Stupid Human Suits

Normally our intros casually reference the SHS name as a way to let you know which aspect of consciousness, perspective or mortality we'll be discussing. This week though, we can't tip you off ahead of time. Instead, we're issuing the following warning.

DO NOT START THIS EPISODE UNLESS YOU'RE READY TO COMMIT TO THE WHOLE DAMN THING.

That sounds like a joke. It's not. This week's episode with Katie O'Leary Logan seems like it's going to be a fun, silly ride with an engaging personality and maybe at worst we'll wind up talking about someone's ---- getting stuck in a zipper. Wow no. It gets rough and gets rough fast. That's why in the body of the podcast itself, we'll warn you when we're about to shift into cry gear. Stay from start to finish though please. Katie's story and resilience deserve to be heard and appreciated without you getting up to eat pretzels or fill out your spreadsheets or whatever it is you normally do when you listen to SHS. More importantly, if you've been through anything similar, well, now you know you're not alone and that there is a tomorrow. It's just not the tomorrow you ever thought you'd have to live in. Oh god oh god oh god we're already crying again. Go. Listen. AND DON'T LOOK AT US WHILE WE'RE CRYING!

The best friends our stupid human suits have is our stupid furry buddies. But because everything is stupid, their lifespans are way shorter than ours. Wait, what? Shut up, no they're not, they're going to outlive us! Oh, god. This week, veterinarian Christina Romero stops by to walk Sean and Carol through the moment they are dreading. On the plus side, we learn that bonding with animals makes you a better person... before they leave you and you become a sadder person. SHUT UP, THEY'RE GOING TO LIVE FOREVER!

You can't judge a stupid human suit by its cover. This week, writer and editor John DeVore joins Sean and Carol to talk about biraciality, family and the AIDS epidemic as a formative moment in American culture. Also, possums for some reason.

If we are trapped inside these stupid human suits, we should at least be able to control them, right? Not so much. This week, comedian and writer Sam Grittner joins us to talk about depression, drugs, suicide and all the ways we try to exact control over these lives and bodies.

 

Never be afraid to ask for help. If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

Our stupid human suits will one day fail and die. We don't know when this will happen, so it's best to prepare now. Or, maybe tomorrow. Or next month. Later, just later. This week, Robert Ruggiero, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Funeral Director's Association, tells Sean and Carol about his lifetime in the funeral business and what you have to do to prepare for the inevitable. (And his lovely wife Tina refuses to talk to us.)

If you have questions about funeral planning, you can reach out to Bobby via the Metropolitan Funeral Directors Association at 800-763-8332 or visit metfda.org.

Comedian Erik Bergstrom walks Carol and Sean through the insanely complicated process of getting a cancer diagnosis, while Sean reveals exactly how much he knows about Transformers: The Movie.

At Stupid Human Suits, we know that death isn't the ONLY thing to be afraid of, not when there are spiders, heights, sharks, some place called the "suicide forest"... This week, Carol and Sean are joined by Margee Kerr, a sociologist who studies -- and embraces -- FEAR. Listen to the episode and then pick up her book, "SCREAM: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear."

Astronomer, author and Columbia grad-school student Moiya McTier has packed a lot of living and knowledge into her stupid human suit, and it's only half the age of Carol's and Sean's. Not fair. She joins us this week to talk about the possibility of life on other planets, institutional racism and growing up in the woods.

All of our Stupid Human Suits are getting older. Some of us feel trapped by that inevitability. Others, like this week's guest, feel emboldened, happy and ready to the dust the suit off for the next adventure.

Monica Wyche joins Carol and Sean to talk about being an actress of a certain age and what it's like to have a child in her 40s. Plus, she gently explains to Sean what an episiotomy is.

Some of us feel trapped in our Stupid Human Suits. Some of us don't. And some of us are ripped from them long before our time. This week, comedian Mike Brown opens up about depression, suicidal feelings and coping with the senseless murder of his best friend.