The JV Club with Janet Varney

The JV Club with Janet Varney

Remember what it was like to be an awkward teenager? And remember how some things haven't really changed that much for you since then? Join proud dork Janet Varney as she explores the highs and lows of the bygone years with some of her favorite women as they talk their way through the terrible teens into adult-lescence. Warning: This Podcast Contains Sincerity.

Episodes

April 25, 2024 66 mins

Attention all Punk Rock Girls and Dead Milkmen (youngsters— it’s a band)! Settle in with the fantastic author and podcaster Mur Lafferty (Chaos Terminal, I Should Be Writing) for a chat with JV covering sci-fi storytelling, zero dating, and the icing-est part of a cake!

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Grab your best bean pie and your Giggle Gloss for this chat with the supremely delightful Dulcé Sloan (Author of the book Hello Friends! Stories of Dating, Destiny and Day Jobs), who talks teen times in the Atlanta area and gives some tantalizing tidbits around her brand new book, plus some SUPERB M.A.S.H. action! 

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April 11, 2024 60 mins

Author, teacher, and longtime listener Katherine Finstuen (author of the book Dearly Befuddled) hops on podcast this week to talk “useless” degrees (no such thing!), peddling ice cream, and reading, reading, reading! Plus: a delightful hippo blast from the past!

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April 4, 2024 79 mins

Grab your favorite potion and pull up a broomstick with soul sisters Lane Moore (author of the book You Will Find Your People) & JV as they get Practical with their Magic! Forests? Check. Trust issues due to childhood crap? Check. A love of altos? Check. And so much more!

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March 28, 2024 89 mins

This romp of an episode brings you the out-and-out awesome Biz Ellis, from the beloved Max Fun One Bad Mother pod! So get ready for a high school the size of a small metropolis, an utter lack of dating, and our second week of the crucial and delightful Max Fun Drive!

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March 23, 2024 45 mins

It's part two of JV's chat with Katie, including perspective on family tragedy and the much anticipated MASH future.

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March 20, 2024 75 mins

This podcast is part of the #MaxFunDrive! If you love this show and want it to continue, consider becoming a MaxFun Member. For as little as $5 a month, you can help this show continue and get great gifts in the process. And if you are already a member, consider upgrading your membership to a higher level or even boosting for as little as an extra dollar a month.  Find out more at maximumfun.org/join.

In honor of the #MaxFunDrive, J...

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March 18, 2024 40 mins

As part of the #MaxFunDrive, this is a special preview of several episodes of the JV Club -- the full versions of which are available EXCLUSIVELY for MaxFun Members!

Conversations with Tatiana Maslany, Evanna Lynch, D'Arcy Cardon, and a very special exchange of journal passages with Carrie Poppy.  Only the best for our members!

When you go to maximumfun.org/join, you get access to these and hundreds of hours of podcasts across the en...

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March 14, 2024 73 mins

Come for the science, stay for the theatre! This week’s guest, author, actor, and game designer Kate Welch blows JV away with news about her BOARDING public high school and all of the delightful mischief those mostly-unsupervised teens got up to. Plus plenty of love for sci-fi, brewskis, and a VERY close look inside one of their mutual buddies.

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March 7, 2024 78 mins

Okay pals! Grab your megaphone, throw on your camo, and head to the nearest fast food drive-through for nerdy hijinx with the truly wonderful writer, performer and caregiver Beth Lisick (NYT bestselling author of the book Everybody Into the Pool; host of "The Electronic Lover" podcast). This ep brings you laughter and goofiness coupled by heartfelt conversation about JV’s mom and other dear folks grappling with dementia. It’s a ver...

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February 29, 2024 70 mins

What’s happening in this episode of The JV Club? Oh, just a couple of Korras hanging out together, talking about letting go of “the cool kids” and finding your RPG and “Pride and Prejudice” crew! It’s Jacqueline Grace Lopez (Korra in Nick All Star Brawl 2; General Hospital), and she’s kicking ass on and offscreen (with a little time to play in the Pony-verse thrown in for good measure). 
 

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February 22, 2024 64 mins

It’s the other half of the fabulous Reading Glasses pod! Mallory and JV extol the virtues of hobbitry, sublime Providence, and the evergreen perfection of the werewolf-as-puberty motif. So howl your way with us from Massachusetts to (via Brooklyn & LA) the sleepy sweet town of Idyllwild… which might only be improved upon with a werewolf sighting or two.

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February 16, 2024 62 mins

Today's movie takes on the guise of a weird '80s teen comedy, then adds in some supernatural phenomena and some axes. So we consult THE JV CLUB's Janet Varney on the peculiarities of Lisa's high school experience, and then make up some Monster Mash-up movies of our own.
What’s Good
Alonso - RO-TEL Dip
Janet - Mochi Muffins from Third Culture Bakery
Drea - Chocolate-dipped Twinkies
ITIDIC

  1. The Oscars Are Adding a New Category: Best Cas...
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February 15, 2024 50 secs

Julian Burrell- producer and editor of the JV Club- has a quick update regarding this weeks' episode.

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February 8, 2024 62 mins

Max Fun Crossover Alert! It's the amazing Brea Grant from the Reading Glasses podcast! JV and Brea get deep into movies, books, punk and emo, with yes, a healthy helping of Fox Robin Hood to boot. So shave your head and grab your drumsticks... and let's goooooooo!

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February 1, 2024 105 mins

This week with the always wonderful Paul F. Tompkins: build a snow tunnel, sing a few piano tunes, or recite Edgar Allen Poe in the place where his macabre work truly shines, a brightly lit classroom. Boys of Summer continues!

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January 25, 2024 62 mins

Kerri Kenney-Silver (Wanderlust, The State) hunkers down on Janet’s floor to charm and delight with the classics: poorly-received cheerleader tryouts, inevitable class clownism, and accidentally forming a band that ended up touring with Neil Young.

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January 18, 2024 79 mins

Episode 21 of The JV Club finds Janet and guest Alison Brie (Community, Mad Men) spontaneously writing a movie pitch, discussing the bathroom-centric challenges of leotards, and even catching a few cooties with a fan-made cootie catcher. If you don’t know what that is, it’s not what it sounds like.

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January 11, 2024 67 mins

Finally, a conversation that covers two of the most seminal influences on contemporary culture: playwright George Bernard Shaw and the oft-overlooked screen gem Mannequin Two: On the Move. All this and more with Gillian Jacobs, who turned heads as a child with an impressive array of homemade Halloween costumes long before she graced Community’s collegiate hallways.

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Ring in the New Year with a JV Club - Journos Crossover! This week, JV has a funny, informative and mind-boggling conversation with Brandon and Stephen about theories of what it means to be a conscious being. Seriously! We even asked scientists! 

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