitting-on-the-rug hangout, covering such topics as feminism, faith, and becoming a real life Ghostbuster.You can read Jenette's new book I'm Glad My Mom Died now.This podcast was reproduced with assistance from Brian Bulman

JV was simply delighted to be joined by a very special Boy of Winter, Max Fun’s own John Moe (Depresh Mode)!! in celebration of the paperback release of John’s wonderful book, “The Hilarious World of Depression,” these two “let’s be honest and maybe giggle about mental health, but in a loving way” pals turn their conversation north towards Norway and maybe even… moonward?

This week JV welcomes her new and awesome friend from the Coming Out With Lauren and Nicole Pod, Lauren Flans! This conversation is delicious, candid, silly and great, because Lauren is all of those things! So grab your bag of sour candy and your Joni Mitchell albums and settle in for a cozy, giggly chat.

How would you respond if your well-intentioned mom told you a psychic predicted a future she might not approve of? Find out how Subhah Agarwal (“Dog Show”) handled it, along with stories -- teen and otherwise -- from the suburbs of Chicago to her current NY/LA existence. And speaking of existence… will Subhah get a chance to find out that “… there is no spoon…”? Find out, M.A.S.H.-style!

Give Thanks that human person (who might also be part magical creature) Erika Ishii (Critical Role, Apex Legends) exists, and what a bonus that she’s this week’s guest on The JV Club! This conversation confirms that she is brilliant, delightful, humble and candid, and will live a splendid life scooting around London on a Vespa, if M.A.S.H. has anything to say about it!

All the way from a sojourn Colombia (the country!), the fabulous Ashley Ray (Stitcher’s TV I Say) acquaints JV with her hometown’s roots, and how its history led her to some of her own life adventures. It almost compares with the EPIC alternate-universe M.A.S.H. life in store for her… complete with two of the best things in the world: pasta, and Reggie Watts!

That’s right! It’s Claire Fallon, the other half of the beloved reality dating show-themed podcast, Love to See It. Claire and JV reminisce about their New York and Los Angeles overlap at The Huffington Post, bond over happy-sad bands they both love, and find out if Claire Can Has Cheeseburger!

It’s the terrific Emma Gray, one half of the beloved reality dating show-themed podcast, Love to See It! Emma and Janet talk field hockey, the enduring appeal of Darcy, and exploring the nature of womanhood by way of a rambling story from JV about dog attacks. Plus! Mouth-scrapeless sour candy? Yes please!!

Is it easy to go from the bustling streets of Jakarta to the country roads of Archer City with a little Dallas in between? Don’t miss this rare opportunity to find out what “wall bangs” are, how to con your way into an internship on a popular talk show, and maybe even learn a little Indonesian… all courtesy of Angela Kinsey from NBC’s The Office.This conversation was originally published in 2012

The great Danielle Perez (Actor! Comedian! Writer!) joins JV to talk school musicals, standup styles, and the scientific (kinda) factors that go into establishing who those elusive top tier popular kids are, and why! Plus — the sweet sweet world of television comedy classic “Living Single!”

A big JV Club welcome to New Jersey native and current Baltimore resident, comedian Blaire Postman, who pinballs conversation topics with JV like a champ, including chatting about doing in musicals with a back brace, the misery of too many footnotes, and the lightbulb moment of an ADHD diagnosis, among other things!

Oh my oh my oh my! What a joy to have podcast legend Lulu Miller (Radiolab, Invisibilia and the amazing new TERRESTRIALS!) as our guest this week. Lulu and JV climb into the special secret hideout of their conversation to talk childhood and adulthood wonder and awe, making stuff with your hands, and the ingredients for great metaphorical and real-life salsa.

With the triumphant blare of a high school band trumpet and a twirl of a flag, this week we welcome comedian Mo Welch (Come Out, Come out pod, Blair comic strip) for a chat with JV covering Mo’s teen years in Illinois, discovering improv and standup, and a M.A.S.H. collaboration with a certain pro basketballer that we’re dying to see made real

This week brings you the inimitable multi-talented writer & more, Laura Krafft ("The Colbert Report," "The Harper House”), whose family tree and sibling dynamics make for perfect JV Club material. Plus! Some of JV’s favorite “movies you’d jump into” unexpected choices in the history of the podcast!

It doesn’t take an armchair detective to understand what drew JV and the charming Kerri Doherty (The Goldbergs; Out On The Lanai podcast) to each other, but it DID take an awesome investigator to make their worlds collide. Now the two new friends discuss Girls who are Golden, Truth and Justice, and how Goonies never say die.

This will be one of our shorter episode descriptions, and here’s why: you simply MUST listen to this episode with Rose Abdoo ("Gilmore Girls!" “Hacks!" “Reboot!" More more more!), because you will be missing too much joy otherwise. Truly!

Pour this bit of sunshine into your ears (which sounds weirder than we meant it to) with the dear and inspiring Cricket Leigh (MAI in AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER!), whose own stories of teenage insecurity mixed with bravery and ambition make for a classic episode for what The JV Club is all about!

Get a gorgeous mountain range in view and savor that green chile omelette with Migizi Pensoneau (“Reservation Dogs”), who takes us from Minnesota to New Mexico to Connecticut to… well, just get ready to travel. And bring your love of 80’s/90’s absurdist comedies with you! Plus: more love for "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and the scrumptiously watchable “Barkskins!"

This week asks the hard-hitting question: why? WHY can’t Janet stop saying “Shaker” when she means “Quaker?” Her dreamy Boy of Summer Abe Forman-Greenwald (Netflix’s "Big Mouth”) endeavors to figure it out, while also sharing tales of small-town Pennsylvania youth and the gift of sitting in silence, even when someone’s making you do it!

Stop the presses! Remember when we said we’d collected the entire Hey Riddle Riddle crew? NOT SO FAST! This week brings you delightful Boy of Summer, Arne Parrott, the talent behind the truly delicious various and sundry themes/songs/la-la-las to one of JV’s favorite podcasts. So put on your Ren Faire best and a wad of crabcake… it’s ON!

Grab your lobster roll and your trash juice for this week’s Boy of Summer, the wonderful Desmin Borges (You’re The Worst, Utopia)! JV and Dez talk contemporary adventures: losing your sense of taste and smell and finding it again through the wonder of an avocado; they talk past adventures: sports! Theatre! Da Bears!; and of course, they talk about their happy days playing often-miserable characters on You’re The Worst.

This week brings you novelist, podcaster and Boy of Summer Toby Ball (Crimewriters On, Strange Arrivals), whose addition to The JV Club completes the Crimewriters On collection! In this episode you’ll not only learn about Toby’s teens and twenties, you’ll also hear him rescue JV from her own politics-and-media existential quagmire! So grab your favorite album and treat yourself to some ice cream as summer rolls on...

The Hey Riddle Riddle Collector’s Set is complete! JV is delighted to welcome the ridiculously fast and funny JPC as this week’s Boy of Summer, along with a conversation about Catholic school Religion classes, early-onset improv magic syndrome (a term we just now made up), and what we can confidently say is one of The JV Club’s all-time-greatest “Boys of Summer” covers. And for all you HRR lovers out there, the end of this description takes you all the way to... Jupiter!

Dive into this conversation with Boy of Summer - Boy of Star Wars - Boy of San Diego, Hector Navarro, who describes the delicate balance of being a well-behaved hooligan in those important teen formative years, how honest parental communication has its pros and cons, and how to jump into fandoms when you can’t celebrate your birthday! Plus: Oh M.J. Watson… how we love you!

Venture into the magical world of Piff The Magic Dragon, who rose to fame from high school hijinx to local magic shows to Edinburgh to Penn & Teller to America’s Got Talent to his own show in Vegas! It’s enough to inspire any fledgling dragon! Or magician! This Boy of Summer reminds us that there are so many different ways and roads to take to become the thing you are, with plenty of Piff’s signature dryly hilarious delivery along the way.

Delight in this week’s Boy of Summer, Manolo Moreno! Whom you might already know and love from Max Fun’s own Dr. Gameshow! Hear about Manolo’s teenage humanoid adventures, and what to do when you might be the Edward Scissorhands of… emotions. Then get your creative brain ready to write to the soothing sounds of water, and lasagna up!

We’re pressing “pause” on our Boys of Summer series for this week so that we can bring you the brilliant Michaela Jill Murphy! If you’re an Avatar: The Last Airbender fan, you might know her also as “Jessie Flowers,” the professional acting name she gave herself as a kiddo. Which might be the most delightful thing ever. This conversation is the perfect companion piece to the shorter, more Toph-centric conversation with Michaela soon to come on the ATLA podcast I host with Dante Basco, Braving the Elements!

It’s time for the simply terrific Boy of Summer Matt Walsh (VEEP) and the many laughs that his delightful brain supplies… as JV goes DEEPLY PSYCHOLOGICALLY ANALYTICAL in this hard-hitting (not that hard-hitting) episode. So dip some crab legs in butter, uncork or unscrew some red wine, and check out Matt’s indie film Unplugging!

Give yourself the gift of listening to the divine James Sie (also known as the Cabbage Merchant from ATLA, btw!) talk about perennial teenage years and his new novel, All Kinds of Other, and get ready for a LOT of love for the book from JV! It’s a YA novel that anyone of any age can and should read, and it’s the perfect book to celebrate on during Pride Month with our sublime first June Boy of Summer. Plus! Which Avatar character would James bring into our world to have as a buddy?

Whether you love her as Cindy Brady in the Brady Bunch reboot movies, as Ty Lee in Avatar: the Last Airbender, or one of her other amazing endeavors, there is just a whole lot to be enjoyed about and with the fabulous Olivia Hack! A frank and very cool insider talk on Livin’ the “Dream” in LA from a young age, how to be in the moment and travel the world, and of course, mashed potatoes.

This week brings you a very dynamic and impassioned conversation with Gina Viola, an activist/small business owner/mom/all-around great person who is also very much in the running for Mayor of Los Angeles! But the conversation stretches far outside the realm of Los Angeles, or California- and dives into some of the more complicated issues facing US culture today, as well as some really exciting and inspiring ways to make a difference. A Beautiful Struggle!

It’s our first Boy of Summer, pre-summer! Enjoy this summer teaser with the one and only Hal Sparks, who brings his energy, advice and fast-as-lightning humor to this conversation with JV. Covering topics like not being a dating dud! Confidence vs. arrogance! Ribeyes!

This week JV hangs with incredibly funny and cool comedian Amy Miller, who brings her light and humor to a wide range of subjects including, of course, one of JV’s own faves: being a teen in organized religion! And maybe even more enticing: Cool Rock Music Church! Plus: find out which M.A.S.H. alternate universe profession has Amy asking “…Was this your card?” (Wait- did that give too much away?)

Janet Varney joins her best pals Hal Lublin and Mark Gagliardi in a special #MaxFunDrive fueled crossover of "The JV Club" and "We Got This!" podcasts! The reason for this amazing crossover? To officially determine the best high school movie.This podcast was a special stretch goal that was reached with new MaxFun Members who pledged their support to both shows monthly contributions.If you love and support either- or both!- "The JV Club" or "We Got This!" you can go to maximumfun.org/join and contribute as little as $5 a month. It goes directly to the shows you listen to and helps ensure they continue.