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This episode is sponsored by Vu Events! Whether it’s a corporate gathering, a wedding, or the celebration of a lifetime, Jovana and her team have the vision and the hustle to make it unforgettable. Find them at vueventsplanning.com.

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Forty-five episodes in, and things just got very, very real.

Jen and Rachel are back with a full glass and a LOT to say — trends, milestones, a tearjerker of a Hits Different segment, and two announcements that have us fully in our Main Stage Era.

👟 THE TRENDS SEGMENT

This week: Red Flats Queen (the Met Gala assistant who went viral for running the whole show in red flats and zero cares) and the I’m a Survivor trend — using Reba McEntire’s anthem to celebrate the absolute bare minimum. Swallowed your vitamins? Survivor. Didn’t cry until the very end of the band concert? Survivor. We’re all survivors here.

🏟️ ANNOUNCEMENT #1: WE’RE PLAYING RIVERFEST

So THIS Happened is recording LIVE on the Main Stage at Wichita Riverfest — May 29th at 1:30 PM. All you need is your Riverfest button. Come find us front and center. Sponsored by Vu Events. 🎉

🥂 ANNOUNCEMENT #2: ANNIVERSARY PARTY

We’re almost a year old and we’re throwing a party. More details coming very soon — but save the date: July 12th, 2–4 PM at Bubbles Champagne Bar inside The Workroom. Presenting sponsor: Vu Events. Venue sponsor: Bubbles. It’s going to be incredibubble.

🎵 HITS DIFFERENT: “The Best Day” — Taylor Swift (Fearless)

Rachel came in blind and left emotional. Jen couldn’t make it through without crying. Between Nick’s last band concert solo, graduation week, and wedding lead-up memories — this one hit every single layer.

📣 BEFORE YOU GO

→ New merch dropping before Riverfest — Messy Is My Polished is getting a redesign!

→ 10% of all merch profits go to Ballet Wichita 🩰

→ Subscribe, review, and follow us everywhere @sothishappened_podcast

So THIS happened. And it’s gonna keep happening.

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🎙️ EPISODE 44 — "Entering In"
Featuring Krissy Buck, Chair of Digital Wichita

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This episode is sponsored by Vu Events! Jovana Vu and her team make events feel like actual events — corporate gatherings, milestone celebrations, weddings, and everything in between. Find them at vueventplanning.com or @vueventplanning on socials.

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AI isn't coming. It's already here — and it's entering in whether you're ready or not.

Jen and Rachel are live at WSU Tech's NCAT Campus with their friend of nine years, Krissy Buck — Chair of Digital Wichita and Director of the ShockStarter program at WSU Tech. What started as a conversation about AI-powered marketing turned into something bigger: a story about showing up, building community, and what it actually looks like to bring emerging technology to the middle of the country without leaving anyone behind.

Also: tabs. So many tabs.

🚀 DIGITAL DAY 2026 — June 18 & 19 | Wichita, KS
Mission Control: AI-Powered Marketing for the Modern Brand

This year isn't about why you should use AI. It's about how — with actionable steps you can implement the moment you leave NCAT. Speakers include Luis Rodriguez, Angie Callen, Mike Allton, Brian Piper, Dennis Yu, Jeff Sieh, Scott Simson, Mandy McEwen, and Michael King.

Day 1 (June 18): Full day summit at WSU Tech's NCAT Campus
Day 2 (June 19): Hands-on AI Agent Workshop with Dennis Yu at Groover Labs — limited to 100 seats!

🎟️ Get tickets at digitalwichita.com

📖 Want to prep before you go? Read the Digital Day Dispatch newsletter on LinkedIn every Thursday — we're breaking down each speaker and what they're covering.

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IN THIS EPISODE:
→ Krissy's origin story — from nervous attendee to Chair of Digital Wichita
→ What ShockStarter is and why it matters for Wichita's future
→ Why Social Media Day had to become Digital Day
→ How to start small with AI (SpongeBob's resume is involved)
→ The tabs open situation that got completely out of hand
→ The wedding party reveal that connects all the dots

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FIND KRISSY:
TikTok: @MidwestCottageKS
LinkedIn: Krissy Buck
Digital Wichita: @digitalwichita

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BEFORE YOU GO:
🛍️ Merch is live — Uncorked and Slightly Unhinged & Messy is My Polished (10% of profits go to Ballet Wichita 🩰)
📲 Subscribe on Spotify & YouTube
💜 Thank you to our sponsor Vu Events — vueventplanning.com

So THIS happened. 🥂

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No guest. Just Jen and Rachel, a bottle of rosé, some very big news, and the return of one of the OG segments.

Episode 43 has a lot going on: Jen paid off her student loans (HALLELUJAH). The Trend Decoder made its triumphant comeback. The whole Cole family had a Music Man moment. And Rachel officially became a Swifty — live on air. Reputation precedes her, indeed.

📱 TREND DECODER IS BACK

Listener Tracy requested the comeback and we delivered. Jen reads each trend cold, Rachel guesses what it means, and then we riff. Rachel has zero prep. That is the whole point.

Trend #1 — “Hallelujah”: Justin Bieber’s Coachella performance spawned this wholesome gratitude trend — list things you love, add “hallelujah.” We made our own list on air. Top entries: paid off my student loans, cold pillow at bedtime, perfectly poured glass of wine, and chicken wings landing in ranch. (Rachel’s contribution. No notes.)

Trend #2 — “My Top 5 Horror Stories”: Not actual horror films — people list real-life fears and everyday icks that feel like a horror movie. Rachel’s guesses went immediately to being eaten alive and trapped underground cannibalism. She got there eventually. Two points out of three.

Trend #3 — The NYT Taylor Swift Interview: The New York Times Magazine named Taylor one of the 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters. In a 30-minute video interview, she talked songwriting, rant bridges, and how Reputation didn’t land until 6–7 years later — specifically calling out “...Ready For It?” Which, not coincidentally, is tonight’s Hits Different song.

🎉 THE BIG PERSONAL WIN

Jen paid off her undergraduate student loans today. First thing this morning. After nearly 20 years. She sat with it for a minute. We all should.

🎻 THE MUSIC MAN — A WEEKEND IN TWO ACTS

Tim’s favorite musical came to Broadway in Wichita. Friday night: Jen and Tim went, then debriefed over cocktails at Goldfinch. Saturday: Tim’s mom Brenda, Jen’s sons Nick and Nathan, and Tim’s son Riley and his girlfriend Hailey all went together — followed by a family dinner at Sabor (get the salmon). Nathan is the theater kid fresh off a Broadway trip to NYC. Nicholas plays trumpet in band. The Music Man was made for this exact family moment.

Shoutout to our local loves: Broadway in Wichita, Goldfinch, and Sabor.

🎵 HITS DIFFERENT: “...Ready For It?” — Taylor Swift

From Reputation (2017). Assigned to Rachel. Timed perfectly with the NYT interview drop.

Rachel’s take: queen energy, the bass drop kills, and it should be licensed to EDM shows with laser lights immediately. She is filing this under party songs that hit. Also: she officially declared herself a Swifty. We knew this would happen.

Jen’s take: hype song since day one. Volume all the way up. Not six or seven years — since the beginning.

📣 BEFORE YOU GO

• Request a Hits Different song — drop it in our comments or DMs!
• Merch is live: Uncorked and Slightly Unhinged & Messy is My Polished (10% to Ballet Wichita 🩰)
• New merch dropping this summer — we have an inkling.
• Next episode: Krissy Buck, Chair of Digital Wichita, joining us live from WSU Tech’s NCAT campus for everything Digital Day 2026.

Follow + subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts.

🥂 And we’ll see you next time

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