Living in your 20s can be challenging in this day and age. Living in New York City has probably always been challenging. Living in your 20s in New York City can also be downright hilarious. Just ask Christina Harris, co-host of the <\/span>Gin & Toxic<\/span><\/i> podcast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to know what it\u2019s like to be 20-something in the big city, all you have to do is tune in to one of Christina\u2019s episodes, as she and her co-host, Lily, share just about everything and anything with their listeners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything’s fair game,\u201d<\/span><\/i> admits Christina.<\/span> \u201cI have absolutely zero limits! I am just such an open book. I really have nothing to hide from people. I\u2019m good with talking about all the touchy topics. The things we cover on <\/span><\/i>Gin & Toxic <\/span>fall under a wide spectrum.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Christina is clearly comfortable with the uncomfortable, which seems to create an authentic bond with her listeners. <\/span>\u201cA lot of people like the fact that Lily and I are open books,\u201d<\/span><\/i> she states.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This encourages the pair\u2019s most raving fans to be open, as well. <\/span>\u201cWe ask people to submit their toxic confessions and stories to us,\u201d <\/span><\/i>Christina explains. \u201c<\/span>There is no topic that is too touchy or weird for us. There’s really nothing off-limits.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

There seems to be little need for editing, since raw and real are clearly brand associations of <\/span>Gin & Toxic<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the time, it is unedited,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Christina confirms. <\/span>\u201cWe leave most of the crazy, weird, freaky details in the show. That’s what makes it what it is.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

Some would think that the purpose of the podcast is to help other women navigate the same problems the hosts do. That is the case for some of the episodes. As Christina mentions, they sometimes even begin with a lesson or \u201cmoral\u201d in mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the time, however, the primary motivation is to give people a good laugh. <\/span>\u201cWith some episodes, you actually learn nothing,\u201d <\/span><\/i>Christina laughs. <\/span>\u201cThere\u2019s absolutely no moral, and it’s purely for entertainment and comedic purposes. Everybody needs a good laugh. I don\u2019t think every single thing that we’re putting on the internet needs to be a learning lesson.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

There is certainly value in laughter alone. We definitely need more of that today.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are also lessons in laughter. <\/span>\u201cSometimes, we talk about specific things\u2026 like red flags girls can look for and take into account.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Other times, there is healing in just listening. <\/span>\u201cA lot of people, like myself, listen to podcasts just to de-stress,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Christina explains. <\/span>\u201cI love hearing other people’s stories, whether I’m going to learn something from it or not. We create a safe space where people can share those stories.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The stories, while many times quite hilarious, sometimes also provide needed emotional healing for listeners and the hosts alike. <\/span>\u201cLily and I share our stories, too, and sometimes, it’s just for our own relief.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

That was certainly the case with their episode \u201cSad Girl\u201d episode, which aired on February 17 of this year:<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe put out an episode simply because we did not want to be happy,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Christina shares. <\/span>\u201cWe were both having a bad week. We were like, <\/span><\/i>\u2018What can we record this week?\u2019 <\/span>We eventually said,<\/span><\/i> \u2018F*** it! Let’s just record and talk about everything that’s going wrong in our lives right now. We’ll just get it all out of our system, and then we can move on. Maybe it’ll help some people.\u2019 <\/span>It turned out that it helped a lot of people. Lily especially was talking about things related to financial issues as a 20-something-year-old in a very expensive city. A lot of people related to that. We got a bunch of DMs about it. So, yes, it’s both a comedic thing and a therapeutic thing. You might learn something. You might not. But you\u2019ll get a laugh out of it.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

While <\/span>Gin & Toxic<\/span><\/i> is certainly comedy, and there are a lot of funny moments, let\u2019s not sell short the aspect of the show that empowers women like Christina and Lily to feel less alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe get DMs all day long,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Christina says, <\/span>\u201cwhether from girls saying,<\/span><\/i> \u2018I listen to your show, and now, I’m more comfortable with myself\u201d\u2026 <\/span>or more comfortable with dating or sex, or from others who are like,<\/span><\/i> \u2018Oh my God. You told this story, and I have a story that relates to that, and I need to share it with you because I think it’s so funny.\u2019 <\/span>It\u2019s good to know that they feel comfortable enough to share with us. It’s a really great feeling for both me and Lily knowing that we’re making them that comfortable and giving them a safe space where they feel like they can talk about whatever the h*** they want to talk about. We want to make them feel like they’re not alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Christina went further to talk about the importance of making a connection for Gen-Z women.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cI think the relatability factor is huge, especially with podcasting and social media in general, for the Gen-Z demographic. We couldn’t go on the podcast and start talking about all these luxurious things. That’s not realistic to a Gen-Z girl. Going on to talk about the good and the bad and then having people share their own stories back with us is a real good feeling for us. It definitely has some sort of therapeutic effect for the listener, also. We know that if we’re being vulnerable and open with our audience, they’re going to do the same thing right back to us. It\u2019s a two-way street.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

That two-way street is on full display with <\/span>Gin & Toxic<\/span><\/i>. Like when, in true open-book fashion, Christina announced that she broke up with her boyfriend on the show. This led to several new and interesting topics, as she explains:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLily created a Hinge profile for me. I already went on a few dates from it. I talked about one of them on the show, and it was pretty funny. I got a little too drunk and made some messy moves. It was hilarious. Yeah, in terms of personal life, it\u2019s definitely been a little bumpy,\u201d<\/span><\/i> she laughs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But that very bumpiness is a big part of what makes <\/span>Gin & Toxic<\/span><\/i> genuine. Christina\u2019s new adventures in dating certainly provide one of the foundations for the podcast. As she puts it, <\/span>\u201cThe best of the comedy is yet to come.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

So, listen in. Even if you don\u2019t learn anything, you\u2019re sure to get a laugh out of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May 2022 Issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living in your 20s can be challenging in this day and age. Living in New York City has probably always been challenging. Living in your 20s in New York City can also be downright hilarious. Just ask Christina Harris, co-host of the Gin & Toxic podcast.\u00a0 If you want to know what it\u2019s like to be 20-something in the big city, all you have to do is tune in to one of Christina\u2019s episodes, as she and her co-host, Lily, share just about everything and anything with their listeners.\u00a0 \u201cEverything’s fair game,\u201d admits Christina. \u201cI have absolutely zero limits! I<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":12668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3169,167,2988,3172,3173,3170,3175,3171,3174],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n