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Thanks For Asking

Thanks For Asking

Feelings & Co. 213 Episodes Jun 30, 2026

A call-in show from author Nora McInerny that lets real people get real honest about how they're really doing. Operators are standing by to take your calls.

Episodes

Uprooted: What Can Happen When a Black Child Is Transracially Adopted by a White Family? Jun 30, 2026 3675 Adoption is often viewed as a happy ending, and sometimes it is! But for Thenedra, her experiences as a child in the foster care system and later as a trans-racial adoptee were — and still are — much more complicated than that. This is an episode about what can happen when trans-racial foster and adoptive parents are not just unprepared to raise traumatized children, but also unprepared to raise B
Nothing Starts on Sunday but Birth Control with Courtney Maum Jun 26, 2026 3743 If you’ve been feeling like life is throwing everything at you all at once – burnout, exhaustion, chaos – today’s episode is for you. Today, Nora is joined by author and friend of the pod Courtney Maum, who brought OK things from weird Zillow listings in Florida to fancy gifts from very classy ladies. And, despite their love for each other, they very nearly have a friendship-ending fight – over wh
What happens after Viral Fame? Rebecca Black can tell you. Jun 23, 2026 2683 In 2011, it was impossible to escape the “Friday” music video. September 16, 2011 changed the trajectory of pop culture – and of 13-year-old Rebecca Black’s life – forever. What started as a harmless, fun music video (with yes, some questionable lyrics) turned into a vitriolic mob obsessed with bullying a teenage girl. Even now, every few months the song will resurface on TikTok. But what happens
Happyish Complicated Father’s Day to all who struggle to celebrate! with Dayna Kathan Jun 16, 2026 2670 Father's Day can be complicated. In this special mini-episode, we hear an essay from writer Hannah Diaz titled No One Sent Flowers for the First Loss. Then, podcaster and former Vanderpump Rules actor Dayna Kathan talks about how loving her dad from a distance is an act of self-love. Happy Complicated Father's Day. Hannah's IG: @hannah_d1az Dayna's IG: @daynakathan Watch us on YouTube her
A Spiritual Hug with Nadia Bolz-Weber Jun 12, 2026 3190 Today’s IGTBO episode is a spiritual hug – as previous guest and friend of the pod Kelly Corrigon called it – with guest Nadia Bolz-Weber, a beautiful writer, a fellow griever, and a pastor. Don't be frightened away from this episode if you are not a religious person – there won’t be any lecturing here. Nadia is not that kind of religious person. She’s the kind of religious person that, at the ver
There’s an Alien Inside Me: Medical Misogyny, a Rom-Com, and Struggles with Infertility Jun 9, 2026 3265 Nicole was 21 years old and had an alien growing inside her chest.  Well, no, not really. But it WAS an extremely large tumor growing inside of her that very much FELT like an alien — an alien that doctors had told her multiple times was just weight gain. After dismissal time after time again, Nicole finally meets a surgeon who tells her that she has a massive cyst on her fallopian tube that was
The Summer Reading List with Kate Baer Jun 2, 2026 3483 Summer is coming, and you know what that means – beach days (or days spent inside with the AC blasting, no judgment) with your favorite books. Today, Nora and friend of the pod and special guest Kate Baer get together to give you the Ultimate Summer Reading List for 2026, including Lena Dunham’s new memoir, a creepy novel that’s like if the Hunger Games and Love Island had a baby, and many more (s
It's (still) Okay To Laugh (and crying is still cool, too) May 26, 2026 2786 It has been 10 years since Nora’s first book, “It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying Is Cool Too)” was published. A lot has changed since – she got remarried, had another child, and started this podcast to carve a space in the world for conversations that really matter. In honor of IOTL’s 10th birthday, today Nora is reading the two chapters out loud and live annotating – connecting with the person she was s
Creativity is For Everyone (The Artist’s Way with Elizabeth Kott) May 19, 2026 4528 Burnout seems like the biggest thing all of us have in common right now. It’s hard NOT to get burnt out when the world is rife with injustice and horror and you’re expected to carry on as normal. Here’s the thing: you don’t have to carry on as normal. But you do have to reach out and find joy – it’s going to keep you alive. It’s going to keep you going. It’s going to remind you that you won’t alwa
What Is Happening and Where Are We? with Catherine Newman May 15, 2026 3409 On this episode of IGTBO, Nora is joined by her favorite living novelist, Catherine Newman, to put a little more OK in your day. They talk about celebrating sobriety and not drinking, Artemis II, how to unwind with the Bear Valley Eagle Cam, and the importance of family (and highly intense family card games). If your anxious heart needs a break from the whirlwind of Bad outside (and need to feel v
Dancing for the Devil: Dr. Edith Eger on Surviving the Holocaust and Turning Trauma Into Purpose May 12, 2026 3339 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 stru
Getting Married Again Doesn’t Make You A Bad Widow with Leslie Harter-Berg May 5, 2026 4216 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 you

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