In 2021, a listener we’re calling Jack wrote to us about a conversation he wanted to have with his dad about guns.


Jack grew up in West Virginia, in a family that loved to hunt and shoot. His dad has a large collection of firearms—and, for years, he loved to talk about them with his son. But overtime, Jack’s views on guns shifted, and he didn’t want to be around them anymore. But telling that to his dad felt heavy. "I know he'll hear that as rejection because that's what it is, it's a rejection,” Jack told Anna at the time.


Almost two years later, Anna called Jack back for an update on how his relationship with his dad has shifted since, and why his desired conversation now feels “cringey.”

Two years after Anna’s first conversation with a listener named Jack, she called him back for an update on his relationship with his dad, and his relationship to firearms.


You can take our 10th anniversary survey here (https://forms.gle/27xgjCXLcW33dMZZ7), and listen to our episode with Ellen Burstyn here (https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/deathsexmoney/episodes/how-ellen-burstyn-learned-survival).


Did you know we have a weekly email newsletter for the Death, Sex & Money community? Every Wednesday we send out a note from Anna, fascinating listener letters from our inbox, and updates from the show. Sign up at deathsexmoney.org/newsletter, and follow the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.


Got a story to share? Email us at [email protected].

Twitter Mentions