When Delores moved to New York City from Jamaica nearly thirty years ago she didn’t know anyone. But soon she found a community of other nannies and learned how to navigate job interviews and “fussy” parents who don’t like nannies to tell their children no. In this week’s episode on paid caretaking, we explore the class and power dynamics inherent in care work. Plus, we hear from Faye*, a woman living with debilitating multiple sclerosis, and her husband Murray*, about how hiring outside help fo...
Jan 14, 2025•52 min
Whether it's a nanny taking us to school or a home health aide helping us age in place, most of us will rely on paid caregivers at some point in our lives. For the next two episodes, we'll talk to professional caregivers about the emotional and economic reality of the intimate work they do. In episode one, we hear from two eldercare workers: Rahn*, whose relationships with patients have helped heal emotional wounds from his childhood, and Tita Rose, a Filipina immigrant who uncovered exploitatio...
Jan 07, 2025•50 min
After a year of nuanced conversations on wellness, we say goodbye by reflecting on how these discussions expanded what it means to live a full, well-balanced life. We’re also joined again by longevity expert Dr. Darshan Shah to discuss what needs to change to make wellness more accessible for everyone. Well, Now is hosted by registered dietitian nutritionist Maya Feller and Dr. Kavita Patel . Editing and podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery. The W...
Dec 18, 2024•43 min
For eons, humans have been trying to find ways to live longer. It’s a quest that’s inspired legends and myths across cultures and continues to fuel controversy in the health and wellness industry today. On this week’s episode of Well, Now we speak with Dr. Darshan Shah to better understand longevity science and hear about his journey from performing surgery to creating the longevity clinic Next Health . Well, Now is hosted by registered dietitian nutritionist Maya Feller and Dr. Kavita Patel . E...
Dec 11, 2024•37 min
For many, the holiday season is both a joyful time with friends and family and a period of high stress with dangerous ways to cope. This can be especially challenging for people with substance use disorder. On this week’s episode of Well, Now Maya and Kavita discuss addiction and recovery with Zac Clark . Reality TV fans may remember him as a contestant on The Bachelorette, where he opened up about his history with drug abuse and how his journey to sobriety led him to create Release Recovery , a...
Dec 04, 2024•49 min
Regular movement is crucial for lifelong health, but finding a routine that fits well in your life can be challenging and overwhelming. On this week’s episode of Well, Now we speak to retired volleyball player Gabby Reece on transitioning out of professional sports and talk about ways to realistically bring performance-level fitness to every kind of exercise routine. If you liked this episode, check out: Breaking Up With Diet Culture Well, Now is hosted by registered dietitian nutritionist Maya ...
Nov 20, 2024•38 min
How do women gain social influence? Understanding this is crucial because research shows they often face unique challenges in having their voices heard and their expertise recognized, even in highly qualified fields like medicine. The consequences of this could be dire, both for female patients and their healthcare providers. On this week’s episode of Well, Now, Kavita and Maya talk with psychologist Alison Fragale about the science behind effective social influence. Her new book is Likeable Bad...
Nov 13, 2024•52 min
Hormones influence everything from mood and energy levels to fertility and long-term health. Yet for many, hormonal health remains shrouded in mystery. When women do seek guidance from their OBGYNs, they’re often told birth control is the only option for treating hormone-related issues like PCOS and endometriosis. But that wasn’t going to cut it for Alisa Vitti . On this week’s episode of Well, Now Kavita and Maya tackle hormonal health with the FLO Living CEO and see what other options are avai...
Nov 06, 2024•50 min
Heather recently joined the board of her local library, a beloved institution from her childhood. While continuing to balance her day job, she is excited to be an active and engaged member of this community-led organization. But she’s also grappling with time management and effective communication with her fellow board members. How can she express her ideas and opinions without overstepping boundaries? In this episode of How To!, host Courtney Martin welcomes nonprofit consultant Malini Sridhara...
Nov 05, 2024•42 min
Nearly half of states – 24 and Washington, D.C – have legalized recreational marijuana. As more people report regularly using it, physicians are seeing patients with alarming side effects related to their cannabis use. On this week’s episode of Well, Now Kavita and Maya sit down with internist and pediatrician Dr. Brittany Tayler to better understand these conditions and who could most likely get them. If you liked this episode, check out: Psychedelics’ Long Strange Trip to the Doctor’s Office W...
Oct 30, 2024•39 min
Puberty is changing, and we’re not talking about developing Adam’s apples and growing hair in new places. It starts earlier and lasts longer. Regardless of when this necessary stage of life starts, youth and their adults need support going through it. On this week’s episode of Well, Now puberty expert Vanessa Kroll Bennett discusses the biggest ways puberty has changed for today’s youth and how best to navigate it. She’s co-host of the podcast This Is So Awkward with Dr. Cara Natterson and co-au...
Oct 23, 2024•52 min
We live in a weight-obsessed world, and children are not immune. From the moment a child is born, their weight and height are tracked and recorded. Then throughout their development, these metrics are used as one of the main factors to determine their health. But as the Health at Every Size (HAES) philosophy continues to gain traction for some adults, is there use for it as a part of growing children’s well-being, too? On this week’s episode of Well, Now Maya and Kavita speak with pediatric diet...
Oct 16, 2024•49 min
Go to the supplement aisle at the grocery store, and the options are endless. Scroll through any Instagram or TikTok feed, and you’re bound to see videos of people claiming their latest supplement is life-changing. Supplements can be used for health and wellness, but it’s important to know the facts before buying the next trendy capsule, pill, tincture, or gummy. On this week’s episode of Well, Now Maya and Kavita give you helpful tools to decide what supplements are worth the hype and which are...
Oct 09, 2024•40 min
Silicon Valley is a place where big ideas are transformed into thriving businesses and multi-billion dollar fortunes. But it has also built a reputation for being a boys club, with limited opportunities, harassment, and sometimes open hostility to women in its workforce. Women of color remain severely underrepresented in the world of Big Tech, with just an estimated 3% of industry jobs held by Black women. So what’s the path ahead for African Americans in Big Tech, and is the prize worth the fig...
Sep 27, 2024•34 min
Modern IUDs have been used for decades to prevent unwanted pregnancy and have been extremely effective at doing so. But they’re not without side effects. With few places to turn, many patients have resorted to TikTok to describe their experiences of painful insertion and removal as well as cramping, changes in menstruation, and mood shifts. But patients don’t have to be left in the dark. If there was more research into how different bodies react to IUDs, there’s a chance patients can get the car...
Sep 25, 2024•37 min
Nearly half of healthcare workers are at a breaking point, describing that they often or very often feel burnt out on the job. Most of us have heard the phrase “Put on your oxygen mask before helping others,” but rarely does that happen especially for those who work as caregivers. Psychiatrist Dr. Jessi Gold knows this firsthand when her mental overload caused her to make an unthinkable mistake with a patient. This error forced her to step back and reassess her relationship with the healthcare i...
Sep 18, 2024•59 min
Martha Wainwright was born into a world of music and folk fame, with songwriter parents Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle and brother Rufus. In this episode, Martha opens up about love and jealousy, the profound impact of losing her mother to cancer, and how she discovered new sexiness following her divorce. Martha Wainwright’s memoir is called Stories I Might Regret Telling You . You can listen to a playlist of songs featured in the episode on Apple Music or Spotify . Podcast production...
Sep 17, 2024•55 min
This week, hosts June Thomas, Isaac Butler, and Ronald Young Jr. reflect on the best tips, tools, and words of wisdom from the past four years of Working . They bid farewell to the show, to the listeners, and discuss the lessons that stuck with them and changed the way they work. They also save time at the end to reply to some heartwarming listener emails. Past episodes that they mention include: How Choreographer Annie-B Parson Expresses Music Through Movement , Writer Oliver Burkeman on the Da...
Sep 08, 2024•48 min
On this, the final episode of Working Overtime, hosts Ronald Young Jr. and June Thomas share some last bits of advice on how best to leave a job! Ronald has been let go, quit jobs, and switched gears in every possible way. June has moved across countries and allowed turning points in her life to be catalysts for moving on from certain work. Both of them share their experiences and offer some best practices for leaving on good terms and being prepared to leap into something new. Podcast productio...
Sep 05, 2024•22 min
This week, host Isaac Butler talks to composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue, who fronts the 18-piece big band jazz group Secret Society . In the interview, Darcy talks about the thought processes that go into his compositions, like how his interest in mathematician Alan Turning inspired a track on the group’s most recent album Dynamic Maximum Tension . He also discusses the many hats he needs to wear, how he balances complexity and accessibility in his music, and how he makes the most of reh...
Aug 25, 2024•54 min
On this week's episode of Working Overtime, hosts Ronald Young Jr. and June Thomas get into the weeds on in-between time and pivoting from one job to the next. June is at the tail end of the promotional tour of her book , while Ronald is gearing up for a new season of his podcast Weight For It . How do you take the final steps of wrapping up one project and be ready for another one? They share tips like prioritizing deadlines, taking on short-term anchor jobs, and ensuring you don’t give all you...
Aug 22, 2024•25 min
This week, host June Thomas talks to author and poet Judith Barrington about her knack for memoir writing and about a retreat called Flight of the Mind that she ran with her partner for 17 years. In the interview, they discuss what makes good memoir writing, what Flight of the Mind meant to women writers, and how to get the most out of writing retreats and workshops. After the interview, June and co-host Ronald Young Jr. talk about why memoir as an art form is so important. In the exclusive Slat...
Aug 18, 2024•43 min
We all know the food we eat directly impacts our physical health. But that’s just the start of the story. Food fuels our emotional well-being, connects us with one another, and fosters a key source of identity. On this week’s episode of Well, Now we speak with award-winning food journalist Mary Beth Albright on her new book Eat & Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being . If you liked this episode, check out: No, Netflix Isn’t Forcing You to Go Vegan Well, Now is hosted by registered...
Aug 14, 2024•57 min
This week, host Ronald Young Jr. talks to Mike Gauyo, a TV writer and creator whose credits include the beloved series Insecure and Ginny and Georgia . In the interview, Mike shares his process for thinking of new ideas for shows, refining those ideas over time, and pitching them to industry gatekeepers. He also talks about being from an immigrant family, initially studying medicine, and the events that prompted him to pivot to writing. After the interview, Ronald and co-host Isaac Butler discus...
Aug 11, 2024•48 min
Research going back decades shows adding more fruits, vegetables, and non-animal sources of protein helps us live longer, healthier lives. A study featured in the Netflix docuseries You Are What You Eat: A Twin Study took that to the next level. Stanford researchers asked 22 sets of identical twins to go 8 weeks eating a healthy, varied diet and regularly exercising. One twin ate an omnivore diet, the other vegan. On this week’s episode of Well, Now we talk to the lead researcher of the “twin st...
Aug 07, 2024•50 min
When Elle started a new career as a therapist, she never imagined she would be the one in need of help. After just a few months, her position at a group practice became untenable amid a lack of support from colleagues. Now she’s looking for a new job and wants to avoid a similar scenario. On this episode of How To!, Carvell Wallace introduces Elle to leadership coach Rudhir Krishtel , who helps us rethink our relationships to co-workers—and work itself. How To’s executive producer is Derek John....
Aug 06, 2024•43 min
This week, host Isaac Butler talks to Dina Hashem, a stand-up comedian and writer for The Daily Show whose recent special is called Dark Little Whispers . In the interview, Dina discusses her reliance on inspiration rather than a formal writing process, her experiences in comedy roast battles, and the fact that her standards for good comedy keep getting higher. After the interview, Isaac and co-host June Thomas talk about why artists sometimes need to take jobs that aren’t a great fit but help p...
Aug 04, 2024•53 min
It’s a fact that summers around the world are reaching record-breaking temperatures. Heat-related illness and death have hit a crisis point, and staying cool is more important than ever. On this week’s episode of Well, Now we speak with someone living in one of the country's hottest states. Dr. Richard Carmona is a career first responder with more than 50 years of experience caring for people in crisis. A veteran of the U.S. Army as a special forces medic, Carmona also served as the 17th U.S. Su...
Jul 31, 2024•49 min
During the 1988 Summer Olympics, diver Greg Louganis was competing under extreme pressure. In the preliminary round, he split his head open on the diving board, got stitched up, and decided to stay in the competition. He was also carrying a secret that only a few people knew: six months before the Olympics began, Greg learned that he was HIV positive. Despite those obstacles, Greg went on to win gold in both the 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform events, thrilling viewers and cementing hi...
Jul 30, 2024•45 min
Host June Thomas speaks with authors Rachel Dodes and Lauren Mechling about their new novel, The Memo and their collaborative writing process. The pandemic took its toll on everyone, but for Mechling and Dodes, it became a time to collaborate via a Google Doc. They spewed ideas and paragraphs onto the same page, editing each other’s output in real time until they formulated their surrealist, comedic tale of friendship and career ambitions. Both authors extoll the benefits of collaborating and be...
Jul 28, 2024•52 min
