There's something to be said about being single in your thirties. There's the rush of not knowing who you're gonna kiss next, and the freedom to do whatever the hell you want whenever the hell you want to do it. But looking for your counterpoint on the earth can be exhausting and annoying, too.
On today's show, we explore this dichotomy. What romantic wins from the last six weeks - the last time the two of us were together live in the studio before Ben took off to perform in Maine - can we celebrate? What challenges have arisen from breaking out of the patterns we usually function within?
Then we're joined by Kristin Newman, the author of the memoir What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding. While many of her friends got hitched and started popping out babies, Kristin traveled the world, pushing herself into experiences that she would never dare embrace at home. What did overcoming fears, meeting people from around the world, and "doing the thing you're supposed to do in the place you're supposed to do it" teach her about love?
Meet Kristin Newman
Kristin Newman has written for network television comedies for almost twenty years, on shows like
That '70s Show, How I Met Your Mother, Chuck, The Neighbors, Galavant, and
The Real O'Neals. She is currently the showrunner for ABC's
The Muppets. Her travel memoir,
What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding, has oddly been translated into exclusively Turkish.
Kristin Newman spent much of her twenties and thirties buying dresses to wear to her friends' weddings and baby showers. Not ready to settle down and in need of an escape from her fast-paced job as a sitcom writer, Kristin instead traveled the world, often alone, for several weeks each year. In addition to falling madly in love with the planet, Kristin fell for many attractive locals, men who could provide the emotional connection she wanted without costing her the freedom she desperately needed. Kristin introduces readers to the Israeli bartenders, Finnish poker players, sexy Bedouins, and Argentinean priests who helped her transform into "Kristin-Adjacent" on the road–a slower, softer, and, yes, sluttier version of herself at home. Equal parts laugh-out-loud storytelling, candid reflection, and wanderlust-inspiring travel tales, What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding is a compelling debut that will have readers rushing to renew their passports.
