Brother Sister Whatever
Brother Sister Whatever is the cynical-but-lovable sibling podcast for GenX & Xennials navigating the messy middle of life—identity, aging, family roles, and all the weird in-between stuff that adulthood forgot to warn us about.
Hosted by Lisa & Josh, two grown-up siblings with opposite vibes and shared trauma, this show is part therapy, part throwback, and part unfiltered real talk about the messier side of life. Expect plenty of 80s/90s nostalgia and laughs as we dissect it all!
New episodes every other Thursday.
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Brother Sister Whatever
Best of the Best: Comfort Edition - Real Talk, Cozy Chaos
Lisa and Josh explore their favorite comfort items, foods, smells, and sounds while debating what makes something truly comforting in this cozy episode.
• Weekly What-If: What if every comfort item became illegal – what would you smuggle?
• Physical comfort items vs food comfort items – Lisa loves her cozy nook, Josh can't live without lasagna
• The chemical reaction in our brains when we experience comfort
• Childhood nostalgia triggers like mom's creme de menthe pie and the smell of rain through an open window
• Best comfort foods: chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese, Chinese food, and tacos
• Comfort entertainment choices: Gilmore Girls and Netflix underdog stories
• This or That rapid-fire comfort preferences from book smells to toast popping sounds
• The camping comfort debate: roughing it vs "glamping" in cabins
• Future family vacation dreams in a holiday cabin
Please like, subscribe, listen, follow, and tell us your favorite comfort items! Your feedback really pumps us up and gives us inspiration.
Thanks for hanging out with us on Brother Sister Whatever, your no-BS guide through the messy middle!
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Bring your feelings. We’ll bring ours.
Hi everyone. Welcome to Brother, sister, whatever where real talk meets zero chill. I'm Lisa.
Speaker 2:I'm Josh. Today we are going to be doing the best of the best. Comfort Things edition.
Speaker 1:Getting all cozy in our PJs or loungewear. For this one, it's gonna be good. Okay, so let's start with our weekly. What if josh?
Speaker 2:yes, so the weekly. What if? What if every comfort thing in your life suddenly became illegal? Oh man what would you smuggle? Would you join the underground weighted blanket resistance? Which comfort item would break you if it disappeared? Oh fuck, those are some great weekly what-ifs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, some good questions to make you think Okay, to make you think okay. So one of the things that I like comfy things that I love is physical right, like it's the comfy pants that when you sit don't cut into your belly. You know those kinds. The blanket the pillow strategically placed, like I mentioned before. The nook blanket the pillow strategically placed, like I mentioned before, the nook the spot on the sofa, the best spot on the sofa. So those things to me, if that got taken away, it'd be a depressing fucking life.
Speaker 2:It'd be sad.
Speaker 1:It would be sad. I would obviously be on the hunt for new comfort things. It would have to be replaced, because one cannot live without comfort things, don't you think?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, for sure, right, For sure.
Speaker 1:It's like think about, like those cold winter blah days when you're like you have a nice warm bowl of chicken soup, warm, hot, whichever, or like the hot chocolate with the marshmallows, all those things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's cozy.
Speaker 1:It's cozy yeah it's true. Okay, what about you? Well, first start by saying, like, what's your thing, what it would be that you would be giving up if you lost it, if it became illegal.
Speaker 2:If it became illegal, something that's comforting, comfort of the comfort, for me Like food.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's fine, you know. So For me it's a thing, for you it's food.
Speaker 2:Go for it. For me, like, let's say like, even though I don't have it often or anything, it's like, you know, if someone, if it became illegal for me to have lasagna, like meat lasagna, you know, like the old fashioned, like, oh, that would be, that would be a tough one, that would be tough eh, that would be a tough one.
Speaker 2:So you know there's something about, like you know, I can really stick to my diet and be really good, but if I get sick I want to have those comfort foods, you know, and so I'd say that that's probably my thing.
Speaker 1:Okay, you know like yeah, so that would be something you could smuggle.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, totally smuggle frozen lasagna Right. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh man, wow, it's interesting. Eh, what brings us like? What is this like thing that it touches inside of us, thing that it touches inside of us like a food, a, a movie that you watch over and over again, a spot on the sofa, whatever, like what is it that just brings us like this?
Speaker 2:I don't know it. It has to be like that chemical in our brain that just you know and for everyone it's obviously different, but it's like you know when you find that thing. It's like different. But it's like you know when you find that thing. It's like that like it just explodes, you know, and you're just like, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you can and it sticks with you. Like I've had things that I've that I found comforting, like that I keep going back to all of my life Like it hasn't changed. And then other things do like I'll be like, oh okay, get rid of that or whatever you know, like it hasn't changed. And then other things do like I'll be like, okay, get rid of that or whatever. You know, like it adapts with me over the years, but there are a few things that just bring it back. Do you have anything, any comfort item that reminds you of, like being a kid?
Speaker 1:hmm, or like, or that brings you back to like childhood and like gives you like the warm and fuzzies mom's creme de menthe pie, oh my god, yes, that's true that.
Speaker 2:That brings me joy, wow, comfort, when I think about that cake. That was the best cake ever, man. I don't know if it's because of the alcohol that she would put in it or or what, but that was that is.
Speaker 1:That is pretty, yeah, that is pretty special actually.
Speaker 2:I remember that too yeah, with the crushed oreo yeah, crumbs and oh you know as the base, you know, and when it's hard, like that, it's so good, good, like the crust, like that, oh God yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, so that was pretty good weekly. What if we got some, uh, some interesting little answers there? What else, what, what, what? I'm trying to think of something from my childhood music too, but um well, listen, music too, and I and I brush it away, but it's actually pretty powerful that I used to listen to as a teenager right that I loved and I'll hear it on the radio or it'll come up on Spotify and I'll know every lyric.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. And it just and then, but the feeling that I get hearing it and singing along with it, it just, it's like I'm 15 again.
Speaker 2:Do you know what I mean? Yeah, absolutely. It's like whenever I hear anything to do with snow, I think back, you know for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I think we've established that we've got quite a few different comfort items or comfort like categories. Even so, food you know, movies smells, oh smells hmm, oh, like. What about? Like when you, when you have like a nice vanilla candle?
Speaker 2:you know that's pretty good. Actually never thought of that you know what it is for me, because it does bring comfort, yeah, um, but it's, it's weird because it has to almost be in a certain sequence. Oh, okay if I'm in my room office on the computer okay and the window is slightly cracked open and it rains. The smell of the rain, in that exact sequence. It triggers something.
Speaker 1:Really yeah. What does it trigger?
Speaker 2:Just this fond memory of not worrying about anything and just playing my games when I was like a kid. And yeah, it was a very specific sequence and so whenever I smell that rain, believe it or not, in that sequence I think about myself as a kid playing my game in my room. Wow, yeah, any smells that bring back memories or anything Shit.
Speaker 1:Like yours is really like full of depth.
Speaker 2:Isn't it?
Speaker 1:weird. Nothing is coming to mind in terms of like a smell triggering like a memory, but smell is definitely triggers like emotion for me. You know, just like when I smell like a vanilla candle I'll get like like I don't know. I don't know if I think it goes back to any specific memory, but there are like activities that I do that remind me of being a kid or when I was a kid, so like remember we used to watch Star Trek all the time with dad.
Speaker 1:Yes, remember we used to watch Star Trek all the time with Dad, yes, so Star Trek has, like the special thing, special place in my heart. The Next Generation and the old school Star Trek With what's his name, kirk Leonard Nimoy, and yeah. So, yeah, that definitely reminds me of I'm trying to trying to get the kids into it. They're not really vibing, but whatever.
Speaker 2:anyway, yeah, isn't that funny how we're always trying to make them like what we liked yeah they're my son's into one piece, you know, and I'm trying to. I'm like, um, I'm like, oh, if you like one piece, like get into dragon ball, dragon ball z, you know, and he's like I don't like it and I'm like oh, that's so sad.
Speaker 1:That must have broke your heart, yeah I'll get over it, oh shit. Oh man, Okay, Josh. So let's break it down even more. Best comfort food.
Speaker 2:Best comfort food? Yep, I think it would be a tie for Chinese and tacos. Oh but what about?
Speaker 1:your lasagna.
Speaker 2:Well, no, that's like.
Speaker 1:That's epic. Okay, that's like top tier, and now we're talking second tier. Yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, okay. Best comfort food for me? Well, definitely chicken noodle soup. Love chicken noodle soup, but like with grilled cheese, okay, okay.
Speaker 2:Best comfort movie or show? Is there one specific where you're kind of like? You know, it just gives you all the little fuzzies.
Speaker 1:I think there's one show that I watch not very often, but only when I'm feeling like I need it Gilmore Girls.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's something about it that just picks you up. You know Like you can't be sad watching Gilmore Girls.
Speaker 2:So Okay, cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what about you?
Speaker 2:I am in love with almost all of the original Netflix TV series that come out, even though they freaking stop after one season.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they keep cance them eh you know, like chaos.
Speaker 2:I absolutely I know. For some it's probably very cheesy, for me it was absolutely amazing, yeah. And then like, for example, um dead boy detectives okay, yeah like I, I absolutely I don't know if that was a netflix original, but, like you know, that was, believe it or not, a big comfort one for me. I watched that on repeat the whole series like six times. I loved it. I there's something about, for me, comfort-wise shows. There's something about underdog and becoming something you know. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:Or everyone's against us and, like you know, you persevere. Yeah, so for me like that's.
Speaker 1:That's a big.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, all right.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So we did smells, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we did smells. Ooh, fresh laundry is a good one. Play-doh who the fuck likes Play-Doh? Who likes the smell of Play-Doh?
Speaker 2:Well, it brings back memories of childhood.
Speaker 1:I guess, but that's not the point.
Speaker 2:Like bookstores, Like it's funny, because bookstores for example.
Speaker 1:Oh well, like the smell of a book.
Speaker 2:It's funny because bookstores, for example, oh well, like the smell of a book.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh shit, but I only ever did audiobooks and then recently, through my little faith of what I'm doing, or whatever you want to call it, it's weird. It's like now I have to smell the books.
Speaker 1:It's so funny, eh, no, no, no, don't look. Don't give that. Look, there's something about the smell of a fucking book. Yeah. All right.
Speaker 2:This or that.
Speaker 1:This or that.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:Do you want to start?
Speaker 2:Sure Okay.
Speaker 1:A new book or an old book. I'm going to say a new book. So rain or wind. Rain Um cold pizza or reheated leftovers. It would depend on the leftovers, but I'm still going to go with leftovers.
Speaker 2:Okay, oh, for the audience, we're, we're, we're mishing and mashing comfort smell and comfort food. So that's why we're kind of going back and forth a little bit with smells but also food.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I have sounds and activity, so we're just kind of meshing it all up. Okay, so it's my turn now. So let's do walking alone or sitting on a bench. I'm going to oh, I like both.
Speaker 2:Sitting on a bench. I'm going to. Ooh, I like both. I think the old me walking, the new me would be maybe sitting on a bench. Yeah, so I guess sitting on a bench, okay, rice bowl or noodle bowl.
Speaker 1:Noodle bowl. Noodle bowl, for sure. Um okay, lo-fi beats or chill piano.
Speaker 2:Wait, sorry.
Speaker 1:So lo-fi beats.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Or chill piano.
Speaker 2:Uh, lo-fi beats. Yeah. Um, okay, let's do-fi beats. Yeah, okay, let's do a smell here, okay so comfort smell campfire or candle.
Speaker 1:Ooh, campfire, Campfire's good yeah no-transcript.
Speaker 2:I guess I'll go with the cleaning.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Your own hoodie or your partner's hoodie?
Speaker 1:My own hoodie. I've never been one to wear somebody else's clothes like my husband's clothes. I don't know.
Speaker 2:Just be all like Maybe that's weird with me.
Speaker 1:But if I want to do that, I'll just hug him Microwave beeping or toast popping.
Speaker 2:Comfort-wise.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a comfort sounds.
Speaker 2:I guess toast popping.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, I would assume, because one of the things that you mentioned in the last episode about microwave beeping- as I stop it just before. You stop it just before, so I would assume that's not a comfort sound for you.
Speaker 2:It's almost like a superstition. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:I still remember that I have to stop it. What?
Speaker 2:I have to stop it.
Speaker 1:That's hilarious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, let's do two more each.
Speaker 2:All right, let's do more comfort food here. How about?
Speaker 1:grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly, pb and J actually.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I'll do that more than grilled cheese.
Speaker 1:Um, okay, someone flipping. Okay, this is a comfort sound.
Speaker 2:So someone flipping book pages or someone typing Like typing, like keyboard or typewriter.
Speaker 1:Ooh, it just says someone typing. But let's be, let's be specific and say typewriter.
Speaker 2:Typewriter. I love that sound.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And then the thing where it goes and you have to push it back, yeah't mom have one and we used to use it absolutely yeah, I remember that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, oh, my god, that's hilarious. Um, okay, let's do another comfort smell here. Um, okay, I got one here. Rain on pavement or morning coffee.
Speaker 1:I'm always going to pick morning coffee Fair. Yeah, always going to do that, okay. So this is a comfort activity. Okay, crying in the car or singing in the car. Comfort-wise yeah isn't that weird.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I guess.
Speaker 1:Like it's alone, by the way. Alone activities.
Speaker 2:Alone activities, I guess crying.
Speaker 1:I've done both.
Speaker 2:I just don't see myself singing in the car.
Speaker 1:You've never sang in a car.
Speaker 2:Not really, not really. And if I was, it was probably so intense I was probably crying at the same time.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what I meant when I said I've done both. I've cried while singing Jesus.
Speaker 2:Jesus Christ. See, what's bad about this podcast is that people who know us are going to know too much more about us in our real lives.
Speaker 1:Oh, does that bother you?
Speaker 2:Well, now I'm regretting, telling everyone about it. You know, now I have all these people, so do you?
Speaker 1:want me to say another one Cut it out. What are you talking about?
Speaker 2:Bruh, they're going to be like oh Josh, I didn't know that.
Speaker 1:You once cried in the car Good God oh boy, there's no shame here.
Speaker 2:You can judge all you want, oh shit.
Speaker 1:Is there a comfort thing that you would never do again? Hmm, is there a comfort thing that you would? Never do again Like something you tried out that just was not for you. Listen if.
Speaker 2:That's the story of my life Fuck.
Speaker 1:If somebody out there thinks that camping is a comfort thing, that would be my.
Speaker 2:Like deal breaker kind of thing.
Speaker 1:Deal breaker. Yeah, Like camping is not comfort for me.
Speaker 2:Like if they were like oh, I have to be with someone who's like a camper.
Speaker 1:Well, first of all, I don't need to worry about that.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I know, but I'm just saying hypothetically. Yeah, Like if somebody was like I can't hang out with you because you don't like to would happen, but like that's a something that like no I would. I would never do again. Why do you hate it so bad? Like what?
Speaker 1:part of it when you have to wipe your own ass with a fucking leaf in the dead of the cold rain and eat cold beans out of a can you're like no I'm good, I don't even rough it out like that.
Speaker 2:I mean, if I go camping I do like regular camping, yeah, but that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:The only experience I ever had camping was that kind of fucking shit. Yeah, I think it was not inviting, it was not comforting, so it's stained camping for me.
Speaker 2:Oh well, now I think you need to redeem yourself, you and the family. You need to go do it one more time, but like normal camping.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like normal camping. I'm open for that. But the second my husband puts canned beans in the car. I'm like I'm out, why no? If he brings canned beans with him, that's it, forget it what's wrong with canned beans?
Speaker 2:I just feel you mean like the brown beans? The brown beans, yes, the canned beans you know, like no man oh gosh, yeah, the camping that I went to.
Speaker 2:You go, you know, you pay, yeah, and they, they tell you where your lot is, you know. And so you go where the lot is and like there's already kind of like a pit, there's a section for your car, you know, and then you start building your tent, 15, 20 feet away there's a couple bathrooms, a little shower, you know, and then, like you can drive one of those little scooters or you walk, I walk, you know, but you know you could go to the front or drive your car to the front, get Campwood, you know, drive back to your little lot, you know.
Speaker 1:So it's like that's that is. That is better than what I did, because I was in the middle of nowhere, with, but with no bathrooms or any of that shit. But even that doesn't sound appealing to me Really. No, I don't want to sleep in a tent. If you get, you can sleep in the tent.
Speaker 2:You'll sleep in the car and I'll sleep in the fucking cabin. The car.
Speaker 1:Or the car. But you can, but like you can have a cabin and camp.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, yeah, you know what? I actually talked about that to someone recently because they said, oh, I love camping, yeah. And recently, because they said, oh, I love camping, yeah, and I was like, oh, yeah, I'm like, you know, I'm okay there, you know, like especially in the winter, and I'm like, oh, and I was like you like camping in the winter. And they were like, well, yeah, and I'm fireplace, and I'm like fireplace, I'm like oh, you mean like a cabin, and they're like, yeah, and I'm like that's not technically camping thank you I think it's more glamping.
Speaker 2:Did you hear that?
Speaker 1:But, but yeah, Like I mean, you do need a tent for camping.
Speaker 2:Oh wait, they said that, they said that, they said.
Speaker 1:Glamping, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:What is that?
Speaker 1:That's like a higher version, it's like a frou. But okay, so you're getting all the benefits of being out in the middle of nowhere, so to speak. You're not surrounded, but you've got four walls. Dare, I say, even Wi-Fi. But even if you don't have Wi-Fi, that's okay.
Speaker 2:That makes it actually even less glamping, but still I think it would be cool, don't you think it would be cool? Get the whole Taylor well, taylor family like us.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Get the whole Taylor family like a cabin for a week. Yes, In the winter.
Speaker 1:Yes, that would be awesome Close to Christmas.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've been wanting to do something like that for a while, even if it's like maybe the week like the week after Christmas. You know what I mean? Yeah, like so, like that. What is it like the week after Christmas? You know what I mean? Yeah, like so, like that. What is it? December 26th? 26, 27 to like new year's yeah or something like that, do you?
Speaker 1:know how expensive those are, though.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know, I know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and you've got a book like a year in advance.
Speaker 2:But we're going to have this podcast, we're going. Exactly and if there's any listeners out there that has a sick Airbnb and wants to give us a discount, we will do a podcast there and we will talk about your cabin for at least a few episodes and, trust me, you might see that we only have six views right now. But let me tell you, we're getting up there okay.
Speaker 1:We are getting up there. So I just want to end the episode with our very first fan mail that came through this past week. We don't have a name, we know they're local and they say and I will show you, I'm not lying it says amazing episodes and topics. Lisa and Josh, keep it up. Thumbs up emoji. I just want to say, whoever you are out there, this made my week. It was awesome feedback and it just makes me even more pumped to do more shows Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, thank you so much.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for your feedback. Again, thanks for joining us, brother, sister, whatever where real talk meets, zero chill. And do not forget like, subscribe, listen, follow.
Speaker 2:And please go ahead and tell us what your favorite comforts are, and we would love to hear a little bit more of those fans, because it pumps us up yeah, okay, it really gives us inspiration.
Speaker 1:Thanks so much, guys.
