Thanks For Asking - podcast cover

Thanks For Asking

Feelings & Co.feelingsand.co
A call-in show from author Nora McInerny that lets real people get real honest about how they're really doing. Operators(me) are standing by to take your calls.
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Episodes

Dancing for the Devil: Dr. Edith Eger on Surviving the Holocaust and Turning Trauma Into Purpose

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, 202656 min

Getting Married Again Doesn’t Make You A Bad Widow with Leslie Harter-Berg

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, 20261 hr 10 min

IGTBO: A Goose-Forward Home with Sharon McMahon

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, 20261 hr 2 min

Advice-cast: The Worst Thing to Say When Someone’s Grieving, Feeling like a Loser at Work, and Trying to Love Your Body When No One Else Loves Theirs

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, 202655 min

Food, Forgiveness and the Cost of Being Thin: A Conversation with Geneen Roth

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, 20261 hr 26 min

Baja Blast Your Body (feat. Ralph)

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, 202650 min

Honest Motherhood with Libby Ward

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, 20261 hr 10 min

Friends To The End: Cancer, Friendship and Grief

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, 202653 min

How you {really} are: Aging parents, falling out of love with your work, disappointing gender reveals, secondhand embarrassment and being the worst mom in the world

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, 202650 min

A Daily Dose of Wonder with Kelly Corrigan

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, 20261 hr 8 min

AI Deadbots Want To Cure Your Grief

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, 202659 min

I Can’t Have Kids and My Friends Are Pregnant

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, 20261 hr 16 min

Middle School Divorcee | It's Going to be OK with Elise Loehnen

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, 202654 min

Wind Phone (Part 3)

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, 20261 hr 4 min

Dead Sibling Society (Part 1)

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, 20261 hr 25 min

Under a Cloud of Loss

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, 202651 min

There’s Someone Dying Upstairs (Part 2)

“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, 20261 hr 7 min

There’s Someone Dying Upstairs (Part 1)

“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, 20261 hr 1 min

Wind Phone (Part 2)

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, 202642 min

Okay Boomers

“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, 20261 hr 10 min

The Return of Ralph: It’s Going to be OK

Things are not good in the world right now, and you don’t need us to tell you that. But despair is also not good. Having no hope is not good. And Nora believes that the antidote to despair is action – doing things for others in whatever capacity you can. So she and her son Ralph are bringing back IGTBO for you as an exercise in seeing the OK things in the world around you, even when it seems like all hope is lost. Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to Geoffrey’s al...

Feb 06, 202650 min

Update: The Fat Guy with the Alcohol

It’s been a year and a half since we aired an episode where we spoke with Evan about his past and his current health journey of losing weight and reclaiming his life. In this episode, Evan tells us what he’s been up to and also surprises us with how much his perspective has changed since his weight loss surgery. Watch us on YouTube here⁠ ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to Geoffrey’s album on ⁠Spotify⁠ and ⁠Apple⁠ ! Shop my favorite bras and underwear at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SKIMS.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Feb 03, 202649 min

How Do You Grieve Someone Who Isn’t Dead with the Antlers

Today, Nora interviews Peter Silberman of the Antlers, a band whose album Hospice changed her life twice: first in 2010, after a horrible breakup, and then in 2011, when her husband was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Over a decade later, thanks to a little bit of fate and Peter’s cousin April, Nora and Peter talk about the album, what it means, grief, anger, and how art connects us all. Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to Geoffrey’s album on Spotify and Ap...

Jan 27, 20261 hr 32 min

When Grandma and Grandpa Die, Can I Have Their iPad? with Kate Kennedy

The world is not especially great right now. In the midst of all the chaos and nightmare fuel, today’s episode of Thanks for Asking is an emotional palate cleanser. Nora and friend of the pod Kate Kennedy are here to deliver some silliness with the weirdest things your kids have said to you, written to you, or drawn for you. And yes, it gets very, very weird. Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to Geoffrey’s album on Spotify and Apple ! Shop my favorite bras and und...

Jan 20, 20261 hr 12 min

Normalize “bad women” with Rebecca Woolf

Being a widow is complicated. On top of the earth-shattering grief you experience, there’s a huge societal pressure to be the perfect image of a grieving partner, missing the love of your life. But what if the person who died was actually kind of a huge jerk? How do you take care of someone who doesn’t really deserve it? And what does it mean to be a good woman or a good widow? All of This: A Memoir of Death and Desire by Rebecca Woolf The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards by Jessica Waite Watch us...

Jan 13, 20261 hr 20 min

IGTBO: Widow Weddings, Sleepovers, and My Dead Uncle’s Sweater

You’ve seen the headlines. You’ve looked at the world. You know, like we do, that not everything is going to be OK. But to start 2026, we’re going to look at some of the things that make us feel like something will be OK. If you need a sign that there is still good in the world, let this be it. Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to the Secret Audio album on Spotify or Apple ! Shop my favorite bras and underwear at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SKIMS.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . After you pla...

Jan 09, 202640 min

The Wind Phone: Part 1

If you have known loss, you know how it feels to pick up the phone to call your person only to realize they won’t answer. This episode is all about your calls – the things you wish you could tell your people. Somewhere, somehow, we know they’re listening. Wind Phone Map Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to Geoffrey’s album on Spotify and Apple ! Shop my favorite bras and underwear at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SKIMS.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . After you place your order, be sure to let th...

Jan 06, 20261 hr 4 min

Happyish Holidays 2025

It’s time for Happyish Holidays, 2025 edition! Though we might not see you in person this year, Nora’s still here to listen to and tell your holiday stories gone awry. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll remember that the holidays don’t have to be happy all the time – happy-ish is the best we can ask for. Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to Geoffrey’s album on Spotify and Apple ! Listen to Secret Audio on Apple! Shop my favorite bras and underwear at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Dec 23, 20251 hr 1 min

Goodbye, 2025

2025 is coming to a close, if you can believe it. If you’re feeling stressed (and maybe a little relieved) that the end of the year is here, you aren’t alone. This week, Nora’s sharing her strategies for finishing out 2025 and ushering in 2026 – without the expectations that you have to become a shiny, brand new, unblemished version of yourself. If you want a gentle, helpful guide for starting 2026, this is the episode for you. Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to...

Dec 16, 202546 min

Baby Wants a Gas Mask

Kids ask for the darndest things, and this year, Nora’s youngest asked for… a gas mask. An old-timey gas mask. So, she asked for the weirdest things that your kids have asked Santa for, AKA a nightmare fuel gift guide. (Warning: do not listen with little kids in the car because we will discuss Santa!) Watch us on YouTube here ! Get this episode ad-free here ! Listen to Geoffrey’s album on Spotify and Apple ! Shop my favorite bras and underwear at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SKIMS.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . After you place you...

Dec 12, 202545 min
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