The Labor Of Love

Lori talks with Jessi Klein, author of the new book You’ll Grow Out Of It, about transitioning to adulthood in the 21st century, what it’s like to age in the entertainment industry, and how Jessi defines success. Jessi is the Emmy and Peabody award-winning head writer and an executive producer of Inside Amy Schemer. She’s also written for Amazon’s Transparent and Saturday Night Live, and has been a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Lori talks with Ariel Leve, author of the new memoir An Abbreviated Life, about how material comforts mean little without the presence of love, stability, and emotional safety. Ariel is an award-winning journalist who has written for the Guardian, Financial Times Magazine, The Telegraph, the Observer, and the London Sunday Times Magazine, where she was a senior writer and a columnist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lori talks about how sexism affects women and girls with Jessica Valenti, founder of the award-winning Feministing.com. Valenti is a columnist for the Guardian US and the author of four books on feminism, politics, and culture, including Sex Object. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Salon, among others. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lori talks with Stephanie Danler about the unique world of love and sex behind the "employees only" doors of restaurants. Danler is a a former restaurant work and writer based in Brooklyn, New York. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the New School. She is the author of the new novel, Sweetbitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conventional wisdom suggests that we should do everything we can to keep our marriages in tact, but is there a time when it makes sense to throw in the towel? Don Cole is a marriage and family counselor and a master trainer with the Gottman Institute, which offers practical tools and skills to strengthen relationships based on more than 40 years of research. Sonia Britt is an associate professor of personal financial planning and family studies at Kansas State University. Her research areas...

What does it take to keep a marriage going, and going happily? Karl Pillemer shares what he's learned from couples who've been married, forty, fifty, sixty years, or longer. Pillemer is a Cornell University gerontologist and author of 30 Lessons for Loving: Advice from the Wisest Americans on Love, Relationships, and Marriage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Staying together can be a challenge, but it has enormous benefits, emotionally, physically, and financially. Lori talks with Belinda Luscombe about how it can be done. Luscombe is an editor-at-large of TIME magazine. Her areas of interest range from divorce, marriage and parenting to social networking, mate selection, workplace issues and romantic comedies. She’s also the editor of the Time for Parents newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It can feel hopeless when you and your partner fall into a sexless rut, but a long dry spell isn't insurmountable. Lori talks with Jill Blakeway about how to get desire and intimacy back. Blakeway is a licensed and board certified acupuncturist, clinical herbalist, and the Founder and Clinic Director of the YinOva Center in New York City. She's the host of CBS radio's weekly podcast Grow Cook Heal andthe author of two popular books on women's health, Making Babies and Sex Again. Learn more...

Lori talks with everyday women about how depression affects their relationships. Eva Recinos is a freelance writer and social media producer based in Los Angeles. Her writing has appeared in publications like LA Weekly, Refinery29, Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan. Kimberly Zapata is the creator and voice behind Sunshine Spoils Milk, a blog dedicated to mental health and motherhood. She has written extensively on depression, postpartum depression, eating disorders, and alcoholism, and her work...

Lori talks with Melissa Broder about her struggles with depression, her husband's long-term debilitating illness, and how the two get their needs met outside the relationship. Broder is the author of four collections of poems, including the forthcoming Last Sext. Her debut book of personal essays, So Sad Today, was published in March 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lori talks with Nora McInerny Purmort, a woman who tried to pack fifty years of marriage into the three short ones she was given with her terminally ill husband. McInerny Purmort is the author of "It's Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too)." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sometimes, instead of your standard greeting card, you need one that says: "Happy Father's Day, Mom. Thanks for Being My Everything." Or "There's Nobody Else I'd Rather Lie in Bed and Look At My Phone Next To." Fortunately, Emily McDowell has you covered. McDowell is an LA-based writer, illustrator, designer, and owner of Emily McDowell studio. The company, which was founded in 2013, works to identify universal, emotional truths and observations on being human, and turn them into cards, tote...

Lori gets time and sanity saving tips from Asha Dornfest, creator of the Parent Hacks blog, author of the book Parent Hacks, and host of the podcast Edit Your Life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Karan and Kerry Bajaj were a newly married couple in their mid-thirties with great jobs and a happy New York City life when they decided to chuck it all. What ensued was a year of sleeping in train stations, attending meditation retreats, practicing yoga, living without technology, and learning how to be better partners to each other. Kerry is a certified health coach and graduate of Georgetown University. Karan is the bestselling author of "The Yoga of Max's Discontent" and was once named...

Despite recent strides in parental leave policies, new moms continue to face workplace discrimination, both during their maternity leave and as they transition back to the office. In this episode, Lori speaks with Allyson Downey, whose new book Here’s the Plan: Your Practical Tactical Guide to Advancing Your Career During Pregnancy and Parenthood acts as a blueprint for women looking to succeed in the workplace while raising kids. Allyson is also the founder of weeSpring, a startup that...

In long-term relationships, is honesty always the best policy? Which secrets are safe to keep, and which ones can hurt your partnership? Lori hashes out these questions with the help of Bea Arthur, a therapist and host of the You Tube series "You're not Crazy." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For single people, especially young single people, dating apps are de rigueur. But what happens when the apps are taken away? How do personal habits and interpersonal encounters change? The women's site Bustle is encouraging people to find out through their Appless April challenge. Kathryn Kattalia is Bustle’s Lifestyle Editor and the co-host of Bustle’s sex and relationships podcast, “I Want It That Way.” Michelle Toglia is Bustle’s Sex and Relationships editor and a contributor to Bustle’s...

Lori talks with Peggy Orenstein about her latest research, detailed in the book Girls and Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape. Orenstein is the New York Times bestselling author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Waiting for Daisy, Flux, and Schoolgirls. A contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, she has been published in USA Today, Parenting, Salon, the New Yorker, and other publications, and has contributed commentary NPR’s All Things Considered. She lives in Northern...

A lot of people enlist porn when they masturbate, but what effect does porn consumption have on a person when he or she is with someone else in the bedroom? Turns out, porn can put a real damper on things. Lori talks with two people who know, one from experience. Belinda Luscombe is an editor-at-large of TIME magazine. Her areas of interest range from divorce, marriage and parenting to social networking, mate selection, workplace issues and romantic comedies. She’s also the editor of the...

If popular lore is to be believed, long-term sexual satisfaction is a rare beast. But a new study in The Journal of Sex Research suggests that it's actually reassuringly alive and well; it just takes some effort. Lori talks with two experts about what sexually satisfied couples are doing right, and what we can learn from them. Ian Kerner is a therapist who specializes in sexuality and relationships. He is the author of several books, including She Comes First. He is also the founder of...