Episodes: 2019

In life, the only thing that remains constant is change. As TTFA goes through our own major changes, we explore what change really means to us.

It's something we all dread. It's also something most of us probably don't understand too well: Alzheimer's Disease. Drug companies have spent billions, so why isn't there a cure?

If you’ve listened to this podcast since the beginning, or since the middle, or even if you’ve only listened to a few episodes, we want to say thank you. As of this episode, TTFA is three years old … which is basically the same age as the baby Nora told you about in Episode 0. And in this episode, Nora reflects on the past few years and what’s to come for the show.

In our third and final episode in our series on childhood trauma, we take a look at the bigger picture — as in, what the heck are we supposed to do with the knowledge that what happened to us as kids can affect our health in adulthood? How can we help heal our own childhood traumas? Buckle up, folks, because this train makes stops in Rantville, Can You Believe This Burg and OMGtown.

If the terrible things that happened to you during childhood can affect your physical health later in life, how do you NOT live out the worst possibilities for yourself? Is that even possible? In this second episode of our series about childhood trauma, we look at protective factors and resilience. And once again, we're joined by Britt.

We all kind of understand that what happens to us as a child affects us as an adult, but there is recent evidence that the way our childhoods affect us is so much deeper and more surprising than we thought. So where do we start when we’re talking about how childhood adversity affects us? We start by looking at a childhood. One childhood, from a few different angles. And this child's name is Britt.

Caleb Campbell knew growing up that God’s plan for his life was sports. And when you believe that God himself is responsible for your football career, you feel a LOT of pressure to succeed. By the time he makes it to the NFL, Caleb is suffering from severe depression and anxiety. He's having regular panic attacks. He feels like he's disappointed everyone, including God. He turns to drugs and alcohol to cope with his self-hate. When Caleb leaves sports behind and finds himself working as a church janitor, he finally begins to heal.

When Cortney's dad dies, her mother grieves the way a lot of people do: by buying things to fill the void, sometimes things she can't afford. By age 15, Cortney is helping her mom pay the bills. By her 20s, when her mom is diagnosed with cancer, Cortney is working 60-hour weeks just to keep her mother's lights on. This is an episode about what money means — when you have it, when you don't — and how a lack of it can strain family ties.

Karen grew up with two sick parents — two sick but incredibly loving parents. Her mom died when Karen was just 10 years old, and her dad has dealt with medical and kidney issues her whole life. Karen is 22 years old and living in Spain when she learns her dad’s health is deteriorating again. He needs a new kidney. And thankfully, Karen has one of those to spare.

Emily and Brian, like many couples, have had both ups and downs during their relationship. About a week before their third wedding anniversary, Emily gets the sense that things are down again. It’s just a feeling. Nothing concrete. No proof of anything. But when Brian dies in a tragic accident a few days later, Emily learns that her husband has been having relationships with people who are … not Emily. This is an episode about multiple truths — about how you can love someone and grieve their death and also feel intense betrayal.

Siblings Syeda and Syed are 16 and 17 years old when their father tells them that more than half of their little American family unit are undocumented immigrants; Mom and Dad fled Pakistan when Syed was just a baby to escape violence in their home country. Syeda and her younger brother are U.S. citizens, but Syed and their parents are not. They must return to Pakistan — a place they haven’t considered “home” for almost two decades. A place Syed doesn’t even remember. This is an episode about an American family … and how policies often don’t reflect humanity of any one individual.

Kelsey and Louie’s life is blessedly boring in the best kind of way. They have good jobs. They live in the suburbs. They have a kid. When Kelsey gets pregnant again, everything changes. Not just because they’re about to go from one kid to two, but because Kelsey isn’t feeling well. She’s diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Some changes you anticipate. They are eagerly awaited — like a pregnancy. And some changes just jump out at you and turn everything upside down.

Harris Wittels was the executive producer of "Parks and Recreation," the coiner of the word "humblebrag," a Phish enthusiast, and the funniest person in any room he walked into. He died of a heroin overdose in 2015, leaving behind his mother, his sister, and a lifetime of talent and potential.

Maynard travels a lot for his job. His wife, Barbara, often goes with him so they can make a mini vacation out of it. If she can’t tag along, they keep in touch via phone calls and little love notes. When Maynard heads to New York for work, it feels like just another business trip. Except it’s not. Not at all. Because when Barbara last talks to Maynard on the phone, he’s heading into the World Trade Center for his first meeting of the day on September 11th, 2001. This is an episode about what happens when a national tragedy becomes a very personal one.

In high school and college, Ryan was … kind of a jerk. He didn’t treat his girlfriends well and had warped ideas of what it meant to “be a man.” As he gets older, his definition of masculinity greatly expands. He and his wife, Tiffany, take each other’s last names and hyphenate them. He learns to embrace his love of art and poetry. He commits to fighting the patriarchy! But when Ryan and Tiffany learn that the reason they haven’t been able to get pregnant is because of Ryan, he finds himself once again questioning his manhood.

In 2015, Jayson and Stacy's 2-year-old daughter, Greta, was killed while she was sitting on a bench in New York City. A loose brick from the building above her fell from the windowsill and fell eight stories before hitting the toddler on her head. Some things, like the death of a child, are unimaginable. In fact, we'd prefer to NOT imagine them, ever. But for Jayson and Stacy, the loss of Greta to this random tragedy is their reality.

The amazing show Brains On! has a new series that explores the science of feelings. We love this and want you to listen, so we're giving you a little taste.

In August 2017, members of the Ku Klux Klan and other white nationalist groups descended on Charlottesville, VA to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee as part of the Unite the Right rally. Constance was also at that rally — as a counter-protestor trained in de-escalation techniques. She expected to be just a face in the crowd amongst thousands of others. But when the worst moment of her life becomes content, Constance has to take back control of her own story.