Slate Advice

On this episode: Elizabeth, Zak and Jamilah advise the parent of a handsy kindergartener. The little girl comes from a cuddly family and just doesn’t have a sense of personal space… and it’s impacting her school experience as a result. How can a parent help teach the value of a bubble?

Zak found two books that might be helpful: Personal Space Camp and Personal Space Invader.

We’ll also debrief on our week in parenting with a round of triumphs and fails, and then offer some important perspective on how long kids have been killing time with screens.

Join us on Facebook and email us at [email protected] to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus to help support our work.

Podcast produced by Maura Currie, with special thanks to Rosemary Belson.

For this week’s episode of Working Overtime, the hosts June Thomas and Isaac Butler respond to some recent listener mail. The first message is from a listener who wonders how to find an assistant to help with their workload and tasks around the home. June and Isaac offer up their own experiences and extoll the importance of making time to supervise someone you hire's work. Later they tackle another response from a listener in the publishing world, who found Isaac’s recent remarks about the pitfalls of publishing to be shortsighted. 

Do you have a question about creativity? Reach out at (304) 933-9675 or email us at [email protected]. 

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis and Cameron Drews.

Dry January has come and gone, but the conversation about alcohol—and rethinking our relationship with it—is still very much with us. This week’s listener, Natalie, wants to move past the abundance vs. abstinence debate and talk about a third option: thoughtful moderation. In this episode, Courtney Martin brings on journalist Rosamund Dean, author of Mindful Drinking: How Cutting Down Can Change Your Life and Well, Well, Well, a Substack about living better, for longer. She shares how she found moderation through mindfulness—and how you can too. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with excessive drinking, consider contacting SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. You can also find a local Alcoholics Anonymous meeting by visiting aa.org.

If you liked this episode, check out: How To Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

How To’s executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer and our producer is Rosemary Belson. 

Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/howtoplus.

On this episode: Elizabeth Newcamp, Zak Rosen, and Jamilah Lemieux help a member of our Facebook group brainstorm ways to keep a 4th grader occupied… that don’t revolve around screentime. With busy schedules and parents working from home, it’s hard to be hands-on. But we have some ideas.

We’ll also share a round of recommendations — and then, if you’re in the Slate Plus club, we’ll dispense some highly subjective wisdom about the best times to do… well, everything. 

Recommendations: 

Elizabeth recommends: ordering a specialty meal on airplanes

Zak recommends: the Hairstreaq brush 

Jamilah recommends: Ugly Betty

Join us on Facebook and email us at [email protected] to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus to help support our work.

Podcast produced by Maura Currie, with special thanks to Rosemary Belson.

Travel can be thrilling, relaxing, even life-changing. But planning for your big trip? Not so much. There are so many unknowns: Where to go? When is the best time? How much do you want to spend? In this special episode of How To!, founding host Charles Duhigg brings in Brady Binstadt, owner and CEO of the adventure travel company Geographic Expeditions. Brady explains how to pick the right destination, when to splurge, and how to make sure everyone will have an amazing time. 

If you liked this episode, check out: How To Live Anywhere in the World

Do you have a question we can help you solve? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

How To’s executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer and our producer is Rosemary Belson. 

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on How To!. Sign up now at slate.com/howtoplus to help support our work.

In this episode, Michael Hobbes (If Books Could Kill and Maintenance Phase) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer letters from readers about how to tell a friend they’re a horrible boss, whether a husband who won’t open the bathroom shades to give the plants light is a problem, and what to do when your friends setting you up on dates makes you think you might be a bigot.

If you want more Dear Prudence, join Slate Plus, Slate’s membership program. Jenée answers an extra question every week, just for members.

Go to Slate.com/prudieplus to sign up. It’s just $15 for your first three months.

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, and Jenée Desmond-Harris, with help from Maura Currie.

On this episode: Elizabeth, Zak and Jamilah help a member of our Facebook group who’s worried that her son isn’t making friends… because the kids at school separate into gender cliques, and he’s not into roughhousing “boy stuff.” We’ll discuss how to help this kid feel more comfortable joining games — and whether the teacher needs to be looped in.

We’ll also debrief on our week in parenting with a round of triumphs and fails, and then revisit a conversation we had about a toddler with separation anxiety. 

Join us on Facebook and email us at [email protected] to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus to help support our work.

Podcast produced by Maura Currie, with special thanks to Rosemary Belson.

We’re constantly getting bombarded with messages about our bodies: They’re too big. They’re too small. They’re not muscular enough, not curvy enough, and so on and so on. Rebecca has lived in a bigger body all her life and she wants the messaging to stop. She’s done all the things—followed plus-size influencers, deemphasized weight from her health goals, tried to rewire how she thinks about weight. But it’s just not working. In this episode, Carvell Wallace brings in Ronald Young Jr., host of Weight For It. Ronald challenges the notion that we need to love our bodies and helps Rebecca navigate away from stigmatized “fixes” and toward a place of acceptance. 

If you liked this episode, check out: How To Eat Whatever You Want and How To Love Your Face.

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

How To’s executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer and our producer is Rosemary Belson. Special thanks to Kevin Bendis. 

Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/howtoplus.

On this episode Elizabeth Newcamp, Zak Rosen, and Lucy Lopez help a listener whose toddler has suddenly developed what looks a lot like panic attacks at preschool. Nothing seems wrong at school… but the girl’s dad has been deployed for a while. What’s happening here, and how can you soothe someone so little about such big stuff?

Elizabeth wants to share these resources: 

We’ll also share a round of recommendations — and then, if you’re in the Slate Plus club, we’ll play a round of parenting Would You Rather. 

Recommendations: 

Zak recommends: Life On Our Planet

Elizabeth recommends: Timeline Twist Cardgame 

Lucy recommends: Orion and the Dark (out Feb 2 in the U.S.!)

Join us on Facebook and email us at [email protected] to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus to help support our work.

Podcast produced by Maura Currie, with special thanks to Rosemary Belson.

In this episode, Cheryl Strayed (Dear Sugar and Tiny Beautiful Things) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer letters from readers about whether it’s a good idea to offer to be your platonic best friend’s housewife, how to handle a husband’s disturbing body odors, and what an overachieving eldest millennial daughter can do to find happiness.

If you want more Dear Prudence, join Slate Plus, Slate’s membership program. Jenée answers an extra question every week, just for members. 

Go to Slate.com/prudieplus to sign up. It’s just $15 for your first three months. 

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, and Jenée Desmond-Harris, with help from Maura Currie.

Dear Prudence is sponsored by BetterHelp.