This week, therapist and bestselling author Lori Gottlieb joins us to talk about change, loss, self-examination...and when you should really talk to someone. If you’ve ever wondered what your therapist was thinking, this is a conversation you’ll want to hear. Lori and Katy discuss everything from what you should look for in a therapist to what your therapist is listening for—and why it’s often not what you tell them the problem is. Lori explains how patients often try to impress their therapists...
May 13, 2019•36 min•Season 6Ep. 257
On this week’s Bittersweet Moment, Katy talks about the joys of play, and specifically, games. We are all familiar with simple childhood games, board games, and travel games, but what about games that spark your imagination and fuel your creativity? Katy’s longtime friend Robert Fulgham, author of, among many others, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten , makes a brief appearance on this mini-episode to talk about “infinite” games. He puts it best when he says that the purpose of ...
May 09, 2019•10 min•Season 6Ep. 8
As a follow-up to last week’s Bittersweet Moment mini-episode KIDS, where Tiffany offers tips on traveling to Rome with little ones, this week, Katy and Tiffany reminisce about traveling in their youth. Were they “good” travelers? Were they interested in what they were seeing, or were they bored and sulking? At what age did they begin to appreciate what they were seeing? What is it that causes this shift? Is it merely maturity, or is something else at play? Also: as kids, why do we remember what...
May 05, 2019•34 min•Season 6Ep. 256
On this week's mini-episode, Tiffany shares her tips on traveling to Rome with kids. She not only gives suggestions about what sites in Rome are most suited to kids, but more importantly, she shares tricks on how to get your little ones to enjoy the places you want to go. Aurelio stops by too, and shares his favorite piazza and palazzo in Rome. Places mentioned in the episode: Explora Children's Museum BioParco (zoo) Museo delle Civiltà (prehistoric museum) More on Papal Seals Galleria Doria Pam...
May 02, 2019•16 min•Season 6Ep. 7
In a sequel to Episode 253 PERCEPTION, this week we are joined once again by visual intelligence expert Amy Herman. Katy and Amy take a walk through the streets of Manhattan, discussing how better to observe the world around them, and by doing so, make better decisions. Decisions that could save a life, or simply make their day better. They discuss the way our attention has been taken over by our phones, which leads not only to rudeness, but also to missing important things that are happening ar...
Apr 29, 2019•32 min•Season 6Ep. 255
On Monday’s episode, we discussed the tragic fire at Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral. (If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, do that now!) At the end of the episode, we wonder what other buildings in the world, if any, could elicit the same universal heartbreak as Notre Dame? We asked and you answered. Listeners nominated buildings and monuments around the world that, were they to be lost, would leave a gaping hole in human history. Take an audio tour of the world’s most priceless and irrepla...
Apr 25, 2019•11 min•Season 6Ep. 6
This week, Katy and Tiffany discuss the tragedy of the Notre Dame fire. How do you move on after all but losing such an integral monument to human history? We muse on our own reactions to the disaster, and how it took us back to the trauma of tragedies such as 9/11. And that raises another question: can the loss of a building like Notre Dame be compared to the loss of a human life? We also ask: is there another building or monument in the world that has an equivalent weight, not just in its own ...
Apr 22, 2019•31 min•Season 6Ep. 254
In the aftermath of the devastating fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Tiffany is reminded of a similar fire that took place at Rome’s Basilica San Paolo fuori le Mura in 1823. In telling the story of the San Paolo fire, she takes comfort in the fact that almost every building or monument of any significant age has been rebuilt, at least partially and sometimes extensively, over the centuries. Even Notre Dame herself was heavily restored after she was brutally ransacked during the French Rev...
Apr 18, 2019•12 min•Season 6Ep. 5
Amy Herman is an art expert who trains members of law enforcement, intelligence agents, counter-terrorist specialists, and healthcare professionals to enhance their observation skills by learning to look at works of art. Amy is the founder of The Art of Perception , and the author of Visual Intelligence . In this episode, Amy and Katy visit the Whitney Museum in New York, and they discuss how observing art is a teachable skill, and why it holds the key to heightening our awareness in our day-to-...
Apr 15, 2019•39 min•Season 6Ep. 253
On this week’s mini-episode, Katy interviews Matt Harding—you know, that crazy American guy who danced with people all over the world and taped himself doing it? His videos dancing alone and with locals, in front of some of the most recognizable monuments in the world and in some of the most remote places in the world, have garnered over 40 million views since he started back in 2008. In this mid-week mini-interview, Matt explains how he came to discover that everyone in the world is, essentiall...
Apr 11, 2019•11 min•Season 6Ep. 4
What do Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin (and so many other artists) have in common? They all reached the apex of their creative output while living outside their countries of birth. An email from a listener, who also happens to be a member of indie band Trash Can Dream, inspired this week’s episode. Emma Grace Stephenson is one of two Aussie expats who make up the band that is now based in New York City. Her email sparked a discussion on how travel, and specifically living abroad, ...
Apr 08, 2019•37 min•Season 6Ep. 252
In this week's Bittersweet Moment mini-episode, we tackle a question from a listener: how do you learn a new language effectively? Tiffany draws on her experiences studying and speaking Italian and French (and a smidgen of Spanish and German) to come up with five tips to help you master a new language. Listen in to find out what they are! PS Aurelio has a few suggestions too. To find an online language exchange partner anywhere in the world, check out Conversation Exchange . --------------------...
Apr 04, 2019•9 min•Season 6Ep. 3
How many of your life decisions were entirely your own, and how many were influenced by what the people around you wanted, hoped, or expected you to be doing? And what happens when you decide to go off script and live life on your own terms? Today we delve into questions of “should.” We discuss whether or not we are living our family’s or society’s version of how our lives “should” be, Katy’s experiences as a preacher’s kid and how having a moral spotlight on her while she was growing up influen...
Apr 01, 2019•35 min•Season 6Ep. 251
It’s time for our first full Bittersweet Moment! Inspired by Monday’s episode, Katy wonders how many people have lived in places they didn’t like, and what they did about it. Be sure to listen to Episode 250 {SPOUSE} first, where we chat wtih author Beth Howard about her experiences as a trailing spouse expat while living in Germany...a place she never felt at home. Today, Katy takes to the streets of San Francisco to ask the city’s denizens if they’ve ever lived in a place they didn’t like, and...
Mar 28, 2019•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2
We often chat with expats on The Bittersweet Life , whether they are corporate expats off to a new country every other year, passion expats who follow their dream of living in a foreign land, or anything in between. But what about the expat spouse? What about the person who never signed up for the expat life but finds themselves living it anyway? This week we talk with Beth M. Howard, author of the new memoir, Hausfrau Honeymoon: Love, Language, and Other Misadventures in Germany . She tells the...
Mar 25, 2019•33 min•Season 6Ep. 250
On occasion of the fifth anniversary of The Bittersweet Life, we're launching Bittersweet Moments, mid-week mini-episodes to bring a little extra (bitter) sweetness to your week. We'll be regaling you with a different nugget every week, from bite-sized art or history tidbits to street interviews, follow-ups on previous episodes, listener messages, travel tips, random thoughts, and everything in between. We hope you enjoy these mini-episodes, and we'd love to hear your feedback! -----------------...
Mar 21, 2019•5 min•Season 6Ep. 1
This week’s episode is inspired by a letter from one of our long-time listeners. Giovanna wonders what to do after hitting an expat “plateau,” when the rapid learning and expanding period of being a new expat inevitably slows down. After a little over a year living on the idyllic Italian island of Ischia (by way of New York, London, and Rome), Giovanna ponders what to do when the novelty of expat life wears off and you’re left with just...life. She also asks the question: does moving to the tiny...
Mar 18, 2019•36 min•Season 6Ep. 249
This week, we chat with Lori-Lee Elliott, many-time expat, world traveler, and techie girlboss. Lori-Lee’s first appearance on The Bittersweet Life was back in July of 2017 in Episode 166: TIPS , when she pulls from her sizable expat experience to share tips with wannabe or newbie expats. This time, she joins us to talk about a big new venture in her own life. While working full time for an international corporation that moves her around the world every year or less (she’s lived in 13 countries ...
Mar 11, 2019•36 min•Season 6Ep. 248
In this long-awaited epsiode, Tiffany finally reveals how she moved to Rome. It wasn't all a bed of roses (and frankly, it wasn't all legal), but after innumerable requests from listeners, who regularly write to us saying, "I want to move to Italy. How did you do it?" Tiffany is breaking her silence at last to describe what she went through to make her dream of living in Rome a reality. Friendly disclaimer: Despite the catchy title of this episode, it's not meant as a suggestion of how you shoul...
Mar 04, 2019•28 min•Season 6Ep. 247
Whether due to poor planning, penny pinching, or simply laziness, we’ve all got regrets when it comes to our past travels. You know what we’re talking about: the time you didn’t cough up the extra 5 bucks to climb the church tower and missed out on the amazing view. The time you missed the museum you most wanted to see because you didn’t check the opening times. The time you opted not to visit gorgeous and fascinating Porto because some stupid book convinced you it was more important to wander a...
Feb 25, 2019•41 min•Season 6Ep. 246
Have you ever thumbed through a cookbook only to roll your eyes and wonder, who has the time? And who has all these ingredients laying around? Italian food expert and cookbook author Francesca Montillo joins us for a conversation about her new cookbook. For anyone who loves cooking Italian food but doesn’t have the time or the inclination to concoct elaborate meals, The 5-Ingredient Italian Cookbook takes authentic regional Italian recipes and ever-so-slightly simplifies them to make them access...
Feb 18, 2019•34 min•Season 6Ep. 245
Do I deserve to live a bigger life? If you're asking that question, it's a gift to have parent (or friend) who answers- why not? Sarah McColl , author of Joy Enough , joins us to talk about the beautiful life she discovered while living alongside her dying mother. We also explore how fear, loss and the expectations of others can limit our potentially terrific lives and how to get beyond that. Additional links: Sarah McColl discussing Joy Enough on NPR Sarah on Twitter and Instagram -------------...
Feb 08, 2019•35 min•Season 6Ep. 244
Katy's sisters, Dana and Sara, join us again this week! They discuss what tethers people have (real or invented) that tie them to the city they are currently living in. Whether it's a stable job, a family support system, or simply force of habit, what is holding you back from imagining a new life for yourself in a new place? Dana has a special needs child, but that didn't stop her from uprooting her family not once but twice in the first five years of his life, and as it turns out, he grew and f...
Feb 04, 2019•28 min•Season 6Ep. 243
This week we're joined by two of The Bittersweet Life's most ardent listeners: Katy's own sisters, Dana Zahler and Sara Johnson. The three sisters chat about the things that prompt you to change where you live, and what—if anything—your upbringing has to do with it. Hear from Dana what it takes to move a family of four across the country and back again at the drop of a hat (surprisingly little, in her case), and how living in her "dream house" was actually a bad thing for her family. Learn from ...
Jan 28, 2019•27 min•Season 6Ep. 242
Our super summer Share-a-thon came to an end a few months ago now, and today is the big day (***fanfare***) that our super-fun, super-secret Truth or Dare episode hits the airwaves! If you've been paying attention, you know that that episode is only available to listeners who managed to get at least 5 of their friends to subscribe to the show. HOWEVER! We've decided to be generous and let a few more of you in on the show. Listen to this mini-episode teaser to find out how you can get access to t...
Jan 21, 2019•15 min•Season 6Ep. 241
Every so often, just when you find yourself alone and vulnerable in a foreign place and in desperate need of help, an angel comes into your life...a very special kind of angel. A travel angel. This episode is dedicated to those rare and wonderful strangers who come into our lives just when we need them most. Because of their selfless and often unasked for help, disaster is averted, our vacation is saved, and often our lives are enriched in the process. -------------------------------------------...
Jan 14, 2019•27 min•Season 6Ep. 240
In a re-airing of one of our most fascinating interviews, Amy Herman joins us to talk about visual intelligence. How can looking at fine art, or rather learning how to truly notice what it is you are seeing, change, or even save your life? Herman has trained police officers, doctors, military, and special operatives to hone their observation skills by studying visual art . On occasion of her recent Ted Talk reaching half a million views, we've decided to repost her thought-provoking interview on...
Jan 07, 2019•43 min•Season 6Ep. 239
What happens when you dig out the resolutions you made at the beginning of the year just as you are about to make some new ones for the year to come? Tiffany and Katy find out the hard way. Plus, in honor of Tiffany, Katy takes on a few extra resolutions, and Tiffany takes a page out of Katy's book by resolving to do something that can be accomplished in a single day. And they both try not to cringe at last year's often-over-ambitious resolutions. What will you resolve to do in the year ahead? -...
Dec 31, 2018•33 min•Season 6Ep. 238
Merry Christmas from your friends at The Bittersweet Life! This Christmas, we're gifting you with a sweet, sentimental, and surprising piece of radio created by your host, Katy Sewall the Christmas she spent in Rome, way back in 2013. If you love the song White Christmas and have always wondered about its origins (or maybe you've never wondered, but now we've piqued your interest), listen to this show. So grab a comfy seat (ideally in front of a roaring fire with snow falling right outside), cud...
Dec 24, 2018•13 min•Season 6Ep. 237
When you move abroad to be with a significant other—not because it was your own dream—what do you do when you don't find expat life satisfying? Whether it's because you struggle to learn the language, feel isolated, don't really love the place where you live, or—god forbid—are not sure your partner is the right person for you, not every expat experience is right for every person. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and go home. On this week's episode, we respond to a listener questions th...
Dec 13, 2018•32 min•Season 6Ep. 236
