Depresh Mode with John Moe
Join host John Moe for honest, relatable, and sometimes funny conversations about mental health. Hear from comedians, musicians, authors, and actors about living with depression, anxiety, and other common disorders. The show also features insights from mental health experts, offering practical advice and reducing stigma.
Episodes
We Should Praise Addiction, Not Condemn It, Says Anthropologist Elizabeth Roberts
The title of Elizabeth Roberts’ new book, In Praise of Addiction, is likely to catch your attention, maybe even set off some cognitive dissonance in your mind. But the University of Michigan’s Elizabeth Roberts doesn’t want you to be unhealthy or take up new habits that can hurt you and others, she just wants you to consider that maybe we haven’t been looking at addiction with the clearest of eyes
Cartoonist Gemma Correll Saw a Therapist with a Clown-Festooned Office. Once.
British-born, LA-based author and illustrator Gemma Correll had a couple of reasons to choose the motif of an amusement park for her new anxiety book, Anxietyland. One, she loves amusement parks and wanted to be able to write off a Disneyland trip as a research expedition. And also, there are so many great metaphors to be found there like emotional rollercoasters and a worry-go-round. With hilari
RFK Jr. Wants To Take Your SSRIs Away. So What Are Democrats Doing About It?
Secretary of Health & Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is, to put it mildly, a skeptic of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medication, a form of meds that millions of Americans use regularly with tremendous benefit. He was once on SSRIs, went off them, then became addicted to heroin, and he believes these events are linked. He also believes they cause school shootings and cause h
Robyn Hitchcock is Fundamentally Delusional, Welcomes Birds
If you’ve ever listened to Robyn Hitchcock’s music, you know that it can get pretty surrealistic. Some might say divinely bizarre and eclectic. Others might just say weird. All of that’s fine with the London-born, Nashville-based artist, who has been putting out music on his own and with The Soft Boys and The Egyptians for half a century. Robyn says he’s very happy to be in touch with a world beyo
Blake Mycoskie Helped the World, Got Rich, Retired to a Life of Ease, Then Fell Apart
There is no Tom behind TOMS Shoes. It’s short for “Tomorrow’s.” There is a Blake, however. Blake Mycoskie founded the company in 2006 under the model that for every pair sold, a second pair would be donated to children in the developing world. TOMS took off, which meant years of constant work for Blake, traveling the world telling the TOMS story, and ultimately getting burned out and selling the c
An Episode About the Grind, Singer Zayna Youssef of Sweet Pill, and YOU
Yes, the episode is about a rock singer but it’s also about any of us who grind away for the benefit of our work and the detriment of ourselves. The sudden cancellation of the band Sweet Pill’s extensive tour promoting their sophomore album Still There’s a Glow came as a shock to fans and the press. But it makes total sense given that singer Zayna Youssef had been working herself into the ground w
Terrifying Times for Immigrants in America and Cristina Jimínez is Incredibly Hopeful
This episode of the show is about America, ultimately. We’re joined by Cristina Jimínez, author of the memoir Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Real Change and MacArthur genius grant recipient for a discussion of mental health in the immigrant and undocumented immigrant communities in light of events like the ICE surge, 9/11, and January 6th. Cristina fled Ecuador with her
Claude Steele on Churn, the Awkward Social Distress That Divides Us All
I’m pretty sure you’ve been in this situation: you’re in a group setting of consequence and importance. Maybe it’s at work, maybe in school, but something is on the line. In that place are people different from you. They’re of a different race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and you begin to worry about how you are being perceived. Are you an individual in everyone’s eyes or are they seein
Connecting Childhood Events To Your Stress Issues Today with Benjamin Wagner
The things that happened when you were young, especially the really painful things, can easily and often carry into adulthood. For documentarian, former high-powered executive, and actual Mister Rogers neighbor Benjamin Wagner, an adult life of terrible stress and substance use issues wasn’t really going to be solved until he understood more about the ripple effects of his parents’ divorce and a s
Sampler Episode Depresh Meals
You have to eat. We know this. But when depression is flaring, it’s really hard to even get to the kitchen, let alone make something tasty and good for you. Don’t worry. Our Depresh Meals episode has expert ideas for just that situation from Food & Wine’s Kat Kinsman and The Sporkful podcast host Dan Pashman. To hear the full episode, become a member of Maximum Fun for as little as $5 a month. You
Bonus mini-sode: Checking In with Bill Corbett
You have to call your friends once in a while and see how they’re doing, especially if they’re undergoing big changes and their city has been rocked with upheaval. Twin Cities-based actor and writer Bill Corbett will always be associated with Crow T. Robot, the wisecracking robotic commentator on bad films on Mystery Science Theater 3000. It’s a part he played for many years and a part he’ll be pl
Bonus Mini-Sode: A Dramatic Reading by Helen Hong and Interview with Playwright Sunny Kase
Hi, everyone, John Moe here. “Can I read you what Sunny just posted on Facebook?” asked my wife, Jill. I figured it was something about Tom Petty or her dogs but it was, in fact, a very funny and skillful micro-essay on why she listens to Depresh Mode and why, after years of listening, she became a member. Her argument was one that I would never dare make but enjoyed: if you’re not paying, it’s th
Casters on Casters: John Moe and Brenda Snell
It's MaxFunDrive. And here, for the first time, we give you an exclusive look (well, listen) at the craft of podcasting: presenting Casters on Casters.
In this episode, John Moe (Sleeping with Celebrities & Depresh Mode with John Moe) talks about his double life, as a person who speaks in a normal voice, and the host he becomes for Sleeping with Celebrities. And Brenda Snell (Secret Histories of N
Andy Richter on Divorce, Dating, Depression, and Dancing with the Stars
When our host, John Moe, started doing podcasts about mental health ten years ago, one of his first guests was his friend Andy Richter. Andy, who you know from various Conan shows and tons of other TV shows and movies, talked about having his depression pretty well managed at the time. Since then, his marriage ended in divorce and the Conan show on television ended as well. He returns to talk abou
Bonus mini-sode: Checking In with Felicia Day
We’re delighted to welcome the actor, writer, web celebrity (celwebrity?) Felicia Day back to the program as part of our ongoing effort to reach out to friends and just ask how they’re doing. You might know her from The Guild, the web series she created, or from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Mystery Science Theater 3000. Felicia has a new graphic novel, Lost Daughter of Sparta, and says she always d
BONUS CONTENT PREVIEW: All-Star Sad Songs That Make You Feel Better with Neko Case, Gavin Rossdale, and more
There is actual science that says listening to sad songs - about heartache, heartbreak, grief, worry, whatever it is - can make you feel better. The brain seeks that kind of stuff out and you feel less alone, more understood. It’s a paradox but there it is. We asked some friends of the show what worked for them and you’ll hear from Neko Case, Gavin Rossdale, Rhett Miller, Open Mike Eagle, Emma Swi
Jimmy Pardo on Being Funny, Depression, Anxiety, Trauma, Alcoholism, Contentment, and Being Funny Some More
When Jimmy Pardo joined us for a hilarious and revealing interview, he had just conducted a Never Not Funny anniversary show that exceeded nine hours in length. Not all that shocking if you’ve been listening to the show, which routinely exceeds two hours of jokes, interviews, and rapid-fire conversation. All those years of talking (and Jimmy talks fast) have meant a lot of self-reflection on a lif
Joshua Roman on Long Covid, Cello, Charging Hard, and Brick Walls
Covid hit everybody, either personally or as members of society, and our mental health was damaged. It was trauma and it largely hasn’t been processed. When Joshua Roman became the principal cellist at the prestigious Seattle Symphony at age 22, it wasn’t really a surprise. As he explains, he had been training since the age of 3, desperate to get better, intent on overtaking Yo-Yo Ma and Pablo Cas
Featuring Proxy with Yowei Shaw: Is it time to break up the band?
Today, I want to share an episode from a podcast I think you’ll enjoy called Proxy.
It’s hosted by Yowei Shaw, who you might know from the NPR show Invisibilia. After getting laid off in 2023, she found herself stuck with a question she couldn’t shake: why did she feel so ashamed… like it was her fault… even when she knew it wasn’t?
The question became the seed of her new show.
Proxy is built on
Annabelle Gurwitch: Author, Actor, Unexpectedly Still Alive
Covid was already rough for the very funny and personable Annabelle Gurwitch, as it was for everyone, and that was before her car broke down on an LA freeway just as she was getting a call with a terminal cancer diagnosis. Stage four. Annabelle has dealt with anxiety and depression for a long time and the cancer news certainly didn’t help, especially as Annabelle found strong connections between m
Taking Small Steps That Form Great Strides with Eric Zimmer
At age 24, Eric Zimmer was in rough shape. He was addicted to heroin, weighed maybe a hundred pounds, and was facing the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence. So he gave rehab another try and he had some success and started getting his life back together, diving into just about any book or teaching he could find that could help him get healthy and stay healthy. This led to conversations, the podc
Bonus Episode from In This Family: Ka Vang on War in Southeast Asia, ICE in Minnesota, and Mental Health Echoes
We are proud to present a very special episode of In This Family as a bonus for Depresh Mode with John Moe listeners. In This Family is produced by John Moe in conjunction with Nexus Family Healing and it’s about the connection between family and mental health. It’s a fascinating and moving look at the Hmong culture, their relocation to the United States, and the generational trauma that has been
Bubbles of Love: Your Burnout Treatment, with Emily Nagoski
When Emily’s twin, Amelia, ended up in the hospital twice, she knew that stress wasn’t something to be dismissed as “all in your head”. First of all, the head is connected to the body (by the neck), so stress is a physical issue that you can feel and be hurt by in all sorts of ways. Too much stress, at work, at home, in life, and you can run up against a real burnout situation. And it can wreak ha
Group Therapy Royalty and First-Time Movie Star Elliot Zeisel From GROUP
The patients in the therapy sessions in the new film GROUP: The Schopenhauer Effect are actors, but it’s not a scripted film. The actors were given characters and circumstances and then they improvised dialogue with each other and with the group leader, who is also acting. Kind of. Dr. Elliott Zeisel is one of the most important figures in group therapy in America since the 1970s. With all that kn
Jonathan Edward Durham Was In Horrible Mental Shape But Didn’t Realize It
Although he has a huge following on social media now, Jonathan Edward Durham’s life as a writer used to be a lot more low tech. It involved locking himself in a room in Los Angeles, pounding away on screenplays that almost no one ever read, sucking back smokes and liquor, barely sleeping, and finding himself to actually be pretty miserable. He did manage to write and self-publish a novel, Winterse
Huge Scientific Breakthroughs Are Changing How You’ll Think About Eating Disorders
You might remember Alexandra Paul as one of the stars of Baywatch or the Tom Hanks-Dan Aykroyd Dragnet film. You may not have realized that as a child and on to her long trip through the worlds of modeling and Hollywood, she was bingeing and purging and dealing with severe eating disorders. She tells us about her relationship with sugar and what food meant emotionally. Then we’re joined by Dr. Cyn
Are Dating Apps a Mental Health Grenade? And, How Are Kids Doing in ICE-Era Minnesota?
Dating apps and websites are booming right now as people look for ways to leverage to find love or even just companionship. Liesel Sharabi of Arizona State University compiled a meta-analysis of a huge number of studies about the connection between online dating and mental health and the results? Kind of bad news. People who use the apps compulsively, swiping all day long, are much more likely to
Niko Stratis on Dad Rock, Glasswork, Depression, Addiction, and Becoming Herself
Niko Stratis knew a couple of things growing up in the Yukon in Canada: that she was, in truth, a woman, despite being regarded by the world as male, and that being trans or different in any way was absolutely not okay. It wasn’t just a matter of identity, it was a matter of safety too, as she worked with guys who vowed that if their child was gay or trans, they would kill that child. Niko discove
SPECIAL EPISODE: Mental Health and ICE in Minnesota
The ICE surge in Minnesota has meant a huge number of arrests, protests, confrontations, deportations, children and adults sent to detention facilities, and deaths. It’s also meant massive anxiety, fear, and trauma around the state. Marcus Schmit of NAMI Minnesota says this is being felt acutely among people already struggling with severe mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, a
Amanda Knox on Facing Her Prosecutor, Her Past, Her Trauma, and Her Future
In 2007, Amanda Knox, an American studying abroad in Italy, was arrested, tried, and convicted of the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher. After years in an Italian jail, she was ultimately freed, reconvicted, and finally exonerated in 2015. Since then, she has married, become a mother, and she has returned to Italy, even meeting with the prosector who concocted outrageous stories that led to
Intentionally Blunt and Very Useful Talk About Suicide with Clancy Martin
Suicide is a problem. It’s perpetually a top cause of death around the world but society shames it, stigmatizes it, and is reluctant to discuss it even when talking about it would save lives. Well guess what, we’re talking about it. We’re offering insight, sympathy, and practical ideas to help yourself and others.Clancy Martin first thought about suicide when he was two years old and he has attemp
Stephanie Foo on Complex PTSD, Finding Recovery, and This American Life
It was several years into her talk therapy sessions that Stephanie Foo was offered a diagnosis: complex post-traumatic stress disorder, or C-PTSD. Regular PTSD stems from a single traumatic event like a car crash or a mugging. C-PTSD comes from a long series of traumas from which there seems like no escape. Like child abuse. The problems Stephanie was having with her relationships and rage and all
A.J. Daulerio on Bipolar, Substances, Depression, Suicide, and the Psychic Weight of Hulk Hogan
A.J. Daulerio exists as a caricature to a lot of people because he was the guy who published a clip from a Hulk Hogan sex tape on Gawker, got sued by Hogan, and he and Gawker lost to the tune of a $140 million payout. The enmity and shame of that was a lot to carry around, as was a lifelong battle with depression and bipolar disorder type II, as was a pretty profound problem with drug and alcohol
Two Truths To Make 2026 a Better Mental Health Year
We live in complicated times and, for a whole lot of us, we do so with complicated minds. A billion people worldwide are living with some form of mental illness and 20% of the U.S. population has experienced a mental health crisis in the past year.Circumstances in our shared world are surely contributing to the problem: climate change and natural disasters, affordability and employment problems do
Mike Doughty Was Recently Hospitalized for Depression Twice. It Helped.
It was two years into a vicious cycle of depression and Mike Doughty was falling apart. He was taking more Ambien than he had been prescribed, importing huge boxes of the stuff from India, waking up to find packs of cigarettes, candy wrappers, and pizza boxes with no memory of leaving his Memphis home to make such purchases. He was convinced something was deeply wrong with his heart even though ev
Tom Johnson Advised LBJ, Ran CNN, and Drove Himself to Severe Depression
The intriguing memoir Tom Johnson recently released is called Driven: A Life in Public Service from LBJ to CNN and it’s full of amazing anecdotes. Tom joined the White House in his early twenties, was the one to inform LBJ of Martin Luther King’s shooting, was a giant in newspapers and cable news, and loaned Gorbachev a pen that was used to sign the paperwork dissolving the USSR. Tom’s personal st
Anger: Let’s Talk About It, Learn About It, Not Fear It, Use It For Good
Anger can be a scary topic for a lot of people. It usually doesn’t feel good when you’re experiencing it and it can be associated with behaviors that are very frightening indeed. But Dr. Ryan Martin, who is one of the few academics specializing in anger and who has written two books about it, says anger is a normal and even beneficial emotion to experience. It’s your body’s way of indicating that
Unemployment Hurts Mental Health, Horror Movies Might Help It. Really!
It’s very easy to associate your job with your own sense of self. So it makes that it can be traumatic to be one of the scores of people being laid off in today’s turbulent economy. We are joined by the New York Times’ mental health reporter, Christina Caron, who has been looking at the effect of unemployment - especially long-term unemployment - on mental health. It can lead to more severe depres
Maureen Johnson Became Friends with Her Anxiety Monster
Maureen Johnson loves mysteries. Loves reading classic detective fiction and loves writing mystery stories, which young readers have been gobbling up for years. Some of Maureen’s stories feature teenage sleuth Stevie Bell, who, besides having a knack for solving cold cases, deals with an anxiety disorder. It’s not all there is to Stevie, of course, but it’s definitely there and she has to manage i
A Holiday Family Survival Mini-sode
Yes, the holidays are upon us. Getting together with family can be a wonderful, loving experience. It can also be a lot. There can be old grudges, chafing at family roles, the specter of politics might play in. We’re here to help. In This Family is a podcast produced by our host, John Moe, for Nexus Family Healing, a mental health nonprofit based in the Twin Cities. It’s all about the connections
Esmé Weijun Wang’s Mind Convinced Her She Was Dead and In the Afterlife
Cotard’s delusion, also known as Cotard’s syndrome, is an extremely rare condition where the patient believes that they are actually dead. For the bestselling author Esmé Weijun Wang, Cotard’s came along after she had already been traveling a difficult road that involved schizoaffective disorder along with a host of other mental health issues. While experiencing Cotard’s, Esmé urgently told her hu
Is Your Mental Health Diagnosis an Identity or Something More Meaningless?
You may find the charges in this episode jarring: depression is not the result of a chemical imbalance, SSRIs aren’t necessarily antidepressants, and the term you use for your mental health condition isn’t scientifically valid. Sarah Fay, author of Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses says it’s dangerous to identify with your diagnosis because it’s kind of made up and it blocks your pa
The Personal Side of Huge Cuts to Addiction, Suicide Prevention, and Mental Health Programs
Over half the employees at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) who were there in January are now gone, include 12 of the 17 senior leaders. SAMHSA is in charge of distributing and administering mental health programs around the country and the cuts to both staffing and to the programs the agency serves have meant many programs addressing addiction and suicide pre
Seasonal Affective Disorder and Why It Sucks So Bad
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 people aren’t even calling it that anymore. The website for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), for instance, uses the term “major depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern”, which means an acronym of MDDWASP. Here at Depresh Mode, we’re
Is Whiteness a Mental Health Problem? Dr. Jonathan Mathias Lassiter Thinks So.
It’s a question we ask a lot on this show: do you have a mental health problem or is the problem actually rooted in the world you live in? Psychologist Dr. Jonathan Mathias Lassiter says contemporary society lives under three different assumptions: there’s not enough to go around, kill or be killed, and us versus them or divide and conquer and this results in people valuing individualism, competit
Is the U.S. Government Going To Take Away Your Antidepressants?
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, clearly does not like SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), the most popular form of antidepressant on the market. They’re used by millions of Americans on a daily basis. He has tried to tie SSRIs to school shooters despite a lack of evidence to that effect. He has suggested that it’s harder to go off SSRIs than it is t
P.E. Moskowitz on Whether Your Mind is Broken or the World Is
During the violent Charlottesville protests of 2017, journalist and author P.E. Moskowitz was only a few feet away when Heather Heyer was killed by an attacking motorist. 16 years earlier, P.E. was in middle school Spanish class a couple blocks from the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks. The trauma contributed to panic attacks and, finally, a mental breakdown. As they got their life back
Kendall Toole Gets Knocked Down, Never Knocked Out
If you are one of the many subscribers to the Peloton exercise/media network, you may already be familiar with Kendall Toole. For many years, she was one of the stars of Peloton, exhorting users to push themselves harder, sweat more, and pursue their goals. In those cases, Kendall was positive, cheerful, always with a smile and kind words. But people are complicated and the truth is that Kendall h
Bruce Springsteen as Over-The-Counter Depression Treatment
At age 59, Anne Abel had never been to a concert. Ever. Music wasn’t part of her upbringing, although emotional abuse and belittlement from her parents absolutely were. Reluctantly agreeing to join her son and daughter-in-law to see Bruce Springsteen, Anne’s mind was absolutely blown by the energy and generosity of the musicians and the crowd. Bruce shined a light on a better possible world and al
Emma Swift Had a Complete Mental Breakdown. Found Health. Made Music About It.
While the acclaimed musician Emma Swift had experienced painful periods of depression in the past, fed by grief or the first Trump presidency, her psychotic break and mental breakdown in 2023 was new territory. She lost touch with reality, believing that her electronic devices had been hacked, that she was being followed, images of heaven and hell emerging. Emma actually had a sense that she was l
Sycophantic Chatbots and Alarming Cases of “AI Psychosis”
Are ChatGPT and other AI chatbots inducing psychosis? Or exacerbating it? Are people being hospitalized or even killed because the bots seem too human, too understanding, too lifelike? To be clear, the bots are not human. They are software. But they are so convincingly programmed to speak like people that users, especially ones who may already be having trouble discerning reality, begin to sense t
Alex Edelman on ADHD, Grief, Infiltrating White Nationalists, and The Paper
Alex Edelman loves going to concerts but admits that he usually goes solo. That’s because his ADHD leads Alex to show up pretty late to the show and he often spends part of it on the stairs writing something, occasionally darting into the main room for a song he likes. He can’t make it through most movies either. Alex stars in the new Peacock series The Paper, a sort of descendant of The Office. H
Better Home Design for Better Mental Health with Dr. Beverly Walpole
If you’re looking for a calm mind, do you love a room with little or nothing in it? Or do you need to be wall-to-ceiling with mementos and objects and stuff to give you a sense of peace? We take a look at how the layout of your living space may have an effect on your mental well being with Dr. Beverly Walpole. She’s a clinical psychologist and the founder of Haven | Wellness By Design, a consultin
Denise Winkelman: Comedian/Trans Woman/Former Pro Wrestler/Chronic Pain Sufferer
When she was growing up in conservative, evangelical rural Minnesota, she knew. When she was excelling at sports, giving and receiving body slams and folding chair hits as a pro wrestler, she knew. Even when she married a woman while still living as a man, Denise knew that she was female. Denise figured it was either suicide or take action to live her truth and fully transition. With her debut spe
Ashly Burch Delivers Mental Health Insight Using Puppets and Swear Words
There are plenty of places online to get very serious information on mental health, delivered in tones that are somber, sober, or very dry. Ashly Burch goes a different route on her new YouTube show, I’m Happy You’re Here, employing loads of comedy, puppets, foul language, and mature subject matter to teach what’s going on in complex matters such as anxiety. Ashly is known for her work in the game
Author/Comedian Tiffany Jenkins on Anxiety, Addiction, Felonies, Success, and Not Wanting to Exist
Because she racks up millions and millions of views for her viral comedy videos on social media, because she’s written two books including the new best-seller A Clean Mess: A Memoir of Sobriety After a Lifetime of Being Numb, because she’s famous and successful, Tiffany Jenkins and her family were invited to travel to California and visit Lego Land. They paid her to have a wonderful vacation. On t
We Have Two Guests This Week: Comedian Aaron Foster and His Depression
If you’ve dealt with depression, you know that it’s a disorder that speaks to you, firing off insults and terrible idea, often right in the middle of a conversation. Barges in to tear you down. We all must contend with this rude presence. Aaron Foster is a very funny comedian who is still fairly new to the full-time comedy life but, now in his fifties, he’s done a lot of living to inform his comic
Nurse Blake on Gay Conversion Therapy, Panic Attacks, and, Well, Nursing
To blow off steam from an incredibly stressful profession, professional nurse Blake Lynch started putting together little comedy videos on social media as “Nurse Blake”. The clips went viral and he started making live comedy appearances to packed audiences, many of whom were nurses themselves. His celebrity status gave him a chance to lobby for better pay and working conditions for nurses. As Nurs
Gavin Rossdale of Bush on Loss, Xanax, and New Emotional Landscapes
Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale has a lot of memories from growing up as a kid who excelled at sports but also treasured his Lou Reed records. He is also keenly aware of who left during those years: his mother disappearing after divorcing his dad, a beloved aunt passing away, and a revered older sister striking out on her own. Those losses informed his mental health for the rest of his life but so
Insomnia and Mental Health Problems: Each Horrible, Each Feeding the Other
Jen slept fine the night before she couldn’t. Just short of 29 years old and after years of excellent sleep, insomnia entered her life leading her down a years-long search for cures, treatments, or even just an explanation of why her life had been turned upside down. Jen Senior is the author of an article, “Why Can’t Americans Sleep?” in the Atlantic and she joins us to talk about the intersection
Prison, Addiction, Bipolar, and Four Loko with Author Brandon Stickney
Brandon Stickney remembers booze being everywhere growing up in Lockport, New York and he definitely remembers getting a taste for it growing up. Over time, he developed bipolar disorder and his substance use disorder added cocaine and opioids as favorite drugs. Brandon’s love of getting high would cost him his marriage, his successful career as a journalist and author, and his freedom, after gett
Sure, Maria Bamford Will Join Your Cult
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 reason, she’s hilarious. Also, she comes at the issue not just as an observer. Maria has a long history with mental health conditions. SHe has spent a good bit of time in in-patient facilities, has dealt with problematic intrusive thoughts, and has been dia
Ginny & Georgia Creator Sarah Lampert on Getting Mental Health Right On Screen
Hollywood doesn’t exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to portraying mental illness in a sensitive, honest, and appropriately complex way (think Psycho or the notorious caffeine pill episode of Saved by the Bell). But the top show on Netflix right now, Ginny & Georgia went to great lengths to show mental health conditions honestly. The series tells the story of Georgia, a mother with
Alexandra Savior on bipolar disorder and being discovered by Courtney Love
"Beneath the Lilypad" is singer-songwriter Alexandra Savior's third album, but her first in five years. Several years ago, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, type 1. That’s a condition marked with manic highs that can last for weeks or months as well as crushing lows of depression, she’s had both, you’ll hear about that. She’s also dealt with psychosis, and has spent time in an in-patient fa
You’re Not Imagining It, Climate Change IS Messing With Your Mental Health
As temperatures and sea levels rise, the effects of climate change are being felt in weather patterns, natural disasters, and in both public and personal mental health. We talk with Dr. Caroline Carney, President of Behavioral Health and Chief Medical Officer at Magellan Health in Phoenix about the connection between your mind and the dire conditions Earth is facing. She says the damage is being d
Can a Bipartisan Congressional Caucus Save Mental Health in America?
Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.) is one of four chairs of the bipartisan Mental Health Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, a 93-member group of Republicans and Democrats pledging to fight stigma, improve accessibility, and generally make the country’s mental health better. But as the Trump administration floats huge cuts to Medicaid and other social services and as the tone of politics in Ame
Ethan Sacks and Daughter Naomi Tackle Mental Health in Comics Form with A Haunted Girl
Ethan Sacks is a veteran comics writer, having created stories for Marvel, DC, and numerous Star Wars comics. In the comic A Haunted Girl, Ethan enlisted his daughter Naomi as co-writer to tell a story much more personal than anything involving Star Wars or the Avengers. A Haunted Girl tells the story of Cleo, a character inspired by Naomi’s real life experiences in her teens dealing with depressi
Felicia Day on Depression, Anxiety, Achievement, Burnout, and Failed Prodigies
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 that brief: acted in a bunch of TV shows you know, created and starred in web series, made just so very many online videos, and is now the author and star of an audiobook called Third Eye about someone who is supposed to save the world but fails. In our
The Head And The Heart’s Kenny Hensley Injured Both Shoulders and That’s Where the Trouble Started
Aperture is the sixth studio album by the indie-folk band The Head And The Heart and it’s kind of a return to the more grounded, collaborative sound of their earliest work. It’s less polished, less highly produced, not as poppy. That’s not an accident. The band has been putting in the work to be more of a cohesive unit by sharing songwriting and singing duties, going to therapy together, and tryin
988’s Future, Funding, and Online Fables
There have been ten million contacts, via phone calls, texts, and chats, with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline since it first launched in July of 2022. As its third anniversary approaches, we check in to see how the system is holding up, what the funding and capacity issues are, and what the future might look like with our guest, Hannah Wesolowski, Chief Advocacy Officer for the National Alliance
Generative AI Chatbot Delivers Great Results for Mental Health. Is “Therabot” the Future?
Would you open your heart to a bot? Tell it all your problems? Look to a piece of code, a computer program, for high-quality mental healthcare? Some people have said yes and the results are hard to ignore. Dartmouth University test subjects who sought help from Therabot, a generative AI chatbot, showed a 51% reduction in depression symptoms, 31% for anxiety, 19% for eating disorders. Dr. Nicholas
Perfectly Hidden Depression: Do You Have It? With Dr. Margaret Rutherford
If you were brought up in a family or a culture that never recognized, discussed, or processed things like depression and trauma, you may have learned to simply hide those difficult feelings away and simply act as if everything’s great. You can be a high achiever, striving perfection, all to keep away demons that you’ve never really faced. Your act can be so good that it even fools you. For a whil
Cameron Esposito on Comedy, Rehab, and Bipolar Disorder
Cameron Esposito has many titles: hugely successful standup comedian, actor in television and film, writer, podcast host. After a recent rehab stay led to a mental health diagnosis, she has realized that she’s also a person with bipolar disorder, type II. Cameron has a new special, Four Pills, that’s part stand-up comedy and part reflection on the circumstances that led to this discovery as well a
The Thorny Issue of Airline Pilots and Mental Illness
Statistics say that 23% of Americans are currently living with some form of mental illness. For most people, that calls for reaching out for help and receiving treatment and advice on management. But if you’re an FAA-approved airline pilot, disclosing that you have something like a depressive disorder or an anxiety problem can mean a temporary pause or permanent end to your entire career. Of cours
Hanif Abdurraqib on Cultivating a Support System, Depression, Anxiety, and Basketball
Hanif Abdurraqib is a MacArthur Fellow, accomplished poet, and critically lauded author of numerous books, including There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, which is now out in paperback. He’s also a person who deals with major depressive disorder and numerous anxiety disorders. In a revealing, positive, and practical interview, Hanif talks about the numerous ways he cares for his m
Checking in With Friends: Open Mike Eagle
Things are scary in this country these days for a lot of people. There is turmoil in the government, shakiness in the economy, and a deep divide over what America even means anymore. In times of upheaval, it’s a good idea to reach out to friends, see how they’re holding up, help carry their burdens and sorrows, and see what wise advice they can share about perseverance. We do this on our show from
Welcome, New Listeners
We’ve been seeing an influx of new listeners recently. It’s very exciting. Thank you for that and we’re delighted that you’ve joined us. So we thought we’d take a moment and explain what the show is all about and who it’s for. Spoiler alert: it’s for everyone, including you, regardless of your mental health history.It's the final week of the 2025 Max Fun Drive! Check out the fun thank you gifts an
Jim James of My Morning Jacket on Depression, EMDR, Gratitude, and Taking Care of Jim
“I’m very kind to Jim, I’m trying to take good care of Jim, I’m trying to love Jim,” says musician Jim James of the band My Morning Jacket. The kindness he’s showing Jim, himself, is a relatively new thing, he says, after a long time spent kind of beating up on the guy. As My Morning Jacket releases its new album, is, Jim reflects back on issues such as a need for validation through achievement, a
BONUS CONTENT PREVIEW: Depresh Mode: The Game Show
In this bonus content edition of Depresh Mode, We’re joined by some Maximum Fun all-stars for some very light-hearted and delightfully competitive games that are as informative as they are silly. Our competitors:Justin McElroy of My Brother, My Brother, and Me, Adventure Zone, and SawbonesHal Lublin of Tights & Fights and We Got ThisLaura Swisher, senior producer overseeing about a million Max Fun
John Moe helps kick off MFD Spring Break
It’s not MaxFunDrive without a wild kickoff spectacular! Former real-life VJ and host of MTV's Spring Break 1999, Dave Holmes, takes your favorite MaxFun hosts through some wacky ‘90s- and Spring Break-themed mini games!!Featuring: Dave Holmes, Jeremy Bent, Oscar Montoya, Dimitry Pompée, Tom Lum, Ellen Weatherford, Alex Schmidt, Brenda Snell, Drea Clark, Alonso Duralde, Dan McCoy, Jordan Morris, M
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