Girl Talk From The Bench: Books, Sports, & Culture

We're back, and apparently we had a lot to say.

After a month of travel, football, and who knows what else, we're catching up on Chicago, Lambeau Field, and Sarah's official induction into Packers fandom. Plus, why every romance novel apparently needs a kidnapping, our thoughts on Taylor Swift's latest music, Dancing With the Stars drama, and the great Kylie Jenner fantasy bra debate.

Same bench. plenty of opinions. 💜

Girlie chose violence at 3:30 a.m., so naturally we start there.

This week: Chicago on Broadway, our Project Runway finale thoughts, a book that made Sarah mad for all the wrong reasons, football being officially back, the US Open influencer problem, and a baseball moment that had everyone rallying around one player.

Plus: Andrew Garfield gets stranded in Albuquerque, Olivia reveals how Vivica A. Fox once accidentally made her miss a flight, and we have many thoughts about Alix and Braxton.

New episodes every Tuesday. 💜

We're back in the same room, filming at 9 p.m. and approximately five shots deep. What could go wrong?

This week we're talking fantasy football drafts, US Open influencer etiquette, a major win for women in sports, CT + Phaedra somehow becoming a thing, the latest Alex Cooper drama, the end of Chicken Shop Date, Beyoncé's birthday gift to us, and a Dancing with the Stars cast that may actually have us seated every single week.

Plus: Sarah has new hair and glasses, Olivia has been crashing out all week, and apparently we're learning things live.

Thanks for spending another week on the bench with us. 💜

Sarah's recording from New Mexico, Olivia has apparently planned the rest of 2026 in her absence, and somehow August is still not over.

This week we're catching up on family trips, upcoming travel plans, the US Open we keep forgetting happens in our own city, and another less-than-stellar week of reading. Then we're getting into Dancing With the Stars, Connor's controversial new haircut, our continued Heated Rivalry obsession, Love Island reunion looks, unexpected celebrity couples, and one very strong anti-dog opinion we simply cannot support.

Plus, Olivia tells the story of the time she tried to ask Gavin DeGraw to the movies via Twitter.

Thanks for spending another week on the bench with us. 💜

Olivia got home at 4 a.m., our fantasy football draft apparently requires no advance notice, and somehow everyone has a lake house except us.

This week we're recapping Olivia's twelve-hour bar shift (voluntary), our night seeing Olivia Dean, a deeply average week of reading, and the latest in football... including fantasy draft chaos and Erling Haaland's very surprising haircut.

Plus, we're talking celebrity weddings, Kardashian relationship updates, our latest TV obsession Sterling Point, and why we need a boat immediately.

Thanks for spending another week on the bench with us. 💜

You accidentally go viral once, and suddenly the entire week feels a little different.

This week we're talking about our very unexpected TikTok moment, Olivia Dean concert prep, ruined birthday surprises, football finally returning, cowboy romances, I Will Find You on Netflix, homeschooling debates, celebrity chaos, and a surprisingly intense game involving assigning colors to every month of the year.

Thanks for hanging out with us on the bench. 💜

New York is hot, the subway is testing our patience, and apparently inflatable donkey tossing is a real sport.

This week we're talking emo throwbacks, Olivia Dean concert prep, the books we loved (and didn't), our upcoming Packers trip, the return of HudCon, Heated Rivalry Season 2 casting, Marciano's extremely questionable new tattoo, and the potential Michael B. Jordan/RAYE pairing we are fully prepared to support.

Plus: Olivia introduces Sarah to possibly the strangest book premise we've encountered yet.

Thanks for spending another week on the bench with us. 💜

Fresh month, fresh delusions.

This week we're talking August resets, Christmas road trip planning, whether Olivia should actually apply for Love Is Blind, Hilary Duff nostalgia, Governor's Island adventures, our latest reads, and another round of Mind Meld.

Thanks for spending another week on the bench with us. 💜

This week we're talking Packers tickets, World Cup drama, Beyoncé fan theories, Love Island UK chaos, Justin Bieber's halftime performance, Bravo relationship disasters, and our latest book reviews.

We also debate whether you're a sun, moon, or earth, share our Songs of the Week, and discuss what we're currently reading.

Books discussed:

• Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
• Dirty Diana
• Yesteryear
• Thirty Love

Grab a coffee (or a spritz) and join us on the bench.

Sarah survives her first jury duty, Olivia almost gets picked because the arresting officer recognizes her from church, and somehow that leads to debating whether we'd wear our biggest college football rival's colors for love.

This week we're talking:

• 🚨 Jury duty stories
• 🌿 Why we're desperately waiting for an August reset
• 🎵 Songs of the Week
• 📚 The books we finished (and the ones we're currently reading)
• ⚽ FIFA Men's World Cup
• 🏟️ Dodgers vs. Yankees
• ❤️ Our final thoughts on the Love Island USA finale
• ✨ The Kardashians' relationship era

Grab a drink, get cozy, and come hang out on the bench.

This week Olivia earns an honorary PhD (don't get her sued), Sarah revives her candle-making era, and we finally reveal Olivia's birthday plans: Lambeau Field, Chicago, and much more to come.

Then we get into it: the worst romance book either of us has ever read, World Cup red card chaos, an England goal that was assisted by a camera cable, our ongoing Mets heartbreak, Taylor Swift's questionable wedding guest list, and the Love Island family day moment that gave us the creeps... Sincere and Melanie, we need to talk.

Oh, and we're debuting a new segment: Song of the Week. 🎶

New episodes every Tuesday — follow Girl Talk From The Bench so you never miss us, and drop a rating if you're enjoying the show, it genuinely helps! 💜

Despite major technical difficulties, we come back to you this week with a recap of our summer hiatus and all things Love Island, T&T, and summer reads!

So much pop culture with our sports this week! Plus continued SLOMW drama and throwing it back to Met Gala faves!

Buckle in for a long one! Join us as we gab about The Devil Wears Prada 2 and The Met Gala, women in sports, and allll things pop culture!

Gabbing about draft day, Megan Thee Stallion and her ex who shall not be named, Guys Girls, SLOMW OC, SWAG tour, and our current reads!!

Coachella weekend 2, Alix v. Alex, HUDSON WILLIAMS, and Amanda/West drama!!

It's a packed week as we discuss the ongoing Summerhouse drama, Coachella, Alix & Braxton, and what we're reading this week!

Is there any other take???

Devin and Kendall, Love Island, George RR Martin, Laguna Beach, Hannah Montana, Justin Bieber at Coachella and more!

Olivia and Sarah discuss all things MomTok, the Oscars, and what they're reading next.