Big Mood, Little Mood with Daniel M. Lavery

Prudence is joined this week by Karen K. Ho, a business and economics reporter for Quartz based in New York City. She has been published in Time, GQ, Glamour, Vox, Toronto Life, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Columbia Journalism Review and the new, critically-acclaimed true crime anthology Unspeakable Acts.  Prudie and Ho tackle letters about how to decide if you will pay for your son’s girlfrie...

Prudence is joined this week by Julia Turshen, the author of the critically acclaimed cookbooks, Now & Again , Feed the Resistance , and Small Victories . Her new cookbook was released this month, and it’s titled, Simply Julia . She’s also the host of the podcast, Keep Calm and Cook On .   Prudie and Turshen dig into letters about what to consider with a daughter who you fear smokes and eats t...

Prudence is joined this week by Uma Kondabolu, the mother of comedian and prior Prudie guest, Hari Kondabolu.  Prudie and Kondabolu tackle letters about how to hold boundaries with a daughter who keeps begging for money, how to handle parents who won’t eat at your home because you allow cats in the kitchen, what to do when you’re put off by your family’s love of owning firearms, what to consider w...

Prudence is joined this week by Alexis Coe, a historian and the New York Times bestselling author of You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington. She was a producer on Doris Kearns Goodwin's Washington series on the History Channel, and is also a producer on the film adaptation of her first book, Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis.  Prudie and Coe dig into letters about w...

Prudence is joined this week by Chau Tu, a writer, podcast producer, and the editor of Slate Plus. Prudie and Tu tackle letters about what to do when when your husband wants the two of you to move abroad to care for his mother and you don’t want to go, what to consider when you suspect your sister doesn’t really need the wheelchair she uses, how to meet people after an extended period of social is...

Prudence is joined this week by Annalee Newitz, a science journalist, science fiction writer, and contributor to the New York Times opinion section. They are the author of the book Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age, and the novels The Future of Another Timeline, and Autonomous, which won the Lambda Literary Award. Prudie and Newitz dig into letters about what to do when you suspe...

Prudence is joined this week by culture critic, podcast host and author, Kristen Meinzer. Meinzer currently hosts the podcasts Movie Therapy with Rafer & Kristen , and the podcast By The Book . Her books include So You Want to Start a Podcast, How to Be Fine (co-written with Jolenta Greenberg), and Return to Intercourse: An Amish Romance. She was named a 2020 Woman of the Year by The Women's C...

Prudence is joined this week by Noah Kulwin, the co-host of Blowback , a political history podcast. He's also an associate editor at The Drift and a contributing editor at Jewish Currents . Prudie and Kulwin dig into letters about what actions to take with a niece who has been stealing from family and neighbors for years, how to handle a stubborn dad who prioritizes his side hustles over seeing hi...

Prudence is joined this week by Colby Gordon, an English professor at Bryn Mawr College, where he teaches weird gay poems. Prudie and Gordon tackle letters about what to do when you fear that transitioning would hurt your career, what to consider when your partner leaves you feeling vulnerable about your finances, how to talk to a close friend about her transphobic comments, how to handle regret o...

Prudence is joined this week by Bijan Stephen, a reporter at The Verge , a music critic at The Nation , and a video game columnist at The Believer . He plays T.K. on the actual play podcast Fun City , hosts a couple shows on Twitch, and his writing has appeared in The New Yorker , The New York Times , Esquire , and elsewhere. Prudie and Stephen dig into letters about How to come to terms with a lo...

Prudence takes a look at some of the many memorable letters of 2020 with Grace Lavery, Calvin Kasulke, Toni Golan-Vilella, Lizzy Marmon, Justine D’Souza, and Jack Doyle. Prudie and company tackle letters about how to decide if you should you let your best friend raise your troubled daughter, what to consider about rewarding weight loss by getting a breast lift, how to handle a husband who gets ups...

Prudence is joined this week by Harron Walker, an award-winning freelance journalist who lives in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in GQ , Esquire , and Out , and she is a longtime Jezebel contributor. Prudie and Walker tackle letters about how to handle a mother-in-law who wants to refer to you as an “aunt” rather than admitting your baby has two moms, what to consider when you suspect your partne...

Prudence is joined this week by Max Jacobs, a radio and podcast producer based in New York. Long ago, he helped produce this show. Prudie and Jacobs dig into letters about what to do when a neighbor’s cigarette smoke creeps into your apartment, how to cope with your mom’s passive aggressive behavior, what to do when your privileged partner complains about his job, should your wife be more careful...

Prudence is joined this week by Diana Stegall, the creator of the popular French history podcast, The Land of Desire . Prudie and Stegall tackle letters about what to consider when bad experiences with therapists leave you wondering if you even know how to “do therapy”, what to do when you realize that your husband is a secret daily smoker, how to handle family who aren’t comfortable that you have...

Prudence is joined this week by Avery Trufelman, the host of the podcast The Cut , from New York Magazine, as well as Nice Try! a podcast from Curbed about utopian experiments.  Prudie and Trufelman dig into letters about what to do when you find out that your coworker is engaged to your controlling ex-fiancé, how to handle working in the same industry as a triggering ex-boyfriend, should you feel...

Prudence is joined this week by Sarah Hagi, a writer based in Toronto, Canada Prudie and Hagi tackle letters about what to do when your wife gets really upset when you waste any food, what actions to take when you find out that your abusive ex may be harming his new and possibly underage girlfriend, how to connect with a friend who has joined a cult, what to do when an injury ends your sports care...

Prudence is joined this week by Alicia Harris, a self-described public health nerd based in Oakland, CA. Harris works as a foundation program officer, directing resources to reproductive health, rights and justice organizations. Prudie and Harris dig into letters where a woman is wondering if it’s okay to cheat if she hasn’t had sex in her marriage for 5 years, what to do when your husband moves o...

Prudence is joined this week by Davey Davis, who writes about culture and sexuality. Their first novel, the earthquake room , is available through TigerBee Press. They write a newsletter about people named David at itsdavid.substack.com .  Prudie and Davis tackle letters about what to do when your father refuses your attempts at reconciliation, how to steer your family away from triggering you dur...

Prudence is joined this week by Anna Hetherington, who has a doctorate in Renaissance Art History, wants to teach visual literacy to the world, and is pretty obsessed with her dog Wilson, sweetened condensed milk, and her friends. Prudie and Hetherington dig into letters about should you take action with your brother’s dogs peeing in the shared vacation condo, what to consider when your partner di...

Prudence is joined this week by Violet Allen, a science fiction writer based in Chicago. Prudie and Allen tackle letters about what to consider when you don’t think your wife is up to the task of home-schooling the kids, what actions to take when your girlfriend never lets you take space from an argument, what to do when everything about your relationship is stellar except the sex, what to do when...

Prudence is joined this week by Isaac Fellman, a writer and an archivist at the GLBT Historical Society, where he gets to tell the story of San Francisco's queer history. His fantasy novel about traumatized mountain climbers, The Breath of the Sun, won a 2019 Lambda Literary Award. Prudie and Fellman dig into letters about what to do when your ex-husband spoils your daughters with lavish gifts, ho...

Prudence is joined this week by Amanda McLoughlin, a podcaster and businesslady who runs Multitude , a podcast collective and production studio located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She co-hosts Spirits , a boozy dive into mythology and folklore, and Join the Party , a collaborative storytelling podcast powered by the rules of Dungeons & Dragons. Prudie and McLoughlin tackle letters about what to d...

Prudence is joined this week by Austin Channing Brown, an author, speaker and media producer providing inspired leadership on racial justice in America. She is the New York Times Bestselling author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness and the Executive Producer of The Next Question: a web series imagining how expansive racial justice can be. Prudie and Channing Brown dig...

Prudence is joined this week by Dr. Jennifer M. Buck, an Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Azusa Pacific University. Her books and research explore themes of global Christianity, Quakerism, gender, race and popular culture. She also is a licensed minister and helps pastor a church in Pasadena, CA where she lives with her husband and foster son.  Prudie and Buck tackle letters about what...

Prudence is joined this week by the critic at large for Vox, Emily VanDerWerff. VanDerWerff is the co-creator of the fiction podcast Arden and the co-author of the book Monsters of the Week: The Complete Critical Companion to The X-Files . Prudie and VanDerWerff dig into letters about what to do when your family wants you to give your kidney for your abusive dad, how to handle a partner who’s horr...