Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People

Six weeks ago, Gethard talked to a guy who was calling from the hospital while he waited for his wife to give birth to their first child. This week, by some act of fate, she got through herself. Our caller catches Geth up on life as a new mom, and then the two have a real and raw conversation about mental health. She opens up about her experiences with bipolar disorder, the importance of understan...

After a significant life event turned her world upside down, this week's caller was inspired to start seeking out challenges and diving into new hobbies. She and Gethard chat about finding new passions, exploring identity, and basically being a badass. It's a refreshing conversation with someone who took a tough situation and used it as motivation to build a life filled with adventure, freedom, an...

This week's caller is all about beginnings—moving to a new city, making new friends, and maybe even jumping back into the dating scene. While taking a walk around her new neighborhood, she and Gethard bond over the trials and triumphs of city living, the joys of forming new routines, and the simultaneously scary and exciting freedom of a fresh start. Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous+ to get ad free...

As longtime listeners of Beautiful/Anonymous know, one of the most beloved members of our community is Heidi, AKA:  "Love Is Everywhere" . This call is a little different from our usual follow-ups. In this case, Heidi has a specific story she wants to share, and it just didn't feel right to hide it behind the paywall. So here's the deal: all of our listeners have access to this difficult–but so im...

This week's caller is the director of a food pantry. She tells Gethard how she came to this position at a fairly young age and how she works to support her community. She and Geth talk about the stresses of working in non-profit, the personal and social benefits of volunteer work, and what all of us can do to get involved in our own communities. Sign up for  Beautiful/Anonymous+  to get ad free ep...

A self-described "vegan lesbian horse girl" calls to talk with Gethard about being YouTube famous in a very niche community, going to Catholic school as a closeted queer kid, living with agoraphobia, and a whole lot more.  Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous+ to get ad free episodes and access to exclusive content including 5 Random Questions with this week's caller.  Leave us a voicemail at (973) 306...

This week's caller made the possibly ill-advised choice to call in to the show from his wife's hospital bedside mere hours after she was induced to deliver their first child. But he promised Gethard she's cool with it, so while these highschool sweethearts wait to welcome another person into the world, they talk with Geth about impending parenthood, breaking negative generational patterns, making...

A high school student heading into his senior year calls in to offer the teen perspective on our world. Geth asks about high school after the pandemic, school violence, sex, gender, all the stuff adults pretend to understand in 2024. The caller also talks with Gethard about getting his license, growing up the child of immigrants, and shares his hopes for the future. Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous...

An heirloom ring, a tiny island in the middle of a lake, a tragic murder, a malfunctioning gun, addiction, rehab, recovery, long-distance love, poetry. It's the kind of story a true crime podcast could easily spend an entire season on. But we only get one hour with this week's caller. And what a compelling hour it is. It's a dark story, but our caller tells it with so much heart–and because it's B...

A Philly transplant calls to talk with Gethard in front of a crowd of a few hundred Philadelphians at the First Person Arts Festival. She tells him all about being a victim of the Kia Boys, what it's like to manage a tattoo shop, how she ended up on the East Coast, and why Black Metal is actually so girlypop. Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous+ to get ad free episodes and access to exclusive content...

An occupational therapist calls to talk with Gethard about going back to school and becoming a professor at fifty. They discuss what an occupational therapist actually does, how different generations understand and interact with our changing world, why we need people who think differently, and a whole lot more. Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous+ to get ad free episodes and access to exclusive conten...

A thoughtful and resilient caller who has lived a lot of life calls to talk with Gethard about family, work, love, and loss. But also about adventures abroad, DFMOs (Dance Floor MakeOuts, obviously), cleaning out the most disgusting refrigerator, riding motorcycles . . . and all of that before she even mentions the iguana. This one has a little bit of everything we all love about Beautiful/Anonymo...

This week's caller is gearing up for a big move across the country. He calls to talk with Gethard about living his life as a trans man, some of the difficult reasons he's making this move, and how, despite those difficulties, his life has opened up in some really beautiful ways. Register for Your Free Tickets to Our America Now: Beautiful/Anonymous with Chris Gethard Snapshot: LGBTQ Equality by St...

A martial arts instructor who definitely doesn't have an accent calls Gethard to talk about running his own studio, making a big career change, and the rules of sparring if he and Geth ever meet on a random dock in Central Jersey. Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous+ to get ad free episodes and access to exclusive content including 5 Random Questions with this week's caller.  Tickets for Laughing Toge...

A reluctant-but-proud military father who's looking forward to seeing his son for the first time in seventeen weeks calls to talk with Gethard about being thoughtful, empathetic, and willing to have your worldview totally changed. It's also about couples counseling, subduing a man on a plane, giving up an office job to become a truck driver, and, ultimately, embracing your true identity. Oh, and i...

This week's caller is back to make history a second time. Two weeks ago, our caller hung up early on Geth, and we've all been debating what happened there ever since. Well, guess what, she somehow managed to get back through a second time–no easy feat. So, Gethard gets to ask her about what really happened. Plus he checks in on the bus situation, and then the call goes in many other directions. Di...

A clinical researcher who works in oncology talks with Gethard about the advances that have been made in the field and why there's something bittersweet about making strides. And learning about this caller's life–from where they met their husband, to their various hobbies–leads Gethard to declare her as quite possibly our nerdiest caller ever. Beautiful/Anonymous+ is now ad free! Sign up for  Beau...

This week's caller is finally going to embrace her tiny home dreams. That is, if her husband can stop jumping off roofs long enough for them to finish the bus renovation they started three years ago. This one starts out easy enough. How does one become involved in skoolie life? What makes someone want to live in a school bus in the first place? What's all this drama about raising the bus roof? But...

This week's caller is queer, polyamorous, and on ADHD-related academic probation in seminary school. These are all fairly new developments in her life. She talks to Gethard about how opening herself up to exploration and possibility led her to a life she says the old her would have been "appalled" by and why–even if this new life is a little more chaotic–she's so much happier now. Head to chrisget...

A local TV news producer talks with Gethard about telling local stories, connecting with her community, the changing news landscape, and how to stay human in a field that expects you to distance yourself from the people you're covering. Follow Beautiful/Anonymous on Instagram @ beautifulanonymouspod Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous+ to get access to exclusive content including 5 Random Questions wi...

A signmaker calls to talk to Gethard about the novel she spent 35 years writing, tapping into life on the quantum level, and a whole lot of stuff we honestly aren't sure we understand. It's a fascinating call. Some of you are going to love this one. Some of you are going to feel like you stepped into a weird alternate dimension you can't escape. And some of you are going to love this one because i...

This week's caller joins Gethard for a good ol' fashioned chit-chat. From working in the restaurant industry, to recreational substance-fueled movie marathons, to getting your DnD numbers just right, this call is a laidback hang with a cool, fun person. Follow Beautiful/Anonymous on Instagram @ beautifulanonymouspod Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous+ to get access to exclusive content including 5 Ra...

This week, Gethard talks with a borehole geologist about his very unique career. He describes the perils of the job, like traveling 2000 feet underground into a mine with only one way out, the exciting parts of his career that most of us have never even thought about, and why he still gets jazzed about the same stuff that made him love rocks when he was a kid. Follow Beautiful/Anonymous on Instagr...

A medieval recreator calls to talk with Gethard about their shared love for her city, meeting her husband while dressed in medieval garb, why what she does isn't reeanctment, and how today's politics manage to show up no matter how far back you travel in time. Plus, a whole lot more about falconry, heraldry, and all kinds of truly nerdy stuff. Just don't confuse her with those LARP dorks, okay? Fo...

A dedicated Dave Matthews Band fan tells Gethard how her love for DMB led her to donate a kidney to a total stranger. She explains some of the more complicated aspects of the process and how donating her kidney set off a chain reaction that saved a total of 10 lives. Plus, she and Geth talk about cool party tricks, pretentious tattoos, and a whole lot more. The important thing though, is that if y...