Depresh Mode with John Moe

Joel Kim Booster Returns and Climbs Out of a Pit

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our 2021 interview with Joel Kim Booster was easily one of our most talked about episodes we’ve ever made. Joel was deeply depressed at the time of ...

Gracie Gold, Olympic Figure Skater and Human with Mental Illness

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In terms of achievement, Gracie Gold had it all: Olympic medal, world championships, beloved celebrity at the pinnacle of an incredibly competitive an...

Kari Faux Stands Up to Her Original Bully

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kari Faux is an acclaimed rapper originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, which is a place she returned to after several years of not loving life in Los...

The Huge Importance of Human Support with Paul Gilmartin

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It was 2003 and Paul Gilmartin, one time host of TV’s Dinner and a Movie, was presented with an ultimatum by his psychiatrist: either do something t...

Do You Need Some Financial Therapy?

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The issue of money is packed with shame, anxiety, and a lot of psychological mess that you might have to unpack in order to get to a comfortable place...

Adventures in the Army with the Bipolar General

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

During a decades long career in the United States Army, Gregg Martin just kept on succeeding. Star cadet at West Point, getting promoted up to two-sta...

A Mental Health Crisis on College Campuses

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The numbers are daunting. 60% of college students meet the criteria for a mental health disorder. 44% report depression symptoms, 37% for anxiety, and...

Empathy, Compassion, and Trying To Read the News with Megan Devine

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There is a lot to grieve in the world right now. We can look to the horrific events in the Middle East. We can look to other hot spots around the worl...

Devendra Banhart Is Sick of the Persistent Negative Internal Voice

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Devendra Banhart thinks it would be easier if the nagging, negative, self-critical voice he keeps hearing in his mind was actually angry, actually yel...

So You Want To Be a Therapist? Interesting. Let’s Talk About That.

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve ever been in a therapist’s office, you may have had the thought, “What if it was me sitting in that other chair? What if I was the the...

Susan Cain on Reaching a Quiet Life

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Introverts around the world celebrated, quietly, when Susan Cain’s book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, became...

Samantha Irby is Very Nervous About the Driver Behind Her

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Samantha Irby has visualized a lot of scenarios that get more than a little unnerving. The driver behind her gets so impatient with her driving that h...

Noah Kahan’s Mental Health Is In His Songs

25 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You don’t have to listen all that deeply into the song catalog of singer-songwriter Noah Kahan to hear mention of mental health themes. It’s an im...

Seasonal Affective Disorder and Why It Sucks So Bad

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When we went looking for information on the condition known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, one of the first things we noticed was that some p...

The Best, Most Depressing Songs

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There is no shortage of sad music in the world. Just reference most love songs, a substantial chunk of country music, and the entire genre known as “...

Josh Ritter On Music, Depression, Religious Crises, and Bipolar II

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Josh Ritter is best known for his music, with eleven albums released over the past 24 years and concerts all over the world. He’s also an accomplish...

Roxane Gay on Depression and the Trauma We Are All Sharing

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In preparing for our interview with Roxane Gay, we noticed that she had been talking a lot about the shared traumas we have been experiencing as a soc...

Cheryl Strayed on Wise Inner Sage Voices

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We all have voices inside ourselves that give us advice on what to do in a given situation. Not talking about literal voices that you genuinely hear, ...

Kevin Drew on Making Beautiful Music Out of Grief and Aging

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Originally, Kevin Drew set out to put together some songs, maybe even an album, of children’s music, featuring songs about stuff like not being afra...

Making Friends, Losing Friends, Anxiety, and Laughs

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

At 30, comedian Gabe Mollica realized he didn’t have friends. He only had bros, dudes with whom he could hang out in a kind of shallow way. He hadn’...

You’re Doing Self-Care All Wrong

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s not that Dr. Pooja Lakshmin has something against scented candles. In fact, she thinks they can be quite pleasant. It’s just that purchasing ...

Podcaster Jane Marie hires professional help for a life turned difficult

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Listeners to the podcast The Dream know that the show’s creator and host, Jane Marie, has a knack for exploring and explaining complicated worlds. P...

What is Anxiety Really Like? Author Jason Pargin Will Tell You.

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You know that feeling when you wake up knowing that you slept through your alarm? Or you forgot to set your alarm? So you’re in a state of panic and...

Managing Your Mind When the Music Fades

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Memoirist John Cotter describes his partial loss of hearing through a series of anecdotes. Running along the Massachusetts coastline, he found he coul...

Parker Molloy on Depression, Anxiety, and Being Trans in America Today

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Trans people are under attack in the United States, both literally, through violence and threats of violence, and figuratively, in the form of anti-tr...

Felicia Day on Depression, Anxiety, Achievement, Burnout, and Failed Prodigies

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It would take an entire section of show notes here to list all the things Felicia Day has accomplished in her career. Here’s an attempt at making th...

Comedian Aparna Nancherla is Neither Perfect Nor an Impostor

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Aparna Nancherla’s new book, Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Impostor Syndrome, covers a lot of mental health territory, much of which she talk...

Investigating Your Family, Uncovering Shame and Secrecy

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Investigative reporter and Columbia University journalism professor Meg Kissinger has, for many years, specialized in uncovering the catastrophic stat...

Lydia Loveless Keeps Laughing and Writing About Suicidal Ideation

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

“Every time I’m on the sidewalk, I want to step into the road,” sings Lydia Loveless on her new song “Runaway.”“Let this Kia flatten me ca...

Sure, Maria Bamford Will Join Your Cult

28 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When the comedian, actor, and author Maria Bamford has something to say about mental health, it’s a pretty good idea to give a listen. For one reaso...

Actor Patrick Page Knows How to Get to the Dark Places

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick Page has earned a reputation as one of the top classical actors in America today and one of the best at playing villains. He’s played Iago i...

The Misnomer That is Impostor Syndrome

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever felt like an impostor? Some of you, the listeners, wrote in to answer this question. According to Dr. Valerie Young from the Impostor Sy...

Jamie Lee Curtis: Self-Professed Dope Fiend of Show-off Business (Aired August 1, 2022)

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode originally aired on August 1, 2022.Getting Jamie Lee Curtis to open about her many years spent addicted to Vicodin is, frankly, not very ...

Sasheer Zamata on SNL, Buzz Lightyear, and Panic Attacks

31 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Before she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live, Sasheer Zamata was a cast member at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where she would climb ...

Bethany Cosentino On Inner Child Work, ADHD, and Making Sense of the World

24 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bethany Cosentino describes her new album as “a coming-of-age story about a 36-year-old woman reclaiming her life and what matters against the lands...

Nick Seluk of Those Delightful Heart and Brain Comics

17 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nick Seluk had been drawing an online comic called Awkward Yeti about a socially stumbling cryptid named Lars while working a corporate day job as a g...

Dr. Laurie Santos on How to Get More Happiness (Aired September 12, 2022)

10 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode originally aired on September 12, 2022.In the entire 321-year history of Yale University, the most popular class ever is a relatively new...

Emi Nietfeld on Mental Health, Trauma, and Acceptance

03 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Emi Nietfeld was applying to colleges, she had her eyes set firmly on the Ivy League. Through her childhood years spent in foster care, shelters,...

Dogs Who Are Always There For You and Friends Who May Not Be

26 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kate Speer is a New England writer, entrepreneur, and mental health advocate. She has a popular Instagram account and Substack newsletter where she of...

Noah Kahan’s Mental Health Is In His Songs

19 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You don’t have to listen all that deeply into the song catalog of singer-songwriter Noah Kahan to hear mention of mental health themes. It’s an im...

Michael Landsberg Gives Up the Highs to Escape the Lows

12 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A good day for Michael Landsberg goes up to about a seven but not really any higher than that. His mood doesn’t raise up to an eight, nine, or ten d...

The Dark Nebraska of Bruce Springsteen

05 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bruce Springsteen was coming off his first number one album and first top ten single when, in 1982, he retreated to a small New Jersey bedroom to reco...

Sen. Tina Smith on Mental Health

29 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Members of Congress answer to their constituents, ultimately. They work for us. So this week, we check in on one of our employees, the junior senator ...

The Legacy of a Narcissist

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Some important questions tackled in this week’s episode with the author of Adult Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers:When does someone have an actual...

Cheryl Strayed on Wise Inner Sage Voices

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We all have voices inside ourselves that give us advice on what to do in a given situation. Not talking about literal voices that you genuinely hear, ...

Samantha Irby is Very Nervous About the Driver Behind Her

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Samantha Irby has visualized a lot of scenarios that get more than a little unnerving. The driver behind her gets so impatient with her driving that h...

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month and We Are Winning

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When our society and our entire culture gets behind a cause, we can really make a difference. And it’s happened before. Back in the day, littering m...

Mental Health Support While You Game

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hero Journey Club is a business that offers mental health support groups for video game enthusiasts, run by therapists. The group sessions happen over...

Lori Gottlieb on How to Get the Most Out of Therapy

17 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Therapy is not a competition. You can’t defeat other clients or come in first place. Still, there is such a thing as getting better at going to ther...

Ana Marie Cox on Writing Your Recovery Story

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Writer, blogger, podcaster, pundit, and reporter Ana Marie Cox joins her good friend John Moe for a conversation about writing. Ana teaches what she c...

Chris Powell: Reality TV Star, Fitness Guru, Person With Mental Illness

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Powell is probably best known as the host of the ABC reality show Extreme Weight Loss, which ran for five seasons. On that show, Chris used his ...

Bonus Content Preview: What Works For Me

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A special preview of this year's MaxFunDrive Bonus Content! Listen to the whole episode by becoming a member. Go to MaximumFun.org/join and pick a lev...

Gary Gulman Is Feeling Much Better

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is it like to feel better in your mental state? And what does it take to get there and to stay that way? Those are some of the questions we ask i...

Dana Gould Was His Own Parent and He Sucked At It Real Bad

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As far as Dana Gould could tell, he had been awake for 11 days. He logically knows that this was probably medically impossible but even if he had slep...

Episodes We Just Can’t Stop Thinking About

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

To celebrate our journey into triple digit episode numbers, we take a look back at episodes that have really stayed with us. They’re not even necess...

Rachel Smythe, Creator of Lore Olympus, on Gods and Humanity

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Greek gods, as depicted in Rachel Smythe’s Lore Olympus series, are far from stately and dignified. Indeed, they’re neurotic, depressed, and a...

Zach Zimmerman Thought He Was Going to Hell, Which Was Depressing

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It was pretty simple in comedian and writer Zach Zimmerman’s mind when he was a kid: you had to accept Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior...

BONUS EPISODE: Sleeping with Celebrities - Andy Daly Tends His Own Lawn

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Enjoy the debut episode of John Moe's new sleep-aid podcast Sleeping with Celebrities and be sure to subscribe!Andy Daly is a comedian, actor, and pod...

Neal Brennan Has Tried a LOT of Things

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve listened to our show before, you know that we recommend a period of trial and error to find a mental health treatment that works best for ...

Household Chores, Struggle Care, and Your Mental Health

13 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The title of KC Davis’s book paints a pretty vivid picture of what her work is about: How To Keep House While Drowning, subtitled “a gentle approa...

Christian Finnegan Carries Baggage, Makes Jokes

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In many ways, Christian Finnegan’s earlier career path made a lot more sense given the path he has traveled. He went to NYU, tried and then dropped ...

Chris Walla on Quitting, Norway, Alcohol, Perfectionism, and Terrible Music Teachers

30 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Walla’s life today is very different from where it has been in the past. The musician and producer isn’t in the Pacific Northwest, for insta...

Autism In Your Mental Health Mix

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Veteran podcaster Lauren Ober suspected something was up and that it went beyond covid stress and professional stress and all the other reasons she ha...

Kate Beaton on Isolation, Oil, and Ducks

16 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kate Beaton’s new book, Ducks, is not about ducks. At least not really. It’s about people, specifically Kate and the people she worked with durin...

Paulina Porizkova Without Filters

09 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s easy to assume that the life of Paulina Porizkova has always been an easy one. Most people first knew her as an internationally famous model, p...

Stories That David Sedaris is Finally Free to Tell (Aired June 13, 2022)

02 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Honestly, I really expected to call this episode “Covid Sedaris” because David Sedaris had just tested positive for COVID when we taped the interv...

Kim-Joy of The Great British Bake-Off

26 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On The Great British Bake-Off season nine, Kim-Joy became well known not just for how cute her baked goods were but for how meticulously, exquisitely ...

Holiday Survival for People With Complicated Minds

19 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s that time of year when tv commercials and store decorations implore you to feel merry and jolly (words we only use this time of year). And if y...

Comics Creator Ellen Forney on Bipolar and a Monster Named Smedmerts

12 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It wasn’t until her late twenties that Ellen Forney noticed that her friends couldn’t really keep up with her. Ellen had boundless energy that too...

The Power of Story in Shaping Mental Health

05 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There is no shortage of self-help books in the world positing that the human mind can be explained, that there is a tidy order to things and a discern...

The Whimsy and Depth of Depressed Cake Shop

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I mean, even before you see the baked goods available at Depressed Cake Shop, the name alone is good for a laugh. Because what could be less depressin...

Psychedelically Tripping Out For Your Mental Health

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Granted, there have been people very high on the prospects of psychedelics for a long time as a means of achieving better mental health. But these fol...

Kristin Hersh Wanted to Play Magenta Chords

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kristin Hersh is an acclaimed and accomplished musician and songwriter through her solo work and as part of the bands Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave....

Jason Kander on War, Politics, and PTSD

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jason Kander had heard of post-traumatic stress disorder. He just didn’t think he had it. After all, he hadn’t been in any firefights while statio...

Tabitha Soren on Photography, Panic Attacks, and Overwhelming Grief

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

People are many things. Tabitha Soren became famous for her conversations with star musicians of the 90’s during her stint on MTV News. But that’s...

The Surgeon General Wants Your Boss To Build You a Healthier Workplace

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, is serving his second non-consecutive term as U.S. Surgeon General, having previously served under President Ob...

Song Exploder’s Hrishikesh Hirway Becomes a Creative Block Exploder

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re a fan of the podcast Song Exploder, and a whole lot of people are, you know that it’s all about creativity. A musician walks the audienc...

The Hilarious World of Depression, a memoir

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of people think of clinical depression as a condition wherein the patient lies in bed immobilized with sadness and despair. And sure, it can pre...

Kevin Love: All-Star in the NBA and in Destigmatization

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From a very early age, Kevin Love was great at sports. He had the talent, the size, and, most of all, he loved playing basketball. In this way, he was...

Mental Health Expert Says YOU are a Mental Health Expert

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You Are Not Alone: the NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health is a deep and thorough look at mental health and mental illness as they are experienced ...

Annie Weisman on Bulimia, Television, Catharsis, and Rude Internal Monologues

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Eating disorders are, unfortunately, pretty common. It’s also pretty common to experience shame and anxiety about them and thus suffer in silence. A...

Dr. Laurie Santos on How to Get More Happiness

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the entire 321-year history of Yale University, the most popular class ever is a relatively new one called “Psychology and the Good Life”, taug...

Jonathan Ames, Detectives, and Your Own Mysteries

05 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It used to be that Jonathan Ames read and wrote all kinds of books. But somewhere along the line everything but detective novels kind of fell away and...

Lola Kirke on Body Image, Music, Acting, and Being a Lady For Sale

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Maybe you, dear podcast listener, put on a couple of pounds during COVID. You were home more because there weren’t as many other places to go. You j...

Elizabeth Ito on Anxiety, Art, and Things You Can’t Control

22 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You really should watch City of Ghosts. It’s on Netflix, six episodes long, and it’s a delightful and important exploration of Los Angeles, cultur...

Gaby Dunn on Bipolar Disorder, Gender, Sexuality, and Personal Finance

15 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Gaby Dunn is well-known to podcast audiences for her shows Just Between Us, co-hosted by Allison Raskin, and Bad With Money with Gaby Dunn. They’re ...

Tom Scharpling on Suicidal Ideation, Depression, In-Patient Care, ECT, and Memory Loss

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Within the comedy world, Tom Scharpling is known as a bit of a Swiss Army Knife. He’s the host of the long running Best Show, online now and on WFM...

Jamie Lee Curtis: Self-Professed Dope Fiend of Show-off Business

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Getting Jamie Lee Curtis to open about her many years spent addicted to Vicodin is, frankly, not very difficult. She wants to talk about it. And that’...

Open Mike Eagle, the Former Obfuscating Mike Eagle

25 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Issues of depression and anxiety have been present in Open Mike Eagle's raps for a long time. His most played track on Spotify is "Ziggy Starfish (Anx...

Shane Koyczan Says Sometimes “Bullying” Is Just Assault

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Even if you’re not completely aware of Shane Koyczan’s poem “To This Day”, at least 25 million other people are. That’s how many views the Y...

Jamie Loftus Wasn’t a Budding Journalist, She Had Friggin’ OCD

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Right now, in Jamie Loftus’s childhood home in Brockton, Mass., there are dozens, maybe hundreds of notebooks in storage boxes. They’re from secon...

Justin McElroy: My Anxiety, My Anxiety, and Me

04 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of Depresh Mode with John Moe came about as part of a challenge to our listeners: if we reached our member goal during the last Max Fun D...

Faith Salie Was Miss Aphrodite, Then Things Got Complicated

27 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The CBS News Sunday Morning commentator, Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me panelist, and veteran actor had all the approval and validation one could want e...

Is Tim Heidecker Depressed or Does He Just Sing About It Very Accurately?

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s not actually all that hard to tell when Tim Heidecker is kidding and when he’s not, but it does take a little bit of practice. When he’s pe...

Stories That David Sedaris is Finally Free to Tell

13 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Honestly, I really expected to call this episode “Covid Sedaris” because David Sedaris had just tested positive for COVID when we taped the interv...

Ginny Hogan Has More Mental Health Issues Than a Plate of Refried Beans Does

06 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian and writer Ginny Hogan got interested in standup comedy when she was in her twenties and working at a tech startup in San Francisco. Soon she...

Jamie Tworkowski of To Write Love On Her Arms

30 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jamie never expected to be a mental health advocate. He was working in the industry that had always been his dream career: surfing apparel. But things...

Maggie Smith on Despair, Hope, Divorce, and Poetry

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Right now, in our society, there is so much to be anxious about. There are many factors that could lead one to feel depressed and defeated. If one alr...

The Language of Mental Health

16 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The English language is constantly growing and evolving, and so is our usage of that language. We don’t refer to people with mental illness as “lu...

Shamir Hits It Big in Music, Looks for Retail Jobs

09 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of people listen to Shamir’s music, and have since he was 19 years old and his songs began circulating. People listen for the innovative arran...