We have this idea of what therapy is supposed to look like. There’s a couch. An objective therapist sitting across the room scribbling notes. But of course it’s not that simple. In this episode, six short stories, many from our listeners, looking at how the role of patient and therapist can get... complicated.

Earlier this year, North Carolina passed HB2, the so-called "bathroom bill." But the state is also home to one of the few clinics for transgender kids in the South. This week, we spend some time in that clinic, at Duke University's Children's Hospital, to find out how these patients are coping.

Robert Hoge doesn’t look like most people. He was born with severe defects; growing up, he had to get used to people calling him “ugly.” This week, Robert reflects on the lie we all tell ourselves: that it’s what on the inside that counts, and looks don’t matter. And he tells us what happens when the way you look forces you to confront that, every day.

Is laughter really the best medicine? This week, Mary Harris and Studio 360’s Kurt Andersen try to find out. We go to laughter yoga in New York, an improv class for doctors and nurses in Chicago, and talk to some brain scientists about why humans laugh in the first place.

Poet Max Ritvo is back on our show this week, for what he’s calling his “farewell tour".The 25-year-old has spent years living with terminal cancer and says he’s now at the end of his road. But in typical Max fashion there are as many laughs as there are tears.

When Rose was growing up, she knew something wasn't quite right about how she heard the world. But every time she got a hearing test at the audiologist's office, she aced them. It took her years to figure out what was happening — until she met Professor Nina Kraus. What began as a quest to solve a mystery about one woman’s hearing lead to a discovery not about faulty ears, but about how all of our brains process sound. (Rebroadcast)

Marc Edwards uncovered the dangerous lead in Flint’s water last year. Like a lot of other people crusading for change, he discovered the struggle isn’t just about getting the science right. It’s also about convincing people to listen.

For some people, there is no “getting over” being sick. There’s just an occasional break from the pain. Three people tell Only Human what it’s like when life hands you a vacation from disease and then sends you home again.

As the Supreme Court nears its decision on a landmark abortion case, we revisit a favorite episode. Dr. Willie Parker, a devout Christian, refused to perform abortions in his early career. Then he heard a Martin Luther King Jr. speech that changed his mind. (Originally aired Feb 2, 2016)

In part three of our mental health series we meet Rachel Star Withers, a fearless woman with schizophrenia who offers a rare snapshot of mental illness on YouTube. Follow along on Facebook at Only Human Podcast.