Just two best friends who just turned 40 talking about their struggles--everything from relationships, to not feeling good enough, to dealing with depression and anxiety--in hopes of normalizing things and making people feel less alone.
Welcome to Bay Area Brats Struggling (BABS)! If you find yourself saying, “This is not what I thought my life would look like at this point,” you might be able to relate to this podcast.
Raised as Asian Americans who were promised successful lives if they just studied hard and focused on school, Amanda and Sam found themselves on the cusp of checking all the boxes. Careers. Marriage. Homeowners. Kids.
Amanda got married to her college sweetheart, had twin girls after dealing with infertility, and lived a seemingly perfect life. Sam graduated law school, achieved her aspirations of working at a big law firm, and got engaged to her longtime boyfriend.
But then Amanda asked for a divorce and blew up her life. Sam called off her engagement and got a cat. They had career identity crises. They had to start using dating apps in their 30s. They suffer from anxiety and depression. And while they can recognize their complaints can seem bratty at times, they’re also realizing the common precedent leading up to their meltdowns is that they were struggling in silence for too long.
In trying to live life defined by other people’s standards, they lost themselves—or rather, they realized they never took the time to figure out who they were and what they wanted in the first place. So join them as they struggle through life, and hopefully you’ll realize you don’t have to struggle in silence… even if people call you a brat.
Disclaimer: We are NOT mental or physical health specialists. If you believe you or someone you know is struggling with anxiety, depression, or suicidal ideation, or any other mental health challenges we encourage you to contact your doctor or a medical professional. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, call 911, or go to your local emergency room.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Publisher
Amanda Chang
Category
health & fitness · society & culture · society & culture
Struggling with recapping the best NYE in Vegas with BSB and besties
It's February, but let's time travel back to the first week of January where Amanda and Sam were still riding the high of ringing in the New Year at the Backstreet Boys concert. It was SUCH a fun trip... and that's usually not what these brats say after a trip. They recap the weekend to try and pinpoint what made this trip energizing instead of exhausting, because we need to recreate more of that in our everyday lives.
Apparently, having fun requires not giving a [bleep] what people think about your outfits, giving yourself ample downtime between meals and going out, declaring your unapologetic devotion to Stranger Things even if no one cares, and deciding to try something new because your best friend is into it (even if you're worried it makes you look like a bandwagoner or lapdog).
Sam and Amanda also decide they're chaotic, but the good kind of chaos now, and that's what made this trip so fun. More of this please!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
23 Jan 2026
Struggling with lotto scratchers, picking favorite Stranger Things characters, and reflecting on 2025
It's our last podcast of 2025! Sam shares an update on being back with her boyfriend (it's a rollercoaster, we know), and Amanda discusses why lotto scratchers are a terrible holiday gift to receive from her ex... which somehow evolves into a conversation about how her dad and ex made her feel like she has too many emotions and is too much to handle.
But the episode turns around when Sam and Amanda discuss their favorite Stranger Things characters because after ten years of talking about how much she loves Stranger Things and rewatches it more than Marvel Avengers, Sam finally convinced Amanda to binge watch and catch up on the show. Their answers surprisingly reveal a lot about their personalities!
Lastly Sam and Amanda share three words each that sum up their years, and share their hopes for one another in 2026. We'll preview those words here: empowering, infuriating, fun, calm, unsteady, crossroads, boundaries, vulnerability. Go listen to the episode to hear what's behind those words! Thanks for listening to us in 2025, and see you in 2026!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
23 Jan 2026
Struggling with knowing love isn't enough, people not doing the work, and the state of the world
After a crazypants October, your girls Sam and Amanda are burnt out and back to randomly crying at work. Amanda's fighting with her co-parent about books and softball through her daughters' therapists, Sam moved in with her boyfriend and broke up a day later. Plus, the state of the world is so bleak and depressing, it only makes them feel even more weary and heavy. But this is one of those conversations where you might not fix anything or come to any revelations, but just talking about it with your best friend makes you feel a bit better.
*Trigger Warning / Disclaimer: This episode does contain comments that may sound like suicide ideation, so please listen with extreme care or skip this episode if you are triggered and take care of yourself. The comments and this episode are not meant to promote it or make light of it--rather Sam and Amanda talk about how those types of comments have been Sam's way of coping since college, and instead of turning away from them because they made her uncomfortable, Amanda's learned to lean in and recognize them as a signal that Sam needs an extra check-in and support. Sam and Amanda have previously talked at length about what those comments mean when Sam brings them up, and how to keep one another safe and supported.
Disclaimer: We are NOT mental or physical health specialists. If you believe you or someone you know is struggling with anxiety, depression, or suicidal ideation, or any other mental health challenges we encourage you to contact your doctor or a medical professional. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, call 911, or go to your local emergency room. For resources on eating disorders, visit https://edrcsv.org/get-help/.
For a great resource to help with understanding depression and anxiety, and advice on how to help and what to say, check out one of our favorites, @realdepressionproject on Instagram.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
645,579
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 34 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
10
Social presence
0
YouTube
82
Engagement
60
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