It’s the holiday season, and that can often mean a mixed bag for mental health. Between all the joy and merriment (and Hallmark movies), there’s often also the extra burden of shorter days, familial complications, the pressure of expectations, and loneliness. Luckily for all of us who experience that full holiday cheer-to-anxiety spectrum, S.E.’s guest this week is comedian Aparna Nancherla. Aparna has a new special out on Dropout, Hopeful Potato, and she (like so many comedians, it seems) has particularly keen insights about dealing with mental health challenges. She sat down with S.E. to talk about why she is holding the holidays more lightly and why comedy is so great at exploring, as she put it, “the smallness of life that can end up feeling so big.”

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