Big Mood, Little Mood with Daniel M. Lavery

Danny Lavery welcomes Anna Rubanova and Adam Bozarth, who are both founding members of the sketch comedy group, Left Handed Radio. They are also both producers at the Forever Dog podcast network. Lavery, Rubanova, and Bozarth tackle two letters: First, from a letter writer who is wondering how to get her boyfriend to stop making insensitive comments. Another letter writer needs help procuring weed...

Danny Lavery welcomes Abby McEnany, mainstay of the Chicago improvisational comedy scene, and the creator of the Showtime comedy series, Work In Progress, and Celeste Pechous, a writer and actress, who also stars in Work In Progress, portraying Abby’s best friend, Campbell.  Lavery, McEnany, and Pechous tackle three letters: First, from a letter writer who is wondering how to find the right therap...

Danny Lavery welcomes Jenée Desmond-Harris, Slate’s Dear Prudence. She was previously a senior staff editor at the New York Times, where she is now a contributing opinion writer. Lavery and Desmond-Harris dig into two letters: First, from a letter writer who is wondering how to handle her friend’s bestie who always makes her feel bad. Another letter writer is wondering how to live with a body that...

Danny Lavery welcomes Dr. Paula Stone Williams, an internationally known speaker on gender equity, LGBTQ advocacy, and religious tolerance. Lavery and Williams dig into two letters: First, from a letter writer who is wondering how to crank up the family support for a non-binary niece. Another letter writer is wondering how to know if their decision to undergo top surgery is the right one. Plus, a...

Danny Lavery welcomes Kat Chow , a reporter and author of the forthcoming memoir, Seeing Ghosts . Lavery and Chow tackle two letters: First, from a letter writer who is wondering how to trust a partner with a history of cheating. Another letter writer is wondering if her emotional affair with her best friend should be taken more seriously. Also, Chow takes a deep dive into Seeing Ghosts . Slate Pl...

Danny Lavery welcomes author Rebecca Carroll, who recently published her critically acclaimed memoir, Surviving the White Gaze . Lavery and Carroll give advice to a letter writer who is wondering how to distance herself from her abusive mom. Also, Carroll goes in depth about the experiences that inspired her memoir, and a lighting round question about a conservative co-worker.  Slate Plus members...

Danny Lavery welcomes Julian K. Jarboe, author of the LAMBDA Award-winning short story collection, Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel .  Lavery and Jarboe give advice to a letter writer who is wondering if her friend group will recover after discovering a secret relationship among two members. Also in this episode, Jarboe reads an excerpt from their piece, Trauma As Morality . Slate Plus...

Danny Lavery welcomes songwriter, novelist, and leader of the American band the Mountain Goats, John Darnielle.   Lavery and Darnielle give advice to a letter writer who is wondering if she should align with her partner's religion. Also in this episode, Darnielle discusses The Mountain Goats just-released collection of songs, Dark In Here. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little...

Danny Lavery welcomes Hallie Bateman, an illustwriter based in Los Angeles. She is the author of three books, including What To Do When I’m Gone , and Directions . Lavery and Bateman give advice to a letter writer questioning her own ethics about her decision to stop foster parenting. Also in this episode, the characteristics of mommy's girls, foursome etiquette, and a deep dive about Bateman’s ne...

Danny Lavery welcomes writer and actor Mara Wilson. Lavery and Wilson give advice to a letter writer who is wondering if she should disclose her depression to her boss and risk jeopardizing her job. Also, stories about mean grandmothers, and flailing hotel clerks.  Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little Mood every Friday: sign up now Need advice? Send Danny a question here . Em...

Danny Lavery welcomes Sophie Lewis, the author of essays about octopus sex, theoretical screeds about capitalism, and numerous texts about family abolition, including the 2019 book Full Surrogacy Now: Feminism Against Family .  Lavery and Lewis give advice to a letter writer who is wondering how to set boundaries with a family that is siding with her abusive father. They also discuss a “soft versi...

Danny Lavery welcomes Inkoo Kang, a TV critic for The Washington Post, and host of the podcast, All About Almodóvar .  Lavery and Kang give advice to a letter writer experiencing job burnout and wondering if she’ll feel hopeless forever. They also take a deep dive with their own experience with job burnout, which somehow leads to a discussion on who was actually wearing wigs on the TV show Mare of...

Danny Lavery welcomes actress Gates McFadden. McFadden is the host of the new podcast, Gates McFadden Investigates: Who Do You Think You Are?  Lavery and McFadden give advice to a letter writer who’s not thrilled about his wife’s botox injections. Also, McFadden talks about her transformative experience at the Jacques Lecoq school in Paris, and connecting with her former Star Trek co-stars on her...

Danny Lavery welcomes author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, Alexander Chee. Lavery and Chee give advice to a letter writer whose partner revealed his abusive, jealous personality only after moving in together. Also, Lavery and Chee talk about finding a good therapist, couples therapy via 90s films, and all sorts of monogamies. Slate Plus members get another episode of Big Mood, Little...

On this first episode of Big Mood, Little Mood, Danny Lavery starts to shed his almost 5 years of being “Dear Prudence”, and stretches out with his first guest, Aubrey Gordon. Gordon is a columnist for SELF Magazine and the author of What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat. She also co-hosts Maintenance Phase, a podcast that debunks and decodes weight loss and wellness trends. Lavery and G...

Listeners: This will be the last week of the Dear Prudence podcast, as Danny Lavery is ending his run as Prudence. But keep listening to this feed—Danny’s new show, Big Mood, Little Mood with Danny Lavery, will premiere next week! Prudence is joined this week by Kate Duffy, a licensed clinical social worker in New York.  Prudie and Duffy dig into letters about what to do when your husband bites yo...

Prudence is joined this week by Maddy Court, a writer and zinemaker. Her first book, The Ex-Girlfriend of My Ex-Girlfriend is My Girlfriend, an almanac of relationship advice for queer women with art and comics by Kelsey Wroten, is forthcoming from Chronicle Books. Prudie and Court tackle letters about how to protect your daughter from sexual harassment in her first restaurant job, should you tell...

Prudence is joined this week by Anna Sale, the creator and host of Death, Sex & Money, the podcast from WNYC Studios. Her new book, Let’s Talk About Hard Things, will be published on May 4th. Prudie and Sale dig into letters about whether you should join a lawsuit against an academic advisor who was both harmful and helpful, what to consider when your wife donates money to strangers on Instagr...

Prudence is joined this week by Harry Eskin, a moving-image archivist based in Los Angeles. Prudie and Eskin dig into letters about if you should apologize for past conversations where you claim a heritage that you truly don’t identify as, how to talk to your mother about the way she neglected your sibling when you were children, should you preemptively write an apology on Linkedin for a racist co...

Prudence is joined this week by Charlie Jane Anders, the author of Victories Greater Than Death , the first book in a new young-adult trilogy coming in April 2021, along with the forthcoming short story collection Even Greater Mistakes . She’s also the co-host of the podcast, Our Opinions Are Correct, along with Annalee Newitz. Prudie and Anders tackle letters about how to support your brother in...

Prudence is joined this week by Leigh Bardugo, the New York Times -bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (coming soon to Netflix). Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy . Prudie and Bardugo dig into letters about how to support your non-binary child while avoiding their abusive father, how to han...

Prudence is joined this week by Sarah Jaffe, the author of Work Won’t Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited , Exhausted and Alone, and Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt , both from Bold Type Books. She’s also the co-host, with Michelle Chen, of Dissent magazine’s Belabored podcast. Prudie and Jaffe tackle letters about how to support your undocumented partner through thei...

Prudence is joined this week by Claire Cox, a writer and high school teacher and author of the forthcoming novel Silver Beach.   Prudie and Cox dig into letters about what to do when your wife wants you to review all her work emails before she hits send, how to steer clear of your abusive mom so you can see your siblings, what to do when your boyfriend gets defensive when you make suggestions that...

Prudence is joined this week by Jaya Saxena, a staff writer at Eater. Her latest book, Crystal Clear, an essay collection about how humans assign meaning and power to objects, was published in December with Quirk Books.  Prudie and Saxena tackle letters about how to handle a sister who’s adamant that you change to a vegan diet, how to tell your husband that you will file for divorce if he gets a p...

Prudence is joined this week by Rax King, the James Beard award-nominated writer of Tacky (forthcoming from Vintage Books in 2021) as well as the host of the podcast Low Culture Boil.  Prudie and King dig into letters about whether you should hire someone who shares a last name with the most prominent Nazi who ever lived, what to consider when your wife tells the same stories over and over again,...