Big Mood, Little Mood with Daniel M. Lavery

By Slate Podcasts

Society & Culture Sexuality

What's Big Mood, Little Mood with Daniel M. Lavery about?

Every week, Danny M. Lavery brings on a guest to answer questions from listeners before diving into conversation about relationships, dissatisfaction, drives, regrets, estrangement, embarrassment, self-assessments, and feelings from the monumental to the minute.

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A Bit of Shame

09.26.2023

Danny Lavery welcomes Felicia Reich, a nonfiction comedy writer of personal essays and cultural commentary based in Brooklyn, NY. Lavery and Reich offer advice to someone who feels uncomfortable dating one particular person, while exploring sex with multiple partners. Another ...

Big Mood, Little Mood with Daniel M. Lavery episodes:

09.26.2023 A Bit of Shame Danny Lavery welcomes Felicia Reich, a nonfiction comedy writer of personal essays and cultural commentary based in Brooklyn, NY. Lavery and Reich offer advice to someone who feels uncomfortable dating one particular person, while exploring sex with multiple partners. Another ...
09.19.2023 Tainted Love Danny Lavery welcomes Auyon Mukharji, a writer and musician based in Massachusetts. He is a member of the band Darlingside, and is working on an Indian cookbook with his mother, Jyoti. Lavery and Mukharji offer advice to someone who is ...
09.12.2023 Trans Tipping Point Danny Lavery welcomes poet Elisa Gonzalez, whose first book, Grand Tour, will be published this month. Lavery and Gonzalez offer advice to someone who feels responsible for complicating their friend’s life by sparking their interest in transitioning. Another letter writer ...
09.05.2023 Right Wing Mommy Danny Lavery welcomes Julia Mounsey, a director and writer whose work has been presented at Under the Radar at the Public Theater, Soho Rep, JACK, Dixon Place, and the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. Lavery and Mounsey offer advice to someone ...
08.29.2023 Dirty Work Danny Lavery welcomes Vani Gupta, a speech language pathologist in Sydney, Australia. Lavery and Gupta offer advice to someone who upset their husband after revealing that her former therapist and her used to flirt in therapy. Plus, an update on ...
08.22.2023 Out of Body Experience Danny Lavery offers advice to someone who wants to connect to their body as actually part of themself. Another letter writer is troubled that their partner’s partner never pays for anything. Plus, a listener comments about ways to advocate for ...
08.15.2023 Mothers of the Bride Danny Lavery welcomes Kristina Gaddy, the author of Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History and Flowers in the Gutter: The True Story of the Edelweiss Pirates, Teenagers Who Resisted the Nazis. Lavery and Gaddy offer advice to a ...
08.08.2023 University of Youtube Danny Lavery welcomes Dr. Ida Santana, an addiction medicine physician and a writer. She’s on Substack @idasantana where she publishes Osage Orange, Dispatches from the Prairieland. Lavery and Santana offer advice to an educator dealing with transphobia at their school. ...
08.01.2023 Parental Therapy Danny Lavery welcomes Chelsey Weber-Smith, the host of American Hysteria, a podcast that explores how fantastical thinking has shaped our culture. Lavery and Weber-Smith offer advice to a daughter who is trying to hang on to her relationship with her ...
07.25.2023 Is She Really Going Out with Her? Danny Lavery welcomes Allison Raskin, the New York Times bestselling author of the books, I Hate Everyone But You: A Novel, and Overthinking About You: Navigating Romantic Relationships When You Have Anxiety, OCD, and/or Depression. Lavery and Raskin offer advice ...
07.18.2023 Worry Warrior Danny Lavery welcomes Tracy Leeds Kaplan, the founder of Small But Mighty Media and the executive producer of The Ten News. Lavery and Kaplan offer advice to someone who’s concerned that his friend is getting cut off from the help ...
07.11.2023 Anxious Surrogate Danny Lavery welcomes Leslie Cohen-Rubury, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and host of “Is My Child a Monster?”, A Parenting Therapy Podcast. Lavery and Cohen-Rubury offer advice to someone who’s parents might interfere with her decision to be a surrogate ...
07.04.2023 Death By Stable Employment Danny Lavery welcomes Halle Kiefer, a Senior ComedyWriter at Crooked Media, and Alison Leiby, a New York based comedian. Together, Kiefer and Leiby host Crooked Media’s weekly horror film podcast, Ruined. Lavery, Kiefer and Leiby offer advice to someone who’s ...
06.27.2023 Detransition Position Danny Lavery welcomes Alo Johnston, author of Am I Trans Enough, and co-host of the Wondermind podcast, Baggage Drop. Lavery and Johnston offer advice to someone considering how to reveal their crush, and another letter writer who feels disappointment that ...
06.20.2023 Change the Subject or Change Your Life Danny Lavery welcomes Sequoia B. Holmes, host and creator of the pop culture podcast Black People Love Paramore. Lavery and Holmes offer advice to someone who is tired of her friend complaining about her ailments. Another letter writer is starting ...
06.13.2023 Inhumane Resources Danny Lavery welcomes Emma Gray, author of A Girls’ Guide To Joining The Resistance, and Claire Fallon, a culture critic based in New York. Together, Gray and Fallon host the podcast, Love To See It, a snarky but affectionate dissection ...
06.06.2023 Part-time Work, Full-time Problem Danny Lavery welcomes Laura Cathcart Robbins, the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, Stash: My Life In Hiding, and host of the podcast, The Only One In The Room. Lavery and Robbins offer advice to someone who is wondering if ...
05.30.2023 Occupational Sex Dreams Danny Lavery welcomes Kaitlynn Bartley, a Higher Education working in Residence Life, and Nicole Fusco, an epidemiologist. Lavery, Bartley and Fusco offer advice to someone who is wondering how to stop having a crush on their boss. Another letter writer ...
05.23.2023 Lost In Transition Danny Lavery welcomes Ben Miller, co-author of the book, Bad Gays: A Homosexual History, and co-host of the podcast, Bad Gays, along with Huw Lemmey. Lavery and Miller offer advice to someone who is wondering if it’s okay to offer ...
05.16.2023 Vacation Friends Danny Lavery welcomes Seth Dirlam, a law school career counselor. Lavery and Dirlam offer advice to someone who is wondering how to stop resenting her best friends after a vacation gone awry. Another letter writer wants to support their friends ...
05.09.2023 Not the Actual Devil Danny Lavery welcomes Kimi Culp, a multimedia producer, and the host of All the Wiser, a podcast about finding hope and possibility on the other side of pain. Lavery and Culp offer advice to someone who is concerned about the ...
05.02.2023 Kiss Me, You Fool! Danny Lavery welcomes Dr. Orna Guralnik, a psychoanalyst and writer, and the host of the Showtime Docu-series, Couples Therapy. Lavery and Guralnik offer advice to someone who is nervous about initiating a kiss on a fourth date. Another letter writer ...
04.25.2023 Guilty Yuppies Danny Lavery welcomes Cyndie Spiegel, author of the book, Microjoys: Finding Hope (Especially) When Life is Not Okay. Lavery and Spiegel offer advice to someone who is uncomfortable bringing up financial privilege among their friend group. Another letter writer wants ...
04.18.2023 Corner Store Creeper Danny Lavery welcomes Zak Rosen, a Detroit-based story maker who created and hosts the podcast, The Best Advice Show, and co-hosts Slate’s parenting podcast, Mom and Dad are Fighting. Lavery and Rosen offer advice to someone who’s wondering if he ...
04.11.2023 Fly-By Friends Danny Lavery welcomes Kristen Meinzer, an award-winning podcaster and author, and Jolenta Greenberg, a New York-based comedian and author. Together, Meinzer and Greenberg host a new podcast called How To Be Fine, where they discuss wellness-related questions and help debunk ...
04.04.2023 Am I Cis Now? Danny Lavery welcomes Tuck Woodstock, a journalist, educator, and the host of the podcast Gender Reveal. Lavery and Woodstock give advice to someone wondering why they’re suddenly identifying with their birth sex five years into their transition. Another letter writer ...
03.28.2023 On the Contrary Danny Lavery welcomes Gabe Mollica, a comedian, storyteller and writer in Astoria, Queens. Lavery and Mollica tackle two letters. First, from a letter writer who’s wondering how to talk to her best friend who is a contrarian. Another letter writer ...
03.21.2023 Poly Litmus Test Danny Lavery welcomes comedian, actor, and host of the Beautiful/Anonymous podcast, Chris Gethard. Lavery and Gethard take on three letters. First, from a letter writer who is terrified about the unknowns of transitioning. Another letter writer is wondering if their ...
03.14.2023 Meating Half Way Danny Lavery welcomes Kate Duffy, a New York based licensed clinical social worker. Lavery and Duffy tackle two letters. First, from a letter writer who wants to date someone who her best friend just broke up with. Another letter writer ...
03.07.2023 Roommate Triage Danny Lavery welcomes Sharon Lurye, a data journalist based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lavery and Lurye take on two letters. First, from a letter writer who can’t get her ex-boyfriend to pay her back. Another letter writer wants to help ...
02.28.2023 Not Tonight, Honey Danny Lavery welcomes Amy S. Choi and Rebecca Lehrer, co-hosts of the new podcast series from The Mash-Up Americans titled, Grief, Collected. Lavery and Choi and Lehrer tackle two letters. First, from a letter writer who is engaged to someone ...
02.21.2023 Undercover Cis Danny Lavery welcomes Sunshine, a Digital Content Producer for the National Birth Equity Collaborative, an organization that fights for the maternal, infant, sexual, and reproductive wellbeing of Black people who can birth. In a surprise twist on today’s show, Sunshine ...
02.20.2023 Big Mood: It's the New Dear Prudence! Here's a special treat for all of you Big Mood, Little Mood listeners: Daniel M. Lavery is excited to introduce to you the new Dear Prudence podcast with Jenée Desmond-Harris. Please subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform! Learn more ...
02.14.2023 Time To Move On Danny Lavery welcomes Daniela Taplin Lundberg, a film producer and the host of the Hollywood Gold podcast. She is the Founder of Stay Gold Features, an independent film finance and production company. Lavery and Taplin Lundberg take on two letters. ...
02.07.2023 Rules of Estrangement Danny Lavery welcomes Marie Manner, a research and development data scientist. Lavery and Manner take on two letters. First, from someone who is wondering if it’s okay she doesn’t have a big reason to cut her father from her life. ...
01.31.2023 Mask And You Shall Receive Danny Lavery welcomes Bay Ryan, a postgraduate ecologist. Lavery and Ryan tackle two letters. First, from someone who is frustrated by loved ones who don’t take COVID precautions seriously. Another letter writer feels struggles to say any back after his ...
01.24.2023 Make Way For Tomorrow Danny Lavery welcomes Hugh Ryan, the author of The Women's House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison, which New York Magazine called one of the best books of 2022. His first book, When Brooklyn Was Queer, won ...
01.17.2023 A History of Violence? Danny Lavery welcomes Ashley Robertson, an expert question-asker who facilitates workshops on comprehensive, affirming, medically-accurate sexuality education. Lavery and Robertson take on two letters. First, from someone who now has suspicions that her boyfriend has been violent in past relationships. ...
01.10.2023 Unfair Will Danny Lavery welcomes Ash Sky Keen, a mathematics tutor helping neurodivergent students navigate math education. Lavery and Keen tackle two letters. First, from someone who wants their parents to recalculate their will to adjust for monetary assistance their sibling already ...
01.03.2023 The Anti-Adoption Unit Danny Lavery welcomes Frankie Day, a writer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Lavery and Day take on three letters. First, from someone who is shocked that her family won’t support her adopting a child. Another letter writer is how long ...
12.27.2022 Big Mood In Review Daniel M. Lavery revisits a few of the many memorable letters from 2022, including one about someone who’s upset that his friends continue to associate with someone who is considered toxic (with guest Ty Mitchell). Another letter writer wants to ...
12.20.2022 Resentfully In Love Danny Lavery welcomes Mollie West Duffy, co-author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book about emotions at work: No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work, and Big Feelings: How To Be Okay When Things Are Not ...
12.13.2022 Lease On Love Danny Lavery welcomes Ethan Casteel, a software engineer and transgender man about town in Somerville, MA. Lavery and Casteel tackle three letters. First, from someone wondering how to talk to her child about transness. Another letter writer is trying to ...
12.06.2022 Armchair Expertise Danny Lavery welcomes Carmen Rita Wong, author of the recently published book, Why Didn’t You Tell Me? A Memoir. Lavery and Wong take on two letters. First, from someone concerned that her brother has been spiraling since going off his ...
11.29.2022 The Damage Done Danny Lavery welcomes Lisa McIntire, a writer living in San Francisco with her dog, Toby. Lavery and McIntire take on two letters. First, someone who wants to tell her mom that she did protect her enough from her creepy uncle. ...
11.22.2022 Martyr Manipulator Danny Lavery welcomes Amanda McLoughlin, the CEO of Multitude, an independent podcast collective and production company. She is also the longtime co-host of the podcast, Spirits. Lavery and McLoughlin take on two letters. First, someone who feels guilty about how ...
11.15.2022 Return of the Needy Mom Danny Lavery welcomes Rakesh Satyal, the author of the novels Blue Boy and No One Can Pronounce My Name. He is currently an Executive Editor at the HarperOne Group/HarperCollins. Lavery and Satyal tackle two letters. First, someone who is trying ...
11.08.2022 A Boo with No Clue Danny Lavery welcomes Kat Kinsman, the executive features editor at Food & Wine, author of Hi, Anxiety: Life With a Bad Case of Nerves, and founder of Chefs With Issues, an ever-evolving project that addresses the mental health crisis in ...
11.01.2022 Life After Scapegoating Danny Lavery welcomes Danielle Moodie, host of the podcast, Woke AF, where she explores the many facets of what it means to be "woke" in our modern life. Lavery and Moodie take on three letters. First, from a career counselor ...
10.25.2022 Breaking Up Is Hard To Do Danny Lavery welcomes Margo Donohue, author of Filmed in Brooklyn, and co-host of the podcasts, Book Vs. Movie, Dorking Out, and What a Creep. Lavery and Donohue tackle two letters. First, someone who can no longer support her sister through ...

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