Shows
Emily to GremilyBoundaries, Superstition, And Owning Your Hometown NarrativeA same-day edit, a sparkling water that lied to my eyes, and a studio torn apart, somehow it all adds up to one of our most honest rides yet. I pull back the curtain on my DIY workflow, sprinting from record to release while my gear migrates left and my timer disappears. Then we pivot into Lunar New Year rituals: deep-cleaning, no knives, soup prepped ahead, and the hair rule that put my much-needed chop on pause. I’m sitting on a ponytail ready for donation and choosing patience (and a curling iron) over impulse, hoping for an even bi...
2026-02-1731 minEmily to GremilyHeard A Zombie, Hid Under Bed, Dated The BossEver had a night so chaotic it turned into your favorite story? We kick off with two Gremlin Stories that prove messy moments can rewrite your life. First up: a listener’s karaoke-fueled meet-cute that starts with couch naps and neighbor complaints and ends as a wedding dance to Don’t Stop Believin’. It’s goofy, tender, and exactly the kind of imperfect joy that keeps us singing along. Then we pivot to a high-anxiety misread: a loud crash, moans in the hallway, a barricaded bedroom, and a roommate who actually needed help. It’s funny and sobering enough to remind...
2026-02-1021 min
Personal Finance for PhDsThis Grad Student Bought a Home at the Start of His Doctoral ProgramIn this episode, Emily interviews Ethan Muller, a first-year doctoral student in theology at Villanova University. Ethan and his wife purchased their first home outside of Philadelphia at the start of his six-year program. Ethan shares the details of his and his wife's financial profile, their emotional readiness to become homeowners, and their plans for the home once he finishes his program. After local mortgage lenders were unable to work with him due to his student status and 9-month stipend, Ethan connected with Sam Hogan, who knew exactly how to make the lending process much faster and easier. Ethan...
2026-02-0936 minEmily to GremilyIntuition Is The Door That Locks FirstA tech spiral, a cherry Alani in a martini glass, and one hard pivot into the stories that make your pulse quicken. After losing days of footage and wrestling with a stubborn hard drive, we lean into a theme that kept surfacing all week: control what you can, and listen when your body says run. That thread connects every beat here, from a late-night parking lot encounter paid in “winning lottery tickets,” to the moment a hotel stranger somehow knew a room number he shouldn’t, to the sprint for a deadbolt with footsteps closing in.We unpack...
2026-02-0335 minEmily to GremilyWhen A Voice Outside Knows Your Name And It Shouldn’tA voice outside calls your name with your mother’s tone, except she’s gone. That’s the chill that anchors this spooky, story-driven episode where we gather listener tales of ghosts, mimics, and the uncanny details that make hair stand up: jasmine perfume before a phone call, a window that lowers itself without wind, footsteps by the glass, and a 3 a.m. shadow that sprints from the corner to the bed. I share my own nightclub encounter too, the one that had me marching to the office only to be met with raised eyebrows and a security guard’s smirk...
2026-01-2735 min
Powered by AuthenticityLeveraging Your Strengths with Lynne ThorntonIn this episode of Powered by Authenticity, EmilyCarlson is joined once again by leadership coach Lynne Thornton for a timely conversation about self-awareness, leadership growth, and making intentional career decisions as we head into a new year.Lynne shares her journey from decades in corporatetechnology leadership to launching Elevate Advisory Services and explains how she uses the Hogan Personality Assessment to help leaders better understand their reputation, values, strengths, and potential blind spots.Together, Emily and Lynne break down how Hogan works as a“mirror and map” — showing how others experience you and helping you chart...
2026-01-2338 minEmily to GremilyWhat We Carry: Discipline, Loss, And The Lines We Won’t CrossA burnt tongue, Nana’s mug, and a late start to 75 Hard set the tone for a raw, honest ride that moves from discipline to empathy to unflinching truth. I share why I pushed my kickoff a few days, the uphill walk that humbled me on the way to Trader Joe’s, and how filming daily vlogs while running this show is its own endurance sport. No cocktails for a while, just tea, home-cooked meals, water by the gallon, and Pilates that left me gasping. It’s not pretty, but it’s progress you can feel.Then we dive...
2026-01-2038 minEmily to GremilyHe Proposed In Front Of His Side Chick And Other Tales We Can’t Put DownA spilled pear martini, a rebellious mic, and a promise to do hard things anyway. That’s where we start before leaning into wins that feel personal: a year-end wrap that shows this scrappy show now streams across 17 countries and 131 cities. Those analytics aren’t vanity, they’re fuel, and they set the tone for a bigger commitment: a tailored 75 Hard that prioritizes discipline without denying real life.We walk through the original rules and the honest edits: no alcohol, all meals cooked at home, two 45-minute workouts Monday to Friday with a lighter Saturday and a true r...
2026-01-1328 minEmily to GremilyNew Year, New GremlinsReady to turn page one of 2026 with a little sparkle and a lot of honesty? I’m clinking Martinelli’s and mapping out what a realistic reset looks like: maybe Dry January, maybe a customized 75 Hard, definitely not perfection theater. I share why I started Emily to Gremily, how our three segments, Stories, Guidance, and Gossip, create a safe, funny, and unfiltered space for messy moments, hard questions, and the relief of being seen.We revisit the meaning behind the name and then jump into New Year rituals that tie intention to action. Grapes, lentils, and the 12 Nigh...
2026-01-0626 minEmily to GremilyShedding Snakes, Riding Horses, And Speaking Success Into ExistenceThe days between Christmas and New Year’s turn hazy, so we leaned into the coziness, poured some sparkling cider, and told the truth about a wild, formative year. We start with circle backs—fixing a TV rec after a focused rewatch of Welcome to Derry, celebrating a listener’s holiday engagement, and unpacking a rideshare scare that raised real questions about safety, intuition, and how women navigate cities. It’s candid, grounded, and a reminder that paying attention changes everything.Then we zoom out. 2025 felt like a Year of the Snake: shedding old habits, setting boundaries, and choo...
2025-12-3029 minEmily to GremilyHoliday Chaos and the Blunt Advice You Asked ForA tart holiday margarita set the tone, but the real kick comes from candor: a chaotic building alarm test, an unplanned two-week break, and a reset that chooses grace over guilt. From there, we tap into the heart of this show, community, curiosity, and the courage to say the quiet part out loud.We start with your requests: more true crime, more ghost stories, and a promise to build an episode around your scariest submissions. Then we laugh (and side-eye) our way through a list of icks, from public speakerphone theatrics to performative thirst traps that turn...
2025-12-2337 minEmily to GremilyA Last-Minute Solo Turns Into Honest Stories And Big-Sister GuidanceA roof full of hammering, a boyfriend guest segment derailed, and a midnight deadline set the scene for one of our most honest solos yet. I hit record anyway and invite you into the real behind-the-scenes: holiday overwhelm, schedule triage, and why staying consistent sometimes means embracing the mess.We start with two listener Gremlin stories that prove comedy is just catastrophe plus timing. Raquel’s half-finished Hades makeup collides with an apartment inspection, while Candice’s hot pink surprise reappears courtesy of professional cleaners. I share my own near-disaster from a move and pull out practical take...
2025-12-0223 minEmily to GremilyWe Aren't WellWARNING: This episode is unhinged as we were extremely hungover and decided to rally.Hungover honesty meets producer mode, and the contrast is the point. We open with tequila regret and bedhead confessions, then flip the switch into how we’re attempting to level up the show. It’s the unsexy backbone of a creative project, but it becomes the reason the rest of the chaos can be funny instead of fatal.From there, the conversation veers into the dating trenches with equal parts comedy and caution. We walk through the “Tea” app, a searchable, anonymou...
2025-11-1845 minEmily to GremilyWhen Sexy Meets AwkwardA cherry-pink Alani over ice, a surge of new listeners, and a packed inbox set the stage for a quick-hit solo that leans hard into community and confession. We open by inviting you to steer the show, share guest ideas, dream professions to feature, or pitch yourself, then pivot into a themed batch of Gremlin stories where sex meets slapstick and everyone survives with a laugh.The first tale turns a birthday bash into a fire drill. From there, a Halloween wine night goes sideways when a four-year-old wanders in at precisely the wrong time, raising real...
2025-11-1118 minEmily to GremilyGremlin Guidance, No FilterEver felt your sanity shrink when a well‑meaning relative moves down the street, or your confidence dip after every chat with a “friend” who treats life like a leaderboard? This solo Gremlin Guidance goes straight at the stuff that steals peace: boundary‑setting with family, quiet red flags in new relationships, slippery mood spirals, and the real‑world skills that make your first place feel like a haven instead of a money pit.We start with the mother‑in‑law conundrum and get practical about aligning with your partner before you say a word to Mom. You’ll hear ho...
2025-11-0532 minEmily to GremilyMean Girls, Vodka, And Halloween ChaosVodka spills, Mean Girls ears, and a second attempt that’s somehow even funnier than the first, we kick off Halloween with chaotic honesty and a lot of glitter. After a whirlwind few days of concerts, bed-rot recovery, and a Pearl shoutout, we dive straight into the strangest ride of the week: a first-ever trip in a Waymo. Think thrill ride meets tech demo, complete with the viral clips we can’t stop sending each other; cars circling empty lots, locked doors, delivery robots named Robert stuck in grass, and the eerie chorus of honking driverless fleets.Then...
2025-10-2848 minEmily to GremilyHe Said I Look Like His Mom and the Wine Left My BodyA glass of white wine and a slightly raspy voice set the stage for a fast, funny, and surprisingly tender ride through modern dating’s strangest corners, and the boundaries that keep us sane. We field a respectful foot-fetish curveball, revisit a risky MySpace-era meetup, and pull apart the difference between sweet attention and full-blown love bombing.I share candid takes on how to respond when intimacy swerves into unfamiliar lanes and navigate a hard left turn of being told you look like someone’s mother on a first date.Then the stories widen. A fals...
2025-10-2123 minEmily to GremilyBecause You Were Home: How Horror Hits When It’s PersonalA pumpkin-iced coffee, a pile of YouTube ghost stories, and one spectacularly botched flirt, perfect ingredients to dig into what actually scares us. We start light and slide into the places fear hides in plain sight: backyards that vanish into darkness, sliding glass doors that turn you into a lit-up target, and the LA myth that won’t die, the Culver City “Entity” lot. From Midwest pillowcase trick-or-treating to Pasadena’s Halloween house, we map how setting trains our nerves, and why certain streets feel like they’re holding their breath after sundown.Then we get surgical about craf...
2025-10-071h 21
Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000Three Years of Ridicule as Praxis, 2025.09.19It's Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000's third birthday! To celebrate, Emily and Alex respond to listener questions about the show, and reflect on the past and future of AI hype. Topics range from how to talk to your kids about LLMs, to what the MAIHT3k birthday cake looks like.Artifacts referenced:AI and the Everything in the Whole Wide World BenchmarkData and its (dis)contentsStochastic Parrots DayDr. Casey Fiesler on TikTokDr. Nicole Holliday on TikTokAlex and Emily’s...
2025-10-0155 minEmily to GremilyCheating, Mental Health Breaks, and Wild Gremlin GossipA martini, a mental reset, and a mi, today’s solo ride goes from vulnerable to jaw‑dropping fast. I open up about taking a week off to protect quality and sanity, then jump straight into a listener confession that still makes me wince: why cheat at all? I share the messy truth from my past, why “perfect on paper” can still feel wrong, and the cleanest way to leave when your heart’s already halfway out the door.From there, the Gremlin archive explodes with four unforgettable stories. A fake pregnancy at a restaurant that fooled an entire...
2025-09-3034 minEmily to GremilyDo We All Work with Murderers?The people we know may not be who they seem. That's the haunting message at the heart of this special true crime episode featuring listener-submitted stories about encounters with murderers who walked among them.After kicking things off with a simple vodka martini, I share my fascination with true crime content before diving into the chilling submissions you've sent in. Unlike famous cases involving strangers, these stories hit closer to home, they're about coworkers, classmates, neighbors, and romantic partners who committed horrific acts that shocked everyone around them.A high school boyfriend now serving time...
2025-09-1635 minEmily to GremilyDirty Bathrooms, Family Secrets, and Uncomfortable TruthsWelcome to a jam-packed solo episode where I dive into all three signature segments, and trust me, you'll want to stay for the Gremlin Gossip!My listeners have been delivering exceptional content lately, and this episode showcases some of the most jaw-dropping submissions yet. We kick things off with two compelling Gremlin Stories: one about a moral dilemma when discovering a brother's infidelity, and another about a potential hookup derailed by a horrifying bathroom situation (which sends me on a passionate hygiene rant that might just save someone's love life).The Gremlin Guidance segment tackles...
2025-09-0932 minEmily to GremilyGossip Gone WildBuckle up for a wild ride through anonymous confessions that'll make you gasp, cringe, and laugh out loud. The debut of Gremlin Gossip arrived with a bang as listeners submitted their juiciest secrets, resulting in seven stories that range from shocking to downright disturbing.Ever wonder what happens when someone's specific bedroom fetish goes terribly wrong? Have you wanted to exact revenge with an Etsy witch? Well listener submissions might ave the answers. The dark humor continues with an office tale about a woman whose husband "randomly" died, only for her to be dating within weeks and...
2025-09-0223 minEmily to GremilySpilled Drinks and Crashed Weddings: Tales from the Tipsy SidePour yourself a generous glass of wine and settle in for a deliciously cringe-worthy collection of embarrassing moments that'll make you feel better about your own bad decisions. Welcome to the world of Gremlin Stories, where alcohol transforms ordinary people into their most mortifying selves.This episode features four listener confessions that range from hilariously relatable to genuinely sympathetic. There's the college disaster involving beer pong, jello shots, a case of mistaken identity, a nightmare of airplane sickness; and perhaps most cringe-inducing, an anonymous submission about a first sexual experience gone horribly wrong due to excessive drinking.
2025-08-2623 minEmily to GremilyA Gremlin Quiz with a Little Sparkle SparkleRaise your Aperol Spritz to the return of our fan-favorite guest as we celebrate Leo season in spectacular fashion! This episode takes you on a rollercoaster ride through the chaotic minds of two Leos manifesting their wildest dreams for the upcoming year.Journey with us through the bizarre corners of TikTok as we dissect the newest viral sensations from a woman in love with her therapist to the mysterious ice cream truck disappearances that might keep you up at night.The conversation takes an unexpected turn when we explore a personal conspiracy theory that one...
2025-08-2053 minEmily to GremilyMy Boyfriend Won't Show His Face But He'll Share Our Drunk StoriesEver wonder what happens when you mix birthday celebrations, day drinking, and a reluctant podcast guest? The answer is pure entertainment. In this special episode, I finally convince my camera-shy boyfriend to join me behind the microphone as a birthday gift to myself.As the RonRon juice flows we dive into the misadventures that have shaped our relationship. From our hurricane-diverted cruise ship vacation to the infamous Big Bear trip where his truck got stuck in ice and spawned his anxiety-induced catchphrase: "Don't laugh at me, I have anxiety!" Our travel stories reveal both the hilarity and...
2025-08-0756 min
Spilling Wine & SpoilersEpisode 17: You’re so not going to care about thisThis week, bad things really do come in threes — we react to the news of the deaths of Ozzy Osbourne, Hulk Hogan, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Then Tori spirals over Jax Taylor leaving The Valley and revealing a 20+ year cocaine addiction, and we break down the viral Coldplay kiss cam moment.And, most importantly, we honor the powerful and heartbreaking victim impact statement from Alivea Goncalves, speaking on behalf of her sister, Kaylee Goncalves. She is the queen.Of course, we couldn’t skip a Meghan Markle update — our favorite girl to hate...
2025-08-0638 minEmily to GremilyI Don't Condone It, But ... ?Seven wild gremlin stories take center stage in this jam-packed solo episode as Emily returns after a brief illness-related hiatus. Armed with a vodka gimlet and tales of drunken shenanigans, she dives into the most embarrassing, cringe-worthy, and occasionally vindictive moments shared by her listeners.From Leslie's hilarious mix-up when she accused her boyfriend of cheating because she spotted lipstick on his collar (spoiler alert: it was her own), to an anonymous listener's perfectly timed sidewalk vomiting session that narrowly spared an Uber driver's car interior, each story captures that universal moment when alcohol transforms us into...
2025-07-2924 min