Since You Asked with Lori Gottlieb and Gretchen Rubin

We share listener responses to Dan Harris’s anxiety dilemma and a question about parents bragging about adult kids online. We respond to a listener who let her close friend’s adult son stay on her property and is trying to support him without getting pulled into his estrangement from his mother. Plus, Since You Askers weigh in: What rituals help you mark an ending or goodbye? Have a question or ad...

We hear an update from the mother whose adult son was struggling with his difficult relationship with his father, and what changed after he talked it through with his dad. We respond to a listener whose boyfriend wants her to delete old photos with her ex if they get married. Plus, Since You Askers weigh in: Have you ever done something outside your comfort zone to get out of a rut? Have a questio...

We share listener responses on new baby boundaries and how to support friends dealing with family estrangement. We respond to a listener who wants a fresh start socially and professionally without making a major life change. Plus, Since You Askers weigh in: Do you need your work to feel meaningful or just financially support your life? Have a question or advice to share? Leave a voicemail or write...

We share more listener responses to the question of what to do with a secret a dying father is asking his daughter to keep. We respond to a parent who found their 16-year-old vaping and is trying to decide how to respond. Plus, Since You Askers weigh in: What surprised you about yourself after 30 or 40? Have a question or advice to share? Leave a voicemail or write to us at thesinceyouaskedpodcast...

We respond to a listener who’s tired of parents posting about their adult kids on social media and wonders where the line is. We also hear from a listener who wants to pick up more of the tab on her friends’ annual trip, but doesn’t want it to change the dynamic. Plus, Since You Askers weigh in: What does someone in your life tend to misunderstand about you? Have a question or advice to share? Lea...

We respond to a listener who wants to support friends whose adult children are estranged; we share what can help and what to avoid. Since You Askers weigh in: Would people describe you as easy or difficult, and why? Plus, 10% Happier host and author Dan Harris asks how to handle claustrophobia and panic he feels on flights and in elevators. Have a question or advice to share? Leave a voicemail or...

We share listener responses to last season’s question about feeling less attracted to a partner after weight gain. We respond to a widow who discovered her late husband had an affair and is torn about whether to tell their adult children. Plus, Since You Askers weigh in: When you order food with family or friends, should you always share or is it okay to say no? Have a question or advice to share?...

We’re so excited to be back with Season Three! We share updates and listener responses to the “work wife” question from last season. We respond to a new grandparent who feels hurt about being asked not to visit their newborn until after vaccinations, and how to support the parents without taking their rules personally. Plus, Since You Askers weigh in: Have you ever quit something without a backup...

We share updates from listeners on grief after losing a parent, the green bubble group chat dilemma, and the weight of family secrets. We respond to a listener who wants to talk to his partner about feeling less attracted after weight gain, and how to approach it with care. Since You Askers weigh in: What’s the most life changing advice you’ve ever received? Plus, we close out Season 2 with Summer...

We share updates from listeners on the husband who’s been meeting his ex-girlfriend for an annual coffee—and the bigger question of staying friends with an ex. We respond to a listener whose live-in mother-in-law’s spending is creating tension as their own child heads to college. Plus, Since You Askers weigh in: Are you a “save it for later” person or a “use the good stuff now” person? Have a ques...

We share updates from listeners on forgiving yourself after a social misstep, using AI during relationship conflict, and the surprising research behind the workplace candy dish dilemma. We respond to a listener who feels uneasy about her boyfriend’s “work wife,” and isn’t sure what boundaries to set. Plus, Since You Askers weigh in: Have you become more like your parents or less like them as you’v...

We share updates from the mother whose adult son is ready to pull back from his difficult relationship with his father. We also hear from a parent whose eighth grader is being left out of group chats because his Android texts show up as green bubbles — and she’s torn over whether buying him an iPhone sends the wrong message. Plus, Since You Askers weigh in: Is it better to give a practical gift so...

We share updates from listeners on messy rooms, constant texting for reassurance, and how to handle a sensitive conversation about bad breath. We respond to a question about being asked to keep a family secret by a dying father, and what it means when that secret affects everyone left behind. Plus Since You Askers weigh in: What’s something you’ve made peace with that used to upset you? Have a que...

We both reflect on the experience of losing our fathers, and we share the advice that helped us during the early months and years–plus we discuss listeners’ insights and experiences.  We also respond to a listener who is uneasy about her husband’s new habit of consulting ChatGPT during arguments. Plus Since You Askers weigh in: What is something you stopped doing that made your life better? Have a...

We share updates from listeners on donor conception, family secrets, and what it can look like to tell the truth with consideration. We respond to a question from a listener trying to decide whether her husband’s annual meet-up with his ex is normal–or a breach of trust. We also respond to a mother who feels pressure to create “magical” traditions for her kids, and worries she is overscheduling fa...

We respond to a mother’s question about whether her adult son should keep seeing his father when every visit turns into criticism. We also hear from a listener who apologized for a thoughtless comment, was not forgiven, and still feels stuck in shame two years later. Since You Askers weigh in: When is it justified to tell a lie? Plus, author and TV personality Chrissy Teigen asks how to be a bette...

We share updates from listeners on the visiting-parents dilemma and where to draw the line when family comes to stay. We respond to questions about boundaries that leave people feeling rejected, including a boyfriend who wants constant texting for reassurance and parents who get upset when teens share information that the grandparents don’t want to hear. Plus Since You Askers weigh in: Have you ev...

We return for Season 2 with updates from listeners on gift-giving pressure, Botox honesty, and setting boundaries around family expectations. We respond to a question from a listener unsure whether to say something to a loved one about an uncomfortable issue involving a persistent smell. We also check in on whether we actually followed our own advice from last season about how to have a happier ho...

Hi everyone, it’s Lori. Today we’re sharing another episode from my other podcast, Dear Therapists, where my fellow therapist Guy Winch and I do real sessions you can sit in on, offer practical interventions, and then hear how these interventions worked out after the session. Today’s session is with Jason, who still carries emotional scars from his childhood. Now married and with children of his o...

Hi everyone, it’s Lori. This week and next, we’re sharing my other podcast, Dear Therapists, where my fellow therapist Guy Winch and I do real sessions you can sit in on, offer practical interventions, and then hear how these suggestions worked out after the session. Today’s session is with Jennifer, whose fiance exchanged romantic messages with an old girlfriend and Jennifer feels stuck about how...

We hear listener follow-ups about an overindulgent grandmother, a coworker’s communal candy dish, and a solution to a conversational one-upper. We also give advice to a listener struggling with her father having a baby with a partner close to her age, and another who wonders if she should say something when a friend’s Botox may be going too far. Since You Askers weigh in: Are high school reunions...

We share updates from listeners on setting family boundaries and lingering post-wedding blues. We respond to questions about a grandparent who gives the kids anything they want, and a friend trying to change her sports team’s schedule for her own convenience. Plus Since You Askers weigh in on proper restaurant etiquette: How do you handle a friend who’s a demanding diner? Have a question or advice...

We hear updates from listeners about messy rooms, family gift-giving, post-wedding blues, and one-upping friends. We also respond to questions about whether visiting parents should stay in a hotel, and how to resist a sweet temptation at work. Plus Since You Askers weigh in: How important are your family’s holiday traditions? Have a question or advice to share? Leave a voicemail or write to us at...

We’re joined by actors and longtime partners Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody to answer listener questions about how to handle a family member who creates drama at get-togethers and how to set boundaries with loved ones. They also open up about their long marriage—the two times they separated, how they found their way back, and the best (and worst) advice that came out of it. Listen to Mandy and K...

We answer questions about a friend who can’t stop one-upping and the tensions around family gift-giving. We share follow-ups about family secrets and post-wedding blues, and bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert asks, “How do we stop worrying when people we love make bad choices?” And Since-You-Askers weigh in: Do you enjoy getting texts from friends and family throughout the day—or find it annoyin...