Dear Media IRL 2024 brought the platform’s biggest hosts to New York City for a day of conversation on podcasting, relationships and navigating life online.
The morning panels, Basically Besties and The Fashion Edit, brought guests earnest dialogue on the impact of social media and podcasting on everyday life for the hosts, focusing on friendship and fashion, respectively.
Basically Besties brought podcasts “Pretty Basic” and “Ride” together to chat about the inceptions of their shows, and how the bond between co-hosts informs their content strategy. Since 2018, Alisha Marie and Remi Cruz have created weekly episodes for “Pretty Basic,” giving big-sister chats on all things relationships and online influencing. The pair said they crossed paths a few times before developing a friendship, and “Pretty Basic” was born out of their shared dating stories and similar career tales as established YouTubers.
“It was the time before the YouTuber-to-podcast pipeline,” Cruz said.
Similar to Pretty Basic, Ride co-hosts Benito Skinner and Mary Beth Barone took their friendship to the audio space. They met performing stand-up at the same show, and started the podcast “Obsessed” after not seeing each other for a year during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Obsessed” was canceled in 2022, but “Ride” began shortly after, where they share pop culture phenomena or experiences they’re currently “riding” for.
“We really wanted to continue doing a podcast, but we wanted to have more ownership over the creative,” Barone said about the decision to start “Ride” after their first podcast was canceled. “Now, we’re in the driver’s seats.”
While the process of becoming a professional podcaster with your best friend seems daunting, the panelists reassured guests that preserving their friendships is the priority over the perfect episode. If scheduling conflicts or uncertainty regarding a conversation arises, both pairs of co-hosts would opt to cut an episode in hopes of honoring their personal relationship.
“We will have disagreements about whether [a conflict is] friendship things or podcast things, but the most important thing is communicating with each other, about what’s bothering us or if we need to push the recording just because we’re going through it,” Cruz said. “And that’s okay.”
Whitney Port, Pia Baroncini, Brittany Xavier and Caroline Baudino paneled The Fashion Edit, giving guests their thoughts on maintaining personal style in the digital age. Each panelist spoke about how motherhood influenced their fashion choices, especially as hosts of fashion-centric podcasts.
Designer Whitney Port, host of “With Whit” said that wearing bias cut dresses and finding a few, reliable staple pieces helped her maintain her confidence as an online personality after two pregnancies.
“My role takes a lot of acceptance,” Port said. “It’s nice to be armored with those pieces that fit you no matter where you are.”
Baudino, host of “Coming In Hot,” mentioned that planning outfits — even just using basic closet items — allows her to stay organized and energized for the day.
“Dressing your best changes your mind frame,” Baudino said. “Knowing where your things are is the key.”
The panelists shared all of their fashion hacks, from using affordable jewelry to curate the perfect stack before seeking out investment pieces to freezing denim to maintain its wash and fit. These tips culminated in a discussion on balancing inspiration from social media and the pressure to follow fashion trends as an influencer.
“I think what you watch really affects you,” Baudino said. “For me, I really don’t like any kind of super aspirational [content] to the point where it isn’t real. I like what makes me feel good. I do like the trends more, I never wanted to lose that. Becoming a mom, I got into that rut of just running around and I lost myself there, so I think now getting dressed is fun to me. It shows I’ve put my oxygen mask on first. I’ve taken care of myself.”
(Featured image courtesy of Angelica Marie Photography)
