October 5, 2021

Graphic by Ava Horton

Twenty-year-old Emma Chamberlain has tailored a new listening experience for the podcast lovers of Generation Z with her series “Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain.” Chamberlain takes an extremely raw, intimate and personal approach to the series as she invites listeners into her life and ignites conversations about the complexities of navigating being a young adult today.

“I figured I’d try her podcast out [and] I was immediately hooked,” sophomore Lily Ortinau said. “I felt like I was on the phone with my best friend just hearing about their day.”

The podcast came to life in February 2020 and has since earned a 4.8/5 star rating on Apple Podcasts. Chamberlain originally had a podcast titled “Stupid Genius,” which highlighted lighthearted science experiments she conducted herself, but has since ended that era. 

Each episode is unique, but still carries a particular ambiance that showcases Chamberlain’s personality, interests and newly gained wisdom. Topics include, but are not limited to, conversations about the complexities of finding oneself, navigating relationships as a young adult, healthy and unhealthy habits, mental health and fashion. 

“What kept me hooked was the fact that she does talk about so many broad things,” freshman Mia Sabapathy said. “It’s not just the same thing over and over again. [When episodes] come out, you never know what it’s going to be about.”

Chamberlain makes it effortless to feel comfortable and connected to her podcast as she challenges the unsaid and beautifully highlights what is familiar. 

“She lets you sit in your discomfort,” Ortinau said. “Normally, when I turn it on it’s because I’m feeling disconnected from myself and need to do some inward focus. She walks you through [your emotions] and explains [them] to you.”

The setting Chamberlain creates when she invokes these conversations challenges the boundaries of a traditional podcast in a casual and playful manner. She encourages listeners to connect with her and join these rare conversations in a casual setting. 

“I think when we listen to the podcast, it is a sensation of being understood,” Sabapathy said. “She talks about subjects that you wouldn’t talk about with other people and [says that] your problems are valid, everyone has these problems, but nobody really talks about them.” 

Chamberlain has invited young adults into her life since her YouTube channel became widely popular in 2017, but the impact of that invitation is one that holds completely different implications now. 

“Since she is around the same age as us, I feel like her viewers have grown with her,” Sabapathy said. “She’s just so unique in that way that so many people can relate to her. If they can’t relate to her now, they can relate to her when she was younger just because she’s changed so much.”

Edited by Elise Mulligan, emulligan@themaneater.com 

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