Girl Talk
It seems fans of perky radio hosts Lori and Julia will follow the “Drivetime Divas” anywhere—even to New York City. What’s behind the phenomenon?
By Rachel Hutton
Photo by Danny Hellman (Illustration)
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Between guests, Lori and Julia fill the time with travel tips and jokes. “Is a webpage male or female?” Lori asks. “Female, because it’s always getting hit on.” “How about the subway?” An audience member suggests an answer: “Male, because it always comes too fast.” Even the guys running the soundboard laugh.A buffet dinner is served during the broadcast and after a few drinks, the room gets louder and louder with the added rattle of plates and side conversations. When hunky CNN entertainment anchor A. J. Hammer takes the stage, the divas cheer wildly. Lori leads off with a few softballs, avoiding the question I imagine is on every diva’s mind—“Are you single?”—and the one I’m wondering—“Do you even date women?”
The divas make plans to see Jersey Boys or The Color Purple and get cocktails at the Rainbow Room. The loose structure of the trip, a mix of free time and group activities, makes the experience more comfortable for those who aren’t familiar with the city. Besides, many divas consider Lori and Julia ideal tour guides. “They’re fun and they know where to go,” says one. “You can just kind of be like sheep,” another jokes.
Lori and Julia’s listeners see them as fashion and lifestyle mavens and trust their recommendations. When I tell one diva, a retired principal from Woodbury, that I like her funky purple spectacles, she tells me she got them at the Minneapolis optical shop In Vision—“where Lori got her glasses.” At first this behavior strikes me as odd, reminding me of when, as a teenager, I begged my mom for Guess jeans, the brand the popular girls were wearing. On the other hand, in an increasingly complicated consumer world, isn’t this what we all do? If somebody you trust has already found the cutest pair of jeans, the best place to eat, or an effective way to handle conflict with your spouse—why not take her advice?
AFTER A BUS TOUR of Manhattan and a stop at Ground Zero (“You can give your thoughts and prayers and then go spend your money,” Lori instructs), Lori and Julia lead the group’s Chinatown shopping spree. Here is where LoJ’s insider information pays dividends: They know the trendiest knockoff purses are typically kept hidden. While others buy bags out of a curtained van on the street and a walk-in cooler in the back of a restaurant, I follow a tiny Asian woman and a few divas through the maze of open-air markets, past the pungent stench of dried herbs and raw fish. We climb a grimy stairwell into an apartment where the shades are drawn and faux Gucci, Prada, and Fendi bags are stacked up in the bathtub. “My husband would just die if he saw me here,” one of the divas says.
LoJ’s adventurous attitude seems to inspire their fans. “They encourage us to do things and try things,” one diva says. It’s worth noting, though, that Bodyperks seem to be where divas draw the line: Only one woman admits to having tried them. (“I’m not trying to attract that kind of attention anymore” was a typical response.)
Unlike those in the national media, who are too famous to get too personal with their fans, Lori and Julia offer listeners the sense—whether real or imagined—that they have a clear window into their lives. “These girls let you in much more than Oprah will,” says one. Lori and Julia’s world is one where it’s okay to make mistakes (on the bus to the hotel, Julia keeps referring to the help-desk workers as the “concier,” no matter how many times her producer, Donny Love, gently corrects her by adding a “ge”), and they aren’t afraid to look stupid or silly: On the patio of a restaurant in Little Italy, Julia unabashedly drapes her napkin over her head to protect herself from the sun.
As Lori and Julia share lunch with a few divas, I’m reminded of something Julia said to me early on: “What a treat that people like you enough to go on a trip with you.” The reverse seems true, as well: Lori and Julia like their fans enough to travel with them. Lori asks one woman about the weight she lost since last year’s trip. Julia remembers things she’s discussed before with another Diva Destination alum, and she asks for updates on the woman’s business, her son, and her battle with cancer. Later, the woman mentions calling Julia on her cell phone when she saw her on TV. It’s hard to imagine Oprah giving her number to a fan.
Offering that sort of accessibility can come with a price, though. During the pair’s first Diva trip, to Las Vegas, a fan opened her cell phone to show Lori a picture of her husband—standing buck naked, his penis erect.
WE’RE SO BUSY these days that we often struggle to maintain relationships with even our closest friends. “I hardly have time to chat with my girlfriends,” admits one diva, a stay-at-home mom. Between working, cooking, shuttling kids, and squeezing in time for your significant other, a girlfriends’ get-together—even a talk on the phone—drops lower on the priority list. Lori and Julia, though, are girlfriends of convenience. You don’t have to make plans in advance, or get in your car, or clean your house. Just turn on the radio to feel like you’re “bonding”—you can listen while you multitask. If you miss a show, Lori and Julia will never know. You never have to worry if they’re mad at you.
It’s Sunday afternoon, and we’re back at JFK airport. Hundreds of purses have been purchased, a handful of celebrities sighted, at least a few snapshots taken with hot firefighters and cops. The trip was fun, but the divas are ready to get back to their jobs and kids and spouses in Forest Lake or Maple Grove. One diva shows me the eye cream B. J. Gillian recommended on Thursday’s show, which she bought at the drugstore around the corner from the hotel. She says the clerk asked her, “What is that stuff? It must be good, because everybody’s been buying it.”
Rachel Hutton is associate editor of Minnesota Monthly.
