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So THIS Happened is Wichita's podcast for real talk, local culture, and the occasional Taylor Swift spiral — and this week hosts Jen Cole and Rachel Chappelle are back in the Wichita studio for the first time in Season 2 with an episode that starts silly and ends up somewhere real.

It's a just-us episode built around a theme they're calling “The Leap” — and a Trend Decoder comeback that turns into one of the most personal conversations this Wichita podcast has had all season.

🎲 Trend Decoder Is Back!
A fan-favorite segment returns from retirement: Jen feeds Rachel current Instagram/TikTok trends cold, and Rachel guesses what they actually mean before the reveal.

“And for the lady…” — Rachel nails it on the first try (pampering, luscious experiences, treat-yourself energy) for a perfect score

“Cool girls have cool jobs” — sends Rachel into an unforgettable teenage flashback involving a Domino's visor, an oversized T-shirt, and a pizza delivery to an ex-boyfriend's house that did not go smoothly. Bonus points awarded (a first!) for the tangent alone.

💼 The Leap
Here's the real news: Jen involuntarily left the job she'd held for the last couple of years — and, in the same stretch, relaunched her own company, Backspace Media.

Backspace Media isn't new. Jen originally launched it in 2016 as a solo Wichita social media agency, with early clients that included a block car service and pre-launch social media support for Jenny Dawn Sellers' now-beloved urban winery and tasting room. She even ran a weekly Facebook Live show, Backspace Live Happy Hour, out of the back of the Hopping Gnome. The original run wound down when Jen went back to a stable 9-to-5 during her divorce — a story she says is common for women business owners who lose benefits tied to a spouse.

Now she's building it back, on her own terms, with real clients already on the books. Jen and Rachel get honest about what it actually feels like to lose the security of a steady paycheck — the fear of perception, the pull toward “stability” that's really just cultural conditioning, and why alignment (not just a paycheck) matters more than either of them expected.

A huge piece of what's carried Jen through the last month: community. Shoutout to Sophii Jones and Marissa of Jupiter House, Hannah Crickman, Sherieka, and Jovana Vu of Vu Events for some of the most motivating conversations of the year. Also featured: Amy of Elijah's Baby Bucket List, who challenged Jen to pitch a brand every single day and now checks in weekly asking how many rejections she racked up — tough love, Wichita-style.

💇 Hair Dates 👉 Colour Thairapy
Jen and Rachel both have appointments with Jennifer Short of Colour Thairapy this Friday — expect content. And the timing is perfect, because the very next day is Tea Fest at Napster with their friend Nicola, just across the street from the salon.

🍷 Small Sip: VinZant Wines
A quick shoutout to VinZant Wines' rosé, picked up during a recent Bubbles run — filed away as an early, very cute idea for a future Valentine's Day gift.

🤝 The First (Almost) Disagreement
A very low-stakes moment of confusion over the date of Rocky Horror on the Rocks becomes this week's proof that Jen and Rachel really can survive anything — spoiler, it did not, in fact, ruin the friendship.


🎶 Hits Different: “Ruin the Friendship” — Taylor Swift
This week's pick is “Ruin the Friendship” from Life of a Showgirl — a song Rachel initially refused to even look up once she heard the title (“No, I won't do it”). Turns out it's not about them.

Rachel's honest take: acoustic or full version, it's one of her least favorites on a pure listen — no shade, just not her vibe alone in the car. The conversation goes deeper from there: what it means to mis