Thanks For Asking

Of all the stages of grief, anger has to be the ugliest one. The one that feels the ickiest no matter what side of it you’re on. So today we’re talking about it. For full episodes, the full back catalog and a listener community, you can join us here. Want to be on the show? Call or text 612.568.4441 or book a call here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sharing a new show from my friends at Higher Ground, hosted by Michelle Obama, called IMO. You know on Thanks for Asking, we keep it real and help each other through some of our hardest times. Similarly on IMO, Michelle and her big brother Craig Robinson tackle real questions from real folks just like you, offering practical advice, personal storytelling, and plenty of laughs. Each week, they’re joined by a guest to bring candid perspectives to the everyday questions shaping our lives, relationships and the world around us. Topics range from dating and relationships, to family and faith. Michelle and Craig share stories about being there for each other throughout their lives, from first crushes and fraught college years, to landing at the White House, to losing their mom. For six decades they’ve been each others’ most trusted counsel—and now, they want to be that counsel for you. In this episode, they’re joined by actress Issa Rae for a conversation about navigating the challenges of mismatched expectations in female friendships. You can find more episodes of IMO at https://lnk.to/imomichellecraigTT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we get an update from widower David Cherson. This is the first part of a two-part series called Life of a Lonely Widower. For Life of a Lonely Widower (Part 2) and other full episodes, the full back catalog and a listener community, you can join us here. Want to be on the show? Call or text 612.568.4441 or book a call here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Take a break from the doom and disaster and reset your psyche with some okay things. We won’t ever say “everything is going to be okay” but we will do our best to find and focus on even the littlest okay things around us that aren’t the very worst. Keep the bar low and your head up. For full episodes, the full back catalog and a listener community, you can join us here. Want to be on the show? Call or text 612.568.4441 or book a call here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I cannot trust anyone who says No Regrets. Because really…you don’t have ANY? NONE?! Are you sure about that? I can tend towards the opposite mentality myself, but in between No Regrets and All Regrets is a safe middle ground of self-reflection and accountability without self-flagellation and rumination, and that is where we met today’s callers, who bravely dialed in to share their regrets - big and small. For full episodes, the full back catalog and a listener community, you can join us here. Want to be on the show? Call or text 612.568.4441 or book a call here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rise and Grind, Girlbosses! It’s time to GROWTH HACK your way to your BEST SELF and make this the ULTIMATE year. If you don’t have time, you can make time, because excuses are no excuse. Just kidding! Like so many of us, author Maria Bowler found herself caught up in the Productivity Machine, which demands we do more and more and more for the sake of…what, exactly? For the sake of more, of course! Maria’s new book, Making Time: A New Vision for Crafting A Life Beyond Productivity is not a book of tips and tricks and life hacks, but a gentler and more generous approach to how we spend our one precious life. It’s a perfect read for anyone who feels burned out and not “enough” – you can get your copy here and support Maria, small bookstores and this show. This show is made possible by listeners like you: to get our full back catalog, ad-free episodes and more, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you say something? Do you shut up? I’m just one woman with an opinion, so I took your calls and texts to answer this listener question: do you say something when your friend is in a relationship with someone you hate? This is a preview of Thanks for Asking, a call-in show about what matters to you. You can get the full episode on my Substack. Have something you want to talk about? You can call or text us any time at 612.568.4441 or email thanks@feelingsand.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If it’s Tuesday, the phone lines are open and operators (me) are standing by. Today we’re talk to callers from Honolulu to North Carolina about everything from worrying to working as an extra on Hallmark movies to existential crises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a widow, I get many emails from other widows. But this one – from a man who created an AI version of his dead wife – was definitely a first. And I knew I had to talk to him. For full episodes, the full back catalog and a listener community, you can join us here. Want to be on the show? Call or text 612.568.4441 or book a call here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sharing a podcast we can’t get enough of: Your Mama’s Kitchen. It’s a show about cuisine and culture, ingredients and identities, and the meals and memories that make us who we are. Host Michele Norris talks to Michelle Obama, Glennon Doyle, José Andrés and so many other guests about the complexities of family life and how their earliest culinary experiences helped shape their personal and professional lives. And of course, each guest shares a recipe for a favorite dish from their youth so you can taste a bit of their story. In this episode, singer John Legend takes us back to his roots in Springfield, Ohio, where he was an academic overachiever and a musical prodigy. John opens up about his early rocky relationship with his mother and how, over time, they came together to nurture one beautiful family. Plus, we learn how to make his mama's special mac & cheese. You can find more Your Mama’s Kitchen at https://lnk.to/yourmamaskitchenTF Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Loneliness is, according to people who know about these things, an epidemic on par with smoking and obesity. It affects our physical and mental health…and it seems like it’s affecting everyone. Today’s callers are experiencing loneliness in many different ways and for many different reasons, and if you are also feeling lonely…you’re definitely not alone. Take a listen, then call someone (anyone!). Make a plan to hang out, and follow through. Let’s find and nurture connections wherever and however we can. For full episodes, the full back catalog and a listener community, you can join us here. Check out Nora on YouTube. Want to be on the show? Call or text 612.568.4441 or book a call here. Articles mentioned in this show: Americans need to party more The antidote to loneliess The loneliness epidemic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

THINGS ARE DEFINITELY NOT OK RIGHT NOW! We know it. You know it. Your dog knows it (who told her??). But even when things are terrible, there’s something out there — however small — that is at least okay. Today’s episode is an exercise in finding (and sharing) the ok, with stories of the ways strangers have shown up for us in our times of need. Thanks to everyone who called (or texted!) in. Call or text us at 612.568.4441 any time. If you’d like to support the show (and get more of it) join us here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first episode of our new call-in show is here, and we have two callers who seemed to be totally unrelated: a new rancher in Texas, and a Swiftie with Cerebral Palsy in New York. But (get your red string and your tinfoil hat) everything is connected! Especially us. That’s easy to forget when we’re constantly pushed to see each other as the enemy, and something we need to remember now more than ever. For full episodes, the full back catalog and a listener community, you can join us here. Want to be on the show? Call or text 612.568.4441 or email thanks@feelingsand.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been awhile since we’ve been in your feed, probably because we took a hiatus in March of 2024. Nearly a year later, we have some clarity on what’s next (it’s exciting!). The new show will launch on January 14, but on Sunday I shared that 2025 is The Year of Less and at least 5 people said they were interested in hearing more about what that means and I couldn’t wait ANOTHER week because I simply don’t have the brain storage space. In this episode, we cover: What practices led me to this new iteration of the podcast How my family closes out an old year and makes room for a new one my vision board process (don’t cringe!), which I learned from the wonderful Elizabeth Kott. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In case you didn't know, we're still making episodes that are available exclusively on Nora's Substack! We wanted to give all of our listeners a little preview of our most recent episode! Consider joining Nora's Substack to listen to the rest of the episode, get additional bonus episodes, and ad-free episodes! _ Most people I know are feeling overwhelmed, to put it lightly. Between the stuff you have to do (work, paying your bills, getting your kid new shoes, or vacuuming up the dog hair before you host book club) and the things you wantto do and know will make you feel better (going to the gym, drinking water, REST, spending time with friends, starting one of the million hobbies you bought supplies for and shoved into a closet), it’s all too much and somehow we still don’t feel like we’re doing enough. We’re supposed to do it all (and make it look easy), but it feels like an equation that always adds up to “well, if you can’t figure out how to do it all you must be a loser!” Today’s guest is Kendra Adachi, AKA The Lazy Genius. Kendra is the author of The Plan: Managing Your Time Like A Lazy Genius, a book that is nearly the exact opposite of any time management book I’ve ever read, and a message I desperately needed to hear. - Please send us your questions and comments about this episode or any other! You can email us at ttfapremium@feelingsand.co or leave us a voicemail at 612-568-4441. — Check out Nora on YouTube. Find all our shows and more at feelingsand.co.

In case you didn't know, we're still making episodes that are available exclusively on Nora's Substack! We wanted to give all of our listeners a little preview of our most recent episode! Consider joining Nora's Substack to listen to the rest of the episode, get additional bonus episodes, and ad-free episodes! _ Charles Bock was not interested in parenthood. He moved to New York to be a writer, not to change diapers. But when he met his wife Diana, all she wanted was to be a mom. So he said yes, thinking he would be part of a parenting team. But in the first six months of his daughter’s life, Diana was diagnosed with advanced leukemia and died. Charles became a single dad to a little baby, while also grieving the person he loved. In this episode, Nora interviews Charles about this experience and writing about it in his memoir, I Will Do Better. - Please send us your questions and comments about this episode or any other! You can email us at ttfapremium@feelingsand.co or leave us a voicemail at 612-568-4441. — Check out Nora on YouTube. Find all our shows and more at feelingsand.co.

In case you didn't know, we're still making episodes that are available exclusively on Nora's Substack! We wanted to give all of our listeners a little preview of our most recent episode! Consider joining Nora's Substack to listen to the rest of the episode, get additional bonus episodes, and ad-free episodes! _ In June 2021, Isaiah Goodman, a financial adviser, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for defrauding clients out of $2.3 million dollars. One of the clients he stole from was Celisia Stanton, and in 2021 we interviewed Celisia about being a victim of that crime. Nora recently caught up with Celisia about how she’s processing this experience a few years later and how she took this experience and created a podcast called Truer Crime, which centers the victims of crimes in the storytelling. - Listen to our first episode with Celisia, Behind The Scammer. Check out Celisia’s podcast, Truer Crime. _ Please send us your questions and comments about this episode or any other! You can email us at ttfapremium@feelingsand.co or leave us a voicemail at 612-568-4441. — Check us out on YouTube. Find all our shows and more at feelingsand.co

In case you didn't know, we're still making episodes that are available exclusively on Nora's Substack! We wanted to give all of our listeners a little preview of our most recent episode! Consider joining Nora's Substack to listen to the rest of the episode, get additional bonus episodes, and ad-free episodes! _ In 2022, Prolonged Grief Disorder was added to the DSM-V. A new mental health disorder tied to grief ruffled a lot of feathers, including Nora’s. She talked about it on TTFA (including skepticism around this diagnosis) and you all shared your thoughts on this news as well. This episode is a very cool follow up because we get to learn more about this disorder from one of the doctors who created the diagnosis. Nora interviews Dr. Katherine Shear from Columbia University’s Center for Prolonged Grief about the difference between grief and prolonged grief, the treatment plan she and her team developed, and how American culture is still *so* bad at grieving. Listen to the previous episodes: How Long Should Grief Last? How Long Should Grief Last? Part 2 _ Please send us your questions and comments about this episode or any other! You can email us at ttfapremium@feelingsand.co or leave us a voicemail at 612-568-4441. — Check us out on YouTube. Find all our shows and more at feelingsand.co

Subscribe to TTFA Anthologies here. Two days after Nora’s husband Aaron died, she celebrated Thanksgiving with her family. Well... maybe not “celebrated.” Every year, millions of people do the same thing during the holidays. In this episode, we talk with some of those folks, including Dr. Lucy Kalanithi and comedian Amber Tozer. We also spend some time with some of the women of the Hot Young Widows Club, talking about their hopes and dreams for the upcoming year. Plus, stories of some of the worst holidays ever. _ Come see the Happyish Holidays Live Show: A Petty LIttle Christmas at The Parkway Theatre in Minneapolis on December 4th and 5th, or join the livestream on December 5th! _ It’s the most wonderful time of the year… um, but is it really? The holiday season can be complicated. Sometimes instead of cozy nights with hot cocoa and meaningful moments, we get tears, ruined plans, and nights spent hiding in the bathroom at family parties. If the holiday season hasn’t always lived up to your expectations, join us for Happyish Holidays, a collection of holidays gone wrong presented by Terrible, Thanks for Asking. Happyish Holidays to you and yours! Terrible, Thanks for Asking tells the real stories of real people who have lived through the terrible things in life. TTFA Anthologies are a curated collection of some of our best stories; released in seasons that focus on a specific topic. You can find our entire episode catalog ad-free on Apple+ or Patreon. Created and hosted by Nora McInerny. - Find Nora’s weekly newsletter here! Also, check out Nora on YouTube. _ The Feelings & Co. team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Marcel Malekebu and Grace Barry. _ Find all our shows at www.feelingsand.co.

Subscribe to TTFA Anthologies here. If the holidays make you want to tear your hair out or cry on the bathroom floor, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. It's a hard time for a lot of people, and still we have to force a smile and say through gritted teeth, "Happy Holidays!" But the holidays aren't always happy. Most of the time, all we can ask for is HappyISH Holidays. In this episode, Nora McInerny and producer Marcel Malekebu dive into AITA stories of holidays gone wrong. You can play judge, jury, and executioner with them. If you need a holiday survival guide, we're sorry, this isn't it. But it just might make you feel better about your holiday blunders! _ Come see the Happyish Holidays Live Show: A Petty LIttle Christmas at The Parkway Theatre in Minneapolis on December 4th and 5th, or join the livestream on December 5th! _ It’s the most wonderful time of the year… um, but is it really? The holiday season can be complicated. Sometimes instead of cozy nights with hot cocoa and meaningful moments, we get tears, ruined plans, and nights spent hiding in the bathroom at family parties. If the holiday season hasn’t always lived up to your expectations, join us for Happyish Holidays, a collection of holidays gone wrong presented by Terrible, Thanks for Asking. Happyish Holidays to you and yours! Terrible, Thanks for Asking tells the real stories of real people who have lived through the terrible things in life. TTFA Anthologies are a curated collection of some of our best stories; released in seasons that focus on a specific topic. You can find our entire episode catalog ad-free on Apple+ or Patreon. Created and hosted by Nora McInerny. - Find Nora’s weekly newsletter here! Also, check out Nora on YouTube. _ The Feelings & Co. team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Marcel Malekebu and Grace Barry. _ Find all our shows at www.feelingsand.co.