Good Things from Lemonada

How are you supposed to go on after suffering an unimaginable tragedy? Shortly after comedian Michael Cruz Kayne welcomed his identical twin boys into the world, his son Fisher suddenly passed away at only 34 days old. Michael and his wife were left trying to grieve their son while raising a newborn at the same time. This week, we talk about what helps in the face of loss and how to tell people th...

Domestic violence is pervasive and thrives in silence. But how do I know if my relationship has crossed a line? How do I identify abuse? And what exactly should I do if my partner becomes violent? Today, clinical psychologist Dr. Heidi Kar digs into what motivates violent behavior in the first place and how cycles of violence can actually be prevented. Most importantly, she provides insight on how...

Many of us never think to question our own gender identity... but should we? And what happens when someone close to us begins that kind of exploration? In this very personal episode, Claire sits down with her eldest child Vera, and trans activist Tuck Woodstock to talk about the world of gender identity. It's been over a year since Vera started to identify as non-binary. While this has been an exc...

During the pandemic, the line between work life and home life got blurry. But that was already true for many people well before COVID-19 arrived. Tamara Taggart worked in TV and Radio for 28 years and had a really hard time drawing the line between what she did and who she is. It took suddenly losing that dream job to finally find her true self. This week’s practice is about identity, defining you...

Despite what we’ve learned in fairy tales during our childhood, there’s no such thing as the perfect relationship. Marriage therapist Elizabeth Earnshaw has seen and heard it all and offers up practical advice on understanding the issues in your relationship, how to work through them, and when to consider calling it quits. This episode’s practice is about communication, getting your needs met, and...

We all have anxiety, but not all of us know how to manage it. Janis Whitlock, senior advisor for the Jed Foundation, says a great way to tackle anxiety is to think of it as energy in motion that needs to go somewhere. She says if you can learn to channel this energy and experiment with your own triggers, you’ll be able to lead an anxious-free life. This episode's practice is about releasing doubt,...

Maureen Iselin has always wanted to be a mom. But as she neared 40 and her most recent relationship came to an end, she realized the traditional nuclear family model wasn't her only option. Through the help of IUI treatments and a therapist who happened to take the same journey to motherhood, Maureen hopes that being a single mother by choice will not only be a step closer to her life’s purpose, b...

Psychologist Ben Miller wants us to think about mental health differently. And he has lots of ideas of how to make that happen. Imagine a world where the people we encounter in our everyday lives -- baristas, grocery store clerks, nail techs -- were trained to recognize and help someone dealing with a mental health issue. This episode's practice is about engaging with the people in our community,...

Tembi Locke was 41 years old when she lost her husband to a long illness, leaving her to parent their young daughter alone. Tembi wrote about her journey rebuilding and reimagining her life in her memoir “From Scratch,” which has just been turned into a limited Netflix series. But how are you supposed to move on and find meaning when your partner in life is no longer here? This episode's practice...

Podcast host Alison Rosen is an empath, which makes it hard for her to step away from the highly personal conversations she has each week on “Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend.” Setting and maintaining healthy boundaries wasn’t something she grew up knowing how to do, but learning the skill as an adult has made a huge difference in her life. This week’s practice is about self-awareness and how...

Celebrity fitness trainer Simone De La Rue wants to change how we think about and relate to our bodies. She can trace her passion for health, women’s empowerment, and self-care to a pivotal moment in her life – an audition for the Australian Ballet Company where she felt judged solely on her physical appearance. Through her dance-based fitness program Body By Simone, she fights back against unreal...

The pandemic has forced many of us to stop - stop going out, stop seeing friends, stop doing the things that bring us joy. And when we all stopped eating out, it affected millions of restaurant workers in America, including restaurateur Lien Ta. Lien had to close the doors to her first restaurant, Here's Looking at You, and find new ways to keep her second one afloat. How do you move forward when...

Loving ourselves is not easy. Author Dr. Kristin Neff says in order to actually love yourself you must be willing to turn toward pain, forgive others, and talk to yourself like you would your dearest friend. And most importantly, you must ask yourself: What’s standing in the way of loving myself even more? This episode's practice is about giving yourself permission to be kind to yourself – on the...

Do you believe in psychic mediums, or are you a skeptic? Turns out you don’t just have to be one or the other. Claire was pretty skeptical when she first met her guest, Medium Fleur Leussink. But by keeping an open mind, Fleur introduced her to a whole new way to connect to the people she’s lost. This episode’s practice is all about how to get in touch with the people we’ve lost - and those we mig...

Happy melancholy holidays! In this special crossover episode, Last Day host Stephanie Wittels Wachs sits down with grief expert Claire Bidwell Smith to talk about this past year – as moms, as professionals, and most importantly, as human beings coping with the inevitable grief that creeps up around the holidays. Join us for a conversation on finding meaning, and how to make joy a priority this com...

Every family has secrets, but some secrets can change everything we thought we knew about ourselves. At age 54, writer Dani Shapiro discovered that the father who raised her wasn't her biological father. For over two decades, Dani has written memoirs mining her life for truths and understanding of what makes us who we are, including how this shocking revelation reshaped her own identity. This epis...

Being a religious leader doesn’t mean you're an expert at practicing forgiveness. Lutheran minister Nadia Bolz-Weber says being in quarantine gave her the ego check she needed to get real about forgiveness and compassion -- for herself and others. This episode’s practice is about apologies and circling back to the relationships in your life that could use some mending.    Want to connect? Join the...

The murder of George Floyd was shocking and changed all of us -- regardless of our racial identities. For nonbinary activist, actor, and writer Brandon Kyle Goodman, it was a moment for them to find their voice. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Brandon posted a video on Instagram addressed to their white friends who were reaching out, asking them what they should do. That video went viral, an...

The holidays are upon us, and that can mean complicated family dynamics. So, we're revisiting our conversation with Billie Lourd. She has been grieving the loss of her mother, Carrie Fisher, and grandmother, Debbie Reynolds, since 2016. She shares what it was like growing up in the public eye in a family dealing with addiction and mental illness. This episode’s practice is about all the things you...

The pandemic has asked us to think about our lives — and our relationships — in so many different ways. For some of us, it meant more time than ever before with our families at home, but for Jeremiah Fraites, one of the co-founders of the band The Lumineers, and his wife Francesca Lazzarin, it meant going from making art and living on tour to moving to Italy and being stuck together ALL OF THE TIM...

30 years ago Dr. BJ Miller had an accident that changed his life forever. He was out late one night, messing around with his college buddies, and he jumped up on a train car and was electrocuted with 11000 volts of electricity. BJ went on to lose both legs and most of one arm. He spent a year in physical recovery and longer in emotional and psychological recovery. But all of these experiences led...

Lily Cornell Silver knows that being in your 20s is hard. Being in your 20s and navigating COVID-19, college, grief, and your mental health can feel completely overwhelming. Lily, a 21-year-old mental health advocate, and Claire talk about how open, honest conversations with Lily’s mom, Susan Silver, are a key part of her mental health regimen, including as Lily continues to process losing her dad...

Dr. Alauna Curry is like every other therapist out there–a regular person with struggles and pain just like the rest of us. And in 2017, when her marriage, finances, and health all came crashing down, she was reminded that everyone has trauma–but not all of us know how it affects us or the empathy with which we view the world. This episode's practice is about understanding our traumas, and using o...

Sex therapist Dr. Alex Katehakis started studying sex in her 30s, after years of struggling to build and maintain romantic relationships. Her early work in the field of sex addiction helped her to work through her own sexual issues and to understand healthy sexuality in new ways, including busting the myth that “penetrative sex is the end all, be all to sex and sexuality.” This episode’s practice...

Comedian Jen Curran thought she was having a normal pregnancy, but then the complications started. Her doctors told her to lose weight, but they were wrong. Weeks after giving birth, she received a diagnosis that turned her dream of motherhood upside down. This week’s practice is about letting go of disappointments and getting mad (and then moving forward).      Want to connect? Join the New Day F...