This is an Above Deck x Pop Therapy mashup!

The incredible team, Sarah Goldman and Kelli Busby invited me to be a guest aboard their brilliant pod, Above Deck, to chat all things Below Deck, Bravo and beyond. You can watch the ep in full on the Hurrdat Entertainment YouTube Channel or listen here or via Above Deck on Apple Pods or Spotify.

Warning: This episode includes a frank discussion about suicide - please listen with care and reach out to The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (988) if you need help. In Australia, reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14)

Sarah and Kelli talk to Jana Firestone from the Pop Therapy Podcast. Topics include: Favorite Bravo podcasters, BravoCon, her therapy background, what makes Below Deck a unique reality show, her trip to LA, her time with Joe Bradley, internet trolls, Rachel Zoe’s return to Bravo, RHOBH, It’s a Brad, Brad World, Juicy Scoop, her love of Craig Conover, how tall most Bravolebs are, Salley and Venita, the horrible episode of The Viall Files with Austen Kroll, The Valley: Persian Style, how to watch Heated Rivalry.

A bonus episode of Above Deck is out now! Follow us on Instagram: @abovedeckpod

Get in touch: abovedeckpod@gmail.com

Get ya some Above Deck merch: https://shop.hurrdatmedia.com/collections/above-deck

If you’re struggling and think you’d benefit from a therapy session, go to betterhelp.com/Abovedeck or choose Above Deck during signup and get 10% off your first month of therapy.

Please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and tell a friend!

Resources:

https://988lifeline.org/

instagram.com/jana.firestone/

Pop Therapy on Apple Podcasts

Pop Therapy on YouTube

So Bad It's Good With Ryan Bailey

Reality Life with Kate Casey

https://decider.com/2026/01/13/nick-viall-wife-natalie-joy-owe-austen-kroll-apology/

This is another Hurrdat Media Production. Hurrdat Media is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat Media Network by going to HurrdatMedia.com or the Hurrdat Media YouTube channel!

Content warning: This episode includes discussion of suicide, suicidal ideation, mental health and homelessness. Please take care while listening.

This week on Pop Therapy, we go below the surface with Joe Bradley from Below Deck Mediterranean - and it goes far deeper than the edit ever could. Behind the yachtie lifestyle and reality TV storyline is a life shaped by instability, survival mode and a fierce determination to do better.

Joe opens up about his early life, the sacrifices his mother made for the family and the inconceivably dark days that followed the loss of his career and home. These were the moments that shaped him and he's not afraid to talk about it.

Yachting for Joe became not just a job but a way out. We unpack what it’s really like to have your lowest moments, relationship mistakes and drunken nights out judged in real time by the internet.

And yes, we go there. Joe answers the V and Kizzi questions that are probably burning inside of you too - with honesty, accountability and a lot more nuance than a reunion couch would allow.

This is a conversation about resilience, self-reflection and what happens when you stop running from your past and start rewriting it. About public perception, private pain, and the quiet work of becoming someone you can live with - and eventually build a future with.

This is Pop Therapy at its best: reality TV, minus the mask.

Catch Joe on Season 10 of Below Deck Med airing now on Hayu, Bravo and Peacock.

Follow him on IG at @joebradley_

Follow the show at @jana.firestone or get in touch online at www.janafirestone.com

Watch this and all other episodes on YouTube at POP THERAPY PODCAST

This episode was filmed and recorded by the brilliant Angus O'Loughlin at SESSION in PROGRESS

Thank you to our wonderful sound engineer Sam Talbot for all of his incredible work and support. You can work with him too! www.samtalbot.com.au

In this episode of Pop Therapy, I’m joined by fellow psychology graduate and reality obsessive, Amanda from Bella Talks TV for a deep dive into the psychology of the Bravosphere.

We unpack what’s really happening beneath the storylines - the fandoms, the scandals, and the production choices (that we may or may not agree with).

We talk about authenticity as Bravo’s most fragile currency, how social media now drives the narrative as much as producers do, and why controversy fuels loyalty, outrage and obsession in equal measure. We also get into the evolution of franchises like RHOC, what happens when cast dynamics shift and why real connection is the difference between iconic TV and viewer fatigue.

This one’s about more than what we’re watching. It’s about why we care - and what reality TV reveals about us.

Get all the latest TV updates from Amanda at:

IG: @bellatalkstv

YouTube: @bellatalkstv

Podcast: Bella Talks TV

Follow Pop Therapy at:

IG: @jana.firestone

YouTube: @poptherapypodcast

Website: www.janafirestone.com

Thanks as always to our legendary audio engineer, Sam Talbot! You can work with him too - at www.samtalbot.com.au