Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People
1 phone call. 1 hour. No names. No holds barred. Thats the premise behind Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People, hosted by comedian Chris Gethard (the Chris Gethard Show, Broad City, This American Life, and one of Time Outs 10 best comedians of 2015). Every week, Chris opens the phone line to one anonymous caller, and he cant hang up first, no matter what. From shocking confessions and family secrets to philosophical discussions and shameless self-promotion, anything can and will happen! Theme song by Shellshag.
Episodes
Calling with a six month old baby asleep in her arms, this week’s caller is the ultimate multitasker. She and Gethard talk about comedy, children’s theater, grad school, switching careers while raising a newborn, and so much more, including the funny connection Geth has to her child’s birth.
Get $80 off your first month at Talkspace.com/BEAUTIFUL
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Cuddly as a cactus and charming as an eel, he’s your new favorite snarky talk show host. Join The Grinch (and his faithful dog Max) each week as he rants against Christmas cheer and roasts celebrity guests like chestnuts on an open fire. Starring Saturday Night Live’s James Austin Johnson as the notorious curmudgeon and broadcasting straight from Who-Ville, will The Grinch send these famous folks back down Mt. Crumpit, or will they...
For this, the 400th episode of Beautiful Anonymous, Gethard talks with a Gen Z law student who's getting ready to pick up her aunt, an 80 year old nun, so they can head home for the holidays. She catches him up on new slang, breaks down the specific horrors particular to each dating app, and then Geth puts her in the hot seat to help him understand exactly when he stopped being cool.
We're also SO excited to finally announce that ...
This week's caller is a Buddhist by way of Satanism by way of the Jehovah's Witnesses. These days, he's a mindfulness teacher, but the road there was long and eventful. He tells Gethard about leaving the faith he was raised in and finding sex, drugs, and serial killers along the way.
Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of sensitive topics, including explicit conversations about sex, drug use, and correspondences wit...
This week’s caller and Gethard have a lot in common. Two North Jersey guys with ties to the local music scene, who work hard to make their art, and have complicated feelings about how they define failure and success. They talk about all of this, plus the caller’s decision to retire as an artist now that he’s about to have a kid, and how all of this affects and is affected by moving through the world as an amputee with ...
This caller gave her dad a kidney just a few weeks ago. She called in to talk with Gethard about the importance of living donation, but this conversation ended up being about so much more: overwhelming loss, unbelievable resilience, and why sometimes you just have to laugh so you don’t lose it.
If you’re interested in learning more about living donation, here’s a place to start: organdonor.gov
This week’s caller is a PhD student with a connective tissue disorder who owns a Mardi Gras float. And that barely scratches the surface of what she and Gethard talk about. From first tattoos, to quirky parents, to defining what constitutes partying to this caller, she and Geth pack a lot into this hour long conversation.
To learn more about Laughing Together and the workshops it provides, head to laughing...
Thirty-eight weeks pregnant and living on a mysterious (to Geth) island off the west coast of the United States, this week's caller talks to Gethard about packing up her life and moving from the mainland, taking a ferry to Starbucks, and why it's sometimes easier to connect with animals than children.
Listen to Gethard’s newest special, A Father and the Sun
Keep up with Gethard's tour dates at chrisgeth.com
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Sharing something special from our friend Dan Heath, NYT bestselling author and host of the new podcast What It’s Like To Be... The show explores the world of work by interviewing interesting people with interesting jobs. You’ll be a fly on the wall as Dan talks to couples therapist Laura Heck: How can she spot a bad client before they walk in the door? What’s her favorite activity to try with struggling couples? You’l...
It's this visual artist's first day taking Adderall for ADHD. He talks to Gethard about the experience, about making art, about art making you uncomfortable, and why it's okay if your art doesn't always resonate with everyone. Plus, Gethard shares something he heard Henry Rollins say that affected how he's thought about his own art ever since.
Listen to Gethard’s newest special, A Father and the Sun.
An ex-belly dancer waiting for her cat sitter to show up opens this call by telling Gethard about participating in whimsical hobbies on the Jersey shore. Then, she breaks down the social justice issues inherent in her former profession and the part those issues played in her recent transition into a new phase of life.
To match with a licensed therapist today, go to Talkspace.com/BEAUTIFUL to get $80 off of...
An LA punk tells Gethard how his life changed in some really hard–but also some really beautiful–ways when his mom got sick. While taking Geth along on his day job as a dog walker, he describes how he’s applying what he learned then to his life now.
Visit Nutrisense.com/BEAUTIFUL and use code BEAUTIFUL to start decoding your body's messages, and pave the way for a healthier life! Be sure to tell them you ...
This week’s caller just found out she’s pregnant with her second child. She and Gethard commiserate over the joys of parenting– like when your kid uses you as a human napkin. She also tells him about the worst member of her wedding party, and the two share their mutual love for what might be the best children’s show, ever.
Stop wasting money on things you don’t use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions – an...
This week's caller struck up a friendship with a woman he met online at a low point in his life. He and Gethard have a tough conversation about what happened after the two finally met in person.
Listen to Geth this week on Toby Morse's podcast, One Life One Chance.
Keep up with Gethard's tour dates at chrisgeth.com
Leave us a voicemail at (973) 306-4676
This week's caller is a self-described "woman of stories" who shares one with Geth about being deeply betrayed by someone she loved. In the proces of telling her story, she gives a masterclass on empathy and compassion.
Thanks to everyone who came out to the first Laughing Together show. LaughingTogether.org for more information.
Preorder Unreliable Narrator by Aparna Nancherla now.
Keep up with Geth...
Geth talks with a caller who found out her stepfather was leading multiple secret lives. Then, she explains how connecting with another family member helped her realize her biological father had some secrets of his own.
Leave us a voicemail at (973) 306-4676
Follow Beautiful/Anonymous on Instagram @beautifulanonymouspod
Laughing Together’s Comedy In the Name of Mental Health, featuring Chris ...
Today’s bonus episode was recorded live back in May at Beautiful/Cononymous. Longtime listeners of Beautiful/Anonymous will remember Heidi and her family from the extremely special and emotionally impactful episode, “Love Is Everywhere” (episode 69, you’ll want to go back and listen to that one first if you haven’t yet). During that call, Heidi discussed the realities of navigating her daughter Holly’s cancer diagnosis...
A graphic designer who moved home and is helping her family run their 90-year-old hoagie shop tells Gethard about winning a national grilled cheese competition and the sandwich that sent her to the hospital, fostering over 30 cats, accidentally breaking into a stranger’s apartment, and her long journey to getting diagnosed with Chronic Lyme, a controversial illness she helps shed some light on. Then, she and Geth trade taco recomme...
This week’s caller keeps Geth on his toes with a real roller coaster of a conversation. It starts out with a pretty intense story and some frank talk about mental health and suicide, and then it goes off in about ten other strange and beautiful directions that include travels in Boston and Philly, picking up embroidery during the pandemic, and rip-sticking around New York City. And that’s not even half of what Gethard ...
An archaeologist shares memories of drinking champagne at a dig site and what’s so exciting about uncovering a two-inch piece of ancient stone tablet. She also discusses the history of colonial looting and the complicated nature of looting today. Then, Gethard and our caller break down what makes Indiana Jones–the most famous archaeologist–so bad at his job.
In this week’s introduction, Gethard recommends the Uncanny X-Men-focused...
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