Prostitution, alcoholism, fetishes, swinging, abandonment and being stabbed by a bayonet. Handyman Hank Adams has experienced them all. Paul’s friend has to literally pause to count how many stepdads he has had. This episode originally aired in 2011.
The standup comic (Lights Out) (aka @BSComedian) and Iraq War vet opens up about his unstable childhood – being lied to and moved from foster home to foster home – and how it has affected him, what he learned about white people while serving in the Marines, battling Major Depressive Disorder and his thoughts on cultural appropriation.
The 29 year-old Second City writer/performer @GobbieDixon shares about being gender-fluid, growing up believing there was nobody else going thru the feeling of not being in the right body, and their suicide attempt at 13. They share about their anxiety using public restrooms, dysphoria during sex and what their younger self could have benefitted from hearing.
The 2-time Olympic gold medalist and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee aka @MightyRuthie shares about surviving domestic abuse and becoming an advocate for other survivors. She also shares about being one of 20 children, being a preacher’s kid and learning how to stop trying to “rescue” broken partners and take care of herself.
The talented stand-up comedian, podcaster (The Neighborhood Listen) and writer/actor (HBO’s Mr. Show, Bojack Horseman, Room 104, Comedy Bang Bang) aka @PaulFTompkins talks about the role therapy played in helping him turn his pain and rejection into being a happier person and a better artist. He opens up about the shame of having parents who didn’t find him funny or necessarily interesting, and the beauty of being given a second chance by a peer who was ready to write him off for his past bitterness. A bitterness fueled by unrequited, irrational love. Holy shit, this sounds Shakespearean! Originally aired in 2011.
Paul and Jessi @JessiKneeland talk about the mean voices in our heads – especially towards our bodies; how childhood sexual trauma affects sexuality, self-objectification, difficulty orgasming and being your body’s friend.
The writer and NPR contributor @IAmGothamGirl shares about developing epilepsy at 40 (as a single mom), bad doctors, shattering her face during a seizure, the myths around her condition and the hope she has found accepting her new reality.
The public health psychologist @DrPNHalkitis opens up about the mental, emotional and political battles both personal and cultural that the LGBTQ community has fought especially since the 1969 Stonewall riots.
Nick talks about being a social worker clinician working with victims of the wildfires as well as combat veterans. Topics covered: types of PTSD, vulnerability, how to reach out for help and hyper-masculinity.