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This is the podcast for women who find themselves in the middle— be that midlife, mid-mess, or just that midday grind. It’s like a quick phone call to catch up with your internet bestie, Indiana Adams. Together, we’ll share recommendations, laugh at the ridiculous things we see online, & cheer each other on. Whether we're talking about the best finds, the best pop-culture news, or what made our week a little brighter, My Internet Besties is your go-to spot for camaraderie & joy. Frank, fun, & fast— this podcast just became your new best friend.
// My Internet Besties is the name of the community that formed around the podcast Today By The Way. Consider My Internet Besties a continuation of TBTW, which ran for 96 episodes.
My favorite emotion is nostalgia, and it's often the reason why I buy things. I have a record player because I have a fond memory of my grandpa playing records while he worked in the garage. I gave in to my daughter's begging for a Stanley because I remember my grandma using her Stanley thermos for work. And this weekend, I got two pairs of jelly sandals.
Today, by the way, is Monday, February 24th, and jelly sandals are going to be everywhere this spring. Just watch.
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Hi and hello. You've found the podcast for women in the middle of it. Whether you're navigating midlife or you simply need a midday break, this is a community made for you. I'm Indiana Adams, and you can think of me as your Internet bestie as we share recommendations, laugh about the ridiculous things we see online, and cheer each other on. I'm so glad you're here.
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I am easily influenced—especially by nostalgia. I read *The Cereal Aisle* on Substack, which is curated and written by Leandra, who had the quirky *Man Repeller* fashion blog back around 2010. Well, back in September, *The Cereal Aisle* featured a pair of jelly sandals by *The Row*, which is Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's luxury line. And those jelly sandals cost $890. They linked a similar pair for $140, and I've had those in my cart for five months—still unable to press purchase because I cannot stomach jelly sandals costing over $100. So when my longtime Internet friend Jen of *Jen Loves Kev* posted an identical pair to the $140 ones, available at Target now for $20, I hit her affiliate link so fast that I was picking them up within the hour. And I got not just one pair, but two. They are making my nostalgia-loving heart so happy. And incidentally, these are more comfortable than the jelly shoes of my youth. They have a squishy, removable insole, and they do not cut the sides of my feet up. I’ll link them in the show notes in case you also want to jump on this flashback fad.
My daughter, Caroline, is 12 years old, and she was with me on that Target run to pick them up. When I handed her the bag to hold, she opened it up, took a big sniff, and said, “I love the smell of jellies. I love the jelly shoes I had when I was little.” So even she has nostalgia for fashion already, which I find delightful.
She’s in the sixth grade, and she’s right between children’s clothes and a women’s extra small. But we’ve been shopping a lot lately because she’s trying to find her personal style. Lately, she’s been loving Francesca’s, American Eagle, and the secondhand chain Uptown Cheapskate. And I just laugh every time I shop with her. The stores she likes are full of tiny tops, oversized jeans, and graphic T-shirts. She asked for a Nirvana T-shirt for Christmas. I’m married to a former musician, and we both loved Nirvana when we were her age. But we told her that if she could not name two band members and five songs, we were not buying her the shirt. She has not asked for it again.
When I was in middle school and high school, I was seriously obsessed with the 1960s. I wore polyester shirts and bell bottoms. I loved The Beatles. I think I had a crush on Peter Brady. And yes, I know *The Brady Bunch* was in reruns then. I wanted to go to Woodstock ‘94 so badly. My aunt, who is 20 years older than me, whom I'm very close to and lived with in high school, must have thought all of this was hysterical. I was dressing just like she did in the late 1960s. And now, my daughter is dressing like me from the late 1990s and early 2000s.
It’s this fun, full-circle moment. Parents like me are the ones supporting our kids in getting things that remind us of our youth—we’re the ones buying these nostalgia items for our sons *again*. There’s a huge market for nostalgia, and tapping into that market is a smart move.
Take *Urban Outfitters*, for example. Right now, you can buy a Tragic Kingdom No Doubt T-shirt for $35, a CD boombox for $64, and a Walkman cassette player for $179. Which seems like a lot, right? And guess what? All of those things are selling like hotcakes.
Sometimes I think to myself, "Should I have just held on to my old stuff for my kids?" But then I remember: CD players would skip, and the discs would get scratched up. Jelly sandals would break at the base and collect rocks in the soles. Today, CD players have Bluetooth so you can stream from your phone or Spotify. And the jelly shoes? They’re way more comfortable. Nostalgia is awesome. But progress is too.
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We see nostalgia in fashion, but I think it’s most apparent in TV and movies. Think of all the reboots and late sequels. The top ten domestic cinema releases in 2024 were all sequels, remakes, and reboots:
- *Inside Out 2*
- *Deadpool & Wolverine*
- *Despicable Me 4*
- *Beetlejuice Beetlejuice*
- *Twisters* (*which is my favorite on this list!*)
- *Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire*
- *Kung Fu Panda 4*
- *Bad Boys: Ride or Die*
- *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes*
Francis Ford Coppola once said: "Sequels are not done for the audience or cinema or the filmmakers. It’s for the distributor. The film becomes a brand." Think about that for a minute. Do you agree or disagree?
I think I disagree-ish. I think it’s both. They do well in the box office because we—the movie watchers, the consumers—eat it up.
From an economic standpoint, it makes sense to rely on existing intellectual property because you have an established audience. That means lower marketing and publicity costs. We don’t have to explain who Beetlejuice is for a sequel. If it’s a familiar name, face, or universe, people are more likely to buy in versus new content. New content is almost always a toss-up. As a bonus, reboots have been shown to cause an uptick in subscriptions to streaming services that are distributing the content. Everybody—including the viewers—supposedly wins.
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**Here are this week’s discussion questions:**
1. If you could only have one nostalgic album for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
2. If Hollywood came knocking and asked you to help reboot any TV show or movie, which one would you pick? What would you change, and who would you cast?
3. What is the most *specific* big thing that instantly brings back childhood memories for you? Is it a certain song, a specific smell, or maybe even a snack?
I want to know!
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Okay, my Internet besties. That’s it for today. We talked about the power of nostalgia—whether it’s cyclical fashion trends, reboots and sequels, or just those good memories that make us feel safe. I hope this episode sparked a little nostalgia for you—whether you went out and bought those jelly sandals or not. And don’t forget to reach out to an old friend this week. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend and consider joining our membership community at [myinternetbesties.substack.com](#). I am so glad you’re here. Thank you so much for listening. And hey—I know you’re in the middle of all the things, but, friend, I am cheering you on.