That Wasn't The Plan
That Wasn't The Plan
Human stories for those struggling to be human.
A podcast for anyone whose life took a left turn when you were peacefully asleep.
Life doesn't come with a script—thank god, because ours would've been returned for rewrites.
Warning: May cause unexpected feelings, snort-laughing, and the overwhelming urge to text us your own "that wasn't the plan" story.
Join co-hosts Emily White and Courtney Holland as they navigate the beautiful disasters, plot twists, and "well, that happened" moments that nobody warned you about. From bed bugs, winning the lottery, breaking your neck, and finding a furry lump on the side of the road that turns out to be your best friend.
We're here to talk about the stuff that wasn't in your life plan: Getting sober. Couch-surfing at 35. Teaching Jazzercise in a thong leotard at 5 AM (Courtney looks great, by the way). Death showing up uninvited. Your career ghosting you.
Each episode brings you real stories, terrible advice, excellent commiseration, and the reminder that if your life feels like a dumpster fire, at least you're in good company.
New episodes drop weekly. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts, because we all need witnesses to this beautiful mess.
Remember: Just because it wasn't the plan doesn't mean it wasn't supposed to happen.
Episodes
41 episodes
Clay Play...And a Hot Take!
Courtney's tooth fell out again. Emily's hair is orange. Sarah Beth's pit bull has a pink belly. We're off.Somewhere in the middle of all that, we talk about Rosemary — Courtney's dear friend, gone two years this week. She spent her life...
Never Give Up. Also, Buy an Air Fryer.
This week, we dispense wisdom. Some of it useful. Some of it… less so.From brain candy books and existential dread to air fryer eggs, dry skin trauma, and the radical notion of simply not giving up, Emily and Courtney share the life advi...
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We Left With Nothing
This week, we sit down with my friend Jen Quam Howell (JQ), who—on an otherwise unremarkable night—was woken up by her husband with the words no one prepares for: “The house is on fire. We have to go.”What follows is exactly wha...
How to flag down your own mugger!
Los Angeles, as it turns out, is less a city and more a series of increasingly poor decisions strung together by sunshine.This week, Courtney shares a perfectly normal collection of experiences: flagging down her own mugger, accepting a ...
The Last Virgin
What happens when you grow up in a deeply religious household where sex is forbidden, masturbation is sinful, and heaven is apparently keeping score?You wait.This week we’re joined by our brilliant friend Sarah Beth Schooley Wood—...
Planes, trains and tears
What begins as a chic business-class flight to Italy (because we’re grown now) quickly devolves into a transatlantic U-turn, a missing suitcase, an Amtrak sprint through Washington, D.C., a possibly intoxicated Uber driver declaring “Ma’am, I’m...
Mom, if I'm in a wheelchair, I want to play murder ball
At 22, Matt Holland dove into shallow water, broke his neck, and immediately knew something was very wrong. This episode has it all: lake house chaos, a midnight helicopter ride, ICU absurdity, fingers-in-the-butt medical exams, and...
Left at the Altar
This week, Colleen Heiber joins us to discuss being left before the wedding… and almost leaving someone herself. Six weeks out. Invitations printed. Rose petals purchased. Dumpster involved.We talk red flags, baby fever (and losing it), ...
Toofless
What begins as a casual conversation about hair drifts, quite naturally, into fake fangs, missing teeth, addiction, dentures, dental debt, sobriety, and one impressively pragmatic trip to Mexico shortly after losing all top teeth. It’s painful,...
Bugs in the bed
Bed bugs: not a moral failing, not a cleanliness issue, and definitely not part of the plan. This week, we’re joined by Dr. Dini Miller—Virginia Tech professor, urban entomology legend, and all-around badass—to talk what bed bugs actually are, ...
Not my circus
Just because children never blessed our loins doesn't mean we don't kinda like them. Well, we do, and we don't. Babies, motherhood, and the quiet panic of doing life “wrong.” In Not My Circus, Emily and Courtney talk being ...
Addiction talks but sobriety walks
Courtney’s original life plan was simple: keep drinking, keep using, quietly disappear. Sobriety was not the plan — but it turned out to be the thing that gave her a bigger, funnier, fuller life than she ever imagined. In this episode, we talk ...
Without a home
Both Emily and Courtney have had their run-ins with homelessness—sometimes more than once. This week, we delve into what it’s like to live without a roof over your head—and the bizarre blend of humor, humility, and resilience that comes with it...
Breaking up...with friends!
Friendship breakups: somehow more devastating than romantic ones, and with none of the sympathy cards. In Episode 2, we unpack platonic divorces, alcoholism, bad judgment, recovery, and how two former best friends managed to survive each other ...