JENN BANE
Podcaster Wants to Make Sure No Gal Pal Left Behind
Written by Jaclyn Jermyn
Edited by Lee Kolcz
For Jenn Bane, the best kind of support system a girl can have is being a part of a cross country team—metaphorically speaking of course. The sense of support and friendship she received from her teammates and running coaches stretching from middle school through college has found its way into her professional life in an all-encompassing way, through her network of friends and co-workers.
At 25, Bane says being surrounded by strong women has been a great inspiration to her. As she has matured, she’s come to realize that having healthy relationships between pals is important—so important that it was worth creating a weekly podcast to talk about these topics, for her own sake, as well as those listening in.
Jenn Bane in a Cards Against Humanity recording studio. Courtesy of Lee Kolcz
At 25, Bane says being surrounded by strong women has been a great inspiration to her. As she has matured, she’s come to realize that having healthy relationships between pals is important—so important that it was worth creating a weekly podcast to talk about these topics, for her own sake, as well as those listening in.
After moving to Chicago in 2008 to attend Loyola University for journalism, she bounced around between technical writing jobs before landing at Cards Against Humanity, a Chicago-based game company, where she now works as the community manager. The move was serendipitous, and ended up also being beneficial for Bane’s mental health. She soon met CAH’s events manager and her Friendshipping podcast co-host, Trin Garritano.
“Becoming friends with Trin and working in an environment where a lot of women are hired really opened my eyes to how important it is to have a support network in your personal life or your career or whatever the case might be,” Bane says.
Bane and Garritano bonded immediately—a perk of working in the same office—constantly talking about what it means to be a friend and other related topics. Garritano had previously started a video blog with a similar idea, but it was a coworker’s suggestion that inspired the two women to start a podcast where they could spend some time each week talking about their favorite topics. CAH boasts two recording studios within its offices in the Elston Industrial Corridor on the Near North Side—a convenience that makes it easy for the pair to spend Monday mornings answering audience questions. Topics discussed on the show range from the limitations of being the “planner” of a friend group, to when it is or isn’t okay to “emotionally dump” on people. For Bane, the time spent answering these questions is a personal therapy session disguised as a chat between buds. She hopes the same feelings extend to their audience.
Bane (right) and Trin Garritano during 'Friendshipping' recording. Courtesy of Jenn Bane
“We sit down to answer peoples’ questions and help [them] through their problems,” she says. “That obviously requires some introspection and some reflection, and without even realizing it, I end up solving some internal problem for me.”
Although the Friendshipping audience isn’t solely female, girl power was the obvious original inspiration for Bane and it remains the reason why she continues to push forward and explore new territory with the project. But being a woman with an online persona is not always smooth sailing.
A majority of Friendshipping listeners discover the podcast after finding the accompanying Twitter account @jennandtrin, according to Bane. She occasionally receives negative comments directed at her, though the podcast has yet to take any shots. Fortunately, Bane has developed a coping mechanism.
“I always encourage people to reach out to other women or people they trust so they don't have to go through any harassment or trolling alone.”
Jenn Bane
“I always encourage people to reach out to other women or people they trust so they don’t have to go through any harassment or trolling alone,” she says. “I immediately go to my friend group and am like ‘look at this!’ And then we get angry for 10 minutes. It feels really good and then it’s out of my mind.”
Although this system works well for Bane, she is quick to assert that for any other women or girls dealing with harassment on the internet, any way that they choose to deal with that pressure is completely valid.
Beyond helping strangers improve their interpersonal relationships and boost their self-confidence, Bane also gets excited about helping girls pursue their dreams. As a part of her role as community manager, she helps organize CAH’s Science Ambassador Scholarship. The award is meant for high school and college-age women looking to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering or math. The scholarship is funded by the sales of a special science-themed CAH expansion pack, and the first recipient will be announced in spring 2016. The team knew they wanted to donate the proceeds of the pack to a science-related cause, but the idea of a scholarship for women had Bane jumping out of her chair with enthusiasm.
“We landed on the idea of putting a spotlight on women by taking video applications so we would raise the visibility of women interested and passionate about science,” she says. “There’s no shortage of women and girls interested in science, it’s just a matter of reaching them.”
Cards Against Humanity recording studio. Courtesy of Lee Kolcz
Friendshipping hit its one year milestone in March. With over 50 episodes recorded, Bane shows no sign of slowing down. She recently spoke on a panel—developed by Garritano and herself—about making lasting friendships in geek spaces at the PAX South Convention in San Antonio, Texas, a three-day event dedicated to the gaming community.
“We chose our friends who enjoy talking about friendship [to participate in the panel] and they did amazing,” says Bane. Before the event, the group met for brunch. “We started talking about things that are important to us, how much we liked one another, and we brought that energy,” she says, adding that she hopes to bring the panel and others like it to more conventions in the future.
The power of friendships, especially female friendships, is the topic that dominates her personal ideology. For Bane, being empowered by the women around her is like crossing the finish line of a race—it doesn’t matter how long it took to get there; it’s about the people cheering her on along the way. “I have an incredible support network in my career and outside of my career, so I simply try to be the friend that my friends are to me.”