The Really Very Crunchy Podcast

Today, Jason and Emily discuss the moon mission, Big Dentistry, and the age they were when they realized no one had it all figured out. Sponsor - EarthRunners We absolutely LOVE our EarthRunners in the Morrow household. Head over to https://www.earthrunners.com and use code RVC to get 10% off at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Description Emily recounts a series of bizarre Kroger encounters, including a possible run-in with King Von’s son, a woman who actively avoids her mid-aisle, and mounting evidence that Jason might be protected by a guardian angel. Just another completely normal trip to the grocery store. Sponsor - EarthRunners We absolutely LOVE our EarthRunners in the Morrow household. Head over to https://www.earthrunners.com and use code RVC to get 10% off at checkout. Musicbed License: MB0126JG8ZPLX8M Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Description In this episode, we talk about the strange feeling that time is speeding up. Days that used to feel full now disappear before we even get our bearings, and somehow 24 hours feels more like 16. Is this just what happens as you get older, or is there something deeper going on? We get into the psychology of time, how routines and responsibilities change our perception, and why life can start to feel like it’s moving faster than we can keep up with. We also entertain the more out-there possibilities… because honestly, it does feel a little suspicious. Sponsor - EarthRunners We absolutely LOVE our EarthRunners in the Morrow household. Head over to https://www.earthrunners.com and use code RVC to get 10% off at checkout. Musicbed License: MB01NQNN6UCEEBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever feel like everyone is watching you… judging your parenting, your choices, your life? Yeah—same. But what if that’s not actually true? In this episode, we talk about the strange (and freeing) reality that most people aren’t nearly as focused on you as you think they are. In fact, studies show people are so wrapped up in their own lives, they barely notice what anyone else is doing. We unpack why we feel judged in the first place, how social media has made it worse, and what happens when you finally let go of the pressure to perform for everyone else. Turns out, the spotlight you think you’re standing in… might not even be on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sponsor - EarthRunners We absolutely LOVE our EarthRunners in the Morrow household. Head over to https://www.earthrunners.com and use code RVC to get 10% off at checkout. Episode Description What is camping, really? Is it about discomfort, simplicity, or just getting out of your normal routine? We talk through the spectrum—from tents to RVs—and why everyone seems to have a strong opinion about what “counts.” Somewhere along the way, we realize the definition might not be the point at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we talk about what kids have really done to us. The ways we’ve grown, the ways we’ve been stretched, and the ways we barely recognize our old selves anymore. Music Bed License: MB01PHKVN5VKWOR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We were finally in a groove. Our kids are older. Life feels manageable. We’re sleeping again. Traveling feels possible. We kind of know what we’re doing. So naturally… we’re four months from having a new baby. In this episode, we talk honestly about what it means to add a third child when life already feels full. The excitement, the hesitation, and the very real question: how much does this actually change everything? Music Bed Licenses: MB01AMLIUE7VE53 MB01UBNHXGCDZVV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A startup is proposing something that sounds like science fiction: putting giant mirrors in orbit to reflect sunlight back to Earth. The idea is to bounce sunlight onto solar farms after dark, potentially generating energy at night and extending daylight for certain locations. In this episode, Emily and Jason talk through the concept, the potential benefits, and the serious concerns scientists are raising. Could mirrors in space actually help solve energy problems, or would they create bigger issues like light pollution, disrupted ecosystems, and a permanently altered night sky? Musicbed License MB01CY09GVAQN5W MB01QMG7MOUY9PH Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can you actually change your personality, or are you stuck the way you are forever? In this episode, Jason and Emily talk through the surprising science behind personality change. For decades psychologists believed personality was mostly fixed by adulthood. But new research suggests that with intention, specific habits, and enough time, people can shift major traits like extroversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. Emily’s Book: Really Very Crunchy https://amzn.to/4cX9JmH Little Helper Big Imagination https://amzn.to/4lbNufe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do other people’s kids completely unravel when they miss sleep, or is it just theirs? From overtired meltdowns to the logistics of family travel before a newborn arrives, it’s a conversation about expectations, exhaustion, and figuring out what actually makes sense for your family. Emily’s Book: Really Very Crunchy https://amzn.to/4cX9JmH Little Helper Big Imagination https://amzn.to/4lbNufe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Emily and Jason sit down with Ryan Holiday’s “22 Rules for Reading” and put them to the test. As two people who genuinely love books but approach reading very differently, they talk through which rules they wholeheartedly agree with, which ones feel unrealistic for busy parents, and which ones might be a little too rigid for real life. Emily’s Book: Really Very Crunchy https://amzn.to/4cX9JmH Little Helper Big Imagination https://amzn.to/4lbNufe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s bonus episode, we’re talking about one of the biggest parenting tensions no one really prepares you for: are we supposed to constantly build our kids up, or do go all in on intrinsic value? What actually forms a confident adult? With a new baby on the way, parenting suddenly feels different at this stage of life. We’re older. A little calmer. Maybe a little more tired. And we’re raising a newborn alongside an 8- and 6-year-old who are very aware of everything. How does perspective change? What matters more this time? Musicbed License MB01B3JB9OQCVRU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Jason and Emily break down the famous 85-year Harvard Study on Adult Development, the one that followed people for decades to figure out what actually makes for a good life. It turns out it’s not just money or success, but relationships, purpose, stress, habits, and how you handle conflict over time. Naturally, instead of calmly reflecting on this like mature adults, they ranked themselves and each other on a scale of 1–10 in several of the study’s core areas. The result is equal parts thoughtful, competitive, revealing, and mildly dangerous for a marriage. If you’ve ever wondered how you’d score in the “good life” department, this episode might make you want to find out. Musicbed License MB01LB14RC1PRTN MB01LPNLPFWSBVO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a term floating around the internet called “man keeping.” The idea? That women often carry the mental and emotional load of maintaining friendships, family connections, holiday plans, thank-you notes, birthday texts, and basically the entire social ecosystem of a household. Meanwhile, many men… just don’t think about it. Or don’t care in the same way. In this episode, Emily and Jason talk about why that dynamic exists. Is it laziness? Wiring? Cultural expectation? Or are men and women simply valuing different things? Musicbed License MB01OKDEEVEDRAK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when generosity meets the internet? This week, Emily and Jason talk about GoFundMe campaigns, cheerful giving, and the awkward tension of watching someone you donated to book a beach vacation. They unpack the heart behind giving, the expectations we attach to it, and why it’s harder than we think to truly let go. Also: the end of the world, and the presidential announcement that aliens are real. Music Bed Licenses MB01DWKDR4I03W0 MB01UEBR9CKWXDV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when you scroll past a big creator’s video and realize… you’ve seen it before because … it was yours? In this episode, Emily and Jason unpack the growing problem of content creators lifting ideas, formats, and even full concepts, then presenting them as original work. They explain the real difference between joining a trend and crossing the line into plagiarism, and why that distinction matters for creative integrity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re sporty people, but we have a confession: we aren’t into sports. That means no favorite teams, no water cooler discussions about the game, no getting invited to Super Bowl parties. Anyone else out there like that? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you heard about Moltbook? Even when the AI agents aren't being sinister, there's just something icky about it. The next five years is going to be interesting... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason and Emily wade into the Reddit comment swamp after Emily’s birth announcement goes mildly viral, unpacking why enjoying motherhood somehow earned them the labels “pro-natalist” and “ultra-conservative.” They talk through what was actually said, what people heard, and why the internet seems allergic to women liking their own lives. Along the way, they share a scary moment when one of their kids was almost taken in a Walmart, plus the latest baffling wellness trend sweeping the nation: house burping. Because in 2026, nothing says cultural discourse like kidnapping scares and releasing trapped air from your living room. Music Licenses MB017SLUKDRFXVY MB01HIWLCGGK8EC MB01XGNSQWVJCRI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily and Jason sit down to discuss their current birth “plan”… which is really more of a loose collection of highly questionable options. There’s the hospital. There’s the shack. There’s the home birth. There’s the possibility of free-birthing on their way to Alaska. No matter where it happens, one thing is non-negotiable: the birth must be Middle-earth themed. 00:00 Prepping for the Winter Storm 10:53 Lord of the Rings 20:29 Feeling unprepared for birth 25:37 Free-birthing 29:22 Disclaimer: Emily’s content warning 46:30 Modern medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We made it to 100 episodes, so we’re doing what felt right: answering your questions. No theme, no agenda, just a wide-ranging Q&A covering parenting, marriage, crunchy life choices, content creation, homeschooling, fears, habits, things we’ve changed our minds about, and things we probably never will. Thanks for listening, watching, sharing, and sticking with us for 100 episodes. We genuinely couldn’t do this without you. 00:00 Our 100th Episode! 05:30 Emily gives someone a talkin’ to 22:33 Are we going on tour again? 23:37 What is our favorite most embarrassing memory together? 26:05 The Two Towers 30:08 Baby number three? 32:32 When will Emily’s next book be published? 33:24 Spirit animals? 35:11 Jigsaw puzzles? 38:16 Favorite homeschool curriculum? 42:00 Where would we live outside of Kentucky? 46:00 Favorite part of RVC? 50:44 Favorite novel/non-fiction? 56:17 What shampoo do we use? 57:21 Is it expensive to shop crunchy? 01:00:34 The least crunchy thing we do? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What actually makes a fear irrational—and who gets to decide? This week, Jason and Emily talk about the fears that don’t always make sense… and the ones that absolutely do. From being afraid of the dark to worrying about things that may never happen, they unpack where fear comes from, why some people carry more of it than others, and how much of it is instinct versus imagination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we talk about heroes in children’s fiction and whether kids actually need moral ambiguity or if that’s something adults project onto stories meant for younger minds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s the final episode of the year, and we are going out exactly the way you’d expect. Emily admits she simply cannot handle getting a talking to, no matter how gentle or well intentioned it is, and Jason has thoughts about that. From there, the conversation turns reflective as we talk honestly about where we think we’ll be in five years and what we hope life, work, family, and the show might look like beyond that. We wrap things up by closing the year together and sharing some BIG NEWS that sets the tone for what’s coming next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s the most emotional time of the year. At least according to the internet. In this episode, Jason and Emily talk about why so many holiday videos right now feel designed to make you cry and whether that kind of sentiment actually connects or just feels forced. They discuss the pressure to manufacture meaningful moments, the difference between genuine nostalgia and emotional marketing, and why Christmas content has turned into a competition for tears. They also get into holiday get-togethers, family dynamics, and the expectations that come with them, plus a look back at old Christmas ad campaigns and why they felt different. Funny, honest, and refreshingly grounded, this episode is a breather from the seasonal overload. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices