INSIDE AND OUTSIDE: Nature + Pop Culture News with Jessica Murnane · Jessica Murnane

World's Largest Spider Web + Hallmark vs. Lifetime Christmas Movies + Defending The Housewives with Ally Holleb

·58 min·3 clips
Housewives fans are not just laughing; Jessica says the shows build real community and even reveal health symptoms.
Jessica Bernan opens the show in her familiar inside/outside frame. She brings Allie Holub into a conversation that starts with nature news and then drifts toward pop culture. The first stretch feels like a general talk about nature before it settles into holiday movies. Allie Holub draws a clear line between Hallmark and Lifetime. She says Hallmark movies are not trying to be the best thing anyone has ever watched. They are there to make sure nothing bad is happening. That is what makes them good background TV. She also says Lifetime's holiday-movie lane feels a little higher in quality. In her view, it is a bit edgier too. She describes Hallmark as getting boxed in by wholesomeness. Over time, she says, the people who cared moved farther right and started their own thing. The conversation also touches on Hanukkah showing up during the Christmas season. Allie is blunt that there are not a lot of Jews working there. She names herself as a proud Jewish human and does not soften the point. Jessica and Allie keep coming back to the appeal of low-stakes holiday TV. They talk about it like something you can leave on while getting other things done. The tone stays loose and funny throughout. Jessica lets the talk wander without losing the thread. The result is a conversation that treats small cultural preferences as part of everyday life.

As heard by us

Jessica Bernan and Allie Holub turn nature news and holiday-movie talk into a loose, funny, easygoing conversation.

Jessica Bernan and Allie Holub keep the tone light as the episode moves from nature news into pop-culture talk. What stands out is the equal curiosity they bring to both stretches, whether the subject is gardening-adjacent news or holiday movie chatter.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

When nature news turns into Hallmark-vs-Lifetime holiday-movie talk, the conversation stays delightfully weird.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
Listen to the show on