Bad On Paper
Join Becca Freeman and Olivia Muenter every Wednesday for a dose of books and banter, along with interviews with women who inspire us.
Episodes
This week, we’re going to be sharing our desert island picks for categories from entertainment, to food, clothing, beauty, and more!
Shoutout to Hillary Kerr’s newsletter for the episode inspo!
Some of our picks
Books to read for the rest of time:
Becca - The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Olivia - Demon Copperhea...
It’s time for July Three Things! Tune in for a game, fantasy dinner parties, writing process dives, best books of the year (so far), Materialists thoughts, and more!
Becca’s Things
Materialists
Hallmark Movie Game
Dream Summer Dinner Party
Olivia’s Things
Materialists
Favorite Reads in 2025 so far (Becca’s includes One Gold...
We’re excited to dive into our June Book Club Pick: June Book Club Pick - All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman. We had a great time reading this hilarious and Scaredy Cat approved mystery, and can’t wait to hear what you think!
Watch the full interview with Sarah Harman Olivia mentioned here.
Obsessions
Becca - Milk Duds
Olivia - Vitality Leggings/Shorts...
It’s time for Part 2 of our 2025 reading preview! We invited some friends of the pod to chat about the books they’re most excited to pick up this year!
Lauren Puckett-Pope’s Picks - Katabasis by R. F. Kuang (Out August 26), Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab
Kristen L. Berry’s Picks - Greenwich by Kate Broad (Out July 22), It's Different This Time by Joss Richard (Out Sep...
It’s time to check in on our 2025 Goals! Are we on track with our writing goals? Did Becca reduce her screen time? Did Olivia manage to give up Jarlic? Keep listening to find out!
Obsessions
Olivia - Bose Ultra Open Headphones
Becca - Stick Season (Her Version) by Deeps
What we read this week
Becca - Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross...
It’s time for our June Three Things! But first, vote for our July Book Club Pick in our Facebook Group! Stay tuned for discussions about TJR getting the star treatment in Time magazine, the state of indie podcasting, a book battle mini-game, and more!
Becca’s Things
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Time Profile
The efficacy of learning languages via Duolingo
Podcast Longevit...
We had the pleasure of recording a bonus episode with Katie Kitamura, the author of our May Book Club Pick, Audition! We ask her about the book’s inspiration, the writing process of such an experimental novel, what’s ~actually~ going on in the plot, and the origins of the scenes that have stuck with us the most.
This Month’s Book Club Pick - All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman (have thoughts abo...
We’re SO excited to discuss Audition by Katie Kitamura! While this book may be hard to recap (uh, what actually happened??), we can’t wait to dive into theories and themes.
We share our feelings about the ambiguous plot and discuss the theme of performance throughout the book. We also explore overlaps with two other past pieces of favorite content.
And get ready, we’ll have a bonus episode o...
This week, we're chatting about the ins and outs of writing Young Adult Fiction with Jessica Goodman! We talk with her about getting started in the genre, the challenges of writing YA, how she gets inspiration for her books, and more!
Read more from Jessica in The Meadowbrook Murders, The Counselors, The Legacies, They’ll Never Catch Us, and They Wish They Were Us.
Obsessions
Whether you’re a library reader, a used bookstore connoisseur, or just buy books faster than you read ‘em, this episode is for you! We’re chatting about the backlist books (AKA books released over 1 year ago) on our TBR.
Olivia’s List
Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin (2020)
Godshot by Chelsea Bieker (2020)
It’s Three Things time! We’re covering topics from Olivia’s family parasocial obsession, spin-off books, sleep routines, party snacks, and more!
Olivia’s Things
Standout Book Covers of 2025
The Today Show Hosts’ Impact on Boomers
What snacks would you be excited to find at a party?
Becca’s Things
What book characters do you want to read ...
So excited to talk about our April Book Club Pick, Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy! We went into this book without much context and loved experiencing this literary mystery. We discuss what genre this book falls in, our feelings on climate fiction, the real-life inspirations behind this books, and of course the many twists and turns of the mystery plotline.
Obsessions
We thought it was time for a good ol’ catch-up! We have much to cover, including (but not limited to) writing updates, new journaling habits, career developments, travel plans, spring hobbies, and MORE!
Highly recommend reading What is Glitter by Caity Weaver in the New York Times
Obsessions
Becca - Soeos White Peach Candy
Olivia - He Wasn’t Man Enough by Toni B...
This week, we're talking about rejection, failure, and how two guests dealt with them! First, we’re talking to New York Times best-selling author Andrea Bartz about navigating rejection on submission, and the daily rejections entailed in living a creative life. Then, we’re talking to Azora Zoe Paknad about shuttering her business and going back to the corporate world.
Long time, no things! We’re excited to dive into the random topics on our minds lately, from shows we’re watching, movie news, the celebrity quiz we’re positive you didn’t see coming, and more!
Becca’s Things
Casual Viewing Content (inspired by this N+1 Article), specifically The Night Agent and Running Point
Applying body lotion (Olivia thinks the Necessaire Body Serum is worth...
Have you ever wondered how a bookstore runs? We think about it all the time, and we are so thrilled to get the scoop from the owner of Liz’s Book Bar in Brooklyn, and author of Acts of Forgiveness, Maura Cheeks!
We chat with Maura about her dreams of opening a bookstore, what the opening process entails, how Liz’s Book Bar stands out, the book selection process, and how she published her first novel and ...
It’s time to discuss our March book club pick: Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley! We talk about which timeline we gravitated toward most through the story’s 8-year span, the unique relationship dynamic between Percy and Joe, what makes a romance literary, and more!
More Literary Romances
Music is on our minds (especially with our music-focused March book club pick, Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley) and so today we’re discussing our musical references from different eras of our lives!
You can listen to the full playlist of all of our favorites here.
Obsessions
Becca - Duolingo Max
Olivia - Jackie and Shadow
What we read t...
This week, we asked listeners in our Facebook Group for categories to share our top 3 rankings! We cover (almost) everything, from food to books to pop culture and more!
Food
Trader Joe’s products
Becca - taco seasoning; hold the cone; pastry pups
Olivia (Costco remix) - Rotisserie chicken, Costco Pizza, Carbonara Buldak Ramen, Built Bars
Fast food orde...
Happy Three Things Day! We missed Three Things in February, and we have some long-overdue topics to discuss. Including our visions for spring, huge book franchises (and the mental toll on their authors), AI, Severance theories, and more!
Olivia’s Things
Spring Goals
Is Fourth Wing Harry Potter for Adults?
What’s going on with the White Lotus?
Becca...
Popular Podcasts
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.