Meredith discovered the world of Jane Austen's novels in college and has since reread them many times over in addition to listening to them as audiobooks and rewatching the film/TV adaptations (at least the ones she likes). There is something to the simplicity of daily life, the rules that governed socializing, and the fashion and furnishings of the era that Meredith finds herself constantly drawn to and daydreaming about, so much so that she has ventured into writing her own as-yet-unfinished Austen-style novel. 
Notes:
Meredith's most recent production with Team StarKid, Firebringer
Thanks to the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for their support and Overcast, MBS's podcast player of choice, for sponsoring this episode.

Chels studied WB shows like Felicity and Gilmore Girls like they were homework, at one point in life staying up until 11 PM to watch a rerun of Gilmore Girls only to watch it again at 3 AM. They also began to mentally catalog the writers and actors from each show, faithfully seeking out trivia from DVD commentaries and social media accounts to feel more like a part of the fictional teen-aged worlds being created. Now, Chels prides themselves on creating worlds professionally as a B2B content specialist and creatively as a host of Sell Me A Pup, a show where comedians review made-up media. There's a lot of talk about how much pickier we tend to be with media now, relishing in representation and prickling at problematic jokes and storylines. There's also mention of Tarzan, Roswell, Buffy, and a few non-WB TV delights like The OC, Grey's Anatomy, and... West Wing?
Notes:
Check out Chels's contributions to Your Stories
Vlog Brothers, Hank and John Green
Thanks to the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for their continued support and Simplecast for sponsoring this episode. Use the promo code "chicago" to get 50% your first 3 months of Simplecast.

Alyssa was born a rebel, as evidenced by her refusal to accept an "Indian" name in place of her own as a kindergartener on Columbus Day. This small rebellion opened the door to an interest in eking out the truth about colonialism, imperialism, and revolutions throughout her schooling. In college, she declared a Middle-Eastern Studies and Political Theory double major to feed her thirst for knowledge on how the history of colonialism influences the sociology of current cultures. There are mentions of many modern political implications, suggestions for specific books and periods one might seek out to study further, and ads for soap.
Notes:
Thanks to the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for their continued coordination of sponsorships. This week, it's Overcast, MBS's podcast player of choice.

Tiffany discovered the possibilities of LARPing via putting on immersion theatre as the Artistic Director of Otherworld Theatre Company. After their own production of Gone Dark and attending Sleep No More in New York, she was inspired to take the interest even further by producing a series of 2-day LARPs in the Midwest called Chronicles of the Realm. Find out about the levels of experiential gaming and theatre that can be achieved as well as the work and talent it takes to plan characters and re-plan scenarios on the fly as players discover the path they want the LARP to take.
Notes:
Otherworld Theatre is buying their own space. Check out their IndieGoGo to contribute to the cause.
Past episodes featuring themes surrounding Otherworld Theatre productions include: Vampires, Shakespeare, Pen and Paper RPGs, and Sci-Fi/Fantasy Theatre.
Thanks to Overcast for sponsoring and the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for coordinating sponsors and community.

Carley Moseley loved to read so much as a kid she thought one of the coolest things about Matilda was that she had a wagon for her library books. One of her greatest loves is A Wrinkle in Time, and she's revisiting the novel now and unpacking all of these feelings about whimsy, family, and the upcoming film adaptation along the way. Expect emotions about everyone from Oprah to CS Lewis, and maybe pick up a book from your past that you haven't read in a while to figure out why it's still with you.
Thanks to the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for coordinating sponsorship by Backblaze. Try Backblaze online backup for free at backblaze.com/cpc.

Henry figured out how to use the internet to chat with friends and strangers alike at a young, desktop dial-up age. He's remained at the forefront of users for new platforms, networks, and apps due to some combo of an innate desire to connect online, a genuine curiosity at what the internet can do, and a relatively-innocent streak of trolling and shit-posting. From Geocities to Facebook frames, Smash Boards to Echo Skills, Henry's made some viral gags and met some lifelong friends as "jackasskid" and "tehawesome." And as "someone who goes by Henry Stinson Birdseye III."
Notes:
Henry has a pretty good compendium of his goofs on Tumblr
Thanks to the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for coordinating sponsorships, and thanks to Overcast for sponsoring. MBS has listened to all podcasts on Overcast since before they paid money for her support.

The tables turn once again in a holiday hangover edition of eMBSing. This time Eric “EMB” Braband unpacks MBS’s love of Irish indie movie musical Once. After 10 years of expounding her love of her favorite film, there are now a plethora of cultural and personal reasons the story and her love of it endures. Hear their thoughts on the Broadway musical adaptation and lead actor Glen Hansard’s continued solo career, and close out with a live verse from one of MBS’s favorite songs from the films musical duo. Give Once a watch, and have fun finding your band.
Notes:
Thanks the Cards Against Humanity for sponsoring the show and the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for their continued support.

In the studio with Abraham Lincoln AGAIN and this time with fellow former president Thomas Jefferson?! For the unfamiliar, last year past guest of MBSing Timothy Dunn took a trip to Springfield, IL, and Abraham Lincoln appeared before him. They've been making a podcast together ever since. Tim's even producing a rap album Thomas and Abe are making together. This episode is about how 8 Mile inspired them to make that album. Or maybe about how they inspired 8 Mile to be a movie. It's pretty unclear, but there's an unfortunate amount of freestyle rapping. 
For more backstory and fun with Lincoln, listen to Tim and Abe's show at www.15MinutesWithLincoln.com
Thanks to Cards Against Humanity for sponsoring and the continued use of their studios, and thanks to the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for lending a sense of legitimacy.

Ever since he saw Jackie Chan's First Strike at the age of 7, Eli has been a huge fan of Chan. Seeking out every film of his, starting from his vast catalog in China and his American-made films as he became more of a domestic success, Eli is in awe of Chan's martial arts abilities as a performer, stunt choreographer, and director. All of Eli's favorite fights and films are covered as well as some fun facts about the Chinese opera school friends Chan has made the most movies with and his penchants for singing the theme songs to his movies and making blooper reels of outtakes and stunt failures. Celebrate someone Eli refers to as one of the greatest entertainers of all time with this conversation paired with a viewing of your biggest Jackie blind spot.
Notes:
Check out Eli's work on fellow Chicago Podcast Cooperative show Improvised Star Trek.
Thanks to Cards Against Humanity for sponsoring this episode.

Maria Randazzo starts her week by perusing a couple of horoscope sources, so this conversation starts with signs (sun and rising) and continues through how these messages permeate her day-to-day life and thoughts on spirituality and the world beyond the physical Earth. Just like being a cafeteria Catholic, Maria has learned to pick and choose the things she takes to heart from astrology, mostly via the influence of a very spiritual mentor. She's also looking for someone to sponsor her interest in getting more frequest psychic readings, so inquire within.
Notes:
Maria's favorite horoscope spots, The Numinous and Chani Nicholas.
Thanks to the Chicago Podcast Cooperative and Cards Against Humanity for sponsorship.

Ever since a "Hiking and Haikus" elective course took her to Japan for a month in college, Becca Levine has been enamored with the landscapes and culture of the island nation. She returned post college to teach English to high school students in a small town outside Nagano, and has done everything from traverse a mountain in a monsoon to keep her toothpaste in the fridge to prevent it from freezing during their harsh winters. From the importance placed on natural beauty expressed via poetry to the aesthetic notion of "Wabi-sabi" emphasizing the beauty of imperfections, Becca has used her experiences as a teacher, outdoors-woman, and tourist in Japan to color her life in the US a bit brighter and more roundly.
Notes:
See Becca perform with Baby Wine at the Annoyance Theatre
Your Stories At the Movies

Tawny Newsome has left behind the world of relaxers and weaves in favor of her naturally curly black hair, and she's here to extoll the virtues (and explain the difficulties) of a natural hair life. From how it's affected the roles she's called in to audition for to how strangers interact with her, Tawny's cosmetic choice to assimilate less to the general cultural ideal of straight hair has pervaded her day to day life in ways one may not expect. There's also some dissection of how LA's public interpersonal vibe differs from Chicago's, how most fans of comedy are sweethearts who understand boundaries, and how white people figuring out and dispersing the info that it's rude to ask to touch someone's natural hair is like kids realizing that cats don't like to be petted against the direction their fur grows.
Notes:
There are some Get Out spoilers for a wee minute or two at around the 35:30 mark
All three seasons of Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ are available at Seeso.com and all the ways you stream TV
Tawny's appearances on the Earwolf network
Eric Garneau's Blank Cassette with comic writer Kieron Gillen
Elizabeth Cambrige's Random Conversations, fellow member of the Chicago Podcast Cooperative

Ali Barthwell sank her teeth into the sometimes-ridiculous NBC musical drama Smash from its premiere, and she continues to curl up under the blanket of its creative process years after its two season run. She walks the listener through [most of] the many story lines and breaks down the plot holes of the original musical added in the second season, Hit List. Beyond the delicious stretches they ask the audience to be on board for in order to have all the singing happening diegetically, there's a lot of discussion to be had surrounding talented females in music and how the show responds to some of these ingenues. This is a fun conversation of a fan embracing what's great about a show and exploring ways it could've been pared down.
Notes:
Ali's One Shot appearances and Vulture recaps
CAH Live tickets

Alex Kliner has wanted to write film scores since he found out his biggest musical idol (Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails) was getting into the business himself. This self-proclaimed former "mall goth" went from taking piano lessons from an uber Christian teacher to writing music for friends' shows in college to touring with the Second City as a musical director to scoring a crowd-funded feature film and beyond. Get into his influences, methods, and favorite projects to work on as a composer and enjoy your own ability to passively listen to music without deconstructing everything you hear in order to mimic the style.
Notes:
Kliner did not send those pics of himself as a mall goth. Inquire via Twitter?
Alex's film scoring debut
Competition Kitchen Kickstarter
Thanks to Know Your Company for sponsoring and the Chicago Podcast Coop for a home.

John and Asher are close friends who write and perform together a lot, so they naturally have to make a lot of decisions together. We unpack the possible topics they both brought to the table and discover a lot of them are related to the subject (the Mandela Effect, heuristics), we dig into the way our personalities (as determined by ourselves and some personality tests we discuss) and thought processes affect the decisions we make, and we get into how an obsession with decision-making can make improv both a daunting task and a freeing gift of an art from.
Thanks to Cards Against Humanity for continuing to sponsor and allow the use of their studios and the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for support.

Lifelong fan of the classics and passionate supporter of the continued seasons, Chris Rathjen is a Whovian of epic proportions. From watching black and white episodes on Iowa public television every Friday night ad infinitum to appreciating newfound BBC production quality and emotional nuance, Chris loves the humanity behind the otherworldliness of the show and has never missed an episode (to the point of enjoying ones that have recently been reconstructed from found audio and newly-produced animations). In spite of not spending too much time on the villains of Doctor Who, we cover a lot of ground on Doctors, companions, and the show runners and writing that tie them all together.
Check out Chris's work on Improvised Star Trek, Hello From the Magic Tavern, and The Probe.
Thanks to the Second City for sponsoring and the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for their fellowship and sponsor coordination.

While we focus mainly on the politics of the time (and of ours), this conversation with Cody certainly reveals in him a broad, deep-seeded love of this time in our nation's history and a ton of insight on how it got us where we are as a nation. Cody just got back from some touring through the colonial states, so be prepared for more delightful Marquis de Lafayette stories than you can shake a musket at. There's also plenty of chatting about how we would fix the current political landscape (because clearly we are experts) and how the Internet Age has become its own Enlightenment of sorts. Check out In Falsitas Veritas and/or Star-Spangled Sitcoms for the fruits of Cody's creative labor, all in some way inspired by these topics.
Ticket link for Cody and I's shared slot at the Chicago Podcast Festival.
Thanks to Know Your Company for sponsoring and the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for their continued support and community.

Grab a hose and take some sweet sips of the shisha my friends because Chrissi is here to school us all on what goes into a good hookah session. From coals to bowls to holes in the aluminum foil, there's a TON of ways to affect the taste and quality of smoking a hookah that Chrissi navigates every day as a server at a hookah bar. We also get some insight into the culture surrounding hookah (www.reddit.com/r/hookah), the art of mixing tobacco flavors, and a general commentary on how the average customer treats someone in the service industry. Tip your servers, people. Christ.
Thanks to Cards Against Humanity for sponsoring (check out their scholarship for young women in STEM) and thanks to the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for coordinating sponsors and creating community.

Allison Reese used to ball so hard she'd make enemies on the court, but now she mostly uses her love of basketball to create analogies for other aspects of her life (read: comedy). A total gem and softy when not shooting hoops, Allison shares some personal stories ranging from attending Phoenix Suns games with her dad to the kinds of things her mostly Mormon high school teammates would bring to conversations in the locker room to who she sees as the Steve Nash of Chicago comedy. Be glad she didn't opt for her life's alternate timeline of playing college ball or she may not be gracing the comedy scene with her wonderful presence. Comedy owes one to coaches who ruin things for athletes.
Thanks to Jackbox Games for sponsoring and the Chicago Podcast Cooperative for coordinating sponsorships.

Eric Schinzer is no musical sheep waiting around for the sounds he loves to pop up in the lame stream. He knew he loved the sweet sound of synth from a young age (citing Dire Straights's Walk of Life as an early intro) and became a fan of midi, 80s sounds (and styles) from then on. A recent resurgence of synth came with a heavy dose of love of 80s-style scoring and turned into this specific Synthwave genre. It's mostly taking off in France and the UK, driven by soundtracks like Drive and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, and makes Eric tingle like an ASMR fan. He even enjoys creating his own music and using his favorite synthwave bands, including Perterbator, Power Glove, Dynatron, and Gunship, to score his trudges through a city he feels determined to prepare in and spring off from.
Thanks to Cards Against Humanity for sponsoring. MBSing is a proud member of the Chicago Podcast Cooperative, so you should check out more of those shows if you like this one. Here's a Soundcloud of Eric's that has funny stuff on it.