Jenny Donheiser
176 episodes listed below
Comedy for recovering believers in weird rules.
How Were U Brainwashed? is a rapid, guest-driven comedy conversation about the ideas people absorbed before they knew better. Jenny Donheiser and Nicole Spezio bounce from Philadelphia rent math to reality-TV scandals, parent letters, potty training, and pop-culture obsession with sharp affection.
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How Were U Brainwashed? is a fast, irreverent comedy conversation about the beliefs people inherit, perform, outgrow, and occasionally still trip over. Jenny Donheiser and Nicole Spezio make the premise feel less like a formal question than a living argument already in progress. Episodes often begin with the smallest possible update. A haircut matters. A vacation to Philadelphia matters. A disappointing reality-TV trivia night matters far more than it should. From there, the show swerves into parent letters, pre-K logistics, potty training, arthritis recovery, reality-TV gossip, theater-company fundraisers, and the strange pressure to have life figured out on schedule. The guests are folded into that momentum instead of placed behind glass. Lara Marie Schoenhals, Jaclyn Backhaus, Lauren Hope Krass, Shawn Parikh, Maya Deshmukh, Bridger Winegar, Yassir Lester, and Amil Niazi each enter a space where confession and joking are allowed to sit right next to each other. The recurring question is not just what someone believed. It is who taught them to believe it, why it stuck, and what it feels like to laugh at it now. Parenting comes up with real fatigue and real tenderness. Therapy comes up as both a lifeline and a comic setup. Reality television functions like a shared moral language, especially when Summer House, Vanderpump Rules, The Traitors, Southern Charm, or The Comeback enters the chat. The show is blunt, but not cold. It can be affectionate and dismissive in the same stretch because the bond between the regular voices keeps the chaos legible. Its best moments make domestic minutiae feel culturally loaded without draining the fun out of them. A brooch at a gala becomes social class theater. A potty-training book becomes brainwashing. A bangs appointment becomes a status report from the soul. This is not polished advice. It is a smart, messy, comic inventory of the stuff people absorb and the relief of finally naming it.
Made for: For listeners who like fast friend-banter, guest confessions, reality-TV references, therapy talk, and domestic chaos turned into comic theory. It especially fits people who enjoy self-examination without solemnity.
What sets it apart: The show stands out by treating pop culture, parenting, body talk, and personal history as one tangled field of social conditioning. Its rhythm is less formal interview than affectionate cross-examination between two regular voices and a guest.
How Were U Brainwashed? is a podcast hosted by your new best friends, Nicole Spiezio and Jenny Donheiser, that asks guests just that. What did you grow up thinking was true that you now know is just full brainwashing, babe? How did you unpack that bullshit and come out the other side?From religion to Jersey Shore, from Monogamy to Pepé Le Pew, the pod tackles women stuff, fat/body stuff (Nicole is fat! Trendy!!!), mental health stuff (you know your girls are in therapy), and a fair share of lowbrow pop culture (hiiiiii Real Housewives). Hosted on Acast. See a...
Based on 4 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Nicole Spiezio and Jenny Donheiser turn awkward memories, pop-culture fixations, and inherited assumptions into revealing conversational comedy.
Nicole Spiezio and Jenny Donheiser turn inherited assumptions into conversational comedy, asking guests to reconsider ideas that once felt settled.
A diamond brooch auction dies in silence, and your secondhand embarrassment finally has company.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Philadelphia, family, and a doomed brooch sale turn into very funny friend-conversation chaos.
Jenny Donheiser and Nicole Spezio treat a spring break trip to Philadelphia as a way into larger questions about where life goes next, then move through theater-company memories and a painfully bad diamond-brooch auction.
A funny, loose parenting chat that makes toddler logistics feel oddly high stakes.
Jenny Donheiser and Nicole Spezio spend the episode doing what they do best: making parenting chaos sound candid and genuinely funny. With Jaclyn Backhaus in the mix, the talk moves from two year olds and school placements to the small relief of getting a few hours back once…
A brisk, affectionate hangout built on Bravo chatter, restaurant obsession, and very specific food opinions.
This episode turns Bravo chatter, restaurant stalking, and food opinions into one comic engine. The talk keeps its momentum because everyone is correcting, riffing, and piling on small details until a sandwich menu or a thick chicken breast starts to feel unexpectedly central.
A sharp, human case for speaking plainly even when it feels risky.
This episode keeps circling one plain fear: looking cringe can make a person go quiet at the exact moment they need to speak up. It works best when it stays close to sincerity and vulnerability, and the case for saying what you actually want lands without much fuss.
Phones, drag, and privacy disasters become quick, messy comedy.
It moves from phones to drag to privacy mishaps, finding its best stretch in the synced photos, the airdrop-heavy drag bit, and the quiet unease of something private ending up in the wrong place.
Nicole Spezio and Jenny Donheiser call Elizabeth Holmes an “alien with a good idea” while weighing that characterization against Theranos's blood-testing claims.
Becca Blackwell says gender expectations and prescribed life paths can act as “brainwashing,” challenging the idea that one route suits everyone.
Hosts Jenny Donheiser and Nicole Speezio open with their 20-year friendship celebration, a 12-course tasting dinner at Huso that Jenny jokes was 'our friend group's wedding.' Guest Jordan Underwood, an actor, model, content creator and activist, discusses performing in an all-trans Rocky Horror shadow cast at the Sultan Room in Ridgewood and why the Broadway version leaves out the callbacks.
Jenny Donheiser and Nicole Spezio kick things off with Jenny’s recent spring break vacation to Philadelphia and the half-serious debate over whether living there could actually make sense.
Jenny Donheiser and Nicole Spezio open with Bravo chaos.
Nicole discusses a therapy exercise where she wrote a letter to her parents and was surprised by having to read it aloud in a session, leading to emotional insights.
The hosts discuss the return of the TV show 'The Comeback' for its third season, sharing their excitement about the plot, characters like Roxy Hart, and the show's cultural impact.
Two friends catch up on personal updates, including a recent haircut and watching reality TV.
The hosts discuss attending a Tom Sandoval trivia night and the awkward, humorous experience.
Hosts discuss the finale of The Traitors and introduce their podcast about unlearning societal brainwashing.
Hosts Nicole and Jenny discuss their new ads, potty training struggles, and the nonlinear nature of recovery and personal growth.
Hosts Nicole and Jenny chat about their day, including a pipe burst at daycare and Nicole's mom's specific will instructions about Costco sandwiches.
Hosts discuss societal brainwashing with a guest who has written about Bravo housewives, blending personal stories and cultural critique.
Hosts Jenny and Nicole banter about Nicole's sick vacation and husband's 40th birthday, using a rose-and-thorn format.
The hosts recap and analyze the first five episodes of the reality competition show 'Traitors', focusing on player behavior and drama.
Hosts Jenny and Nicole chat about having a cold, starting a corporate job, and the gambling app Polymarket.
Hosts discuss societal brainwashing and personal journeys, with a focus on health updates and unpacking ingrained beliefs.
A fast, pop-culture-heavy chat moves from Bravo to Love Island, the U.S.
Hosts discuss a husband's surprising permission for his wife to have sex with an old coworker during a trip, exploring relationship dynamics and personal beliefs.
The hosts discuss a new Summer House spin-off and joke about applying to be on The Traitors.
This episode features an interview with Emmy-nominated TV writer and stand-up comedian Rae Sanni, discussing her work on shows like The President Show and her career in comedy.
The conversation starts with internet cringe and keeps widening from there.
The conversation starts with a phone-switch mess and a painfully public view of explicit images on a computer screen, then drifts into a riff on the movie Drop and the way Airdrop can slip into a drag bit.
Hosts Nicole and Jenny discuss a near-scam involving a free pet photo shoot, exploring how love for her cat almost led Nicole to be tricked.
Hosts Nicole and Jenny discuss voting and societal brainwashing in a casual, humorous conversation.
Hosts Nicole and Jenny discuss societal brainwashing, personal beliefs, and a friend's parenting query in a casual, humorous conversation.
The hosts chat about a failed attempt to take a toddler to a park with sprinklers, finding humor in the child's fear of the water and other kids.
Hosts discuss their experiences touring daycares and the societal pressures around parenting choices.
The episode features a promo for other podcasts, but the show itself explores how guests have been brainwashed by societal beliefs and how they unlearned them.
The hosts discuss a disagreement about whether to let a guest into a Zoom meeting early, exploring their different roles in podcast production and personal perspectives on professional etiquette.
Hosts discuss their positive experience with a guest who blends spirituality, therapy, and self-help without the negative aspects.
Hosts Nicole and Jenny introduce a special episode with their first returning guest, discussing brainwashing and personal growth.
The hosts discuss personal struggles with self-care and nutrition while reflecting on societal pressures and motherhood.
A host shares a humorous and surreal story about visiting a sleep center for sleep apnea treatment, where the doctor's office resembled a fake bedroom set, highlighting the oddities of medical experiences.
Jenny and Nicole celebrate their podcast's 100th episode by reflecting on their journey, including maternity breaks, personal growth in roles like tech and guest relations, and their friendship.