Death, Sex & Money

The man behind artful and goofy comedies like The Righteous Gemstones and Eastbound and Down talks about finding his people at an upstart public film program in North Carolina, crafting characters that are nothing like himself, and nurturing a community of like-minded filmmaker friends far away from Hollywood. 

He also discusses his new short story collection Thrilling Tales of Modern Men. 

Podcast production by Cameron Dre...

In the mid-1970’s, a small college radio station created an evening program catering to a new socioeconomic group referred to as the “new Black middle class.” The show was called “The Quiet Storm” and it grew so popular that an entire genre of music would spring up alongside it.  Artists like Anita Baker, Luther Vandross, and many more would find massive success in the genre, performing smooth and...

Jim Tierney, pet tracker, has worked on more than 250 lost pet cases around New York City. Jim says once a dog is lost, their behavior changes. “They become less like your pet, and more like a wild animal.” In this episode Jim talks with Zoe Azulay about his tracking method, what it’s like to work with distressed pet owners, and why he didn’t become an animal lover until after his divorce.

Death, Sex & Mo...

This week, listeners share what it’s like to plan a dream wedding when money and family relationships lead to conflict and compromise. We hear from couples with vastly different ideas of what they wanted to spend, about opinionated parents and in-laws, and tips from people who managed to spend less. This episode first ran in 2023 and includes new updates from some of the happy couples. 

Podcast production by Zoe Azulay wi...

A lot has happened in Jeff Hiller’s life since he was last on the show in 2024.  Last year he won an Emmy for his role on the HBO show Somebody Somewhere and then went viral for his sincere and funny acceptance speech. He’s had featured roles in the AppleTV hits Pluribus and Widow’s Bay and joined the revolving cast of the Broadway show Celebrity Autobiography. And his memoir Actress of a Certain Age is out i...

Growing up, whenever Anna Konkle's parents fought–which was frequently–she usually sided with her dad. As she got older, she started to see those memories differently. Was her dad actually the bad guy? This week on Death, Sex & Money, Konkle talks about her new memoir, The Sane One, and the challenges of unpacking morally ambiguous memories. She also narrows in on her relationship with her dad, their estrangement, a...

Actor Peter Dinklage and playwright Erica Schmidt have been married for two decades, and even though they’ve collaborated on projects, it’s rare for them to do an interview together. That’s why we were so excited when they agreed to join Anna on stage at the Tribeca Festival to discuss how they balance privacy and family, why they wish interviewers would stop fixating on Game of Thrones, and how they met on a roma...

Theo Baker was seventeen when he enrolled at Stanford and stumbled into one of the biggest stories on campus: academic misconduct allegations against the university's president. His reporting eventually forced the president out. In this episode, Theo talks about breaking that story, navigating backlash from classmates and faculty, and what he's learned about the ways Silicon Valley's culture of ambition and power shapes college lif...

Romy Holland is a Berkeley mom whose meet-cute happened at a raucous sex party. That night she had sex with dozens of men, one of which would become her husband. In this episode, Romy talks about the party in question, from the sexy aspects to the much more awkward ones. Plus she talks about what new motherhood does to desire, and the unexpected emotional toll of an abortion that didn't go as planned.

Read Romy’s essay “...

Anna talks to Alexis, a parent whose 8 year old son has an anxiety disorder, about what it was like attending a therapy program designed for parents of anxious children. Plus, Anna talks to the founder of the program, Dr. Eli Lebowitz, Director of the Program for Anxiety Disorders at the Yale Child Study Center, and author of Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents.

Podcast production by Z...

The actor and travel writer Andrew McCarthy used to be a member of one of pop culture’s most famous friend groups: The Brat Pack. He starred in movies like Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo’s Fire and palled around with actors like Rob Lowe and Emilio Estevez.

Four decades later, in middle age, he found himself nearly friendless and set out on a cross-country road trip to reunite with the buddies he missed the most. This week ...

Tim Friede grew up in a strict, religious household with an obsession for science and a knack for breaking rules. He became fixated on a particular problem: roughly 120,000 people die from venomous snakebites every year worldwide.

He developed a theory that if he could become immune to snakebites, then his blood could be used to develop a better antivenom. So, he got to work. Over nearly two decades, while working odd jobs in factor...

Kara Swisher has built an impressive career reporting on–and forcefully critiquing–the world of tech, especially the ultra-wealthy power players increasingly calling the shots. Since Steve Job’s death in 2011, she’s noticed a sharp uptick amongst those Silicon Valley elite doing all sorts of “wacky shit” to try and defy aging, extend their lifespan, and possibly even stop death itself.  ...

When musician Chris Dowd was 19, shortly after graduating from high school, his band Fishbone got signed to Columbia Records. The group was made up of Black teenagers in Los Angeles, who combined several musical genres—funk, punk, ska, metal, reggae—into a new exciting sound in the late 70’s. They influenced countless other bands but struggled to find lasting commercial success.

This week on the show, Chris talks t...

In 2008, travel writer Rick Steves thought the U.S. might be on the verge of war with Iran. So he took a TV crew there to document the people and places who might soon be at risk. “You should know people before you bomb them,” he told Anna Sale. 

In this episode, Rick talks about his multiple visits to Iran (the first was in 1978) and how travel in general can challenge our beliefs and broaden our perspectives. He a...

Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a novel that follows a young college student who starts a flirtation, and then affair, with a college professor who ends up getting her pregnant.  Author Rufi Thorpe takes us through what happens next, as Margo decides to keep the baby and then joins OnlyFans in the earliest days of the site.   

The novel is now a TV show on AppleTV starring Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nic...

When Doree Shafrir started fertility treatments in her late thirties, she thought it would be relatively simple. It ended up taking multiple rounds and sinking her family into debt. 

Doree and her husband host the podcast Matt and Doree's Eggcellent Adventure: An IVF Journey. She also co-hosts Forever 35, and writes the work advice column for Slate, Good Job. 

Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us a...

A listener we're calling Natalie received over a million dollars after being sexually abused by her university gynecologist in one of the largest abuse settlements in American history. She talks about the strange math of converting a bad experience into a dollar amount, and why she’s barely spent any of it. 

*This episode includes descriptions of abuse. Please take care while listening. 

Death, Sex & Money is now ...

Career pivots can be terrifying. How do you know when the time is right? Is it ever too late to switch jobs? What if the next thing is worse? 

This week, we’ve assembled a panel of career change experts to answer your questions about whether and when to make big moves. Sophia Chang is a former hip-hop talent agent who started a mentorship nonprofit. Ed Zitron launched his own PR firm but then branched out and started writ...