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Thanks For Asking

Thanks For Asking

Feelings & Co. 213 Episodes Jul 24, 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

456. Is This a 90s Summer? with Jo Piazza
456. Is This a 90s Summer? with Jo Piazza Jul 24, 2026 3151 Some days, OK things are all around us and naming them is a breeze. On other days, it feels like you have never, EVER been OK in your entire life. Whatever day you’re having, Nora and special guest and friend of the pod Jo Piazza are bringing you a message: to join them in their version of a 90s summer of surrender. They talk about lowering expectations, enjoying the whimsical little things (think
The Best at Suffering Award: Maggie Smith on Life After Divorce and Letting Go of Perfection
The Best at Suffering Award: Maggie Smith on Life After Divorce and Letting Go of Perfection Jul 21, 2026 3121 When you’re a planner and life throws you a big, rusty wrench, how do you live in the aftermath? If you’re anything like us, you desire control. A perfect, beautiful calendar with everything already on it – no surprises! Maggie Smith was one of those people, too. Being ruled by predictability worked for a lot of her life – through school, marriage, children, her career – but then everything implod
9 Things You Need To Hear If You're Struggling: Laura McKowen on addiction, guilt, and recovery
9 Things You Need To Hear If You're Struggling: Laura McKowen on addiction, guilt, and recovery Jul 14, 2026 2911 Drinking is a really acceptable thing in the US. Most towns have liquor stores on every few corners. Every home decor store has products with some variation of the same, tongue-in-cheek humor: “Mommy’s Go-Go Juice,” “I’m not whining, I’m wine-ing,” or “It’s WINE O’CLOCK!” More often than not, explaining that you’re sober can be more awkward than explaining that you binge drink every other weekend.
A Bluebird Day with Laura McKowen
A Bluebird Day with Laura McKowen Jul 10, 2026 3977 What’s okay with Laura McKowen right now? After we talk about the weather (and who doesn’t love to talk about the weather?) we go on a journey through prestige and lowbrow television, briefcases, baked goods and a poem that will bring you the soul hug you need.  Laura McKowens books: We Are The Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life (Bookshop | Amazon) Push Off From Here: 9 Essential Tr
SUMMER OF SURRENDER: Let’s give up, girls
SUMMER OF SURRENDER: Let’s give up, girls Jul 7, 2026 3545 There is no shame in giving up, despite the fact that the #Girlboss from the 2010s in us all might be rolling over in her metaphorical grave at the thought. But if you’re anything like Nora, you’ve felt the pressure from… well, everywhere to have a plan for the summer. To make it the most magical summer for your kids. To juggle work and hobbies and friends and your health with ease even as we’re h
Uprooted: What Can Happen When a Black Child Is Transracially Adopted by a White Family?
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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

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