Nick Leighton & Leah Bonnema
Were You Raised By Wolves?
Editors’ Notes: “I want to give everybody the tools to solve their own etiquette problems,” says Nick Leighton, cohost and producer of Were You Raised by Wolves?, a weekly podcast in which he and cohost Leah Bonnema look into the many sticky social situations we all face. “With each of the questions that we get, from the bonkers to the ordinary, I always try to take a step back and ask, ‘What are the bigger principles here?’ I'm always looking for topics that help us make a larger point.” In each episode, Leighton, a two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, and Bonnema, a comic/writer, share pr...
Author
Nick Leighton & Leah Bonnema
Category
Podcast website
Latest episode
Jul 6, 2026
Where to listen?
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Episodes
Receiving Tacky Gifts, Cracking Knuckles, Knocking Before Entering, and More 27.04.2020 22:34
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this bonus episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about accommodating dietary restrictions, knocking before entering public restrooms, receiving tacky gifts, cracking knuckles in public, tipping on credit cards, asking inappropriate questions in groups, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwritten thank-you note if we could.) Have a que...
Making Small Talk, Eating Pistachios, Recognizing Celebrities, and More 20.04.2020 30:31
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle eating pistachios, making small talk, telling people they have toilet paper stuck to them, returning dropped calls, correcting incorrect terminology, recognizing celebrities, handling annoying phone calls, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwritten thank-you note if we could.) Have a question for us? Call or t...
Invoicing Party Guests, Keeping Scent Secrets, Walking Around Barefoot, and More 13.04.2020 30:28
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this bonus episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about invoicing party guests for food, walking around apartment buildings without shoes, asking friends to keep quiet at lunch, getting rowdy at musicals, handling inconsiderate dog owners, snooping on other people's phones, keeping scent secrets, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwri...
Raiding Strangers' Fridges, Wearing Backpacks on Subways, Declining Multi-Level Marketers, and More 06.04.2020 38:06
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle riding escalators in Osaka, being around people who don't like you, declining multi-level marketing solicitations, going through a stranger's pantry, buying gifts for real estate agents, wearing backpacks on subways, breaking rules on airplanes, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwritten thank-you note if we c...
Eating Cheetos, Knitting in Public, Calling Dibs, and More 30.03.2020 31:58
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this bonus episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about eating Cheetos, calling dibs, handling supermarket line cutters and slow baggers, behaving at a funeral, shutting down resentful relatives, going barefoot in a no-shoe household, emailing professors, knitting in public, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwritten thank-you note if...
Borrowing Money, Forgetting Invitations, Saving Forks, and More 23.03.2020 33:35
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle eating mukhwas, asking friends to repay you, forgetting to invite important relatives to parties, handling people with big hair, getting attention at a bar, sharing fears, saving forks, getting rides, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwritten thank-you note if we could.) Have a question for us? Call or text (...
Unfollowing Exes, Standing on Escalators, Vaping in Offices, and More 16.03.2020 30:18
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this bonus episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about cleaning a roommate's dishes, hovering over people in restaurants, seating in taxis, avoiding conversations with drivers, unfollowing exes on social media, handling a coworker's after-hours messages, vaping in offices, splitting restaurant bills, telling provocative stories, standing on escalators,...
Scolding in Elevators, Tipping Bathroom Attendants, Worrying for Others, and More 09.03.2020 36:43
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle slashing names on social stationery, worrying for other people, conflicting information on invitations, scolding people in elevators, tipping bathroom attendants, handling impolite parents, FaceTiming in public, overcrowding in vestibules, holding packages for neighbors, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwrit...
Eating Oreos Properly, Dumping Your Hair Stylist, Seating Incomplete Parties, and More 02.03.2020 33:19
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this bonus episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about eating Oreos properly, dumping your hair stylist, toasting grammar, duplicating housewarming gifts, seating incomplete parties at restaurants, dealing with gassy coworkers, lowering the volume on loud people, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwritten thank-you note if we could.)...
Eco-shaming Friends, Giving Gifts in China, Visiting a Hospital, and More 24.02.2020 35:42
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle giving gifts in China, visiting people in a hospital, eco-shaming friends, falling asleep on the subway, using "san" in Japanese correspondence, getting people sick, choosing the right fork, sending us calligraphy, leaving out cookies, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwritten thank-you note if we could.) Hav...
Criticizing Wedding Dresses, Spreading Rumors, Splitting Cupcakes, and More 17.02.2020 27:06
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this bonus episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about criticizing someone's wedding dress, drying your hands without towels, dealing with nasty rumors, handling someone who always criticizes their own body, feeling obligated to make someone a bridesmaid, missing cutlery at a dinner party, handling in-laws who arrive hours early, taking just half a cup...
Stealing Baby Names, Ignoring Emails, Garnishing Without Consent, and More 10.02.2020 38:18
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle using unlucky numbers, handling conversations with people who don't ask questions, stealing baby names, being asked to chaperone a children's party when your own child isn't invited, garnishing dishes without consent, ignoring emails, buttering dinner rolls, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwritten thank-you...
Snuggling Aggressively, Giving Damaged Gifts, Tipping Only 1%, and More 03.02.2020 27:45
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this bonus episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about dealing with damaged gifts, giving Starbucks a fake name, splitting an AirBNB fairly, handling PDAs on a school trip, leaving low tips, tipping on expensive spa procedures, explaining to a friend why they're not invited to your home, powering your phone all the way off, and much more. Please follow...
Sabotaging Recipes, Tossing Napkins, Blocking Stairs, and More 27.01.2020 36:28
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle using napkins, behaving at a live performance, redeeming gift cards, sharing cake recipes, departing earlier than expected, being distracted on stairs, leaning into other diners, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwritten thank-you note if we could.) Have a question for us? Call or text (267) CALL-RBW or visit...
Returning Wedding Gifts, Paying for Birthday Parties, Locking Out Relatives, and More 20.01.2020 30:32
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this bonus episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about paying for your own birthday party, picking the right urinal, bumping into passengers on an airplane, distracting relatives, trying to exit a crowded bus, choosing between the banquette and the chair, sending wedding gifts back after a wedding is called off, refusing to eat at a dinner party, bring...
Reclining on an Airplane, Using Finger Bowls, Hitting Reply All, and More 13.01.2020 35:28
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle using finger bowls, emailing the right way, reclining on an airplane, remembering birthdays, using business' bathrooms when you're not a customer, speaking Spanish around non-Spanish speakers, declining free samples, clearing plates at restaurants, losing keys, singing our theme song, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send...
Unloading Emotional Baggage, Planting Cherry Trees, Humming Aggressively, and More 06.01.2020 34:39
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this bonus episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about unloading emotional baggage on your friends, removing offensive taxidermy, texting at the theatre, commenting on people's body size, getting out of conversations at Whole Foods, eating loudly at the office, taking up too much space at a café, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwr...
Clinking Glasses, Making Eye Contact on the Subway, Tipping Tow Truck Drivers, and More 30.12.2019 34:29
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle giving and receiving toasts, behaving properly in New York City, offering guests tours of your home, tipping tow truck drivers, giving aspirational presents to friends trying to lose weight, arriving at exercise classes late, being surprised by unlisted ingredients at a restaurant, buying new luggage, being delighted by a surpri...
Regifting Fruitcakes, Partying at the Office, Taking Down Your Tree, and More 23.12.2019 20:27
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this holiday-theme bonus episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about behaving at your office holiday party, sending Amazon Wish Lists to your Secret Santa, dealing with a Secret Santa who's no longer with the company, responding to work emails the day before and after Christmas, regifting, giving people fruitcakes, making handmade gifts for friends, ti...
Using Chopsticks in a Thai Restaurant, Being Prompt, Giving People Personal Space, and More 16.12.2019 30:24
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle using chopsticks in a Thai restaurant, being prompt, asking people to "watch your stuff" at a café or airport, queuing properly at a supermarket, asking for more bread at a restaurant, honking at cars as soon as the light turns green, giving people personal space when dining, asking people to remember your name, and much more. P...
Greeting with a Kiss, Going Rogue at a Dinner Party, Getting Catfished, and More 09.12.2019 24:36
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this extended bonus segment, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about greeting people with kisses, dealing with rogue dinner party guests, deciding who should go first in a buffet line, removing fish bones from your mouth, giving gifts that need to be displayed, leaving your phone number in a voicemail, stripping sheets when you're a houseguest, and much mor...
Eating Soup, Giving Compliments, Entering Without Knocking, and More 02.12.2019 23:52
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle eating soup, giving and receiving compliments, doing business with rude people, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwritten thank-you note if we could.) Have a question for us? Call or text (267) CALL-RBW or visit ask.wyrbw.com EPISODE CONTENTS AMUSE-BOUCHE: How to eat soup A QUESTION OF ETIQUETTE: Giving an...
Talking Politics, Being Vegan, Saying Grace, Bringing Tupperware, and More 25.11.2019 24:44
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this Thanksgiving-themed bonus episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about talking politics at the dinner table, bringing flowers without a vase, arriving and departing at appropriate times, selecting good gifts for the host, being gluten-free and vegan, saying "grace" if you're atheist, hating turkey, bringing your own Tupperware for leftovers, and mu...
Ordering Wine in a Restaurant, Writing Condolence Letters, Talking in Elevators, and More 18.11.2019 30:38
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle ordering wine in a restaurant, writing condolence letters, saying farewell to colleagues when leaving a job, correcting people who spell your name wrong, getting dragged into other people's problems, talking in elevators, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a handwritten thank-you note if we could.) Have a question f...
Texting Late at Night, Escaping Dinner Parties, Regifting Dreamcatchers, and More 11.11.2019 22:17
Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah answer listener questions about sending texts late at night, escaping long dinner parties, telling people their fly is down, receiving unusually large gifts, waiting for people to retrieve their finished laundry so you can use the machine, abandoning a friend without Global Entry, returning missed calls when there's no message, regifti...
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