Coffee & Tea

Episodes have been far and few between, so why not come back with a bang and talk about sex? Tara & Ben discuss what influences their sex life, how they think about sex and during sex as well as where they could improve and what they're doing well. This is by no means a comprehensive look into the issue and nobody here is an expert, but it is an honest and open discussion.  They also offer their own tips and give some advice that they hope will be helpful. It probably goes without saying but this does contain explicit content and you should not listen with children present.

This week Ben took his citizenship test. It's been a long journey since he was first brought here by his parents at the age of eight. He talks a little about what that journey has entailed over the last thirty years and about what it was like preparing for and taking the citizenship test. Then Tara tries out some of the questions herself. Finally, they discuss the importance of knowing what it is like for immigrants, the potential pitfalls they can face and why you should not assume someone's status. 

As older millennials, we remember pretty much the whole evolution of the cell phone, at least as far as its place in popular culture. We both got our first cell phones as teens and now cannot imagine our lives without them. We talk about that evolution as well as our speculations as to where cell phone technology might go in the future. We are not tech pros, so no doubt we made a lot of mistakes; please be gentle.  

We talk about our divorces as we look back over 7+ years and how it affected us then and how we feel about it all now. We each share a bit about our journey through it and give some advice from the otherside. From depression, to anxiety, lawyers and mediation; this is not a complete guide, but we hope it offers some insight or relatability. Divorce is awful and painful, but as we explain, it's often the best thing that can happen.

We recorded this the day before Biden's Inauguration and talk about that as well as some of the big issues over the last few years and how we think these things may or may not change with the new administration. We talk about the attack on the capital, racism, immigration, dip our toes in religion and a few other topics.

We explain why its been so hard for us to record and produce podcasts over the course of the year. We talk about our lack of sleep and what it has been like to have a baby later in life. We also briefly touch on politics, a movie we recently watched (We the Animals) and a few other random things. Mostly we tried to focus on our hopes for the new year with our lives and this podcast.

After watching the documentary The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez on Netflix, we had some big feelings that we needed to talk out. It's a difficult documentary to watch and we had a lot of opinions about what causes a parent, or any adult, to abuse a child. We discuss the problems of poverty, education, evil and incarceration. Human behavior and reasoning is complex and thus so is child abuse.  What will it take to end child abuse? We talk about that too, although we are far from experts it is something, like most people, that we feel very strongly about. 

In part two we get the point of view of one cheater and try to understand why it happens, how to prevent it, and a whole lot of bunny trail in between. Ben comes clean and answers Tara's questions, trying to dig into the other side of this tough topic.

This is a two-part series where we explore cheating in marriage from our perspectives. What it feels like to be the one cheated on is up first. Hear that story and a few tidbits of what we hope is wisdom for anyone who has been through it or finds themselves in the midst of it right now. Warning: this episode does contain sexual references and a few cuss words from Ben.

This episode we discuss our different parenting styles with a lot of humor; just not too much dad humor. We touch on cultural differences and the differences in raising babies as compared to preteens and teens. Such as how much ice cream is too much and how long is acceptable to let a baby cry? It is a lighter, shorter topic, but certainly one in which we have some open ended questions and unfinished ideas. Fun background noises this episode (as we do things in a crowded quarantine house) include a spoon and a bowl, a baby crying and a pet bird. 

We talk about the issue of police brutality, how it has affected us personally, how it is affecting the world and a few thoughts on what we think should be done about it.

We discuss recent events around the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, honing in specifically on the issue of police brutality. We consider the possible reasons that we see police brutality, but steer away from the issue of race (although it is very much a factor) because we would like to give race its own episode. Or likely episodes. We also ask questions like: Should police be better trained? Should the public be trained in dealing with police? And if the police should be defunded? This is not a comprehensive look, but it is the perspective of two people trying to understand, trying to make sense of the problem.

A little bit about the hosts of Coffee & Tea: Ben and Tara. An introduction and opportunity to get to know us and what our vision is for this show.