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
Racist Lawn Statue
June 30, 2020 18:00 - 41 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Rachel Fershleiser, who works in book publishing, is the co-creator of the Six-Word Memoir project, and once made a zine about soup. Prudie and Fershleiser dig into letters about what to consider when you discover that your mom secretly lives in a nudist colony, should you tell your pregnant girlfriend that it’s medically impossible that it’s your baby and you know she cheated on you, how to tell your friend that you think she may have dementia, what to do abou...
Zoom Faux Pas
June 23, 2020 18:00 - 50 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Milisa Burke, a Brooklyn based tech worker, and part of the program committee for New York’s Asian American International Film Festival. Prudie and Burke tackle letters about what to do when you accidentally screen share erotic fan fiction during a zoom business meeting, how to tell your friend to stop pretending to be Black in an online group about Black women’s hair, should you try to lose weight even though you think it’ll make your spouse feel bad, should ...
Really. Let It Go!
June 16, 2020 18:00 - 48 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Christina Tucker, a contributing writer for Autostraddle, and a rotating fourth chair on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour. Prudie and Tucker dig into letters about how to deal with a friend’s request for money to hire an expensive divorce lawyer, what to do when your husband’s quarantine beard is turns you off, how to avoid taking off your shoes in friend’s homes without explaining your medical condition that requires you wear them, how to shut down your mother’s ...
Quarantine Kitchen
June 09, 2020 18:00 - 48 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Peter Labuza, an incoming Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California, where he just defended his dissertation “When A Handshake Meant Something: Lawyers, Deal Making, and the Emergence of New Hollywood.” Prudie and Labuza tackle letters about how to take a week “off the grid” from your family that likes to talk often, should you allow your nephew to use his education trust fund to support his soon to arrive baby, what to do when you find out ...
A Proper Burial
June 02, 2020 18:00 - 52 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Nastia Voynovskaya, a Russian-born, Oakland-based journalist and one of the arts and culture editors at KQED, San Francisco's NPR station. She covers the intersections of the arts, activism, labor, pop culture, the Bay Area and more. Prudie and Voynovskaya dig into letters about how to plan for your mothers funeral during a pandemic, what to consider when your wife seems less and less interested in sex, should you marry someone who doesn’t match your high sex ...
Jerk at Work Husband
May 26, 2020 18:00 - 51 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Sarah Jones, a Tony- and Obie Award-winning performer and writer known for her multi-character, one-person shows, including her current, critically acclaimed show Sell/Buy/Date. Prudie and Jones tackle letters about how to find peace while your family argues about your stepson's wedding, what to do when you are in quarantine away from your boyfriend and his roommates flirt with him, what to consider when your brother-in-law starts dating someone who looks like ...
Back Room Hookup
May 19, 2020 18:00 - 48 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Jasmine Sanders, a writer from the south side of Chicago. Prudie and Sanders dig into letters about what to do when neighbors treat your private yard like a public park, what to consider when your husband insists that both of you live with his mom indefinitely, how to handle the constant practicing from your concert pianist roommate, how to tell your parents that you write erotica for a living, is there a polite way to ask your potential partners about their me...
A Nonprofit Liar
May 12, 2020 18:00 - 55 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Jack Doyle, an LGBTQ healthcare advocate, historian, and journalist originally hailing from New England. Prudie and Doyle tackle letters about what do you when your ex lies to everyone about why you left him, should you report a childhood friend who’s now lying about her upbringing to solicit donations, what to know when you increase your time flirting on chat sites during quarantine, how to handle a boyfriend who insists that you both go to bed at the same tim...
Say MY Name!
May 05, 2020 18:00 - 55 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Cecilia Corrigan, a Brooklyn based award-winning writer and performer. Corrigan’s poetry collection, Titanic, was released in 2014. Since then, she has released the short film Crush and web series Le Balm. Prudie and Corrigan tackle letters about what to when your husband calls out his deceased wife’s name during sex, what actions to take when you hear domestic violence next door, but you don’t trust the police to handle it, should you try to get your favorite...
Oh, Now I’m Essential?
April 28, 2020 18:00 - 48 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Justine D’Souza, who creates help content for a not-for-profit organization focused on international education and global mobility. She also counsels youth, young adults, and caregivers for a crisis helpline. Prudie and D’Souza dig into letters about what to do with a mother who only became proud of your grocery store job in light of the pandemic, what to know about a fiance with an annual ritual of honoring his former fiance who was murdered, should you deman...
Loose Cannon Lover
April 21, 2020 18:00 - 48 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Monika Tomsinski, an indoorsy introvert who loves novels, pop culture, historic places, and chocolate. She lives in Seattle with her spouse and small dog. Prudie and Tomsinski tackle letters about what to do when your ex insists on a busy child custody schedule during a global pandemic, how to handle anger towards a boyfriend who didn’t social distance and contracted COVID-19, what to do about noisy neighbors that you can’t talk to in person due to quarantine, ...
Chicken In The Middle
April 14, 2020 18:00 - 59 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Toni Golan-Vilella, who helps nonprofits get what they need out of software, and Lizzy Marmon, who secures grants and donor relationships for cultural institutions. Together, they live in Brooklyn. Prudie, Golan-Vilella and Marmon dig into letters about what to do when you don’t align with your husband’s right wing values, how to handle a husband who got angry at you for mentioning that you miss the chicken from a politically incorrect restaurant, what actions ...
Too Late To Apologize?
April 07, 2020 18:00 - 52 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Matt Lubchansky, the associate editor of The Nib, and a cartoonist and illustrator living in Queens. Prudie and Lubchansky tackle letters about what to do with a partner who’s dishwashing leaves a lot to be desired, how to apologize to an officemate that you used to viciously bully in high school, what to know about a husband who is obnoxiously rude to wait staff, what actions to take when you discover your parents opened a credit card in your name, how to rela...
Toxic Friend Awareness
March 31, 2020 18:00 - 55 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Alyssa Furukawa, a public health grad student and knitter who lives in Philadelphia with her enormous puppy. Prudie and Furukawa dig into letters about how to handle a brother who’s draining your parents of their retirement funds, what to do when you realize that an old friend makes you feel anxious and afraid, how to rebuild an estranged relationship with your parents on your own terms, what to consider when sex in your marriage becomes non-existent. Plus a vo...
Social (Media) Distancing
March 24, 2020 18:00 - 1 hourPrudence is joined this week by Phil Surkis, an Oakland based podcast producer, whose shows include Dear Prudence, and the upcoming Alicia Garza podcast, Lady Don’t Take No. He’s the co-host of the podcast, o.k. land, along with comedian Abas Idris. Prudie and Surkis tackle letters about how to keep your spirits up while social distancing without social media, what to do when you live far from your mom during the time of the coronavirus, is it okay to buy wedding gifts months after the weddin...
Feminist Breast Lift
March 17, 2020 18:00 - 53 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Calvin Kasulke, a writer, podcast producer and transsexual living in Brooklyn. His work has been featured in outlets including MEL Magazine, Vice, Electric Literature and BuzzFeed. Prudie and Kasulke dig into letters about what to consider about getting a breast lift as a reward for achieving a weight goal, how to get people to use your full name without sounding like a snob, should you let your bestie know that her friends let loose insulting gay comment to yo...
He Could Be The One
March 10, 2020 18:00 - 51 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Kaitlyn Greenidge, the author of the novel We Love You, Charlie Freeman. Greenidge has written for the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Glamour, Elle, Virginia Quarterly Review and other places. Prudie and Greenidge tackle letters about what to do when you can’t accept that your sister is dating a felon who’s fighting a heroin addiction, what to consider when you find out that your boyfriend fathered a child that he wants nothing to do with, are...
Cubicle Creep
March 03, 2020 19:00 - 53 minutesPrudence is joined this week by New York City based writer, Jaya Saxena. She's currently on staff at Eater.com, and her essay collection Crystal Clear is forthcoming from Quirk Books this year. Prudie and Saxena dig into letters about what to do when you discover a coworker has been tracking your attendance, actions and wardrobe, should you fake a baptism to appease your grandmother, what to consider when your boyfriend violates your trust by touching you after you told him not to, how to han...
Not A Good Look
February 25, 2020 19:00 - 57 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Faran Krentcil, the editorial director of The Newsette and editor-at-large for ELLE.com. She lives in New York City with her life partner, a vintage leopard print coat from Paris. Prudie and Krentcil tackle letters about what to do when your boyfriend casually reveals he wore blackface in college, how to act around your sister after seeing her presence in a porn film, what to consider when your husband makes a hobby out of drinking beer, how to let friends kno...
Porn Boss
February 18, 2020 19:00 - 55 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Molly Woodstock, a biracial journalist, audio producer, and equity consultant based in Portland, Oregon. They produce and host an award-winning weekly podcast called Gender Reveal, and have been featured as a gender expert in the New York Times, NPR, and Washington Post, among other publications. Prudie and Woodstock dig into letters about what to do when you notice your boss looking at porn on a work trip, should you avoid all family events knowing that a raci...
Listen To Me
February 11, 2020 19:00 - 48 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Lane Moore, the creator of the hit comedy show Tinder Live! Moore is also the author of the bestselling book How To Be Alone: If You Want To And Even If You Don't, and the front-person in the band It Was Romance. Prudie and Moore tackle letters about how to ask a roommate to keep an ever-listening Alexa-type speaker out of the common areas, what to consider when a potentially romantic friend showers you with generosity you’re not quite ready for, should you giv...
A Hell of a Guy
February 04, 2020 19:00 - 59 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Josh Gondelman, a comedian who has written for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and now writes for Desus & Mero. His debut essay collection Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results is available now. Prudie and Gondelman dig into letters about if you should allow guests to speak kindly of your extremely unkind father-in-law at his funeral, how to handle a mother who doesn’t approve of your relationship, yet is bossy about your wedding plans, wha...
Why Do I Spy?
January 28, 2020 19:00 - 44 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Jason Carini, an attorney who works in recruiting for the legal industry in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prudie and Carini tackle letters about what to do when you can’t help snooping for dirt on a job you left acrimoniously, how to deal with a coworker’s frequent incoming personal calls, what actions to take when the temperature at work gets so hot that you feel ill, what to do when your relationship with you dad changes because he stopped paying alimony to yo...
Not My Best Side
January 21, 2020 19:00 - 56 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Hari Kondabolu, the star of the Netflix standup special Warn Your Relatives, and the critically acclaimed documentary The Problem with Apu. In 2018, he was named one of Variety’s “Comedians to Watch.” He will be in New York City headlining Carolines on Broadway from January 23rd through the 25th. Prudie and Kondabolu dig into letters about what to do when your friend took and shared photos of you in a medically induced coma, how to handle your anxiety when your...
No Place For Love
January 14, 2020 19:00 - 52 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Grace Lavery, an Associate Professor in the Department of English at UC Berkeley. Prudie and Lavery tackle letters about how to decide if you should you let your best friend raise your troubled daughter, what to do when neither you nor your girlfriend have living situations where you both can hang out in, how to know if you are gender nonbinary, should you apologize to your fellow commuters after accidentally playing a particularly provocative part of the Dear...
Bisexual Dating Tips
January 07, 2020 19:00 - 56 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Jordan Blok, a queer non-binary science communicator, research administrator, and hoop earring enthusiast based out of LA, and Prudie regular, Grace Lavery, an Associate Professor in the Department of English at UC Berkeley. Prudie, Blok, and Lavery dig into letters about what to do when new friends who are a couple may be coming on to you, what to consider with a boyfriend who seems to be homophobic stemming from a childhood sexual assault, what to do when yo...
The Year In Prudie
December 31, 2019 19:00 - 1 hourPrudence is joined this week by Grace Lavery, an Associate Professor in the Department of English at UC Berkeley, who occasionally feels like she has an alien in her throat. Prudie and Lavery go back and look at some of the many memorable letters of 2019 that were addressed with the help of Francesca Fiorentini, Justine D’Souza, Connor Goldsmith, Helen Rosner, Clementine Ford, Nichole Perkins, Bim Adewunmi, and Alexandra Petri. Prudie and company tackle letters about if you should tell your ...
All Growl, No Bite
December 24, 2019 19:00 - 1 hourPrudence is joined this week by Mistress Justine Cross, a lifestyle dominatrix and BDSM consultant based in Los Angeles. She also owns and operates Dungeon East, a minimal, modern paradise, and Dungeon West, its atmospheric West LA counterpart. She is the boss of everyone except her cat. No one is the boss of cats. Prudie and Cross tackle letters about what to do when your friend’s husband threatens violence towards your dog, how to handle coworkers who trash-talk a colleague you’re secretly ...
Preview: The Tattoo Anxiety Edition
December 20, 2019 11:00 - 2 minutesThis a preview of this week's Dear Prudence mini-episode: The Tattoo Anxiety Edition. Prudence is joined this week by Glynn Washington, the host of Snap Judgment, which is heard on over 400 NPR stations every week. He also hosts the podcasts Heaven’s Gate and Spooked. Slate Plus members receive an additional mini-episode of Dear Prudence every Friday. Sign up now to listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Memory Error
December 17, 2019 19:00 - 50 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Glynn Washington, the host of Snap Judgment, which is heard on over 400 NPR stations every week. He also hosts the podcasts Heaven’s Gate and Spooked. Prudie and Washington dig into letters about what to do when one of your roommates replaces your plush toilet paper with a more economy brand, how to handle a colleague who has a memory of hooking up with you decades ago, but that never happened, how can you avoid mentioning weight loss surgery when asked about ...
Surprise Naked Houseguest
December 10, 2019 19:00 - 49 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Ella Baker, a trans lesbian writer and the host of How to Be Trans, a platform celebrating thriving transgender lives. Prudie and Baker tackle letters about what to do when your girlfriend allows a strange coworker to live in your apartment while you’re away traveling, how to know if you quit your volunteer job for the right reasons, what to know when you discover you have herpes even though you’ve never had sexual contact, how to know if the rules you’re impo...
To Serve With Love
December 03, 2019 19:00 - 51 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Peyton Thomas, a freelance journalist and video game writer based in Toronto. His writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, Billboard, and Pitchfork. Prudie and Thomas dig into letters about how to handle feeling not non-binary enough for your trans boyfriend, what to do when your friend in recovery comes to your bar and orders a drink, what actions to take if you feel your fiancé has befriended a con artist, what to do when your partner’s lack of direction feels li...
Forever Young
November 26, 2019 19:00 - 37 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Aric McBay, an organizer, a farmer, and an author. He lives near Kingston, Ontario. His latest book is Full Spectrum Resistance, which explores how to build more effective movements. Prudie and McBay tackle letters about how to handle not being taken seriously because you look young, should you, as a straight man, speak up when you hear a woman objectifying another woman, what to do when your couch crashing brother takes advantage of your hospitality, how to de...
Mistress at Work
November 19, 2019 19:00 - 51 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Dr. Ghazaleh Samandari, an integral development coach. Samandari has spent the last 15 years researching and advocating for women's health and rights around the world. Prudie and Samandari dig into letters about how to handle a friend who accepts a job that you’re against politically, what actions to take when social anxiety in school has you skipping lunch every day, what to do when the woman your husband cheated with now works in your office, how to make ame...
Their Cheatin' Hearts
November 12, 2019 19:00 - 1 hourPrudence is joined this week by Alexandra Petri, a humor columnist for the Washington Post, author of A Field Guide To Awkward Silences, and also working assiduously on a new book! Prudie and Petri tackle letters about how to handle that you’re husband of 30 years may have given you an STI, what to do when you keep catching your mother having affairs, should you confront your friend who’s about to get married, yet still cheating on her fiance, how to be graceful when friends share news that y...
Morning Buns
November 05, 2019 19:00 - 52 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Elizabeth Freeman, a Professor of English at the University of California, Davis, specializing in, among other things, Gender/Sexuality Studies. Prudie and Freeman dig into letters about what to do when you feel like your bisexuality alienates you from most relationships, how to know if it’s safe to come out to your historically homophobic, but now mellowed parents, what actions to take when you discover that your teenage son has been secretly filming his sexu...
Some of Us Work
October 29, 2019 18:00 - 1 hourPrudence is joined this week by Jae Bearhat, a Seattle-based writer, zinester, and known Internet presence. Their work includes the Czap Books published comic Little Teeth, the Youtube critique series Film Critters, and over dozens of posts on Twitter under the name fussybabybitch. Prudie and Bearhat tackle letters about how to decide how much to financially support a stepdaughter that you see squandering the money she already receives, how to handle out of town friends who want to visit with...
Couch Surfer
October 22, 2019 18:00 - 45 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Matt Martin, who recently launched TILT, a new brand of public media by and for young people to help them navigate an out-of-balance economy. Martin has worked in public radio for many years, including a long stint as a station manager of KALW-FM San Francisco. Prudie and Martin dig into letters about how to handle an annoying coworker that you ghosted but now have to occasionally see at work, what to do with an estranged father who persistently tries to contac...
Cult Conversion
October 15, 2019 19:15 - 58 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Molly Priddy, a writer and editor living in Minnesota. She likes Diet Coke, her dog, and talking about feelings because feelings are the worst. Prudie and Priddy tackle letters about how to admit to your date that you’re a recovering alcoholic and you’d rather not meet in a bar, what actions to take when your best friend has joined a cult, what to do when you’re exhausted from supporting your friend’s year long quest for employment, how to decide if you should...
Urine My Chair
October 08, 2019 18:00 - 53 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Amira El-Sayed, a German/Egyptian Londoner who advises organizations around the world on how they can have a positive social impact. Prudie and El-Sayed dig into letters about what to do when you overhear your friend’s hair stylist says rude things about her, how to handle a friend who wants reimbursement for her travel points you thought she gifted to you, what to know about your mother who demands praise for every little thing she does, what actions to take ...
New Prudie Mini Episodes on Slate Plus!
October 04, 2019 10:00 - 1 minuteSlate Plus members get an additional mini-episode of Dear Prudence every Friday. Sign up now to listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Getting Off Easy
October 01, 2019 18:00 - 58 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Nichole Perkins and Bim Adewunmi, Perkins is a writer and co-host of the Slate podcast The Waves. Her first collection of poetry, Lilith, But Dark was published last year. Adewunmi is a producer on This American Life. Her play, Hoard, was published and staged in London this year. Together, Perkins and Adewunmi co-host the Slate podcast, Thirst Aid Kit. Stay tuned for a clip from Thirst Aid Kit at the end of the episode. Prudie, Perkins and Adewunmi tackle lette...
Can't Stop Looking
September 24, 2019 18:00 - 47 minutesPrudence welcomes you to our first international episode, recorded live at Storey Hall in Melbourne, Australia on September 8th, 2019. Prudie was joined by Clementine Ford, a Melbourne based writer, feminist and author of the best-selling books Fight Like A Girl and Boys Will Be Boys. Prudie and Ford dig into letters about how to leave your cousin’s employ when you know it will shutter his business, how to manage time with your girlfriend when she works on the same block as you, should you a...
Twincest and TV
September 17, 2019 18:00 - 49 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Portia Elan, who lives in Oakland and works as a Teen Librarian. A friend once described her as “farm strong.” Prudie and Elan tackle letters about what to do when your twin son and daughter are obsessed with a TV show centered around incest, how to handle discovering that your beloved Nana who raised you, held shocking secrets about your family origins, should you carry out your 11 year-old niece’s wishes that you out her to the rest of the family, how to move...
In-Laws 2.0
September 10, 2019 18:00 - 1 hourPrudence is joined this week by Soleil Ho, the San Francisco Chronicle’s restaurant critic. She’s written for food and pop culture publications like Bitch, Food & Wine, Taste, and Wine Enthusiast and hosted podcasts like Popaganda and Racist Sandwich. Prudie and Ho dig into letters about how to handle anger towards your in-laws, even though they’ve moved past their initial homophobia, how to disclose your disability when entering the dating game, what to do when your boyfriend gets upset tha...
Stepped Down Step Dad
September 03, 2019 18:00 - 54 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Melissa Dahl, a senior editor at The Cut, where she covers health, science and psychology. She is also the author of Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness. Prudie and Dahl tackle letters about what to do when you suspect you’re not with the right therapist, how to handle a step-daughter who suddenly decides you’re not her father anymore, how to tell your partner that her work stories are long and hard to follow, what to do when it becomes awkward with your gro...
New Prudie Mini Episodes on Slate Plus!
August 30, 2019 10:00 - 1 minuteLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Asexually Speaking
August 27, 2019 18:00 - 1 hourPrudence is joined this week by author Sandy Allen. Allen hosts a new podcast called Mad Chat, which unpacks what our pop culture is telling us about madness and mental health. Prudie and Allen dig into letters about how to handle your guilty feelings after kicking out your cheating ex, what to do about your brother’s habit of oversharing intimate information about your parents, should you be worried about not feeling sexually attracted to anyone, what to do when you fear that your fiancé’s ...
New Prudie Mini Episodes on Slate Plus!
August 23, 2019 10:00 - 1 minuteSlate Plus members get an additional mini-episode of Dear Prudence every Friday. Sign up now to listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Coming Out Quandary
August 20, 2019 18:00 - 48 minutesPrudence is joined this week by Daniel Mallory Ortberg, a lover of peanut butter who---WAIT! Prudence is Daniel Mallory Ortberg. Buckle up for this rare solo flight. Prudie tackles letters about how to come out to your parents while also protecting the privacy of your genderqueer identical twin, how to bring up a complicated history of sexual assault issues to your new boyfriend, how to tamp down a tendency to “over support” your boyfriend’s acting career, what to know about starting a conver...