Death, Sex & Money
Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
Episodes
April 22, 2025 • 54 mins
To fly a plane, pilots must prove to the Federal Aviation Administration that they’re physically and mentally fit. But when it comes to mental health, the rules are complicated and, some say, outdated.
Pilots who need antidepressants are limited to a short list of approved medications and must take a mandatory six-month leave. Even common diagnoses like anxiety or depression can trigger reviews that could ground them.
The F.A.A.’s ...
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April 15, 2025 • 56 mins
Kareem Rahma, host of the viral web series Subway Takes, says he’s been working since he was 14 and hasn’t really taken a break. In high school, he worked service jobs. In college, he bought and re-sold motorcycles, jeans, and whatever else he thought he could flip.
This week on the show, Kareem explains why he’s had so many jobs, including posts at Vice and the New York Times, and he discusses the financial maneuvering that allow...
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April 8, 2025 • 44 mins
At a time when skepticism about conventional medicine has become even more mainstream, we’re revisiting a story about the causes and effects of that mistrust. Archie Matlow’s mother refused to get a surgery that could have saved her life, which led to her and Archie trying to love each other while bitterly at odds.
You can listen to the full audio piece Archie made here, and you can order their memoir, Dead Mom Walking, here.
Also ...
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April 1, 2025 • 71 mins
Alongside life's darkest moments there often are moments of absurdity that make us laugh.
In this episode, from a live San Francisco comedy festival in January, Anna and guests talk about the special kind of comedy born of something sad. Comedians Guy Branum and Carl Tart share stories of writing a sitcom about Zoom-era social relationships. Chanel Miller, author of Know My Name, talks about coping with the trauma of being a victi...
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March 25, 2025 • 52 mins
When Joe Gow was fired from his position as chancellor and professor at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse, his superiors said it was due to “abhorrent” behavior. Joe had made porn videos with his wife Carmen and uploaded them onto the internet under the name “Sexy Happy Couple.”
This week, Joe and Carmen tell their side of the story and explain how making porn spiced up their marriage. They also defend themselves against th...
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March 18, 2025 • 49 mins
In 2020, we made an episode about a listener who cheated on his wife with sex workers and was going through a divorce. He told us the idea to go on the website Seeking Arrangement came from an episode we made about sugar babies. A few weeks ago we called “Ethan” back to see what’s changed in his life since our first conversation, and how he navigates discussions about his past infidelity with his new wife.
Death, Sex & Money is now...
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March 11, 2025 • 58 mins
Anna talks to writer Ada Calhoun, author most recently of the novel Crush, about a married woman succumbing to extramarital temptation (she wrote it while she herself was separating from her husband) and then to comedian Rosebud Baker about her new Netflix comedy special, The Mother Lode, which is all about late-stage pregnancy and early motherhood.
This episode was recorded live at On Air Fest in New York City on February 20th.
D...
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March 4, 2025 • 55 mins
Since the inauguration in January, we’ve been getting emails and voice recordings from people whose lives have been thrust into uncertainty due to changes made by the Trump administration. Many federal workers and people who rely on federal money have lost their jobs. Others feel vulnerable and uncertain.
This week, we’ll hear from a range of people who’ve been affected, from an IRS attorney who’s been a target of Elon Musk’s DOGE...
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February 25, 2025 • 62 mins
When comedian Chelsea Devantez began writing her memoir, she knew exactly where to start: with a teenage relationship that spiraled into domestic violence. But when she submitted her draft, lawyers informed her she legally couldn't name her abuser or detail what happened.
"I threw the book in the trash for a few months," Chelsea recalls. After consulting friends and family, she decided to continue writing with a new approach. "Inst...
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February 18, 2025 • 50 mins
Six and a half years ago, in the wake of the #MeToo movement, we asked our listeners how they think about manhood–how to be, what’s hard, where they feel lost. Fast forward to 2025, and the norms and trends around manhood are even more varied and complicated. So we thought it would be a good time to revisit the stories from 2018 and provide updates on some of the men we heard from.
If you are a man, or are raising a man, or love a ...
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February 11, 2025 • 49 mins
When the poet and writer Kaveh Akbar likes something, he really likes it. As a high school student, he got hooked on poetry. In college, it was alcohol. This week, Kaveh talks to Anna Sale about the factors that led to his sobriety, and he explains exactly how he manages a life that’s full of healthy, wonderful obsessions as well as problematic ones.
Kaveh’s critically acclaimed novel Martyr! is now available in paperback. You ca...
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February 4, 2025 • 58 mins
In 2023, Anna and On The Media’s Micah Loewinger traveled to Montana to talk to Tasha Adams, the ex-wife of Stewart Rhodes, who founded the far-right paramilitary group, the Oath Keepers. Stewart had been charged with seditious conspiracy for his participation in the January 6 Capitol riots, and Tasha was eagerly awaiting sentencing: “I need him to stay locked away so my kids can legally cut contact with him when they’re 18.”
Tasha...
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January 28, 2025 • 51 mins
Comedian Gary Gulman is used to dealing with bullies. He grew up with older brothers, who he describes as "aggressive" and “unenlightened,” and he’s witnessed plenty of unkind behavior from his peers in the New York City comedy scene. This is all despite being, in his words, “very, very sensitive.”
This week, Gary talks about managing that sensitivity, standing up for his principles, and becoming more secure in who he is as a come...
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January 21, 2025 • 58 mins
Babygirl, the new erotic thriller starring Nicole Kidman, features an age-gap romance and a power imbalance. But according to the filmmaker Halina Reijn, it’s more about “what part of us is civilized…and what part of us is still driven by primal forces.” It’s also extremely entertaining, sexy, and dryly hilarious.
This week, Halina Reijn talks about why she wrote the movie, her decision to move away from a very successful and deca...
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January 14, 2025 • 51 mins
When Delores moved to New York City from Jamaica nearly thirty years ago she didn’t know anyone. But soon she found a community of other nannies and learned how to navigate job interviews and “fussy” parents who don’t like nannies to tell their children no.
In this week’s episode on paid caretaking, we explore the class and power dynamics inherent in care work. Plus, we hear from Faye*, a woman living with debilitating multiple sc...
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January 7, 2025 • 50 mins
Whether it's a nanny taking us to school or a home health aide helping us age in place, most of us will rely on paid caregivers at some point in our lives. For the next two episodes, we'll talk to professional caregivers about the emotional and economic reality of the intimate work they do.
In episode one, we hear from two eldercare workers: Rahn*, whose relationships with patients have helped heal emotional wounds from his childho...
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December 31, 2024 • 47 mins
For our last episode of 2024, we’re sharing a handful of stories about what love actually looks like, with all its flaws and complexities. The late poet Nikki Giovanni kicks things off by discussing the complicated love she had for her parents. We also hear from actor Mahershala Ali and comedian Chris Gethard and their romantic partners, and Jane Fonda discusses heartbreak and her choice to end a marriage.
Here’s a full list of gu...
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December 24, 2024 • 60 mins
Todd is looking for love, but he’s unsure about disclosing something in dating profiles: his multiple sclerosis. On Slate’s How To podcast, Todd got some crucial advice from Jessica Slice and Caroline Cupp, authors of Dateable: Swiping Right, Hooking Up, and Settling Down While Chronically Ill and Disabled.
This week, we’re sharing that wonderful episode with Death, Sex & Money listeners, and to kick things off, Anna talks to Carv...
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December 17, 2024 • 47 mins
Ten years ago, Chaz Ebert talked to us about grief and loss as she was mourning the 2013 death of her husband, movie critic Roger Ebert. Her deep sense of connection to Roger continued after he was gone, including, she described, hearing his voice and feeling like they were still in conversation. When Chaz talked about this a decade ago, though, she was skittish about sharing too much about their ongoing communication, nervous that...
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December 10, 2024 • 41 mins
On election night, while many voters across the country were focused on who would win the presidency, a growing number of Americans were watching the returns with another question in mind: will I win or lose money? That’s because, just weeks before November 5th, a judge ruled that for the first time in almost a century Americans could bet large amounts of money on the outcome of political races.
In this episode, we talk to two peo...
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