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Welcome back to This Is My Circus — the podcast where vacation stories turn into survival tales, dating apps require emotional support, and somehow we end up talking about capybaras, fireworks, hot soccer players, Kanye telepathy, and murder books all in one episode.

This week, Meredith is back from the Gulf Coast with stories about non-cuddly capybaras, a pontoon boat adventure that almost became an accidental trip to Cuba, and the kind of vacation reset she didn’t realize she needed.

Meanwhile, Stefanie has entered a brand-new phase of life: Facebook dating. After being out of the dating world for 27 years, she’s learning the rules, Googling first-date expectations, and realizing that suggesting a hike with a stranger may not be the safest plan.

🎙️ In This Episode:

We’re talking about:

• Meredith’s Gulf Coast vacation and the capybara experience that was less snuggly than expected
• Renting a pontoon boat with almost no instructions and accidentally heading toward the Gulf
• Why clear water, sand dollars, and starfish beat Dirty Myrtle every time
• Stefanie joining Facebook Dating after 27 years out of the dating world
• Awkward dating profiles, first-date anxiety, and why a picnic in the woods may not be the move
• Fourth of July fireworks, stressed-out dogs, and why fireworks are beautiful but also kind of terrible
• World Cup updates, attractive soccer players, and why Nigeria’s goalkeeper may convert Stephanie into a soccer fan
• Freddy from Germany still living his best American vacation life
• A mama beluga whale escaping captivity to find her baby
• Weird news involving Kanye West “telepathy,” Gorilla Glue revenge, and a nursing home party queen
• Taylor and Travis wedding talk, charity donations, and why we definitely weren’t invited

💬 Am I The A-Hole?

This week’s AITA story takes us onto a crowded bus where a woman reclines her seat directly into a teenage boy’s lap while he’s traveling for heart surgery.

📚 Book Club Review: The Night Shift by Alex Finlay

This week’s book review is The Night Shift by Alex Finlay, a twisty thriller that starts on New Year’s Eve 1999, when four teenage girls working at a Blockbuster Video are attacked and only one survives.

Fifteen years later, another group of teenage employees is attacked at an ice cream shop in the same town, and once again, only one person makes it out alive.

📖 Spoiler Warning

We go deep into spoilers for The Night Shift, including the killer, the connection between the victims, and the twists that tie the two timelines together.

📚 Next Book:

The Island Club by Nicola Harrison

Next week’s read takes us to 1956 on Bulba Island, just off the California coast, where three women, hidden secrets, tennis, marriage drama, and society expectations collide.

🎬 Next Documentary:

Maternal Instinct on Netflix

We’ll also be talking about the Netflix documentary Maternal Instinct in next week’s episode.

✨ Join The Circus

If you love funny podcast conversations, parenting chaos, dating after divorce, weird news, documentary reviews, true crime energy, BookTok-style book reviews, and two friends who can turn absolutely anything into a rabbit hole, you’re in the right place.

Listen to This Is My Circus on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Buzzsprout, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow, leave a review, and tell a friend to join the circus.

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Welcome back to This Is My Mini Circus... the not so mini, mini episode with a full-blown documentary deep dive because Woodstock ’99 because it was too chaotic not to discuss.

This week, Stefanie and Meredith break down Netflix’s Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99, and whew… this one had everything: 90s nostalgia, MTV chaos, overheated crowds, overpriced water, questionable planning, angry music, rave hangars, and a festival that went from “peace, love, and music” to full-on destruction.

What was supposed to be a modern version of the original Woodstock turned into one of the most infamous music festival disasters of all time.

We discuss how bad decisions stacked on top of each other:

• Too many people
• Not enough water
• Not enough security
• No shade
• Poor sanitation
• Overpriced essentials
• Angry music paired with an angry crowd
• A total lack of crowd control

And honestly? Looking back as adults and parents made this documentary hit completely differently.

🎧 90s Nostalgia Meets Absolute Disaster

If you grew up with MTV, Carson Daly, TRL, Limp Bizkit, Korn, DMX, Kid Rock, and wallet chains, this episode will throw you right back into the late 90s.

But it also raises a lot of questions, like:

Who thought putting hundreds of thousands of overheated people on asphalt with no affordable water was a good idea?

Why were candles handed out to an already angry crowd?

And how did anyone think this was going to end peacefully?

🎬 Next Week

We’ll be back with our regular chaos, conversations, and whatever rabbit hole we fall into next.

✨ Join The Circus

If you love funny podcast conversations, documentary reviews, 90s nostalgia, chaotic storytelling, parenting humor, true crime energy, and two friends trying to make sense of the madness, you’re in the right place.

Listen to This Is My Circus on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Buzzsprout, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Don’t forget to follow, leave a review, and tell a friend to join the circus.

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome back to This Is My Circus — where one of us is being psychologically terrorized by a deer, the other is raising a puppy with no concept of personal space, and somehow we end up deep-diving into squatters, sovereign citizens, reincarnation, and wedding drama.

This week we're talking bizarre neighborhood wildlife, viral international visitors falling in love with America, the absolutely rage-inducing Squatters: Get the F Out of My House docuseries, and a thriller that had us questioning everything we thought we knew about life, death, and family secrets.

🎙️ In This Episode

🦌 Meredith vs. The Deer

• The mysterious deer that refuses to leave the yard
• Why the dogs think they've made a new best friend
• Midnight standoffs and disappearing hostas
• White woman suburbia problems at their finest

🐶 Clifford's First Park Adventure

• Why treats suddenly became irrelevant
• The challenge of training a social butterfly puppy
• The struggle of teaching a dog that not everyone wants to be his friend

🇺🇸 The Internet's Favorite Tourist

• The German traveler whose love for America has gone viral
• Waffle House, Buc-ee's, college football, NASA, and celebrity meetups
• How one visitor ended up living a better American vacation than most Americans
• Why the world is suddenly falling in love with the United States again

🍻 World Cup Culture & International Visitors

• Why Americans are embracing global soccer fans
• Scottish fans drinking breweries dry
• Hospitality competitions between countries
• The unexpected power of Southern food and American culture

Squatters: Get the F Out of My House (Hulu)

This documentary series had us angry, stressed, and questioning reality.

We discuss:

• Homeowners being arrested while squatters stay in their homes
• Serial squatters exploiting legal loopholes
• Fake leases, fake paperwork, and unbelievable scams
• Millions of dollars in property damage
• Sovereign citizen movements and bizarre legal claims
• SWAT team standoffs over stolen homes
• The emotional and financial devastation faced by homeowners

If you're looking for a documentary that will make your blood pressure spike, this is the one.

⭐ Our Rating:

Highly Recommended
(But maybe don't binge all six episodes in one sitting unless you enjoy rage.)

🐊 Child Thrown Into Crocodile Enclosure

A shocking story out of the UK involving:

• A stranger throwing a three-year-old into a crocodile exhibit
• A heroic zoo employee jumping in to save the child
• Questions about mental health, justice, and humanity

🦫 Beaver Watch 2026

• Local baby beaver sightings
• Why they're adorable but problematic
• The unexpected wildlife takeover of the neighborhood

"Am I the A-Hole for Dropping Out of My Sister's Wedding?"

After paying over $5,500 toward her sister's engagement party, a woman overhears the bride admitting she was only chosen as Maid of Honor because she was easy to manipulate and willing to spend money.

We discuss:

• Family manipulation
• Financial boundaries
• Toxic sibling relationships
• Why "No" is a complete sentence

📚 Book Club Review

The Lake House Children by Greg Dunnett

A psychological thriller with:

• Reincarnation mysteries
• Family secrets
• Childhood trauma
• Suspenseful twists
• A shocking ending we didn't see coming

What We Loved:

• Unique premise
• Strong emotional storytelling
• Multiple unexpected twists
• Kept us guessing until the end

Our Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
9.5–10/10

One of our favorite reads in recent months.