Death, Sex & Money

Dr. Jeffrey Rouse is the Orleans Parish coroner—a job he describes as the “interface between law and medicine.” A decade ago, he was preparing for a life in academia, not public office.  Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy...

Dr. Kiersta Kurtz-Burke spent Hurricane Katrina inside New Orleans’ Charity Hospital. Now that she's got two kids, she keeps her gas tank full in case they need to evacuate. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions....

Big Freedia is a reality TV star and fixture on New Orleans' bounce scene. But days after Hurricane Katrina, she was sleeping on the street outside of the city's convention center. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instru...

Simone Bruni started her career in hospitality, and dreamed of eventually being a stay-at-home mom. But when Katrina hit, she was 32 and single. So she started a demolition company.  Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy inst...

When Katrina hit, Terri Coleman was a troublemaker—burning cars and getting stoned. She recalls, “The storm allow[ed] my weird adolescent destruction to be socially acceptable.” Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructi...

Cindy Chupack came into her second marriage with a house on the beach and an Emmy. Her husband came in with a lot of debt. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automati...

As her Grammy-winning duo The Civil Wars was publicly falling apart, Joy Williams was privately dealing with a rocky patch in her marriage, a new baby and her father's cancer diagnosis. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy i...

We check in with Caleb Wilde, the sixth-generation Pennsylvania funeral director who told me about his struggle with depression last year.  Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podc...

After hearing from more than 200 listeners about their siblings, it's clear that the people we spend our childhoods with aren't the easiest ones to act like adults toward. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. M...

Ken Eurell became a cop for the steady paycheck. Then, he figured out how to make money by stealing from crime scenes, taking payoffs from drug dealers, and selling cocaine.  Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions...

We gathered two married couples, one Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, a dog, a rock band, and a turquoise couch onstage for our first ever live show. Hear what went down. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Member...

After a dozen albums, Texas country musician Robert Earl Keen doesn't chase sex or booze like a younger rock star, but he does pay his band salaries with retirement benefits. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions...

Heidi Reinberg left New York after thirty years because she was priced out of her Brooklyn apartment. A year later, she's back in her old neighborhood, with a 25 year-old roommate. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instru...

After his television show Totally Biased was cancelled, comedian W. Kamau Bell is balancing the work of rebuilding his career, earning enough money and being a dependable family man. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy inst...

John Cameron Mitchell created Hedwig and the Angry Inch when he in his 30s. Now he's playing the title role on Broadway, and says aging and loss have given the show new meaning. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructi...

Giulia Lukach was three years into her marriage when she began experiencing symptoms of bipolar disorder. She and her husband talk about how her illness has reshaped their marriage.  Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy inst...

After years of working as a physician, Ken Jeong quit to pursue acting. Then his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, and he found himself needing to think like a doctor again. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instruct...

You've heard Lisa Fischer singing backup vocals for everyone from the Rolling Stones to Beyoncé. But after decades of touring with rock stars, Fischer lives in a far more humble reality. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy...

There's the cliche: someone cheats, crockery is thrown, lawyers are called. But your stories about cheating were much more varied, with some unpredictable conclusions.  Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Memb...

Sometimes love fits neatly on a card. Sometimes, it spills over into rehab, divorce, or a call from a former Wyoming senator.  Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get auto...

Teddy and Kami Thompson followed in the footsteps of their musical parents, Richard and Linda Thompson. But they remember their childhood and its lessons about family very differently. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy in...

Comedian Margaret Cho frequently jokes about her wild sexual adventures. But now she says she wants something less X-rated and more like a middle school romance.  Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members su...

Akhavan’s debut feature film, Appropriate Behavior, mines the details of her own life—particularly the most uncomfortable moments. It also earned her a spot on this season of Girls. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instr...

Living alone has its perks: no one to tell you what to eat, how to decorate, or when to go to bed. But there's also no one to split the bills with.  Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via A...

Lawrence Bartley has been in prison for 23 years on a murder charge. Now, he's wondering what he'll say to the parole board—and to his sons, who are still too young to know of his past. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member.  Sign up now . Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy i...