I might be downvoted on the original sub because of this opinion, so I thought I’d just get this off my chest here. I genuinely miss Ariel on YCSWU. The dynamic somehow feels off to me now, especially since I’ve started listening to the YCSWU podcast very early on (from episode 2, I think) and it helped me through the pandemic. I come from an Asian family in an Asian country and in our household, my parents aren’t that emotionally available. Sure, they supported me through my education (so much academic pressure lol) and other life stuff, but they never really tell me anything personal or share any of their struggles. So when YCSWU started, I really had a penchant for Ariel’s openness of her struggles in parenthood, along with the stories of her mistakes and adventures in her teen and pre-parenthood years. It somehow gave this inner child part of me healing that I never knew I needed.

Now, the podcast is all about LA stuff, pseudo-work stories, “hot takes”, and other topics that sometimes feel out-of-touch. I might be more inclined to listen to the podcast if Rachel gets involved more (since she’s also a parent who loves to share stories), but overall, I really miss the past dynamic. That’s all. end of rant