This episode of Inside the Box really packs a punch. After listening, you’ll be ready for pretty much anything.

Segment 1: How to Win Physical Fight

• Wendy and Claire share their fighting inspirations
• Wendy teaches Claire two ancient Shaolin Kung Fu animal style fighting techniques
• They put their skills to the test and fight on the show
• And then they discuss who they’d like to fight

Segment 2: How to Win a Verbal Fight

Here’s a taste of some of the superior quips that will put you on the winning side of any verbal assault:

• Using fancy, high falutin words to make your verbal sparring partner feel stupid
• The power of insulting someone in another language
• Effective Gaslighting strategies
• Taking “space”

This segment concludes with an Insult Slinging Lightning Round

Thanks to our sponsor: Square Dance Brawl: Bar Fight Edition

(Sound effects obtained from zapsplat.com)

Parenting. There’s no handbook for this stuff. But luckily, Claire and Wendy have ideas and a podcast.

Here’s a taste of the wisdom you’ll receive in this episode:

• Bringing back the tried and true parenting styles of the 1970s, 80s and 90s
• Safety tips (ie, how to safely run with scissors)
• The benefits of instilling fear and guilt in your children
• What animals have to teach us about parenting
• Building healthy self-esteem in your child
• The joys of being your child’s best friend and drinking partner
• Educational toys
• What Freud has to teach us about parenting
• Parenting wisdom from bygone days

Episode Sponsor: Old Timey Sleep-Away Camp for Kids

In the illustrious words of Barry, Robin, and Maurice of the Gibb clan, “We're stayin' alive, stayin' alive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive. Stayin' alive.” Wiser words have never been spoken…or sung.

This episode was Inspired by a listener’s request for advice regarding how not to die. Claire and Wendy give you practical tips and easy-to-follow suggestions for survival.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The importance of safety gear
• Tactics for wild animal encounters
• What to do in common life-threatening scenarios (ie, online dating)
• Tips for bunker living
• Simple strategies for becoming immortal

Need advice? Contact Claire and Wendy here

And a big thank you to Benjamin Roy for doing the post production mastering of this episode. Need some audio help? email Ben at benroysounds@gmail.com

They’re everywhere. They can be you coworker, boss, friend, family member, neighbor – even your dog. Believe it or not, sometimes YOU might be the asshole. (Granted it’s probably rare, but it can happen). The point is: Assholes abound.

In this episode, Claire and Wendy reveal:

• Common types of assholes
• The difference between “a straight-up asshole” and “asshole behavior”
• Practical strategies for dealing with different types of assholes
• The Official Inside-The-Box Asshole Self-Assessment Questionnaire
• How Wendy discovered she was an asshole
• Powerful meditations and mantras for coping with assholes like Wendy

Thanks for listening!

And a big thank you to Benjamin Roy for doing the post production mastering of this episode. Need some audio help? email Ben at benroysounds@gmail.com

Ten bucks says you haven’t heard of a cult like the Guardians of the Parthenon.

Inspired by the blind mythical Greek prophet Tiresias, who transformed into a woman for seven years, ITB guest and cult leader Tiresa (pronounced Teresa) claims she is capable of auto-impregnation. That’s right. She can get herself pregnant.

In this episode you’ll hear when the ill-fated cult train make its stop in Crazy Town as a certain impressionable podcast host steps aboard with the hope of siring a new Guardian.

What will become of us?

A big thank you to our very talented and dear friend, Julie Aitcheson, for bringing her brilliant improvisational and acting skills Inside the Box with us. So much fun!

If you always wanted to start a cult, but didn't know how...this episode is for you! Claire and Wendy show you just how easy it is to:

• Be a charismatic leader with a mystical origin story and really cool special powers
• Make up a transcendent belief system so inviting that people will want to do stuff for you just to learn your secrets
• Develop systems of control and influence to keep your cult thriving. Matching outfits!

Claire and Wendy walk you through the process "as if" they were going to start their very own cult. Actually, they ended up each developing their own cult concept since Claire didn't like the idea of having a co-leader - which, in reality, was a great demonstration of the kind of fortitude a cult leader needs in order to be successful (even though Wendy's ideas were better).

Claire and Wendy get real when they play their version of Three Truths and a Lie: The How to Fuck Up Your Life edition. In this episode they reveal the colorful ways in which they’ve fucked up their lives, and now probably regret sharing with the world on their podcast (Demonstrating how you can continue to fuck up your life even though you’ve allegedly learned from experience).

This episode also includes:

• Bonus Lightning Round – rapid fire ways to fuck up your life
• "Oops. I shouldn’t have hit send.” Claire and Wendy respond to a listener’s request for advice regarding a monumental, and unfortunately all too common, fuck up.

A lot of professionalism wisdom coming at you in this episode. Here's a taste

• how to talk to colleagues when they piss you off
• discreet ways to have sex in the workplace
• how to be a team player
• "wow" them with a business card
• give yourself an important sounding title
• Look the part: power ties vs non power ties
• And much more...