Young Women Have Big Questions, And We're Answering All Of Them On Season 2 Of "The Bustle Huddle"

Huddle up, podcast listeners, because The Bustle Huddle is back for our second season, which means more women on the mic, and so much for you to be excited about.

In the upcoming weeks, Bustle editors, celebrities, and experts will be answering some big questions, like — What’s it really like to be a mom right now? Will we ever manage to pay off our student loans or have we entered the longest and most expensive relationship of our lives? And...does my dog actually hate me?

We kick off this season with, "Not A Wedding Episode," we’re not talking about weddings. Well, okay, you got us, we are, but not the traditional kind. In honor of Bustle’s June issue, Something New, we’re exploring how our generation is turning away from the expensive and over-the-top ceremonies of years past, and instead defining life’s most important moments on their own terms.

We have some amazing guests lined up. We welcome stand up comedian, cast member of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and co-host of podcast Inside The Closet Emma Willmann into the Bustle studio to discuss in her own words how one West Elm coffee table made her feel like an actual, fully-realized adult. She also shares why she is reticent to celebrate any milestones until she reaches the big one — performing a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden (I mean, talk about #goals!).

Then, Bustle's Deputy Editor of Entertainment, Allison Piwowarski, jumps on the phone with stand-up comic and host of WNYC’s podcast Late Night Whenever, Michelle Buteau, to discuss her latest project and how she’s bringing late night to whenever (and wherever), despite not being a white dude named “Jimmy." Michelle also shares her thoughts on how TRL shaped her status as an adult, the one thing that she wishes they'd teach you in school, and what she didn't fully grasp about marriage until after she was already five years into it.

Next, welcome the brilliant writer and journalist Jill Filipovic, who joins us to discuss her new Bustle feature, If You Don’t Get Married And Have Kids, How Do You Know When You’re An Adult, which features interviews with women who have eschewed the traditional narratives of female adulthood, and are establishing new goal posts for their own lives.

As Jill writes:

As more and more women around the world delay marriage and childbearing, or never marry or have children at all, the traditional markers of adulthood are shifting. Half a century ago, adulthood in America came along with marriage, then a home, then children, in that order, with women typically marrying before they turned 20. Today, the average woman marries at 27, while the average age of first birth is just over 26 – in other words, many women are having babies before marriage, and many others aren’t getting married or having babies at all. As these traditional markers of adult life fall away or get pushed back, women are figuring out how to replace them – and redefining adulthood in the process.

Over on the pod, Jill extends this conversation by explaining why marriage shouldn't be the only way we create a legal partnership between two people, her own feelings on the markers of adulthood, and why she personally chose to walk down the aisle and say "I do."

Finally, we head to New York's City Hall and chat with real-life couples to find out what marriage means to them.

To catch this and all future episodes of The Bustle Huddle, be sure to subscribe on iTunes, and share with your friends. If you liked what you heard, reach out to us! We want to know what you love about The Bustle Huddle and find out what you want to hear next. You can email us at huddle@bustle.com.

And speaking of reaching out, we created a new space for you to do so every day with the Bustle Huddle Facebook group. Each week in this group, we'll ask questions, host polls, and share behind the scenes photos, videos, and updates all about The Bustle Huddle. This group is moderated by Bustle's Senior Feature Editor and host of The Bustle Huddle, Caitlin Abber, and our producer, Anna Parsons.

Listen on Art19, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts!