Growing up, Lina Martinez treasured holidays spent with her family. She remembers the food, the ornaments, the dancing, and — above all – her dad, who made everything warmer and brighter. Year round, her dad Luis was her person, her best friend. But when Luis fell ill shortly before Christmas, Lina could already tell her holidays were going to look different from then on. Lina shares with Stephanie what it was like to receive and lose the most important kind of love in her life, and how she make...
Dec 13, 2023•37 min
Amy Schneider has always been smart, but she hasn’t always felt like it. It wasn’t until her 30s that it became clear just how many ways of thinking exist. With this new perspective, she saw her identity and abilities in a new light and, famously, went on to shatter records on the quiz show Jeopardy! . Amy and Stephanie talk about how the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know, the fateful timing of her success, and how she now realizes it couldn’t have happened any other way. Apple ...
Nov 29, 2023•50 min
Jen Varner grew up swearing she’d never end up like her parents, whose struggles with addiction led to her neglect. But right before her eyes, Jen’s own relationship with alcohol began to escalate. She spent years drinking in secret, hiding her addiction from her friends and even the person she loved the most. Jen shares with Stephanie her journey of running from the shadow of her parents, until she could no longer deny who she had become. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay ...
Nov 15, 2023•53 min
Carrie and Joe were college sweethearts who made a picture-perfect family. They worked and saved to pay for their kids’ sports, vacations, and everything in between. Then, after over a decade of marriage, Carrie stumbled upon the secret that compromised everything they built. Carrie shares with Stephanie how her husband’s betrayal left her with absolutely nothing – not a roof over her head, or answers from her life partner about why he deceived her. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstepha...
Nov 01, 2023•50 min
Carmen Rita Wong always had a big family, but she never thought it was the kind to have big secrets. Yet by adulthood, multiple bombshells would drop and transform her entire understanding of her parents, her origins, and her identity. Carmen takes Stephanie on this wild ride of genealogy, earth-shattering discoveries, and what it ultimately means to her now, as a parent, to know just how much her own endured. Apple Books has teamed up with Lemonada Media for an audiobook club. The October pick ...
Oct 18, 2023•51 min
In this special episode, Lemonada co-founder Stephanie Wittels Wachs sits down with the leaders of the Coalition to Advance Public Safety (CAPS), an organization working to intercept and prevent violence in communities across the U.S. The coalition’s work builds on years of knowledge of public health and the particular needs of different locales, as well as the lived experience of community members on the ground. With these tools, CAPS creates and maintains community violence intervention (CVI) ...
Oct 11, 2023•35 min
For most of her life, Jen Curran liked to take it easy. She loved sketch comedy, riding in her red convertible, and dropping by JCPenney to check out the sales. But her easy-breezy lifestyle was shattered overnight for reasons she never saw coming: just months after giving birth, Jen found out she might die. Jen walks Stephanie through her winding medical journey, filled with secretive doctors and dangerously misguided medical advice. Now living years longer than she expected, Jen also shares ho...
Oct 04, 2023•51 min
When Leticia Ochoa Adams lost her son Anthony to suicide, it made her rethink everything — from her previously unshakeable faith to the very place she called home. With a Texas-sized heart and a heaping dose of dark humor, Leticia recounts her path from teen mom to grieving parent, and all the moments she shared with Anthony along the way. She opens up to Stephanie about how her views have changed in the wake of loss, including her relationship with God. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittels...
Sep 20, 2023•48 min
Courtney embraces the mess. She records chaotic workout videos from home, where she’s currently raising three kids as a single mom. So why should her sobriety journey be any different? As Courtney has recently realized, her recovery from alcohol — which she began six years ago — will never really be over. Courtney talks with Stephanie about approaching recovery as something non-linear and lifelong, and how that might just be the most empowering part. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelsteph...
Sep 06, 2023•45 min
Geena Rocero has yet to meet a stage she doesn’t like. As the reigning trans beauty queen in the Philippines, she was adored and envied with equal passion – all while being out and proud. But when she moved to America and became a model, she went back in the closet to protect her livelihood, at least until the secrecy began to do more harm than it was worth. Geena tells Stephanie how she was finally able to live without compromising what was most important to her, starting with the moment she re...
Aug 23, 2023•52 min
Since losing her limbs, Chandra has had to relearn everything. After a medical emergency caused multi-organ failure, Chandra received several life-saving — and life-altering — amputations. The world beyond her hospital bed was suddenly and completely different, full of challenges she’d never known. Chandra shares with Stephanie just how much her faith has helped her see purpose in her pain, and, together, they explore the beauty that can come when you look for light in the darkness (including Ch...
Aug 09, 2023•45 min
When Carolina discovered all of the things her teenage daughter had been hiding from her, it set off a chain of events that threatened to dissolve their relationship completely — or worse. Today, Stephanie sits down with both generations to hear the full story. Carolina was a straight-A student who got pregnant at 14. Her daughter Arely faced bullying and abuse in silence, feeling like there was nobody in the world she could trust with her struggles. Together they trace how mounting trauma pushe...
Aug 02, 2023•44 min
Author and motivational speaker Alexis Jones lived her life on the road. Year after year, she kept up a relentless touring schedule, propelling her to new heights alongside icons like Glennon Doyle and Oprah. But behind closed doors, Alexis was falling apart. Chronic pain, a maddening fertility journey, and some earth-shattering revelations about her family’s past all threatened to derail her. But it wasn’t until the pandemic hit and her schedule cleared overnight that she finally had to slow do...
Jul 26, 2023•53 min
If comedian Tig Notaro hadn’t had cancer, her life might’ve actually been worse. In those sobering moments post-diagnosis, she got up on stage and told a room of people all about it. “The crowd went wild” is an understatement and was only a taste of what was to come. Years after a recording of that standup set went viral and launched her into the cultural mainstream, Tig sits down with Stephanie to talk about living in a world of unknowns. Because as hard as her life was back then, Tig could hav...
Jul 19, 2023•53 min
You might know Elyse Myers from her viral video about buying 100 tacos on a first date. That TikTok led to a Cinderella story of overnight fame, where she quickly became a household name. But the taco tale is only the tip of the iceberg. Elyse gives Stephanie the never-before-seen look at her path to becoming who she is today — from moving overseas to leaving a church that didn’t practice what it preached. Her life has evolved almost too many times to count, and she talks with Stephanie about wh...
Jul 12, 2023•53 min
When Colin Campbell regained consciousness, seeing only the billowy white of an airbag in front of him, he had no idea what had just happened. A moment ago, his two teenagers were happily texting each other in the backseat — and now they were lying motionless in the wreckage. Colin joins Stephanie to share what it took for him to find the words to talk about this unimaginable loss and how to help others find the words themselves. By leaning far into the pain, he’s made it possible to move forwar...
May 31, 2023•49 min
For Melissa Urban, the wellness icon behind Whole30, setting boundaries is the name of the game. But she wasn’t always like this. To cope with buried trauma from her teen years, she began using drugs to escape. And at quick-sand speed, it became a full-blown addiction that she had to feed at every turn. Melissa recounts the slivers of opportunity that helped her find her way to recovery. By creating healthy boundaries, Melissa went from self-loathing to self-loving and built a wellness empire fo...
May 24, 2023•52 min
Life is random, nothing happens for a reason, and the universe does not have a plan. That’s at least what Maya Shankar believes. And so does Stephanie, our intrepid host. But both have figured out how to pivot in the face of life’s worst twists and turns. Maya and Stephanie bond hard and fast over their similarities, since there’s nothing quite like learning someone else is kinda sorta exactly like you. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter , Faceb...
May 17, 2023•52 min
Finding the thing you’re exceptionally good at — where you love doing it and others recognize your talent — is a pivotal moment in a young person’s life. When Winn discovered he excelled in the world of competitive rowing, it quickly consumed his life. So did the searing, chronic pain that came with it. Winn talks with Stephanie about the culture of collegiate sports that normalized injury, the close call that almost left him paralyzed, and his path to finding mental and physical healing. The la...
May 10, 2023•56 min
Vinnie grew up in a strict, insular environment that instilled a simple message in him from a young age: who you are is fundamentally wrong. After spending years praying to God to fix him, he finally hit his breaking point. Vinnie talks to Steph about the joys and struggles of coming out in his mid 30s and extricating himself from the Evangelical church. To support Vinnie’s work, check out his website and the essay collection Fashionably Late: Gay, Bi, and Trans Men Who Came Out Later in Life . ...
May 03, 2023•54 min
Exercise is good for you. This feels universally true. Turns out, it’s not. For Melissa Guarnaccia, running marathons in her 20s was a healthy outlet and stress release, until the day her heart stopped beating and she collapsed on her front steps. As it turns out, the activity she loved most was destroying her body and taking years off her life. Stephanie talks with Melissa about living with massive uncertainty, and how her condition forces life-or-death decisions for her and her family every da...
Apr 26, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Unrelenting anxiety can suck, but it can also make you excel on the job. For 25 years, Steve Chamberlin’s hypervigilance helped him climb the ranks of the U.S. Coast Guard. But his ability to trade feelings for focus came at a cost, one that affected both his psyche at work and his relationships at home. Steve walks Stephanie through how this high-stress lifestyle promised high rewards but culminated in a painful divorce, and how the distance he’s created from his past has given him the tools he...
Apr 19, 2023•52 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Laura Cathcart Robbins bares it all in her new memoir, Stash: My Life in Hiding . But for most of her life, she lied. A lot. Growing up in spaces where she felt out of place, she learned to hide key parts of herself, fabricate a persona, and push her problems way beneath the surface. Once she became a mother living in the world of the “Hollywood Elite,” Laura turned to Ambien to find relief from sleeplessness and constant worry, and it quickly became an addiction that was too big for even her to...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr
Jackie Danziger has long been a fixture of the Last Day production team. Her talents, vision, and discipline have kept pace with (and, let’s be honest, wrangled in) Stephanie’s antics — a feat in and of itself. But during this time of creative and professional achievement, Jackie was also going through an immense and private struggle. One day, everything was fine, and the next, she was forced to make a life-changing decision. A decision that permanently altered the way she thought about work, fa...
Apr 05, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Kate Greene is the sister of a funny brother and the daughter of two loving parents. She’s a lot like Stephanie, especially because she lost her brother Ryan to an overdose. Kate recounts the protective, fiercely loving relationship between them, the way her family orbited around Ryan’s chaos for years preceding his death, and the person she’s become in the years after. Turns out, that person loves running, but she sure does hate Christmas. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay...
Mar 29, 2023•56 min
Last Day is back! But we’re doing things a little differently this time around, and we want to give you a sneak peek of what’s to come. Last Day is and has always been a show about the moments that change us, fundamentally and forever. So, each week, we’ll be bringing you a new story about someone’s “last day” — who they were before, and how they’ve found a way to exist in the after. We’ll laugh. We’ll cry. We’ll laugh/cry. We’ll share real conversations with real people who have lived through t...
Mar 29, 2023•6 min
Today is the last day of the Last Day you know and love, and the first day for a new chapter. From now on, we’ll be bringing you new episodes weekly! Stephanie will sit down with a different person to explore a last day that changed them fundamentally and forever. Some last days are hopeful. Some are brutal. But at the heart of every last day is also a new beginning. Get ready to laugh/cry with us. Our first new episode releases March 29, with new episodes each week! See omnystudio.com/listener ...
Mar 22, 2023•1 min
When you think of a hunter, what image comes to mind? Probably not a Patagonia-clad gun safety proponent like Tim Stevens. In this bonus episode, Tim leads the way on an elk hunt and shares what it means to take a nuanced stance on gun rights. Plus, we face the very real (and kind of icky) possibility of hauling fresh meat out of the Montana wilderness. Resources: To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about suicide and violence ...
Jun 22, 2022•25 min
“Gun violence survivor”– It’s an identity no one would ever want, but it describes more and more Americans these days. In the season three finale, we turn the spotlight on those who made it to the other side –– and are fighting back. Their goal? To make sure no one else has to endure what they did. Resources: To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about suicide and violence prevention visit: https://lastdayresources.simvoly.com/ ...
Jun 08, 2022•40 min
Inaction in the face of gun violence is deadly. So what can we do? This week, we meet the gun violence prevention activists who believe real change is within reach and that we can sell it to the majority of Americans – even if it means playing hardball with the politicians and corporations in power. Resources: To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about suicide and violence prevention visit: https://lastdayresources.simvoly.com/...
Jun 01, 2022•51 min
