commentary on time travel and the time travel trope
plus, a Q&A with Kate Kennedy, author of ONE IN A MILLENNIAL and host of "Be There in Five"
since pressing “send” on the newsletter last sunday, I’ve spent more time in bed than I care to admit. I hadn’t had COVID since 2022 (ironically, from another international work trip!), so perhaps I was due, but dang, that hasn’t made overcoming whole body fatigue any less daunting. I’m starting to hear from many they’re in the same boat and hoping that this wave soon passes. if you’re lucky enough to be at full health, stay on your vitamins grind, friends!
all of this to say, after five days of self-isolation, returning to my saturday routine of The Class, Rigor Hill Market, and regular errands has never felt better. every time I sink back into the familiarity of New York after a trip, I feel like I’m in the montage portion of a romcom — whether it’s saying hello to Victor my fish monger, Ali at Casa Magazines, or the bodega guy who only takes cash for flowers, it’s these friendly faces who make the city feel like home. but it’s more than feel-good moments that come from these interactions. last night at dinner, we talked about this Harvard study which shows how relationships — even as surface level as the ones that we develop with our favorite barista — actually contribute to a longer life.
speaking of last night’s dinner conversation, it was a celebratory birthday outing (HBD, Dani!!) at Libertine and elicited some fun questions posed about age. one of my favorites was, “what age would you go back to if you knew now what you didn’t then?” the caveat being, you couldn’t pop back to present day after “fixing” something — whatever age you chose, you had to live every since day from then until now. with all six answers we had at the table, there was one commonality: we just would have wanted our younger selves to know that it was all going to work out. this felt especially poignant because surely, the same thought process could be applied now to a future version of ourselves coming to 2024 from the year 2040 or 2050 — IT’S ALL GOING TO WORK OUT!
naturally, all of this rambling has me thinking about time travel as a trope in books. playing with time is easily one of my favorite seeds of a story and I’m constantly looking for novels that explore this theme. some that stand out in this category include IN FIVE YEARS by Rebecca Serle, THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig, THIS TIME TOMORROW by Emma Straub. a copy of MAYBE NEXT TIME by Cesca Major sits on my TBR and I’m looking forward to digging into that one next! well after I finish another hardcover I just cracked open, THE RACHEL INCIDENT by Caroline O'Donoghue.
as I sign off, I’ll also share a couple watch recs considering I’ve been watching more TV than usual while laying low. as I write this, I’m watching an AppleTV docu, Still, about Michael J. Fox. I grew up in a big “Back To The Future” family (again, we come back to time travel!) and have long been inspired by his courage to be so seen during his Parkinson’s journey. instead of retreating as so many in the public eye would while facing these challenges, Fox has become an advocate and champion for research around Parkinson’s. couldn’t recommend watching “Still” enough! another weekend watch worthing noting features Nicole Kidman on Prime. the first two episodes of her latest, Expats, hooked me right away — I’m looking forward to seeing this Hong Kong-based limited series unfold.
meet Kate Kennedy
when looking at the new release list for 2024, Kate Kennedy’s ONE IN A MILLENNIAL ranked high on my list of must-reads. for those who follow @Katekennedy or listen to Be There in Five podcast, you know her quick wit and uncanny ability to identify the most niche millennial experiences that resonate deeply. I was thrilled to be able to connect with Kate to talk more about the inspiration behind her podcast and book. plus, how fun to learn that her most recent book hangover was spurred by a recent sunday series guest — read on for more and be sure to pick up a copy of Kate’s book, now on sale!
Kayla Douglas: Kate, your podcast, Be There in Five, is named for your favorite thing to text when you're running back inside to see if your curling iron is turned off. Tell us more about how you approach storytelling as a podcaster and what listeners can expect.
Kate Kennedy: Be There in Five started as an entrepreneurial venture that sold “remindoormats” for people running behind (with fire safety sayings like “turn off your curling iron” painted on doormats so you’d be reminded on your way out), and in 2018, I ventured into podcasting as a means to pair my personal interests and professional market research experience and see if I could build something unique. Podcasts kept me company during the lonely days of self-employment and I’m incredibly passionate about the intimacy of the medium compared to other ways we interface digitally. Since it was a longer show, I decided that I wanted to combat the fast pop cultural trend cycle by not just talking about fleeting stories for their hot-take headlines but also talking about why they matter and digging deeper. Given that I’m a millennial woman, naturally, the anecdotal topics gravitated toward an audience that identified with my life stage. And since I used to work in media market research, I also happened to know a lot of data-driven context that drives our generation’s consumer behavior.
But since its earliest days, “Be There in Five” as a show title has shape-shifted in meaning; it once was very literal, then became more about discussing the topics that distract me on a daily basis that make me text my friends “I’ll be there in five” when I’m actually scrolling in the deep on Reddit or something and have lost track of time. But now I kind of see it as a metaphor for what I’ve learned about myself (and my audience) throughout the past six years: we’re on our way. “Be There in Five” is more of a colloquialism than a precise ETA, meaning you’ll be there soon-ish. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been more forthcoming about my own struggles in my career, friendships, and in reconciling my desire and ability to have children, and many of my listeners have echoed a similar sentiment that as millennials they often feel most defined by being a little behind relative to where they thought they’d be. Now a big part of my show is trying to discuss topics whose exploration can ease this tension, so we won’t be so hard on ourselves. I want people to consider how maybe we haven’t done everything wrong but are simply a product of our time.
I also think what makes my podcast different is that I’m a solo host and I talk four around 2 hours a week, so it’s not the place people come for, like, the most up-to-date take. What’s great about this is that it allows me to take my time and to really research something in-depth, so my deep dives involve topics from both current events and former pop cultural zeitgeists, depending on the week. While I have episodes that will cover more current stories (like tweens taking over the skincare aisle in Sephora from last week) or fleeting trends (like Bama Rushtok or Cult documentaries), I also focus a lot on deep-diving shared experiences of girlhood. Whether revisiting the gloom of an early 2000s Abercrombie dressing room, dissecting the hot girl Bath & Body Works signature scents, rethinking the damage done by 90s campaigns like “True Love Waits,” or even crowd-sourcing stories about things like field trips or gym class, there’s so much meaning to be found in the pockets of our existence. Like, why did we care so much about Seven A-pocket jeans?! I digress. I have an incredible community of women who are open about these struggles and who want to unpack our adolescence and understand how our history explains who we are in the present, and if I can do any sort of verbal gymnastics or pop cultural analytics to make people go easier on themselves, I always will. Because we’re all on our way and usually doing the best we can, wherever it is we want to go, we don’t know exactly when we’ll get there, but hopefully it’s soon-ish.
KD: Your first book came out in 2018. What inspired you to write another?
KK: One in a Millennial is an exploration of pop culture, nostalgia, the millennial zeitgeist, and the life lessons learned (for better and for worse) from coming of age as a member of a much-maligned generation. The book both celebrates and criticizes the role of pop culture and media in making us products of our time and attempts to reclaim my experiences in girlhood when my interest in girly or surface-level things was easily trivialized or dismissed in real-time. As badly as I wish I could say I spent my life smashing glass ceilings, for most of my youth, I hopped bandwagons for social survival, and what started as a function of adolescent insecurity became a legitimate adult hobby in my 20s and 30s. Despite feeling worlds away from the insecure girl I once was that onboarded hobbies to get people to like me, the world somehow still makes me feel, even as a confident woman, that my hobbies are a reason I shouldn’t be taken seriously. So, my career thus far has been a quest to combat that feeling and reclaim all that is girlish, labeled as frivolous, and aggressively marketed to us while being simultaneously held against us.
The content is kind of a 'best-of' in terms of what topics my audience told me made them feel seen over the years, and the book covers topics like mall culture, sleepovers, AOL instant messenger, church camp, popularity, mental health, girlbossing, feminism, fertility, and the dismissal of feminine-coded interests, among other things. TLDR; One in a Millennial is about embracing your multitudes, finding meaning in the allegedly ‘meaningless,’ and remembering that the things we love deserve to take up space.
KD: Who were you envisioning writing for when you crafted this book?
KK: Mostly millennial women who have spent the past decade trying to adjust to living in a completely different world than the one we grew up in and are forever trying to navigate the terms. I’ve had a podcast for six years, and I have an incredible focus group of listeners around my age. I’ve noticed that people struggle with framing their misunderstood experiences from both of these identities: being a young woman and a millennial. And while I was writing the book, I kept thinking about the concept of “be kind and rewind,” applying to both VHS tapes and reminiscing about girlhood. I want us to go easy on ourselves and celebrate who we’ve always been while also criticizing the media and culture that gave us insecurities we never wanted. We deal with enough as it is, and I just never want anyone who drafts make believe football teams to make you believe your interests aren’t important. It amazes me how many women I hear from who are so confident and accomplished, yet they still feel a *little* weird about being forthcoming about their fandom of Taylor Swift or love of top 40 music, or I’ll hear people be self-deprecating about how they love reality TV or romance novels, almost like they have to beat the company they keep to the joke.
KD: What do you hope readers take away from ONE IN A MILLENNIAL?
KK: I honestly hope that by detailing some of my millennial memories, readers will go out of their way to honor theirs, too.
KD: You're headed on a book tour with live show dates all over the country! What are you most looking forward to about connecting with consumers of your content in person?
KK: One of the hardest parts about being a podcaster is not regularly being in front of my audience; they’re invisible behind the mic and I speak into the abyss just sort of hoping they’re still there. Live shows are so fun for me personally because it makes it all seem more real, and it means so much to me to meet the people who I keep company from afar on a regular basis. Additionally, it’s themed after a chapter in the book (Are We Going Out? Or Out-out?) about the female bonding ritual of a mid-2000s pregame, and I’m excited to relive the days where our cups were Solo but we rolled deep, with point 'n shoot cameras dangling from our wrists and flip phones in-hand, ready to document the night's events in the most clunky technological way imaginable.
KD: Where can readers order live show tickets or their copy of ONE IN A MILLENNIAL?
KK: One in a Millennial came out on 1/23/24! Order from your favorite local bookstore or online retailer here. Live show tickets can be found here — please come if you are in Philly, Denver, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Anaheim, Nashville, Dallas, Boston, or Chicago!
KD: Tell us about the most recent work of fiction that left you with a book hangover.
KK: Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler is like Chicken Soup for the unrequited lover’s soul. It’s a beautiful story of self-discovery and I love a main character whose head you can really get inside, but the book hangover was the realization that I felt seen reading this book in ways I’m not totally sure I should admit.
KD: What book is on your TBR pile that you're most excited to pick up?
KK: I’m obsessed with Emily Henry's books, and I got the chance to interview her on my podcast last year about Happy Place, and she was as delightful IRL as she comes across on the page. I’m excited to read her next book Funny Story, to the point where I wish I could plan a vacation around reading it to fully immerse myself in her signature dreamy vacation settings.
KD: The Sunday Series was conceptualized as a love letter to my favorite day of the week. If we were with you in Chicago on a Sunday, where would you take us to spend the afternoon?
KK: If you’re a book lover, there’s a place called Kibbitznest in Lincoln Park that is a used bookstore, wine bar, and coffee shop, with ample space to work and play board games and meet up with a friend. But here’s the catch: they are a non-profit with the mission of bringing back personal connection, and they don’t allow most technology, like laptops. Actually, I came up with the book title “One in a Millennial” while sitting alone at Kibbitznest on a Sunday. I had been a bit stumped for what to call it, and I’m convinced that because I had to brainstorm in a Moleskine notebook (something I rarely do anymore), that’s why I finally had a breakthrough. Something about keeping things simple helps me be more creative. I love playing games there or meeting a friend for a glass of wine in a chill environment that’s not as chaotic as a bar.
Love the reflection into our adolescent time capsule. Can’t wait to read the book.