Death, Sex & Money

I Felt Like The Story Had To Change: Life After Heroin

20 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

I talk with a friend about her life after heroin addiction. Stay in the loop and subscribe to our weekly email newsletter. Every Wednesday we'll send...

I Can't Fix It: A First Responder and Heroin

13 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How witnessing heroin overdoses every day is affecting one paramedic in Charleston, West Virginia.  Stay in the loop and subscribe to our weekly e...

Your Workplace Rage, And Mine

06 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Reconsidering what we put up with. Send us your 30-second voice memos about what you wish you could tell your younger self about dealing with harass...

Gabrielle Union Is Fed Up

29 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A conversation about reclaiming your body after sexual assault. Send us your stories about the times you've been most aware of your class and how ...

Finding Love, And A Kidney, On Tinder

22 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When "It's a match!" takes on a whole new meaning.  Are you in the same social class as your parents? Take our poll by texting "class" to 70101. An...

What Lisa Ling Regrets

08 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist Lisa Ling has been reporting on TV since she was 16. But she says telling other people's stories has always been a lot easier than sharing ...

A Bitcoin Mogul Goes Broke

01 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Charlie Shrem made a fortune on cryptocurrency, lost it all, and spent a year in prison for a federal crime—all before turning 30.  Support Death,...

Why She Steals: Your Reactions

18 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A few weeks ago, we interviewed a woman who shoplifts. Now, we talk with you about your reactions to her story. Support Death, Sex & Money today by...

Life in Our 20s: Advice from Niecy Nash, Alia Shawkat & Terri Coleman

11 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Live from the Werk It Women's Podcast Festival at the Ace Hotel in downtown LA, we talk all about getting through your 20s with actors Alia Shawkat an...

Ellen Burstyn's Lessons on Survival

04 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Ellen Burstyn has won countless acting awards, but says she is proudest of raising her son. We talk about learning how to mother, leaving an abusive m...

Why I Steal

27 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

"I want it, so I take it." A serial shoplifter explains why she does it, and how—and the conflicted feelings she has about her daughter following a ...

Our Student Loan Questions Live: Part Two

14 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Need help with the debt you already have? Balancing loan payments with the rest of your life expenses? We tackle your questions in part two of our c...

Our Student Loan Questions Live: Part One

13 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Is loan forgiveness a safe bet? When is college not a good investment? Is bankruptcy an option? Part one of our live call-in specials about student lo...

Tracy Clayton's 2017 So Far: Therapy, Forts and Auto Bill Pay

06 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We check in with the Another Round co-host about her long list of New Year's Resolutions, and why she says she's in "a much different place today" t...

As Harvey Hits, Looking Back at New Orleans

30 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The latest storm to hit the Gulf Coast has us thinking back to the people we met two years ago, for the series we put together around the 10th anniver...

Katie Couric on Death and Dishonesty

23 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Katie Couric lost her husband to cancer in 1998. After 16 years of single parenthood, she remarried. But, she says, she still regrets the way she sai...

When Grief Looks Like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

16 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel Ward's husband, Steve, died unexpectedly when she was in her early 30s. Afterward, she says in some ways she re-experienced adolescence—while...

The Cookie That Ended Jeff Garlin's Sobriety

02 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Jeff Garlin says the key to marriage, comedy, parenting and dealing with his food addiction is to be present. That doesn't mean it's always easy.  ...

Bonus! Anna Talks Interviewing with Jesse Thorn

26 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Bullseye host Jesse Thorn's latest project has him interviewing interviewers about...interviewing. Go behind the scenes of Death, Sex & Money as Ann...

After 27 Years In Prison, My Husband Might Get Out

19 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Ronnine Bartley married her husband Lawrence while he was in prison. They had two kids and dreamed about a life together on the outside. Now, Lawrenc...

Becoming a Father in Prison: Updated

12 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We met Lawrence Bartley inside Sing Sing prison in 2014. Now, almost three years later, he's up for parole for the first time in his 27 years behind ...

Our Student Loan Secrets, Part 2

29 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Hundreds of you told us about feeling duped, overwhelmed, and ashamed of your student debt. But we also heard stories about how some of you took back...

Our Student Loan Secrets, Part 1

28 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

More Americans are taking out more student loan debt and taking longer to pay it back. But we're not talking about the impact that it has on our live...

Coming Soon: Our Student Loan Secrets

21 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

More Americans are taking out more debt to pay for higher education, but we often don’t feel comfortable talking about our student loans. We want ...

Who's Driving Your Uber?

07 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Domestic violence. Grave plot sales. The ripples of the financial crisis. A new immigrant's dashed hopes. This is what we heard about after we asked,...

Hari Kondabolu and His Mom Answer Your Life Questions

24 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The comedian and his mom give advice on pursuing career-life balance, dealing with racist friends and figuring out the best time to DTR (Define The ...

'Precious' Paid Off Gabourey Sidibe's Crunch Gym Debt

17 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The actor's first movie role didn't give her total financial security, but it did help her pay off one important bill.   Become a monthly sustaining...

Kevin Bacon Shows Us His Cash

12 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The actor opens up about money, sex at 58, and working on Jill Soloway's newest TV series, I Love Dick.  Become a monthly sustaining member of Deat...

Two Wheelchairs and A Baby

03 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The idea of having children was just fantasy "pillow talk" for Nikki Villavicencio and Darrell Paulsen. Then, a positive pregnancy test proved othe...

Newlywed and Paralyzed

26 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Three weeks after Rachel Swidenbank and Hiroki Takeuchi got married, an accident changed everything.  Become a monthly sustaining member of Death,...

Alec Baldwin Talks Money, Family, Fame and Cocaine

12 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The actor and comedian goes deep on death, sex and money in his new memoir, Nevertheless.  Become a monthly sustaining member of Death, Sex & Money...

Pleased to Meet You, Nancy

10 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Meet Nancy—a new podcast from WNYC Studios that's all about exploring identity, finding community, and having frank conversations about the LGBTQ e...

Why Rashema Melson Left Georgetown

05 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When we met Rashema Melson during her sophomore year at Georgetown University, she was tired of people calling her "the homeless valedictorian." A lot...

A Prison Guard In Transition

29 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Mandi Hauwert thought coming out as a transgender woman while working as a guard at California's San Quentin State Prison would be "insane." She d...

I Was Your Father, Until I Wasn't

15 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A listener named Tony wrote to us about his deep love for his daughter, and what it was like to discover that he wasn't her biological father. Suppo...

Live from the Internet: Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires & You

08 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Breakups, addiction, death, and music—married musicians Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires join Anna to answer all your questions live from Nashville. ...

Cristela Alonzo's Lower Classy Comedy

22 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Cristela Alonzo was raised by a single mom in an abandoned diner with no power or water in South Texas, but she says she can comfortably fil...

Cut Loose: Your Breakup Stories

15 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We asked for your stories about breakups. You told us about being left, doing the leaving, and the times when you're not exactly sure what happened. ...

The NFL Made Me Rich. Now I Watch It... Sometimes.

01 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Two and a half years ago, former NFL cornerback Domonique Foxworth told me about leaving football behind. Now, it's a part of his life again—in a w...

Mahershala Ali on Faith, Love and Success

24 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Mahershala Ali just earned his first Oscar nomination for his role in the movie "Moonlight." Ten months ago, he and his wife Amatus told us how the...

I Had Babies To Pay For My Baby

18 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

At 19, Sarah Short gave birth to her first child—and ended up thousands of dollars in debt. A few years later she carried twins as a surrogate to p...

Tracy Clayton Is Speaking Things Into Existence

11 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Another Round podcast host has a long list of goals that she wants to accomplish in 2017—and she wants her almost 100,000 Twitter followers ...

A Son and His Mom Laugh Through Darkness

28 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Bex Montz and his mom Katie Ryan laugh a lot together, even when they're talking about depression, suicide, and the sudden death of Bex's dad.  Su...

My Awkward Money Talk With Sallie Krawcheck

21 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Former bank executive Sallie Krawcheck says she's comfortable talking about other people's money. But when it comes to her own money—that's a dif...

Let's Talk About Porn

07 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Your stories about secret hard drives, fantasy plot lines, illegal downloads, titillating Tumblr feeds, and giving porn up completely. Support Death,...

Other Americans

23 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Since the election, we've asked you one question: What do you wish Americans understood about you, but don't? Hear Anna talk live with listeners abo...

What Money Can't Solve

17 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A confession is tortured out of a suspect. He goes to prison. Thirty-three years later, he gets a check for what he endured. But forgiveness is not ...

If You're Not ____, Then Never Mind

04 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Actor Amy Landecker has developed some rules over the years, about what she wants in a boyfriend, when she'll do nudity on camera and why she'll never...

I Was More Angry At God

26 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Jane Chung always prayed that God would protect her father. When he was murdered in 2014, Jane dropped everything to support her family, and s...

Ellen Burstyn & Gloria Steinem

05 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The journalist and feminist icon sits down with guest host Ellen Burstyn to talk about having the chutzpah to strike out on her own as a young woman...

Diane Gill Morris & Officer Robert Zink

28 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A mother of two black autistic sons talks with a veteran cop—and father of two autistic boys of his own—about her fear that her sons could be harm...

Chris Gethard & Tim Dillon

21 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Tim Dillon did his first line of cocaine at 12, sold subprime mortgages before the recession, and came out of the closet six years ago. ...

Sonia Manzano & Justice Sonia Sotomayor

14 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Longtime Sesame Street actor Sonia Manzano and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor talk about leaving their childhood homes in the Bronx, fac...

The Great Guest Takeover

07 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Four former Death, Sex & Money guests—Ellen Burstyn, Chris Gethard, Sonia Manzano and Diane Gill Morris—take over the host chair and help us wrap...

Life Is a Mystery

24 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When we talked with her this spring, Elizabeth Caplice described her life to us as "one big near death experience." She died on July 12, after more th...

Your Death, Sex & Money Short Stories – Live!

17 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We asked for your favorite short stories about death, sex and money. Hear actors Sam Underwood and Kathleen Chalfant perform two of them.  Suppo...

Anna Chlumsky Catches the Worm

10 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Anna Chlumsky left life as an actor behind until a psychic tapped her on the shoulder one day. Then she had to learn how to balance her renewed c...

Dating Was So Hard, Until It Wasn't

27 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Katie Heaney wrote a memoir about her lifelong single status. Then she realized she was looking for love in the wrong place.  Support Death, Sex...

We're Not Going To Have Karl Again

13 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Amber Scorah and Lee Towndrow's first child, Karl, died unexpectedly when he was three months old. As they grieved, they also decided to have an...

Tituss Burgess Airs His Laundry

29 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" actor takes us on a journey through his childhood in Georgia, and talks about what his relationship with his mother l...

Inside Planned Parenthood

22 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What happens inside Planned Parenthood has long been at the center of a raging political debate in the U.S. But we don't often hear from the patient...

Danielle Brooks Is Ready to Talk About Sex

08 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Danielle Brooks grew up in a religious household in South Carolina. But at 26, the actor says she's found new freedom to talk about her body and ...

An Update from Susanne

01 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We met Susanne and Mike almost 10 years into their recovery from heroin addiction. But disturbing criminal charges against Mike forced Susanne to ...

How Jeff Daniels Got Sober, Again

25 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Jeff Daniels describes turning 50 as "a speed bump at 80 miles per hour." His career got its second wind—and the Michigan-based actor abandoned ...

From Conversion Therapy to a Rainbow Yarmulke

11 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Chaim Levin and Benjy Unger desperately fought their attraction to other men by signing up for gay conversion therapy. They rejected the therapy tog...

Diane Guerrero on Debt and Deportation

27 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Orange is the New Black's Diane Guerrero has been on her own since she was 14, when her parents were deported. What followed were years of financ...

When I Almost Died

20 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Your stories about life after near death.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dead People Don't Have Any Secrets

06 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Amanda's husband Sam had a lot of secrets, most of which she discovered after his death. That made grieving, and moving on, a lot more complicated....

Rosie, Sixto, Hari, Uma, Mahershala, Amatus, Lisa & Dan

23 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

During times of big change, family often keeps us grounded. Meet the people who played that role for Rosie Perez, Hari Kondabolu and Mahershala Ali,...

After My Brother Avonte Disappeared

16 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Danny Oquendo put his life on hold when his half brother, Avonte, disappeared from his New York City school in 2013. Three years later, his life is dr...

Falling in Love... With Heroin

02 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Susanne and Mike met and fell in love with each other...and heroin. They stuck together through addiction and recovery, but things haven't fallen int...

Michael Ian Black's Middle-Aged Angst

17 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Michael Ian Black has been steadily building his career since the '90s. But he says he's tired of not finding mainstream success.  Support ...

DANCE BREAK!

10 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

You've been sending us your anthems of change. Now, we want to see you rock out to them.  Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustainin...

Lucinda Williams Says Whatever the Hell She Wants

03 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

At 63 years old, musician Lucinda Williams is more successful than ever. But with age has come a lot of loss. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming ...

Why Jeb Corliss Jumps Off Cliffs

27 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Jeb Corliss is a BASE jumper and wingsuit flier who's learned to very carefully control his emotions. It's made him fearless and, he says, "impossible...

Brooke Shields, Recovering Daughter

13 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Brooke Shields' two longest relationships have been with her career and with her mother. But she says she needed one to end for the other to thrive....

Living Alone, One Year Later

30 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Living alone has its perks: no one to tell you what to eat, how to decorate, or when to go to bed. But there's also no one to split the bills with. S...

Stop Calling Me 'The Homeless Valedictorian'

18 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, Rashema Melson became known as "the homeless valedictorian" with a full ride to Georgetown. Now a sophomore, she's tired of that label and ...

Autism Isn’t What I Signed Up For

09 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When we posted an article on Facebook about deciding to have children, Diane Gill Morris told us, "If someone had told me this is what it’d be l...

Holland Taylor Steps Off Her Island

25 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Actress Holland Taylor built a reputation by playing self-assured characters who keep others at a distance. But at 72, she's finally ready to take a...

Why You're Not Having Sex

18 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We asked you why you're not having sex—right now, or ever. These are your stories.  Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining me...

Kevin Powell Doesn't Fight Anymore

04 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode taped before a live audience in New York, writer and original Real World cast member Kevin Powell talks about confronting the anger a...

All in the Family of Norman Lear

28 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The 93-year-old writer and producer behind shows like The Jeffersons and All in the Family talks about his childhood and how it shaped the way he's ra...

The Power of Yesi Ortiz

21 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On the air, Yesi Ortiz is a warm, flirty host for a popular L.A. hip hop station. Off the air, she's a single mother of six adopted kids. Managing b...

An Astronaut’s Husband, Left Behind

07 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Jonathan Clark lost his wife, astronaut Laurel Clark, in the 2003 Columbia space shuttle explosion. As he grieved, he also learned how to be a...

The Sex Worker Next Door

23 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Emma's a single mom and supports her family with the income she makes from sex work. The money's good. But she struggles with the secrecy, and the s...

From Chaos to Sesame Street

09 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

For 44 years, Sonia Manzano explained letters, numbers, and life to kids on Sesame Street. But her own childhood left her with a lot of questions tha...

In New Orleans: How to Get Elected Coroner

21 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Jeffrey Rouse is the Orleans Parish coroner—a job he describes as the “interface between law and medicine.” A decade ago, he was preparing...

In New Orleans: A Doctor's Adopted Home

20 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Kiersta Kurtz-Burke spent Hurricane Katrina inside New Orleans’ Charity Hospital. Now that she's got two kids, she keeps her gas tank full ...

In New Orleans: Big Freedia Bounces Back

19 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Big Freedia is a reality TV star and fixture on New Orleans' bounce scene. But days after Hurricane Katrina, she was sleeping on the street ...

In New Orleans: Becoming the Demo Diva

18 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Simone Bruni started her career in hospitality, and dreamed of eventually being a stay-at-home mom. But when Katrina hit, she was 32 and single. S...

In New Orleans: From Raising Hell to Raising Kids

17 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When Katrina hit, Terri Coleman was a troublemaker—burning cars and getting stoned. She recalls, “The storm allow[ed] my weird adolescent destruc...

Life as a Wife

12 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Cindy Chupack came into her second marriage with a house on the beach and an Emmy. Her husband came in with a lot of debt. Support Death, Sex & M...

Joy Williams' Public Breakup and Private Grief

29 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

As her Grammy-winning duo The Civil Wars was publicly falling apart, Joy Williams was privately dealing with a rocky patch in her marriage, a new ba...

A Funeral Director's Life After Burnout

15 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We check in with Caleb Wilde, the sixth-generation Pennsylvania funeral director who told me about his struggle with depression last year.  Support ...

Siblinghood

01 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

After hearing from more than 200 listeners about their siblings, it's clear that the people we spend our childhoods with aren't the easiest ones to...

A Dirty Cop Comes Clean

17 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Ken Eurell became a cop for the steady paycheck. Then, he figured out how to make money by stealing from crime scenes, taking payoffs from drug dea...

2 Couples, 1 Poet, a Rock Band and a Dog

03 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We gathered two married couples, one Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, a dog, a rock band, and a turquoise couch onstage for our first ever live show. Hea...

Robert Earl Keen Quit Nashville and Stayed Married

20 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

After a dozen albums, Texas country musician Robert Earl Keen doesn't chase sex or booze like a younger rock star, but he does pay his band salaries ...

Brooklyn Left Me Broke, But I Came Back

06 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Heidi Reinberg left New York after thirty years because she was priced out of her Brooklyn apartment. A year later, she's back in her old neighborh...