Big Mood, Little Mood with Daniel M. Lavery
418 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago - ★★★★ - 938 ratingsEvery week, Danny M. Lavery brings on a guest to answer questions from listeners before diving into conversation about relationships, dissatisfaction, drives, regrets, estrangement, embarrassment, self-assessments, and feelings from the monumental to the minute.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Corner Store Creeper
April 18, 2023 18:00 - 53 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Zak Rosen, a Detroit-based story maker who created and hosts the podcast, The Best Advice Show, and co-hosts Slate’s parenting podcast, Mom and Dad are Fighting. Lavery and Rosen offer advice to someone who’s wondering if he should be concerned about a cashier's creepy behavior. Another letter writer is wondering how to cope in a less than desirable living environment. Plus, a follow up from the letter writer “Disgruntled Employee”. Need advice? Send Danny a question he...
Fly-By Friends
April 11, 2023 18:00 - 49 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Kristen Meinzer, an award-winning podcaster and author, and Jolenta Greenberg, a New York-based comedian and author. Together, Meinzer and Greenberg host a new podcast called How To Be Fine, where they discuss wellness-related questions and help debunk all the self-help myths and promises. Lavery, Meinzer and Greenberg give advice to someone who is feeling under appreciated by friends who frequently park their cars at his home. Another letter writer is wondering how to c...
Am I Cis Now?
April 04, 2023 18:00 - 50 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Tuck Woodstock, a journalist, educator, and the host of the podcast Gender Reveal. Lavery and Woodstock give advice to someone wondering why they’re suddenly identifying with their birth sex five years into their transition. Another letter writer is concerned about coming out to their social media following. A third letter is about fearing you are no longer attractive to your partner. Finally, a letter writer is wondering if they should speak up about her daughter’s wat...
On the Contrary
March 28, 2023 18:00 - 58 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Gabe Mollica, a comedian, storyteller and writer in Astoria, Queens. Lavery and Mollica tackle two letters. First, from a letter writer who’s wondering how to talk to her best friend who is a contrarian. Another letter writer is losing her connection with her father, as he believes that COVID is fake. Plus, Mollica shares the inspiration for his off-Broadway show, Solo. Need advice? Send Danny a question here. Email: [email protected] If you enjoy this show, please consider...
Poly Litmus Test
March 21, 2023 18:00 - 1 hourDanny Lavery welcomes comedian, actor, and host of the Beautiful/Anonymous podcast, Chris Gethard. Lavery and Gethard take on three letters. First, from a letter writer who is terrified about the unknowns of transitioning. Another letter writer is wondering if their standards are too high when dating. Our third letter is from someone who wishes they could get over their resistance to polyamory. Plus, a deep dive into Gethard’s Beautiful/Anonymous podcast. Need advice? Send Danny a question h...
Meating Half Way
March 14, 2023 18:00 - 54 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Kate Duffy, a New York based licensed clinical social worker. Lavery and Duffy tackle two letters. First, from a letter writer who wants to date someone who her best friend just broke up with. Another letter writer who is concerned that a friend’s issues around food is breaking apart their friendship. Need advice? Send Danny a question here. Email: [email protected] If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experien...
Roommate Triage
March 07, 2023 19:00 - 49 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Sharon Lurye, a data journalist based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lavery and Lurye take on two letters. First, from a letter writer who can’t get her ex-boyfriend to pay her back. Another letter writer wants to help her freshman roommate get her life back. Plus an update from the letter “Resentfully In Love”. Finally, Lavery reads a letter with the subject, “Mad About Masking”, and is asking you, our Big Mood Little Mood listeners, to weigh in. Need advice? Send Danny a ...
Not Tonight, Honey
February 28, 2023 19:00 - 1 hourDanny Lavery welcomes Amy S. Choi and Rebecca Lehrer, co-hosts of the new podcast series from The Mash-Up Americans titled, Grief, Collected. Lavery and Choi and Lehrer tackle two letters. First, from a letter writer who is engaged to someone they may be sexually incompatible with. Another letter writer is wondering how to return an ornament to an ex who stalked her during their breakup. Plus, a deep dive into Choi and Lehrer’s new podcast series, Grief, Collected. Need advice? Send Danny a q...
Undercover Cis
February 21, 2023 19:00 - 52 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Sunshine, a Digital Content Producer for the National Birth Equity Collaborative, an organization that fights for the maternal, infant, sexual, and reproductive wellbeing of Black people who can birth. In a surprise twist on today’s show, Sunshine revealed that they had written a letter which Danny read on our Praise with No Raise episode last year. We recommend checking out Sunshine’s letter from that show (subject: Non-profit Nonsense), and then tuning in to today’s e...
Big Mood: It's the New Dear Prudence!
February 20, 2023 16:13 - 33 minutesHere's a special treat for all of you Big Mood, Little Mood listeners: Daniel M. Lavery is excited to introduce to you the new Dear Prudence podcast with Jenée Desmond-Harris. Please subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Time To Move On
February 14, 2023 19:00 - 53 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Daniela Taplin Lundberg, a film producer and the host of the Hollywood Gold podcast. She is the Founder of Stay Gold Features, an independent film finance and production company. Lavery and Taplin Lundberg take on two letters. First, from someone who is wondering how to approach ending a friendship she previously promised she wouldn’t. Another letter writer wants to reduce the number of holidays spent with her mother-in-law. Need advice? Send Danny a question here. Emai...
Rules of Estrangement
February 07, 2023 19:00 - 51 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Marie Manner, a research and development data scientist. Lavery and Manner take on two letters. First, from someone who is wondering if it’s okay she doesn’t have a big reason to cut her father from her life. Another letter writer is wondering if she should pursue a long-time crush. Need advice? Send Danny a question here. Email: [email protected] If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the netwo...
Mask And You Shall Receive
January 31, 2023 19:00 - 51 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Bay Ryan, a postgraduate ecologist. Lavery and Ryan tackle two letters. First, from someone who is frustrated by loved ones who don’t take COVID precautions seriously. Another letter writer feels struggles to say any back after his partner says anything romantic. Plus, the latest on daylight saving time. Need advice? Send Danny a question here. Email: [email protected] If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free exper...
Make Way For Tomorrow
January 24, 2023 19:00 - 1 hourDanny Lavery welcomes Hugh Ryan, the author of The Women's House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison, which New York Magazine called one of the best books of 2022. His first book, When Brooklyn Was Queer, won a 2020 New York City Book Award. Lavery and Ryan tackle three letters. First, from someone who is seeking closure from a failed friendship. Another letter writer is trying to understand why their boyfriend is so angry at his family. Finally, someone writes in about their...
A History of Violence?
January 17, 2023 19:00 - 48 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Ashley Robertson, an expert question-asker who facilitates workshops on comprehensive, affirming, medically-accurate sexuality education. Lavery and Robertson take on two letters. First, from someone who now has suspicions that her boyfriend has been violent in past relationships. Another letter writer is tired of being marginalized by his in-laws. Plus a listener comment about December 7th letter titled “Not Microdosing''. Need advice? Send Danny a question here. Email...
Unfair Will
January 10, 2023 19:00 - 54 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Ash Sky Keen, a mathematics tutor helping neurodivergent students navigate math education. Lavery and Keen tackle two letters. First, from someone who wants their parents to recalculate their will to adjust for monetary assistance their sibling already received. A second letter writer is waiting for a friend’s apology, and fearing it will never come. Need advice? Send Danny a question here. Email: [email protected] If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Sl...
The Anti-Adoption Unit
January 03, 2023 19:00 - 51 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Frankie Day, a writer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Lavery and Day take on three letters. First, from someone who is shocked that her family won’t support her adopting a child. Another letter writer is how long they should hold on to their ex’s belongings. Finally, a third letter writer is concerned that he chose a name that also belongs to a dog that is in his friend circle. Need advice? Send Danny a question here. Email: [email protected] If you enjoy this show, pl...
Big Mood In Review
December 27, 2022 19:00 - 58 minutesDaniel M. Lavery revisits a few of the many memorable letters from 2022, including one about someone who’s upset that his friends continue to associate with someone who is considered toxic (with guest Ty Mitchell). Another letter writer wants to have a third child, despite her husband’s concern about passing along a rare genetic condition (with guest Wendy Lee). And finally, a letter from someone whose close friends always start dating each other (with guest Olivia Chairmane) If you enjoy thi...
Resentfully In Love
December 20, 2022 19:00 - 59 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Mollie West Duffy, co-author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book about emotions at work: No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work, and Big Feelings: How To Be Okay When Things Are Not Okay. Lavery and Duffy take on two letters. First, from someone wondering how to support their extremely private friend and maintain boundaries. Another letter writer is monogamous, but has fallen for a polyamorous person. If you enjoy this show, please cons...
Lease On Love
December 13, 2022 19:00 - 45 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Ethan Casteel, a software engineer and transgender man about town in Somerville, MA. Lavery and Casteel tackle three letters. First, from someone wondering how to talk to her child about transness. Another letter writer is trying to negotiate solo time away from their partner. A third letter is from someone who feels guilty accepting rent from their boyfriend. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience ...
Armchair Expertise
December 06, 2022 19:00 - 52 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Carmen Rita Wong, author of the recently published book, Why Didn’t You Tell Me? A Memoir. Lavery and Wong take on two letters. First, from someone concerned that her brother has been spiraling since going off his meds. Another letter writer is wondering how to extricate herself from her marriage without devastating her spouse. Plus, a deep dive in to Wong’s memoir, Why Didn’t You Tell Me? Resources if you know a family member or friend experiencing delusions: https://ww...
The Damage Done
November 29, 2022 19:00 - 53 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Lisa McIntire, a writer living in San Francisco with her dog, Toby. Lavery and McIntire take on two letters. First, someone who wants to tell her mom that she did protect her enough from her creepy uncle. Another letter writer wants to advocate for their boyfriend’s non-binary child, but doesn’t want to overstep boundaries. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive con...
Martyr Manipulator
November 22, 2022 19:00 - 47 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Amanda McLoughlin, the CEO of Multitude, an independent podcast collective and production company. She is also the longtime co-host of the podcast, Spirits. Lavery and McLoughlin take on two letters. First, someone who feels guilty about how they got their boyfriend to start doing house chores. Another letter writer is wondering how to repair a family rift over them coming out as trans. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus member...
Return of the Needy Mom
November 15, 2022 19:00 - 51 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Rakesh Satyal, the author of the novels Blue Boy and No One Can Pronounce My Name. He is currently an Executive Editor at the HarperOne Group/HarperCollins. Lavery and Satyal tackle two letters. First, someone who is trying to create distance with their mother who is thinking about moving next door. Another letter writer is wondering how to cultivate a chosen family. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free exp...
A Boo with No Clue
November 08, 2022 19:00 - 55 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Kat Kinsman, the executive features editor at Food & Wine, author of Hi, Anxiety: Life With a Bad Case of Nerves, and founder of Chefs With Issues, an ever-evolving project that addresses the mental health crisis in the hospitality industry. Lavery and Kinsman take on two letters. First, someone who believes their partner is wasting their time, studying for a career they are not qualified for. Another letter writer is wondering how to talk to her brother about his sexual...
Life After Scapegoating
November 01, 2022 18:00 - 48 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Danielle Moodie, host of the podcast, Woke AF, where she explores the many facets of what it means to be "woke" in our modern life. Lavery and Moodie take on three letters. First, from a career counselor who wants to keep their students from exploring particular jobs. Another letter writer was scapegoated by his colleagues, but wants his life back. Finally, a letter writer is looking for advice on how to come out as non-binary to their father. If you enjoy this show, pl...
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
October 25, 2022 18:00 - 47 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Margo Donohue, author of Filmed in Brooklyn, and co-host of the podcasts, Book Vs. Movie, Dorking Out, and What a Creep. Lavery and Donohue tackle two letters. First, someone who can no longer support her sister through her years long, turbulent breakup from her ex. Another letter writer has a feeling that their boyfriend might be trans, and is wondering how to bring it up. Plus, Donohue takes us on a deep dive through her new book, Filmed In Brooklyn, which is the resul...
Post Surgical Shame
October 18, 2022 18:00 - 53 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Emi Nietfeld, a writer, software engineer, and author of ACCEPTANCE: A Memoir. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Rumpus, Vice, and many more publications. Lavery and Nietfeld take on two letters. First, someone trying to cope with a failed gender-affirming surgical procedure. Another letter writer is wondering how to have a conversation with her elderly mom about her mental health. Plus, a chat about Nietfeld’s memoir, Acceptance. If you enjoy this sho...
The Martyr Boiling Point
October 11, 2022 18:00 - 54 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Ginna Green, a strategist-consultant-movement-builder now helping Jewish (and other) organizations change through her new firm, Uprise. She is also the co-host, along with Lynn Harris, of the Jewish advice podcast, A Bintel Brief. Lavery and Green tackle two letters. First, someone who is trying to save a friendship with a friend who tends to drive most people away. Another letter writer is trying to hold boundaries with her brother, but is worried that he has no one els...
Please Shush
October 04, 2022 18:00 - 47 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Alyssa Knox, a night shift ICU nurse. Lavery and Knox take on two letters. First, someone who’s hurt that their best friend didn’t attend their wedding. Another letter writer can’t get a word in edgewise with their energy vampire roommate. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Big Mood, Little M...
Approved For Breakup
September 27, 2022 18:00 - 54 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Katie Tastrom, a sex worker and writer whose work focuses on disability justice. Her forthcoming book about prison abolition and disability justice is coming out in late 2023. Lavery and Tastrom take on two letters. First, someone who received a marriage proposal from her depressed boyfriend. Another letter writer is wondering how to make it up to their friend after accidentally calling them by their deadname, and how to get their own family to start honoring their own ...
Parental Paranoia
September 20, 2022 18:00 - 52 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Celeste Ng, the New York Times bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere. Her third novel, Our Missing Hearts, will be published in October 2022. Lavery and Ng tackle two letters. First, someone who is trying to find care for her friend’s paranoid mother. Another letter writer is upset that his friend group has befriended his stalker. Plus, a great deal on Sir Micheal Caine’s desk. Resources for caring for the elderly https://www.elde...
Clingy Sister Syndrome
September 13, 2022 18:00 - 57 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Kate Beaton, author of the new graphic memoir Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, which recounts the time she spent working and living in Canada’s oil industry man camps. Lavery and Beaton take on two letters. First, someone who wants to break-up with a partner who spent the entire relationship expecting this to happen. Another letter writer wants to set boundaries with her sister after a long period of estrangement. Plus, a deep dive into Beaton’s new graphic memoir, Duc...
Only the Lonely
September 06, 2022 18:00 - 59 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Niko Stratis, a freelance culture writer whose work has appeared in outlets like SPIN, Autostraddle and more. Lavery and Stratis tackle two letters. First, from someone whose partner’s request for alone time has them feeling single. Another letter asks what is one's parental obligation if your son commits a violent crime. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little Mood every Friday: sign up now! Need advice? Send Danny a question here. Email: mood@slate...
College-Aged Cougar
August 30, 2022 18:00 - 49 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Austin Channing Brown, a media producer and author of the New York Times bestseller I’m Still Here: black dignity in a world made for whiteness. Lavery and Channing Brown take on two letters. First, from someone in college wondering if they should date someone in high school. Another letter writer is wondering how to mend a friendship they didin’t realize they may have been neglecting. Plus, a listener update! Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little M...
Mad On Their Behalf
August 23, 2022 18:00 - 43 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Carey O’Donnell, a writer and comedian, who also co-hosts Sexy Unique Podcast. Lavery and O’Donnell tackle two letters. First, from someone who’s worried that his boyfriend’s family of origin is trying to re-enter his life. Another letter writer is wondering how to be patient with an old friend who keeps crossing the line. Plus, a listener update! Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little Mood every Friday: sign up now! Need advice? Send Danny a questio...
Best Friend, Terrible Advice
August 16, 2022 18:00 - 55 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Kate Duffy, a New York based licensed clinical social worker who has worked as a therapist and clinical supervisor in a variety of settings, including shelters, residential group homes, and outpatient clinics. Lavery and Duffy take on two letters. First, from someone who needs their bestie to stop giving them advice. Another letter writer is wondering how to confront her brother about past childhood sibling abuse. Plus, a listener update! Slate Plus members get another ...
Anger by Association
August 09, 2022 18:00 - 1 hourDanny Lavery welcomes Ty Mitchell, a writer and former gay porn performer based in Brooklyn, New York. He has written for The New Inquiry and Buzzfeed, and you can read his current newsletter, the First Openly Gay Book Club, at firstopenlygay.substack.com. Lavery and Mitchell tackle two letters. First, from someone who’s upset that his friends continue to associate with someone who is considered toxic. Another letter writer is wondering if he should ask to open up his relationship, or simply ...
No Urge To Merge
August 02, 2022 18:00 - 47 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Jules Gill-Peterson, author of Histories of the Transgender Child and a co-host of Outward on Slate. Lavery and Gill-Peterson take on two letters. First, from someone who is feeling pressured to commit to a relationship from their entire friend group. Another letter writer is worried that they are going to drive their partner away by relying on them too much. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little Mood every Friday: sign up now! Need advice? Send Dann...
Beyond Burnout
July 26, 2022 18:00 - 48 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Bridget Todd, the host of the iHeart Radio podcast, There Are No Girls On The Internet, and the founder of Unbossed Creative, a media company that makes podcasts and other digital content to push the needle on social change. Lavery and Todd tackle two letters. First, from someone who doesn’t know how to live a life beyond working. Another letter writer has a partner who cannot remember when he says hurtful things. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Litt...
Retro Rose Colored Glasses
July 19, 2022 18:00 - 1 hourDanny Lavery welcomes Helen Rosner, a staff writer at the New Yorker, where she covers all things culture, though most of it is about food. Lavery and Rosner take on two letters. First, from someone who’s upset that their friend is going to college with the goal of finding a husband. Another letter writer is struggling with a new perspective on how her husband courted her. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little Mood every Friday: sign up now! Need advice? Send Danny a qu...
Too Many Words
July 12, 2022 18:00 - 57 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Luisa Beck, a writer, reporter, and producer based out of Berlin, Germany. She’s the creator and host of the Audible Original Dear Poetry. Lavery and Beck tackle two letters. First, from someone who’s attracted to someone, except when they tell stories. Another letter writer is wondering how to become estranged from one single relative. Plus, behind the scenes of Beck’s podcast, Dear Poetry. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little Mood every Friday: si...
Friend-tervention
July 05, 2022 18:00 - 52 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes R.O. Kwon, the nationally bestselling author of The Incendiaries and the co-editor of Kink. Lavery and Kwon take on three letters. First, from someone who’s missing a former bestie. Another letter writer is wondering if they should bring her ailing mother Buddist swastika symbols for comfort. Finally, a letter from someone who is wondering if they should stop doing particular thing they do to make cis people more comfortable. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big...
Pronoun Panic
June 28, 2022 18:00 - 49 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Noah Zazanis, an epidemiologist, writer, and prison abolitionist living in Queens, NY. His writing can be found in The New Inquiry, Pluto Press' Transgender Marxism anthology, and Obstetrics & Gynecology ("The Green Journal"). Lavery and Zazanis tackle two letters. First, from someone hesitating on coming out for fear of never being called the correct pronouns. Another letter writer is wondering if they should walk away from a relationship that they can sense is slipping...
Petty Peanuts
June 21, 2022 18:00 - 56 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Kashana Cauley, writer for The Great North and the author of the forthcoming novel, The Survivalists. Lavery and Cauley take on two letters. First, from someone who is witnessing their coworkers play a potentially dangerous prank on their supervisor. Another letter writer is uncomfortable with the subject matter of their friend’s novel. Plus, a sneak peek at Cauley’s forthcoming novel, The Survivalists. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little Mood ever...
Long-Term Closet
June 14, 2022 18:00 - 53 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Sasha Geffen, author of the book Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary. Lavery and Geffen tackle two letters. First, from someone who is tired of being the only person holding that her friend came out to in their friend group. Another letter writer is trying to make sense of a hurtful breakup. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little Mood every Friday: sign up now! Need advice? Send Danny a question here. Email: [email protected] Production b...
Cattitude Adjustment
June 07, 2022 18:00 - 42 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Miles Klee, a senior staff writer for MEL magazine, and the author of the novel Ivyland. Lavery and Klee take on three letters. First, from someone who wants to tell her friend to stop paying for everything when they hang out. Another letter writer has upset their partner due to her tendency to offer unsolicited pet advice. Finally, Lavery responds to a letter writer who is wondering if they are a trans man. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little Mood...
Praise with No Raise
May 31, 2022 18:00 - 1 hourDanny Lavery welcomes Jackie Keliiaa, a stand-up comedian, writer, and actor based in Oakland, California. She currently produces Good Medicine, a live comedy show featuring all Native comedians. Lavery and Keliiaa tackle two letters. First, from someone wondering about polyamorous etiquette, relative to his partner’s partner’s partner. Another letter writer is wondering if he should cut his losses with his employer, or stick with them through a potentially profitable transition. Plus, an upd...
Motherhood or Transition
May 24, 2022 18:00 - 1 hourDanny Lavery welcomes Lindsay Kyle and Robyn O’Donnell, hosts of the podcast, Maladapted, in which they discuss books that have been adapted into movies. Lavery, Kyle, and O’Donnell tackle two letters. First, from a letter writer being asked to delay their transition because their wife wants to have a baby. Another letter writer wants her mom to stop insulting her ailing dad. Plus, behind the scenes of the podcast, Maladapted. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little Mood ...
Lying To Mom and Dad
May 17, 2022 18:00 - 45 minutesDanny Lavery welcomes Jane Rice, a civil servant, and Edward Szekely, a radiographer, who live in Edinburgh, Scotland with their 3 year old daughter and 6 year old cat. Lavery, Rice, and Szekely take on two letters. First, from a young adult who wants to know why he can’t help lying to his parents. Another letter writer is trying to break their habit of using their dead name at work. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little Mood every Friday: sign up now! Need advice? Send...