Be Cringe

Most of us know exactly what we want and want to do. We've just gotten really good at talking ourselves out of it. Welcome to Be Cringe. Be Cringe is the podcast that explores what happens when you start living for yourself and stop worrying about the opinions of others. This might be cringe, but we're doing it anyway.

Be Cringe is a society podcast hosted by Julie Laufer, with 11 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Julie Laufer hosts Be Cringe, a society show with 11 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #10

  #010: Be Self-Published with Brooklyn Rose

  Aug 3, 20261h 13m

  For the 10th (!!) episode of Be Cringe, I sat down with Brooklyn Rose to talk through her debut novel, Sex Positive (publishing on August 4th, 2026). She's a prolific writer and author with a stack of finished manuscripts and who queried her novel for about a year before deciding to self-publish. We talk about: Why she started writing Sex Positive after noticing a theme to the questions she'd get from patients while working as a PA at Planned Parenthood The querying process and what led her to self-publishing Her ~150 Goodreads ratings (averaging over 4 stars), and what she's learned from the 5-star reviews, the 1-stars, and everything in between How self-taught self-publishing really is Her writing, drafting, and rewriting process (and the mindset shift it takes to be okay with 'killing your darlings'). Having her mom and grandma read her romance novel, and their feedback. Find Brooklyn: Website: brooklynrosewrites.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brooklynrosewrites TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brooklynrosewrites Threads: https://www.threads.com/@brooklynrosewrites Substack https://booksbodiesbreathe.substack.com/ Sex Positive releases on August 4th, 2026. You can pre-order from brookshop.org , Book-A-Million, and other places here . And if you're hoping to see Sex Positive pop up more locally, call your favorite bookstores and local library and ask them to start carrying Brooklyn's book. Thanks for listening to ‘Be Cringe’! Find us online: Instagram: @becringepod Substack: thismightbecringe.com Listen to the pod: becringe.riverside.com

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  Episode #9

  #009: Be Helpful (and Authentic) on LinkedIn and Beyond with Chris Tagliaferro

  Jul 14, 202654 min

  Chris Tagliaferro, formerly known as Christopher, Tags, Chris Tags, and @CTags, is the Senior Director of IT at Morning Brew Inc. where he successfully convinced 90% of the company to use AI tools, despite most of them never having opened ChatGPT. He previously held roles at Peloton and Reddit, has a distaste for social media and a brilliant LinkedIn presence, and won a company award for his content on the platform. Chris talks about how he found his voice on a platform where everyone else is selling something, and how not having anything to sell is what allows him to show up as his most authentic and helpful self. We get into: The evolution of starting his professional career as 'Christopher' to becoming known as his moniker, 'Tags' (or @CTags, or Chris Tags) and how (and why) he made his way back to Chris Why LinkedIn is the only social media he kept and how he views it as a canvas instead of a platform His "post the dumb stuff" philosophy and why nobody sees the flops Why sometimes, people are afraid to support you publicly on LinkedIn (and take to your DMs instead) Rolling out AI at a company full of writers Why the companies with the best customer service view their teams as an extension of retention and brand Why you can't actually make $60k in your sleep by setting up AI agents Chris and I worked at Peloton together, and it was a delight to reconnect on this episode of Be Cringe . I also want to shout out Morning Brew, Inc., for the professional studio setup and for letting us borrow one of your producers. Find Chris: LinkedIn: Chris Tagliaferro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophertagliaferro Thanks for listening to 'Be Cringe'! Find us online: Instagram: @becringepod Substack: thismightbecringe.com Listen to the pod: becringe.riverside.com Be Cringe is available wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening, and for supporting these conversations.

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  Episode #8

  #008: Be a Brave Creative with Chelsea Caffey

  Jul 1, 202643 min

  Chelsea is a writer, a stay-at-home mom of two, a former professional dancer, a self-appointed tour documentarian, and, as of recently, a first-time horseback rider. She spent years touring the world with a modern acrobatic dance company, journaling backstage between scene changes, before finding her way to writing as her main creative anchor. These days she calls herself less a "writer" and more a "creative," someone who lets inspiration find her, wherever she is in a particular moment. In this conversation, we get into being 'early', flexibility as a creative practice, choosing to be the brave version of yourself, and saying yes to showing up more fully. We get into: Filling an entire journal on a European dance tour, leaving it on a plane, and sprinting through LAX to get it back Treating life like a blank canvas instead of a jigsaw puzzle Embracing beginnerhood and being 'early' as permission to write a bad draft, say the wrong thing, and learn anyway Saying yes to opportunities (like this podcast) as way of aligning with her future self How to navigate the murky waters of how much of yourself to share (and with whom) Find Chelsea: Substack: Permission Instagram: @chelseacaffeywrites Thanks for listening to 'Be Cringe'! Find us online: Instagram: @becringepod Substack: thismightbecringe.com Listen to the pod: becringe.riverside.com

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  Episode #7

  #007: Be a Merchant with Max Nimaroff

  Jun 15, 202652 min

  Max Nimaroff is a Brooklyn-based parent, SVP of e-commerce at Oats Overnight, writer, Discord community builder, aspiring Court Street shop owner, and self-described outsider who has spent his whole life stitching together people who wouldn't otherwise be in the same room. He's also a Pokémon master (of sorts). In this conversation, we talk about: Why a portfolio career is artistry by another name His grandfather who ran an ice cream shop, manufactured children's dresses, and robo-traded from his Upper East Side apartment, and what Max learned from him What it feels like to leave a job and watch years of work relationships disappear Why he built 500+, and what "real community" looks like online His dream of owning a store on Court Street Find Max: 500+ Community: whop.com/500-plus Substack: readmaxos.substack.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/max-nimaroff/ Text him: (516) 660-7269 (his idea, not mine) Thanks for listening to 'Be Cringe'! Find us online: Instagram: @becringepod Substack: thismightbecringe.com Listen to the pod: becringe.riverside.com

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  Episode #6

  #006: Be the Good on the Internet with Seth Werkheiser

  Jun 2, 20261h 5m

  Seth Werkheiser is the founder of Social Media Escape Club, a freelance email marketer, and, among many (many) other things, has been on the internet in earnest for 25 years. Over the last two-and-a-half decades, Seth has found his place on the internet, through places like his 2001 heavy-metal blog (Buzz Grinder), his AOL music blog (Noise Creep), and being an early adopter of places like Twitter (he was user number 2,700, or so), Flickr, and something called 'IRC', a text-based platform where he used to make plans with people before going to local shows. In this conversation, we talk about: The early internet in all its glory (including a little trip down memory lane). How he accidentally discovered SEO How spending time away from social media can allow you to spend more time on your craft Why most of us wouldn’t know what to do with virality, even if growing more slowly is, well, slow Why 50 subscribers can be more impactful than 5,000 followers Find Seth Social Media Escape Club: socialmediaescape.club Substack: socialmediaescapeclub.substack.com Seth's Blog: sethw.xyz Thanks for listening to ‘Be Cringe’! Find us online: Instagram: @becringepod Substack: thismightbecringe.com Listen to the pod: becringe.riverside.com

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