Adoption is often viewed as a happy ending, and sometimes it is! But for Thenedra, her experiences as a child in the foster care system and later as a trans-racial adoptee were — and still are — much more complicated than that. This is an episode about what can happen when trans-racial foster and adoptive parents are not just unprepared to raise traumatized children, but also unprepared to raise Black children in a predominantly white society. References: The National Association of Black Social...
Jun 30, 2026•1 hr 1 min
If you’ve been feeling like life is throwing everything at you all at once – burnout, exhaustion, chaos – today’s episode is for you. Today, Nora is joined by author and friend of the pod Courtney Maum, who brought OK things from weird Zillow listings in Florida to fancy gifts from very classy ladies. And, despite their love for each other, they very nearly have a friendship-ending fight – over whether the calendar should start on Sunday or Monday. Things get pretty heated. If you’re searching f...
Jun 26, 2026•1 hr 2 min
In 2011, it was impossible to escape the “Friday” music video. September 16, 2011 changed the trajectory of pop culture – and of 13-year-old Rebecca Black’s life – forever. What started as a harmless, fun music video (with yes, some questionable lyrics) turned into a vitriolic mob obsessed with bullying a teenage girl. Even now, every few months the song will resurface on TikTok. But what happens to the person behind the viral fame? What happens to the subject of unnecessary hate? Rebecca Black ...
Jun 23, 2026•45 min
Father's Day can be complicated. In this special mini-episode, we hear an essay from writer Hannah Diaz titled No One Sent Flowers for the First Loss . Then, podcaster and former Vanderpump Rules actor Dayna Kathan talks about how loving her dad from a distance is an act of self-love. Happy Complicated Father's Day. Hannah's IG: @hannah_d1az Dayna's IG: @daynakathan Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to Geoffrey’s album on Spotify and Apple ! You can buy Nora’s boo...
Jun 16, 2026•45 min
Today’s IGTBO episode is a spiritual hug – as previous guest and friend of the pod Kelly Corrigon called it – with guest Nadia Bolz-Weber, a beautiful writer, a fellow griever, and a pastor. Don't be frightened away from this episode if you are not a religious person – there won’t be any lecturing here. Nadia is not that kind of religious person. She’s the kind of religious person that, at the very least, inspires you to find the beauty in the world around you. And that’s what today’s episode is...
Jun 12, 2026•53 min
Nicole was 21 years old and had an alien growing inside her chest. Well, no, not really. But it WAS an extremely large tumor growing inside of her that very much FELT like an alien — an alien that doctors had told her multiple times was just weight gain. After dismissal time after time again, Nicole finally meets a surgeon who tells her that she has a massive cyst on her fallopian tube that was 32 centimeters wide. This isn’t just a story about the pain of medical misogyny (although, hey, if you...
Jun 09, 2026•54 min
Summer is coming, and you know what that means – beach days (or days spent inside with the AC blasting, no judgment) with your favorite books. Today, Nora and friend of the pod and special guest Kate Baer get together to give you the Ultimate Summer Reading List for 2026, including Lena Dunham’s new memoir, a creepy novel that’s like if the Hunger Games and Love Island had a baby, and many more (seriously, you may not even get through all these recs this summer). If you’ve been craving a library...
Jun 02, 2026•58 min
It has been 10 years since Nora’s first book, “It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying Is Cool Too)” was published. A lot has changed since – she got remarried, had another child, and started this podcast to carve a space in the world for conversations that really matter. In honor of IOTL’s 10th birthday, today Nora is reading the two chapters out loud and live annotating – connecting with the person she was six months after her husband’s and father’s death, miscarrying a baby, and desperately trying to stay...
May 26, 2026•46 min
Burnout seems like the biggest thing all of us have in common right now. It’s hard NOT to get burnt out when the world is rife with injustice and horror and you’re expected to carry on as normal. Here’s the thing: you don’t have to carry on as normal. But you do have to reach out and find joy – it’s going to keep you alive. It’s going to keep you going. It’s going to remind you that you won’t always feel like this. On today’s episode, Nora talks to Elizabeth Kott, who inspired her to pick up T h...
May 19, 2026•1 hr 15 min
On this episode of IGTBO, Nora is joined by her favorite living novelist, Catherine Newman, to put a little more OK in your day. They talk about celebrating sobriety and not drinking, Artemis II, how to unwind with the Bear Valley Eagle Cam, and the importance of family (and highly intense family card games). If your anxious heart needs a break from the whirlwind of Bad outside (and need to feel validated in how lame grocery shopping is), take this episode as your daily dose of OK. Catherine’s b...
May 15, 2026•57 min
Edith Eger was only 16 years old when the Nazis invaded Hungary during World War II. Her future was ripped from her when she and her family were imprisoned at Auschwitz concentration camp. Edith’s parents were sent to the gas chambers immediately – but Edith survived, forced to entertain Dr Mengele – known as the Angel of Death – until she survived the death march. For many years after, Edith struggled with her past, rife with horror and trauma. It was only after reading Viktor Frankl's Man’s Se...
May 12, 2026•56 min
I get questions all the time about being a remarried widow. How did I do it? How did I know? Is Matthew jealous of Aaron? How can you love two people at the same time? When you become a widow, you’re a widow forever. You will never not have a dead spouse. You will never stop wishing you could talk to them again. You will never replace that love. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find love – or yourself – all over again. Today, I’m joined by fellow remarried widow Leslie Harter-Berg to talk about b...
May 05, 2026•1 hr 10 min
Here on IGTBO, we're not about toxic positivity -- we're about finding things that are good even when the world is dark. Today's guest, Sharon McMahon -- a fellow tall woman -- brought her OK things, including geese, being in a goose-forward household, and the acts of kindness that can change the trajectory of your life. For any long-time fans of IGTBO, this is a classic bird episode, and we couldn’t be happier. Sharon’s book: Amazon | Bookshop You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388...
May 01, 2026•1 hr 2 min
Thanks for Asking is a group project – we could not make this show without you. You’re not just a listener. You’re a participant. We want to make a show about what matters to you. That’s why we have our inboxes always open, with our operator (Nora) standing by to take your calls and texts. So that’s what today’s episode is about: your struggles, your vents, your anxieties. If you need to vent, ask for advice, share a grudge, or just want to get something off your chest, call or text us at ☎️ (6...
Apr 28, 2026•55 min
Every woman in the world has shared one feeling: that their body is wrong . We like to say that we've come "so far," but just open any social media app and see the body warping, the products marketed as "a drink to stop your cravings" or "patches that help you drop two sizes," and the endless comments on teenage girls' appearances. In the world we live in, skinny equals good -- and all women are subjected to those standards. Today's guest, Geneen Roth, was crushed under the standards like the re...
Apr 21, 2026•1 hr 26 min
This week on It's Going To Be OK: a 13-year-old boy tries to convince his mother that he should be allowed to have a Baja Blast at 7pm on a school night, sings the praises of Wetzel's Pretzels and asks whether or not he can become CEO of McDonald's if he drops out of 8th grade...It's the return of Ralph! You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here . Our music is by Secret Audio, and ...
Apr 17, 2026•50 min
What makes a good mom? Is it adhering to the perfectly packaged image of a shiny, happy woman cooking lavish meals with her 2.5 children, always cleaning, never complaining, and never NOT grateful, doting, and happy? No – but that doesn’t mean that the expectations are any more attainable. Any choice a mom makes is immediately subject to scrutiny or ridicule. Anything she does is under a microscope. She can’t miss a beat. She can’t wonder what her life might have been if she wasn’t a mother. And...
Apr 14, 2026•1 hr 10 min
Listen to TTFA Anthologies on Spotify , Apple , or anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. _ It’s rare to have a friendship that actually lasts forever, but that’s what Josie and Miles have. When Miles’s cancer comes back after years of remission, Josie is there for him every step of the way … until there are no more steps to take. _ Find Nora’s weekly newsletter here ! Also, check out Nora on YouTube . _ The Feelings & Co. team is Nora McInerny, Marcel Malekebu and Grace ...
Apr 09, 2026•53 min
Today, we're giving validation, pep talks and space to vent for listeners struggling with: Aging parents who don't take care of their health Falling out of love with your work and feeling like you're totally ineffective (you aren't!) Being hit by a grief tsunami and losing your ambition Feeling like a horrible mother for being disappointed by a gender reveal (we have THOUGHTS!) The secondhand embarrassment of your boyfriend being bad at his job Being the worst mom in the world (not possible, Nor...
Apr 07, 2026•50 min
You know what makes things feel more okay? Kelly Corrigan, the host of Kelly Corrigan Wonders and the author of so many wonderful books (my favorite is Tell Me More ). Today, Kelly and Nora dig through a treasure trove of (more than) okay things, including unexpected gratitude from an adult child (CALL YOUR MOM!), a book about a possible alien encounter, slow but steady civic progress and much more. You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To sup...
Apr 03, 2026•1 hr 8 min
As long as people have been grieving, we have found a way to memorialize our dead people. We grievers keep voicemails, photos, letters, clothes – whatever we can to remember our people. With the rise of AI, it’s no wonder companies desperate to increase their shareholder value have turned to us, the grievers. But it’s not our money they want (or at least, not JUST our money) – it’s our dead people. Their voices, their words, their likeness. They want to reanimate our people, just without their b...
Mar 31, 2026•59 min
On today’s episode, we hear from Cora Danielson, a comic who has been wrestling with something many women do – her inability to have children despite wanting them very, very much. Her outlet? Improv comedy and the community that came with it, offering her people she could always confide in. Now, two of the women in her group are pregnant and it’s messing with Cora’s head. Her friends haven’t told her they’re pregnant because they don’t want to hurt her feelings, so she heard it from someone else...
Mar 24, 2026•1 hr 16 min
We would never tell you that everything is going to be OK, but we will tell you that something will be. Today, Nora and guest Elise Loehnen share the things that make them feel like the world isn’t crumbling down around them. Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to the Secret Audio album on Spotify or Apple ! Elise’s lipstick LInk to Heads Carolina, Tails California on Spotify and Apple Check out Elise’s book ! Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to Quince.com/TFA ...
Mar 20, 2026•54 min
What would you say to your dead person? We’re listening in on the Wind Phone. You can find a wind phone near you here , or call us to leave your message for a future episode: 612.568.4441 Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to Geoffrey’s album on Spotify and Apple ! _ Right now, go to Quince.com/TFA for free shipping and 365-day returns. That's a full year to wear it and love it. And you will. Now available in Canada, too. Don't keep settling for clothes t...
Mar 17, 2026•1 hr 4 min
If you lose a spouse, you’re a widow. If you lose your parents, an orphan. But we don’t have the language for someone who lost a sibling – your first friend, your first ally, your first enemy (probably, at least temporarily). Grief always feels like a gut punch, but losing a sibling is a unique kind of pain that we don’t talk about enough. So today, I’m joined by Steph Wittels Wachs, former TTFA guest and sister of comedy legend Harris Wittels, who died in 2015 of an accidental overdose. We're t...
Mar 10, 2026•1 hr 25 min
This episode originally ran in 2016, and we pulled it out of the archives to share with you here, and to kick off a new season of TTFA Anthologies, where we pull together a themed season of some of our best episodes. This season the theme is Grief: It’s Complicated…stories about the kind of grief you won’t find in the sympathy card aisle. Stories like the one you’re about hear. We have a separate podcast feed for these seasons. It’s linked in our show description, or you can find it on your podc...
Mar 03, 2026•51 min
“Can I move in with you?” Laurel Louise Anderson (lovingly called Miss Ma’am) posed the question to our producer and her son, Marcel Malekebu, in the summer of 2024. After nearly a year of Marcel asking and a year of her denying, the request came seemingly out of nowhere. His mom moved in, and Marcel and his wife Jenae became caregivers not only to their two very young daughters, but to Miss Ma’am. Caregiving is not an easy thing to do, but it is a holy thing to do. And in this episode, Marcel a...
Feb 26, 2026•1 hr 7 min
“Can I move in with you?” Laurel Louise Anderson (lovingly called Miss Ma’am) posed the question to our producer and her son, Marcel Malekebu, in the summer of 2024. After nearly a year of Marcel asking and a year of her denying, the request came seemingly out of nowhere. His mom moved in, and Marcel and his wife Jenae became caregivers not only to their two very young daughters, but to Miss Ma’am. Caregiving is not an easy thing to do, but it is a holy thing to do. And in this episode, Marcel a...
Feb 24, 2026•1 hr 1 min
What would you say to your dead person? We’re listening in on the Wind Phone. You can find a wind phone near you here , or call us to leave your message for a future episode: 612.568.4441 Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to Geoffrey’s album on Spotify and Apple ! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Feb 17, 2026•42 min
“Okay, boomer” will go down in history as one of the funniest (and truest) ways to shut down a boomer whining about younger generations who just don’t get it. But this episode is not about what boomers don’t understand. This is an appreciation episode about the boomers who get it. Nora and friend of the pod Caroline Moss are here to tell you all about their favorite boomers. It’s time to give them their flowers, so we hope today’s episode will inspire you to show your appreciation for YOUR favor...
Feb 11, 2026•1 hr 10 min
