WELL, ACTUALLY…
Episode 2 — out now
Now playing — a podcast from Josh & Shannon

Well,
Actually...

The podcast that politely corrects the record. Taxes (obviously), books, tech, and AI — with at least one well-sourced "actually" per episode.

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Josh and Shannon, hosts of Well, Actually…
"Well, actually…"
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Episode 2Sep 2, 202630 min

EAs, Emmys, and…Enlargements

Josh and Shannon get into what actually separates a business deduction from a personal one.

Shannon reports back from the Brass Tax EA Bootcamp and the first year of at-home EA exam proctoring (the metal detector stories are real). Then: why an unlicensed preparer cannot represent you before the IRS no matter what the Facebook group says, how to tell whether a CE speaker actually knows the material, and a run through §162 versus §262 by way of an influencer who deducted the Grammys, a dancer who depreciated her chest, and two business partners who were very sure the Rolexes were ordinary and necessary.

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The people behind the pedantry

Meet the hosts

J
Josh

At any given moment, it's safe to assume Josh has his favorite pup curled at his feet and is listening to Leonard Cohen, while sipping a well-made cappuccino and doom-nay-research scrolling the latest productivity apps.

Alternatively, Josh may be diving into one of the many subjects that enthralls him: books (on business, the latest buzz, politics), restaurant recommendations (high marks for off-the-beaten path or any lauded gastronomic destination), the best coffee makers (he's now brewing with a Jura but will take recs in the comments). And, of course, he's interested in all things AI, tech, and tax. This passion for tax runs deep—as in Marianna Trench deep—and his friends marvel at his ability to explain tax matters in a way that is both sensical and interesting.

It's possible, too, he's pondering the trajectory of a small-town East Texas kid, a high school dropout who became an Enrolled Agent, passed the USTCP Exam (currently awaiting admission) and who sees the power of teaching and learning, because he believes with knowledge—and the sharing of knowledge—comes equity.

Or he may just be daydreaming about his next trip to Montreal.

S
Shannon

As Shannon writes this bio, she is sitting in a brewery while a pinball tournament is being played. Which she thinks just about sums it up. But she guesses that won’t satisfy you vultures, so here goes:

Shannon grew up on a one-way street that people regularly drove the wrong way down, and so to this day she looks both ways before crossing a one-way street.

Her mother was (is) a hippie, and her grandfather had a framed picture of himself with Ronald Reagan on his dining room wall, so she is often conflicted.

She spent her childhood playing with the tax forms in the library every spring, which is how she got her start in the tax industry. She also read a lot of books there.

Shannon has tattoos of IRC sections, horror movie references, and deep-sea fish. If she had to choose between going to space and going to the bottom of the ocean she would choose the ocean (though really would prefer both). And yes, that’s after watching all the documentaries about the Titan Sub disaster.

She likes to be right, but believes that above all the information should be right. She believes that we should not only normalize but also celebrate people who say “I don’t know” as long as it’s followed up by “let’s find out!”

Everything here is true.

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