Last Day

Author and motivational speaker Alexis Jones lived her life on the road. Year after year, she kept up a relentless touring schedule, propelling her to new heights alongside icons like Glennon Doyle and Oprah. But behind closed doors, Alexis was falling apart. Chronic pain, a maddening fertility journey, and some earth-shattering revelations about her family’s past all threatened to derail her. But...

If comedian Tig Notaro hadn’t had cancer, her life might’ve actually been worse. In those sobering moments post-diagnosis, she got up on stage and told a room of people all about it. “The crowd went wild” is an understatement and was only a taste of what was to come. Years after a recording of that standup set went viral and launched her into the cultural mainstream, Tig sits down with Stephanie t...

You might know Elyse Myers from her viral video about buying 100 tacos on a first date. That TikTok led to a Cinderella story of overnight fame, where she quickly became a household name. But the taco tale is only the tip of the iceberg. Elyse gives Stephanie the never-before-seen look at her path to becoming who she is today — from moving overseas to leaving a church that didn’t practice what it...

When Colin Campbell regained consciousness, seeing only the billowy white of an airbag in front of him, he had no idea what had just happened. A moment ago, his two teenagers were happily texting each other in the backseat — and now they were lying motionless in the wreckage. Colin joins Stephanie to share what it took for him to find the words to talk about this unimaginable loss and how to help...

For Melissa Urban, the wellness icon behind Whole30, setting boundaries is the name of the game. But she wasn’t always like this. To cope with buried trauma from her teen years, she began using drugs to escape. And at quick-sand speed, it became a full-blown addiction that she had to feed at every turn. Melissa recounts the slivers of opportunity that helped her find her way to recovery. By creati...

Life is random, nothing happens for a reason, and the universe does not have a plan. That’s at least what Maya Shankar believes. And so does Stephanie, our intrepid host. But both have figured out how to pivot in the face of life’s worst twists and turns. Maya and Stephanie bond hard and fast over their similarities, since there’s nothing quite like learning someone else is kinda sorta exactly lik...

Finding the thing you’re exceptionally good at — where you love doing it and others recognize your talent — is a pivotal moment in a young person’s life. When Winn discovered he excelled in the world of competitive rowing, it quickly consumed his life. So did the searing, chronic pain that came with it. Winn talks with Stephanie about the culture of collegiate sports that normalized injury, the cl...

Vinnie grew up in a strict, insular environment that instilled a simple message in him from a young age: who you are is fundamentally wrong. After spending years praying to God to fix him, he finally hit his breaking point. Vinnie talks to Steph about the joys and struggles of coming out in his mid 30s and extricating himself from the Evangelical church. To support Vinnie’s work, check out his web...

Exercise is good for you. This feels universally true. Turns out, it’s not. For Melissa Guarnaccia, running marathons in her 20s was a healthy outlet and stress release, until the day her heart stopped beating and she collapsed on her front steps. As it turns out, the activity she loved most was destroying her body and taking years off her life. Stephanie talks with Melissa about living with massi...

Unrelenting anxiety can suck, but it can also make you excel on the job. For 25 years, Steve Chamberlin’s hypervigilance helped him climb the ranks of the U.S. Coast Guard. But his ability to trade feelings for focus came at a cost, one that affected both his psyche at work and his relationships at home. Steve walks Stephanie through how this high-stress lifestyle promised high rewards but culmina...

Laura Cathcart Robbins bares it all in her new memoir, Stash: My Life in Hiding. But for most of her life, she lied. A lot. Growing up in spaces where she felt out of place, she learned to hide key parts of herself, fabricate a persona, and push her problems way beneath the surface. Once she became a mother living in the world of the “Hollywood Elite,” Laura turned to Ambien to find relief from sl...

Jackie Danziger has long been a fixture of the Last Day production team. Her talents, vision, and discipline have kept pace with (and, let’s be honest, wrangled in) Stephanie’s antics — a feat in and of itself. But during this time of creative and professional achievement, Jackie was also going through an immense and private struggle. One day, everything was fine, and the next, she was forced to m...

Kate Greene is the sister of a funny brother and the daughter of two loving parents. She’s a lot like Stephanie, especially because she lost her brother Ryan to an overdose. Kate recounts the protective, fiercely loving relationship between them, the way her family orbited around Ryan’s chaos for years preceding his death, and the person she’s become in the years after. Turns out, that person love...

Last Day is back! But we’re doing things a little differently this time around, and we want to give you a sneak peek of what’s to come. Last Day is and has always been a show about the moments that change us, fundamentally and forever. So, each week, we’ll be bringing you a new story about someone’s “last day” — who they were before, and how they’ve found a way to exist in the after. We’ll laugh....

Today is the last day of the Last Day you know and love, and the first day for a new chapter. From now on, we’ll be bringing you new episodes weekly! Stephanie will sit down with a different person to explore a last day that changed them fundamentally and forever. Some last days are hopeful. Some are brutal. But at the heart of every last day is also a new beginning. Get ready to laugh/cry with us...

When you think of a hunter, what image comes to mind? Probably not a Patagonia-clad gun safety proponent like Tim Stevens. In this bonus episode, Tim leads the way on an elk hunt and shares what it means to take a nuanced stance on gun rights. Plus, we face the very real (and kind of icky) possibility of hauling fresh meat out of the Montana wilderness.    Resources:   To learn more about the peop...

“Gun violence survivor”– It’s an identity no one would ever want, but it describes more and more Americans these days. In the season three finale, we turn the spotlight on those who made it to the other side –– and are fighting back. Their goal? To make sure no one else has to endure what they did.   Resources:   To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access...

Inaction in the face of gun violence is deadly. So what can we do? This week, we meet the gun violence prevention activists who believe real change is within reach and that we can sell it to the majority of Americans – even if it means playing hardball with the politicians and corporations in power.  Resources:   To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access...

Who does the Second Amendment protect? In this episode, we trace its racist roots and learn why a former firearms executive blames the gun industry for sowing fear, division, and maybe even anarchy in our country.  Resources: To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about suicide and violence prevention visit: https://lastdayresource...

Suicide contagion, secure storage, and breakfast meats. This week, we figure out how to get cowboys to talk about their feelings with help from experts on the ground and suicide prevention advocates.    Resources:   Take the Man Therapy Head Inspection Check out the Gun Shop Project   To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about su...

Who’s to blame in the aftermath of a tragedy? This week, we meet a family asking that question after their beloved son died when his college failed to intervene.    Resources:   To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about suicide and violence prevention visit: https://lastdayresources.simvoly.com/.    Stephanie Wittels Wachs is th...

Violent crime is up in American cities. Does that mean it’s time to return to the aggressive policing of the 90s? Not exactly. How can we make our cities safer and empower communities with the tools they need to save more lives? This week, we travel from Atlanta to Los Angeles to Chicago to meet seasoned leaders who are taking an innovative approach to harm reduction, violence interruption, and vi...

Growing up in an Atlanta neighborhood that’s been “thrown away” and “forgotten,” Derriontae’s survival hinged on joining a gang and packing heat, so you might be surprised to also find him practicing yoga and tending to a vegetable garden. In this episode, we get our hands dirty at an urban farm dedicated to tackling the root causes of gun violence and poverty. It has all the signs of a feel-good...

This week, we’re pulling apart the idea of a “bad neighborhood” and learning about community trauma. We travel to Southwest Atlanta, where Sharmaine Brown’s son, Jared, was killed after being struck by a stray bullet. We dig into deescalation, changing identities, and old school parenting.   Resources:   To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical...

What do you do when the thing that makes your kid the happiest is also putting him in danger? Larry and Shannon Martell took the guns away after their son Austen suffered a traumatic brain injury - but you have to go back to normal eventually, right? In this episode, we travel to a Montana town of 272 people, sit down with a dad who wouldn’t have talked to us a year ago, and cry harder than we eve...