Tikkun Olam
December 3, 2025
The first month of parenthood is a crash course in bodily fluids, sleep deprivation, and existential wonder.
Mandy Kaplan is an actress, voice-over artist, singer, writer, and ninja living in LA. Her voice can be heard in hundreds of commercials/video games/audiobooks, and her face can be seen starring in the feature film 30 Nights of Sex available on Tubi, which she co-wrote and produced. Her hilarious cabaret Miscast: Right Singer, Wrong Song has been running in LA for over twelve years and has raised thousands of dollars for Project Angel Food. And now… she is host of Make Me A Nerd, where she enlists her fabulous friends to introduce her to their fandoms, and co-host on Once and Future Parent where she chronicles the journey of parenting a high schooler toward launch. She was co-host of the podcast The Mandcave with her comedy partner Mandy Fabian. She can also be heard providing insights on movies and pop culture across The Next Reel Family of Film Podcasts.
🌐 IMDb • Mandy Kaplan
🍿 Watch 30 Nights of Sex on Tubi
💃 See Miscast: Right Singer, Wrong Song
😇 Learn More about Project Angel Food
🎙️ Subscribe to Make Me A Nerd
🎙️ Subscribe to The Mandcave
🎙️ Subscribe to Once and Future Parent
The first month of parenthood is a crash course in bodily fluids, sleep deprivation, and existential wonder.
Mandy brings in TruStory FM’s own Steve Sarmento to guide her through Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a Spielberg classic he has loved since childhood and she is only just discovering. Together they dive into aliens, government gaslighting, bad dads, and the pure wonder that keeps this film glowing nearly 50 years later.
After weeks of careful planning, Matthew’s baby arrived in the middle of the night—at a completely different hospital than expected.
What happens when an improv game show changes the rules every episode? Kyle Olson returns to indoctrinate Mandy into the glorious madness of Game Changer on Dropout TV—complete with butt jokes, buzzers, and a whole lot of musical genius.
Matthew’s just days away from becoming a parent, while Mandy and Pete navigate the complex world of sharing beloved films and shows with their teens.
Actor Zehra Fazal joins Mandy Kaplan to nerd out over Yuri!!! on Ice, the anime that somehow turned figure skating into a meditation on love, anxiety, and gluteal perfection. It’s part sports drama, part queer awakening, and all the proof you need that nerds can be both passionate and impeccably choreographed.
What happens when your carefully crafted birth plan collides with medical reality—and your family’s overwhelming enthusiasm? Matthew, Mandy, and Pete explore the gap between Hollywood labor scenes and the real days-long delivery process, while navigating performative partner pressure, the “circles of care” model, and managing well-meaning relatives who’ve lost their minds with excitement.
Mandy and Abdi Nazemian go full Blonde Ambition to unpack Truth or Dare—the documentary that made pop culture queer, fearless, and very, very sweaty. It’s equal parts history lesson and group therapy, with just enough profanity to make your Nana clutch her pearls.
Is your own phone addiction harming your baby, and what do you do when your kid’s friend is watching violent movies at age four while another family treats screens like the devil? Voice actor and dad Will Collier joins Matthew and Mandy to navigate the guilt-ridden, judgment-heavy world of screen time—from the Wild Kratts vs. TikTok debate to the awkward reality of parenting in a community where everyone’s rules are wildly different.
What do Vikings, soap operas, and existential audio dramas have in common? According to Matt Boren: more than you think—and Mandy’s still recovering from the beheadings.