It's like being stuck in an elevator with a very annoying person.
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Growing up, Dani Shapiro never felt like she truly belonged to the orthodox Jewish community she lived in. All around her were kids who dressed and prayed and looked alike … and then, there was Dani — a fair-skinned, fair-haired, blue-eyed little Jewish girl. Dani spent much of her early writing career authoring fictional stories […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Today, we’re bringing you something special: a new podcast produced by Pineapple Street Studios called “Love Thy Neighbor.” It’s a story about immigration, white flight, the downfall of New York City’s first Black mayor, and the rise of Rudolph Giuliani. It’s also a story about the host’s own journey as a Black, Jewish New Yorker […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
When someone we love dies, we become the vessels responsible for carrying their memory forward. The people we love stay alive in the big things, of course … but in the little things, too. When a listener shared an inside joke with the Terrible community about her late husband, we knew it was the beginning […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Liam was raised as a girl, but from a very young age he knew that just … didn’t make sense. When he comes out to his evangelical Christian parents as a young adult — first as a lesbian, then as a trans man — it unfortunately goes exactly how he expected it to. This episode […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
In our “Behind The Scammer” episode, you met Celisia Stanton and Rev. Gonzales, two people who had their life savings stolen from them by their financial advisor, a man named Isaiah Goodman. We intentionally focused that episode on the scammed – on the victims. But we do have a duty to reach out to the […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Fun fact: Nora is a matchmaker — an aspiring one, at least. So we are making … a dating show? We’re gonna try, anyway. If you’re a human looking for love, first listen to this mini episode. (That’s important.) Then, send us a voice memo. Here’s how: Find a quiet place! Hold your […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll get when you join us on TTFA Premium. For $8 a month, you can support our show AND get ad-free episodes and bonus content — including mailbag episodes like this one. Sign up today at TTFA.org/Premium. Join the TTFA reading club: TTFA.org/readingclub Our twice-monthly newsletter features behind-the-scenes content, previews of […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
We are all just products of the people who raise us. And they are products of those who raised them. Vanessa Zoltan knows that better than most. She is the grandchild of four Holocaust survivors, and for her, nihilism and depression kind of run in the family. Can’t get enough TTFA? Sign up for TTFA […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Many people who have autism are diagnosed at a young age. But today’s guest, Grace, wasn’t diagnosed with autism until she was 27 years old. In the months since the diagnosis, Grace has spent a lot of time reflecting on her childhood and young adulthood to understand why this wasn’t caught sooner — and in […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
We recently made an episode called “The Grudge Book” filled with your grudges, and the feedback was SO strong. People felt validated. They laughed. They connected. So Nora got to thinking … did we need an episode that also gave you a place to share the other things that are hard to say? Your regrets? […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Olivia is 7 years old when her dad moves out of state to take a new job … and is never heard from again. In high school, a manilla envelope appears in Olivia’s mailbox letting her know the reason she never heard from him is because he died by suicide. But when Olivia learns as […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll get when you join us on TTFA Premium. For $8 a month, you can support our show AND get ad-free episodes and bonus content — including mailbag episodes like this one. Sign up today at TTFA.org/Premium. Join the TTFA reading club: TTFA.org/readingclub Our twice-monthly newsletter features behind-the-scenes content, […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
It’s the stuff of romantic comedies: Man meets woman as they’re boarding a flight. The two quickly discover they share many similarities and go on to chat for hours. There’s an instant connection. The big difference here is the woman is Nora, and the man is a TTFA listener. And what she and Jose spend […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Suffering can feel like such a singular experience — like there’s no one else in the world who understands what we’re going through. But sometimes, if we look hard enough, we find that our singular experience intersects with another. This is the story of two young girls whose stories intertwined during a tragic accident on […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll get when you join us on TTFA Premium. For $8 a month, you can support our show AND get ad-free episodes and bonus content — including mailbag episodes like this one. Sign up today at TTFA.org/Premium. Join the TTFA reading club: TTFA.org/readingclub Our twice-monthly newsletter features behind-the-scenes content, […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
In our “Behind the Scammer” episode, you met Celisia Stanton. Being the victim of a crime really makes you think through the way that you consume true crime entertainment, and Celisia wanted to approach the genre from a different angle — not just on the crime that occurred, but on the systems that surround every […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll get when you join us on TTFA Premium. For $8 a month, you can support our show AND get ad-free episodes and bonus content — including mailbag episodes like this one. Sign up today at TTFA.org/Premium. Join the TTFA reading club: TTFA.org/readingclub Our twice-monthly newsletter features behind-the-scenes content, […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
We’re culturally obsessed with scammers, con artists and fraudsters. People like Elizabeth Holmes and Bernie Madoff dominate headlines and then get films made and books written documenting what they did and how they did it. But behind the scammers are the victims: individuals who are struggling to recover their sense of safety, their identity … […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
When you introduce yourself to someone for the first time, you start by telling them your name and (maybe!) a few facts about you. The other person takes the information at face value. There’s no judgment, no opinion formed … just two people meeting each other.Amanda has no idea what that feels like. In 2007, […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll get when you join us on TTFA Premium. For $8 a month, you can support our show AND get ad-free episodes and bonus content — including mailbag episodes like this one. Sign up today at TTFA.org/Premium. Join the TTFA reading club: TTFA.org/readingclub Our twice-monthly newsletter features behind-the-scenes content, […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
The internet and social media are a huge way for us to be seen as individuals. We share our lives online because it gives us connection … and because it gives us attention. But that attention isn’t always positive. Jolie knows this all too well, because in 2019, she found herself on the wrong side […]
We’re back with another Terrible Reading Club episode, sponsored by Betterhelp Online Therapy. Think of it as our book club for truly terrible times. Haven’t read the book we’re discussing? Good news: In this reading club, that’s not a requirement. Today, we’re chatting with Danielle Henderson about her memoir, “The Ugly Cry.” You can buy […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Angela and Jeff have an awesome marriage. They share the same life goals, the same ideologies. Their life together is peaceful and easy, and they love their two kids. But just after their tenth anniversary, Angela starts to feel that something is … off. And it’s not Jeff — he’s as steadfast as ever. It’s […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
When one of the people in a relationship is dead, the relationship becomes a bit one-sided. Your version of who that person is and was is obscured by all of your own biases, your commitment to your version of the truth, to your side of the story. Nora’s dad — Vietnam veteran, father of four, […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Grief doesn’t always mean the loss of a person. It can also mean the loss of who you used to be. The loss of the life you thought you were going to have. Gina is 43 years old. She’s single without kids. She’s a producer and world traveler (25 countries so far). Her independent nature […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll get when you join us on TTFA Premium. For $8 a month, you can support our show AND get ad-free episodes and bonus content — including mailbag episodes like this one. Sign up today at TTFA.org/Premium. Join the TTFA reading club: TTFA.org/readingclub Our twice-monthly newsletter features behind-the-scenes content, previews of […]
Written by Puzzlehead, in Relationships, TTFA
Sometimes the humans we need love and support from the most just aren’t able to give it to us. When that happens, who do you have? If you’re Adrienne, you have Luke, a giant German Shepherd. The Luke Legacy Fund is a stand-alone program in partnership with the Twin Cities Animal Rehab Clinic. For more […]