The Longest Shortest Time: A Women’s Health Show for Everyone

Jamilah Lemieux’s greatest fear was becoming a single mom. When she found herself pregnant without a partner, she panicked and tried to convince her daughter’s father to get back together with her. But over time, she’s come to embrace single motherhood — and the unexpected joys of co-parenting. 

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Recommendations from the archive

We have lots of stories about single parenthood!

• For something funny: W. Kamau Bell Asks His Mom About Sex

• For something political: The Political Power of Black Motherhood

• For a story with a twist: Becoming a Single Dad While Trans

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Episode resources

• Jamila’s book: Black. Single. Mother.

• Jamilah’s website: https://www.jamilahlemieux.com/

• Co-parenting book that Jamilah recommends: The 50/50 Solution

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• Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!

• Follow us on Instagram

• Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media

• Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!)

• Website: longestshortesttime.com

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Cover photo credit: Aria Askari Jocelynn Pedro

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Cece Bell lost her hearing at age four. In this interview, the Newbery-award-winning author and illustrator talks about how she's used her hearing aid for good ... and evil.

⭐️ This episode originally ran on June 7, 2016 and is a favorite from the archives. We hope you enjoy, and we’ll be back next week with a brand new episode.

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Read the book

Pick up a copy of Cece’s incredible graphic memoir El Deafo!

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• Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!

• Follow us on Instagram

• Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media

• Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!)

• Website: longestshortesttime.com

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As curator of the Museum of Sex, Sarah Forbes was an expert on kinks and turn-ons. But motherhood taught her that sex is more complicated than attraction — and that something as unsexy as her partner changing a blowout diaper could get her in the mood.

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Recommendations from the archive

Check out our sex + parenthood series, which includes:

• The Parents’ Guide to Doing It with Jane Marie and Dan Savage

• The Parents’ Guide to Doing It with Dr. Hilda Hutchinson and Twanna Hines

• The Parents’ Guide to Doing It with Esther Perel

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More about Sarah Forbes

• Sarah’s website: curatorforbes.com

• Sarah’s book: Mama Sex

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• Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!

• Follow us on Instagram

• Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media

• Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!)

• Website: longestshortesttime.com

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Cover photo credit: Rebecca Smeyne for Cosmopolitan Magazine

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As the father of four boys, Arin Schultz treasures his sleep… and because he works at a mattress company, he spends most of his waking hours thinking about sleep. In this episode, sponsored by Naturepedic, Arin shares the company’s dramatic origin story, and some sleep hygiene tips he’s picked up along the way.

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Recommendations from the archive

We have more episodes about kids and sleep!

• Start with our very first episode: Your Singing Really Interferes With My Going-To-Sleep Process

• If you like that one, check out the follow-up four years later: Music Together-ish

• In 2018, we hosted a call-in show at 2 a.m. for all the sleepless parents out there: You Up?

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Episode resources

• Thanks to Naturepedic for sponsoring this episode! You can find their products, and a store near you, at naturepedic.com. Plus, get 20% off with code LONGSHORT

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• Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!

• Follow us on Instagram

• Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media

• Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!)

• Website: longestshortesttime.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most consent education focuses on survivors, and rightly so. But that leaves perpetrators without resources to repair harm. Drew Davis, a die-hard feminist, aims to fix that with a new online tool.

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Recommendations from the archive

• Our first episode with SafeBAE: How to Not (Accidentally) Raise a Rapist

• Hillary’s personal episode about sex ed and consent that relaunched LST: The Staircase

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Episode resources

• SafeBAE’s website: safebae.org

• Try SafeBAE’s online tool: Vibe Check

• SafeBAE’s guide for parents: Check Their Vibe

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• Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!

• Follow us on Instagram

• Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media

• Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!)

• Website: longestshortesttime.com

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Consent education in school is mostly insufficient or non-existent — even when it’s required by state law. An organization called SafeBAE is trying to change that by training teens to teach each other about consent. SafeBAE’s executive director Shael Norris talks about what works and what doesn’t when discussing this topic with young people. We’ll also hear a cautionary tale about a time when Shael’s own daughter attempted to get justice for sexual assault survivors back when she was in high school.

⭐️ This episode originally ran on February 5, 2025 and is a favorite from the archives. We hope you enjoy, and we’ll be back next week with an exciting update on what SafeBAE is up to now… stay tuned!

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Episode resources

• Check out SafeBAE.org for info on consent ed for teens

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• Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!

• Follow us on Instagram

• Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media

• Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!)

• Website: longestshortesttime.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2017, comedian Negin Farsad came on the show to tackle kids’ unanswerable questions. Now she’s a mom, wrestling with how to explain death, slavery, and war to her own child. Plus, a delightful episode crossover moment with another former guest. (Hint: hot firefighters!)

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Recommendations from the archive

Want to hear more comedians answer kids’ questions? Check out the whole series!

• Kids Ask Negin Farsad Unanswerable Questions

• Lauren Lapkus Answers Kids’ Unanswerable Questions

• Kids Ask Chris Gethard Unanswerable Questions

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Episode resources

• Negin’s podcast: Fake the Nation

• Negin’s book: How to Make White People Laugh

• We recorded this episode at the women’s clothing company M.M.LaFleur in Manhattan. And they’ve got a special promo for you! You get 15% off first-time orders with the code LONGSHORT15

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• Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!

• Follow us on Instagram

• Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media

• Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!)

• Website: longestshortesttime.com

…

Cover photo credit: Joyce Zhang

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Comedian Negin Farsad on esoteric allergies, the power of fire hydrants, and growing up Muslim... all in this edition of Kids' Unanswerable Questions.

⭐️ This episode originally ran on February 1, 2017 and is a favorite from the archives. Since then, Negin has become a mom — and next week we’ll be back with a new episode where she talks about how she navigates her own daughter’s unanswerable questions!

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Episode resources

• Kid-friendly versions of Negin’s answers are on our website.

• Negin Farsad’s podcast: Fake the Nation

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• Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!

• Follow us on Instagram

• Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media

• Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!)

• Website: longestshortesttime.com

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Kate Casey grew up in a chaotic home, and as a child she struggled to understand the strange — and sometimes unsettling —choices her parents made. When it came time to start her own family, Kate decided to trade the bad kind of chaos for the good kind.

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Recommendations from the archive

• Want more family drama? Listen to Dani Shapiro’s Family Secret.

• Does Family Size Matter? An only child explains why she wanted a large family.

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Episode resources

• Kate’s podcast: Reality Life With Kate Casey

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• Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!

• Follow us on Instagram

• Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media

• Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!)

• Website: longestshortesttime.com

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We pick up where we left off with Kiely, Jenna, and their sperm donor Dominick. This time it's Jenna's turn to get pregnant. And, unlike last time, things do not go according to plan.

⭐️ This episode originally ran on November 30, 2016 and is a favorite from the archives. We hope you enjoy, and we’ll be back next week with a brand new episode.

…

• Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!

• Follow us on Instagram

• Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media

• Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!)

• Website: longestshortesttime.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices