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

This week on Pop Therapy, Cat from Worm with a Mustache is back to pull apart the Bravo universe at its most unhinged. We dig into Jen Shah’s release and what it really exposes about fandom, forgiveness and the questionable appetite for a redemption arc. We get into the rising questions around Lisa Barlow’s business empire, the slow unraveling of Kyle and Amanda under reality-TV pressure, and why every Bravoleb suddenly thinks a DJ booth is their path to reinvention.

Then we head to Beverly Hills and Vanderpump Rules, where authenticity is the storyline Bravo can’t manufacture. Erika Jayne’s emotional vacancy, Rachel Zoe’s unexpectedly star o the rise, the franchise’s creeping stagnation and the spark of hope in newcomers like Boz all go under the microscope. We also unpack representation and the emotional weight Garcelle was being asked to carry, and the way politics and pop culture are bleeding into each other more than ever.

Fast, sharp and full of cultural x-rays, this episode gets right to the psychology of why we watch and what the drama reveals.

Find Cat at:

IG: @worm_with_a_mustache

TikTok: @worm_with_a_mustache

Follow the show at @jana.firestone

Watch full eps on YouTube at: @poptherapypodcast

Or come and say hello at www.janafirestone.com

Thank you to our wonderful audio engineer Sam Talbot, who you can work with directly right here: www.samtalbot.com.au

We have officially rebranded and are leaning right into the Pop Therapy of it all! The Curious Life Podcast has been a our home for the last 7 years, but we are rounding out the year with the new name that really captures it all. Welcome officially to POP THERAPY!

This week, I sit down with recap queen Kate Riccio to debrief the glittered chaos of BravoCon - the thrills, the crowd crush, the parasocial tightrope and the Bravolebs who handled it… and those who very much did not. We dive into Salt Lake City’s current cultural chokehold, Emmy Sharrett's Southern Hospitality Panel, and why she gets such a hard time from the fans.

Southern Charm and Summer House get the Pop Therapy treatment as we unpack friendship fractures, fame fatigue and why the audience now feels as emotionally invested as the cast.

Kate has some genius ideas for Bravo 2.0 and a candidacy we can all get behind!

Make sure you're following Kate for all things reality TV at:

TikTok:@katericcio

Insta: @ricciorecaps and @therealityofreality

Follow the show on IG at @jana.firestone

Get in touch via the website at: www.janafirestone.com

Watch full videos on YouTube at: PopTherapyPodcast

Thank you to our brilliant audio engineer, Sam Talbot! You can work with him too at www.samtalbot.com.au

Heidi Anderson takes the mic and pulls me into a full BravoCon debrief, and nothing is off the table. Think of this as a backstage pass meets a therapy session for Bravo obsessives.

We get into the frenzy, the fandom, the unspoken rules of the Bravoverse, and what actually happens when you drop a therapist into the middle of thousands of people who’ve also memorised every feud since 2006.

Heidi gets me talking about the moments that made me laugh, the ones that made me pause, and the ones that reminded me why Bravo isn’t just entertainment - it’s a living case study in human behaviour. From the Bravolebs who surprised me to the crowd dynamics that said more than any panel ever could, we unpack why reality TV hooks us, holds us and sometimes even helps us understand ourselves.

It’s fast, fun, a little unhinged, and very Pop Therapy.

Find me on Instagram at @jana.firestone and at www.janafirestone.com.

Follow Heidi Anderson to set your dreams into PR action at @_heidianderson

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE @thecuriouslifepodcast

Thank you to our audio engineer extraordinaire, Sam Talbot. You can work with him too! Head to www.samtalbot.com.au

In the first BRAVOCON episode since my return, Cat (@worm_with_a_mustache) and I dive into the absolute whirlwind that was BravoCon. We unpack the intensity of the weekend, the standout moments from CreatorCon (hosted by The Bravo Docket and Podcast Nation) and our own shifting feelings about the Housewives universe.

We cover the ethics of sharing personal stories and children on reality TV, the justice system’s inconsistent treatment of reality stars, and what the future of Bravo might look like as more controversies surface.

If you love reality TV but also enjoy the psychology, the power plays, and the human cost behind it all, this episode is it.

Follow Cat for all things Bravo and politics at @worm_with_a_mustache.Connect with me on Instagram at @jana.firestone, watch episodes in full on YouTube @thecuriouslifepodcast and find out more at www.janafirestone.com.

Thank you to the brilliant Sam Talbot, our audio engineering wizard who whipped this together in a matter of hours! Work with him directly at www.samtalbot.com.au

In this week’s episode of Pop Therapy, I’m joined bymy friend Dana Regan, a.k.a. The Bravo Investigator, for afull-blown Housewives debrief. We dive into the brand-new Real Housewives of London from the accents, alliances and the early villains emerging from the fog.

Then we head to the icy slopes of Salt Lake City, unpacking the Todd and Muzzie of it all and what’s really going on beneath that chaos. Over in Miami, we ask the big question - is Julia even remotely redeemable after this season’s revelations? And because we can’t help ourselves, there’s a cheeky sprinkle of 90 Day Fiancé drama to round things out.

Follow Dana on Instagram at @thebravoinvestigator,listen to her podcast The Bravo Investigator, and support her on Patreon for even deeper dives into the Bravosphere.

You can find me at @jana.firestone, or visit www.janafirestone.com for all things Plot Twist, Pop Therapy,and beyond.

Thanks as always to the award-winning Sam Talbot for audio engineering. Check out his work at www.samtalbot.com.au