Pop-Culturalist.com

We’re raising our glasses to Em Schulz and Christine Schiefer, a dynamic duo who are blazing a trail in the podcasting space with And That’s Why We Drink. With over eighty million downloads, And That’s Why We Drink is a weekly podcast where the paranormal and true crime meet, with a comedic twist. From alien abductions to haunted places, there’s something for everyone. We caught up with Em and Christine to learn more about how they got their start, their journey with And That’s Why We Drink, and what it was like winning a Webby.

PC: How did you both get into the podcasting space?
Christine: Em and I met in grad school but didn’t become close until we were both living in LA two years later! We would spend hours every night swapping creepy ghost and true crime stories until one day Em asked if I’d be interested in hosting a podcast. I had introduced them to podcasts two weeks earlier, and was totally taken aback when Em suddenly decided we should try it. I hesitated at first but ultimately said yes, thank god. It wasn’t until fall 2018 that we were able to leave our day jobs and become full-time podcasters.

Em: I had no idea what podcasting was until I first hung out with Christine and she introduced me to a few shows that same day. A month or so later, I suggested we start our own show, mainly as a way to get to know each other. Many of the shows Christine listened to seemed to be friends just chatting, and I thought, “If they can do it, why can’t we?” Our early conversations always gravitated towards true crime and the paranormal, so I suggested those be our focus of the show. We really thought we would only record a couple episodes and then it would fizzle out. We saw it more as a reason to keep hanging out every week. Luckily things worked out for us, and now we have some really precious audio of us in the early stages of our friendship. It’s fun to go back and listen to it now. We had no idea we created something that was going to change our lives!

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your careers?
Christine: My initial career path was TV writing. As an aspiring comedy writer, most of my inspirations were comedians, especially womxn who’ve had to work harder to push their way to the top because they aren’t cis white males. There are so many people I’ve looked up to over the years. Some of them include Ali Wong, Amy Poehler, Kate McKinnon, and Nicole Byer.

Em: Two of the podcasts Christine first suggested I listen to were My Favorite Murder and Jim Harold’s Campfire, a true crime podcast and a paranormal podcast. I loved them both so much, but Jim Harold’s Campfire was definitely the paranormal influence of ours. If it weren’t for his show creeping us out, we probably wouldn’t have thought it was possible to pull off on our own. One of the best parts of the last three years has actually been Christine and I becoming friends with Jim Harold. He even came to one of our live shows when we were in his city. It was the most bizarre experience: to have one of our podcast idols in our audience. I remember Christine and I were in the green room at our own show and freaking out about another podcaster. He visited us backstage and we were the ones asking to take a picture with him.

PC: You both have experienced a lot of success. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Christine: There were the big moments, like winning a Webby Award—still doesn’t feel real—and performing our first live show—still feels way too real. But there’s one early moment that has always stayed with me. The podcast was only weeks old when we received a message of support on Twitter from an unfamiliar person who called themselves a fan of the show. At this point, Em and I had assumed only our mothers would be listening, and I wasn’t even so sure of that. When I sent the name to Em and neither of us recognized it, I flipped out. Our first real fan! That moment will stick with me forever.

Em: Other than our Jim Harold experience, I’m really proud of our Webby win last year. We won the people’s choice for comedy podcasts, and I’m still shocked every time I think about it. We walked our first red carpet that night, we got to meet so many cool people—it felt like it was right out of a movie. It was especially meaningful because two years before our win, when we were much smaller, we took a picture with a Webby pamphlet and said to ourselves that one day we would be nominated.

PC: Tell us about And That’s Why We Drink and how the podcast came to fruition.
Christine: Every time Em and I hung out, we’d end up awake till four a.m. swapping creepy stories. When Em asked me to start a podcast and I finally agreed, the topic came to us pretty quickly. The name, however, not so much. It’s become kind of an inside joke on the show that our original podcast name was Eerie and Theory. We even bought a website domain and a Google phone number! But during one late-night planning session one of us, exasperated, suddenly yelled out, “That’s why I drink!” and Em and I just stared at each other, having a mutual moment of understanding. Sure, we had just spent what little money we had left on a website domain called Eerie and Theory, but we knew in our hearts that we had to change the name. Since then, Em and I have had a few “that’s it!” moments just like that one, especially when planning this year’s tour, R.I.P. It’s a really cool feeling when it happens.

Em: Christine and I went to grad school together in 2014, and although we knew of each other, we didn’t hang out in the same social circles. The last semester of our program sent the students to Los Angeles for internships, where we still didn’t hang out together but still had classes together. Funny enough, the only time we ever made small talk was when we sat next to each other in a comedy writing class. Once we graduated, all of the people we were friends with moved back to the East Coast, leaving us alone out here. I knew “Christine from grad school” was still in LA and I was desperate for a friend, so I texted her and asked if she wanted to meet up. I invited her to a harvest festival, and we had a surprising amount of fun for two strangers. We got on a tractor ride, and Christine and I looked through each other’s social media. We realized we both liked true crime, ghost stories, and our posts were really funny. That was when Christine asked if I listened to any podcasts, and I said, “What’s a podcast?”

Christine gave me a few recommendations to check out, two of which were MFM and Jim Harold’s Campfire, and I started listening to them while I was at work. While listening to these podcasts, and now regularly hanging out with Christine, I wondered if it was possible for us to record one ourselves as a hobby to do together. I texted her, “What would you think about starting a podcast together?” We originally named the show Eerie and Theory. I went over to Christine’s one night for us to prep for our first episode, and while drinking wine Christine complained about something. I randomly replied, “And that’s why we drink,” and we looked at each other with this “a-ha” moment and said, “Wait, that’s the perfect title for a podcast.”’

PC: And That’s Why We Drink launched in 2017 and you’ve told hundreds of stories. Do you have a favorite?
Christine: Some of Em’s stories still spook me to this day, such as the black-eyed kids, Episode 53; Harold the doll, Episode 86; and the dybbuk box, a.k.a. the haunted wine cabinet, Episode 11. As far as favorites that I’ve covered, some of my favorites include Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Episode 15; the disappearance of Bryce Laspisa, Episode 126; and the death of Elisa Lam, Episode 11, same as the haunted wine box! Coincidence? I think not.

Em: I love the paranormal stories about haunted dolls: Robert the doll, Annabelle, Harold, Peggy. We had a lot of people write to us complaining that we cursed them after the Peggy the doll episode. I like when we get a really good audience reaction from an episode. The doll ones seem to consistently do that. I also really liked my stories on the Russian sleep experiment, the black-eyed kids, and the time travel conspiracy theory called Project Pegasus.

PC: What’s one fun fact of your partner that fans would be surprised to learn?
Christine: Em and I have a questionable habit of bearing all on the show, so it’s nearly impossible to think of something our listeners wouldn’t know. Everyone knows Em loves tie-dye, graduated from clown college, and was in approximately forty-five thousand frats in college. But did you know that Em has always wanted to build a tiny house and even wrote a full-fledged TV pitch about tiny houses in grad school? Okay, maybe you did, but I’m trying here.

Em: People would be surprised to know how impressive Christine is at driving in reverse. I don’t know how we’ve gotten ourselves into so many situations where we needed complicated reverse driving, but I’ve seen Christine do it so intensely and so perfectly many times, and I’m always in awe. I’m convinced that if she had to drive somewhere entirely in reverse, she would still do it better than anybody driving normally.

PC: What’s one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started podcasting? What advice would you give anyone looking to get into this space?
Christine: One thing I wish I could tell my past self is to be more self-assured and less willing to let other people sway me in one direction or another. Em and I both tend to be pretty laid-back, and it can be hard for us to be assertive. But we’ve learned that sometimes, especially in the entertainment industry, being assertive just equates to standing up for yourself. Over the years, we’ve grown more confident in ourselves and our show, but it took a while!

My advice for anyone starting a podcast is always the same: pick a topic you absolutely love to talk about, even if that’s as obscure as repairing model ships or sewing squirrel clothes. Actually, if you do either of these things, please start a podcast; I’d love to listen to it. In other words, pick something you’d be willing to talk about for free, because you will, at least at first. Podcasting is much harder work than I ever realized when we first started. It’s hard to convince an audience to be passionate about your show if you aren’t passionate about it first! Also, have fun with it, first and foremost!

Em: I don’t think either of us had any idea how much work a podcast was. I think that was for the best though because if we knew, we probably wouldn’t have done it. It’s lots of work, but it’s so worth it. The main advice Christine and I always tell new podcasters is to make sure you have good audio and make sure your show’s theme is something you are passionate about. Otherwise, you’re going to spend the entire time researching topics that aren’t important to you.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Christine: This is probably the weirdest answer ever, but Whose Line Is It Anyway? is one I still watch on YouTube to this day. What can I say? I’m an improv nerd.

Em: To Catch a Predator reruns and Millionaire Matchmaker.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Christine: The Proposal. Anything Sandra Bullock, really.

Em: Bring It On

PC: Favorite book?
Christine: The Shining by Stephen King.

Em: I’m more of a comic book reader, Marvel’s Secret Wars.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Christine: Waiting for Godot

Em: It changes every day. Today, Little Shop of Horrors.

PC: Favorite podcast?
Christine: Ahh! So many! This week it’s Lore by Aaron Mahnke.

Em: My Dad Wrote a Porno, An Acquired Taste, and Office Ladies.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Christine: Twenty One Pilots

Em: Any classic rock: Grateful Dead, the Who, Queen, Skynyrd, Steve Miller Band. I still go to Pink Floyd laser light shows when they’re in town.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Christine: Probably Em, considering how spot-on their imitations are.

Em: Christine would play me, and I would play her.

Make sure to follow Christine (Twitter/Instagram) and Em (Twitter/Instagram). Listen to And That’s Why We Drink here.