The Longest Shortest Time

By Hillary Frank | Realm

Stories about the surprises and absurdities of raising other humans—and being raised by them. But you don’t need to be a parent to listen. Created and hosted by Hillary Frank.

The Longest Shortest Ti... more

4.7

41024,102 ratings

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQs about The Longest Shortest Time:

How many episodes does The Longest Shortest Time have?

The podcast currently has 274 episodes available.

The Longest Shortest Time episodes:

November 05, 2025 LST FAVES: Behind Family Lines
Darlene's childhood dream was to join the military. She didn't imagine she'd also be raising three children solo. Tune in to hear what it’s like to be pregnant, breastfeed, and raise kids on your own in the Army. And to get shot in the back. Twice.
⭐️ This episode originally ran on March 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.
…
Recommendations from the archive
#19 The Mortality of Motherhood
…
• 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
...more
33min
October 29, 2025 Breasts
When Jean Hannah Edelstein went to college, she realized she had great breasts. Like, the kind that could win a wet T-shirt contest. But they also made her a target for harassment. Later, when she started nursing, her feelings toward her breasts got even more complicated. Then, when her son was four, she learned she would have to say goodbye to them. Today, Jean walks us through the life cycle of her breasts — from when she first noticed them to when she lost them.
…
Recommendations from the archive
#108 Boobs
#109 More Boobs
#203 When Mommy Boobs Go Viral
…
More on Jean Hannah Edelstein
• Jean’s website
• Jean’s book: Breasts: A Relatively Brief Relationship (using this link supports the show!)
…
• 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
...more
43min
October 22, 2025 LST FAVES: Boobs
When you get pregnant, your body changes (duh). One of the most common changes happens in your boobs (double duh). But sometimes your boobs change in ways that you don’t at all expect. Today we hear from two women whose boobs caught them off-guard, back when they became moms.
First, there’s Emily, whose nipples seemed to, uh, multiply. Then there’s Tara, whose boob betrayed her at age 26, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Except it’s her *other* boob that’s really the star of this story.
⭐️ This episode originally ran on January 11, 2017 and is a favorite from the archives. We hope you enjoy, and we’ll be back next week with a brand new boob-related episode!
…
Recommendations from the archive
#109 More Boobs
#203 When Mommy Boobs Go Viral
…
• 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
...more
42min
October 15, 2025 Shafia Zaloom's Playful Approach to Sex Ed
Shafia Zaloom is a sex educator and advisor to Big Mouth, Nextflix’s fantastic series about puberty. Join us as she walks us through her innovative approach to teaching young people about healthy relationships, which includes games, music, and complicated scenarios based on real-life situations.
…
Recommendations from the archive
• #237 You Know What: An LST Spinoff (Shafia is in this pilot!)
• #221 How to Not (Accidentally) Raise a Rapist
• #134 How to Make a Fella Feel Relaxed (the strange but real history of sex ed!)
…
More about Shafia Zaloom
• Shafia’s website
• Shafia’s book: Sex, Teens & Everything in Between (using our links supports the show!)
…
• 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
...more
37min
October 13, 2025 BONUS: You Might Also Like: "The Second Opinion with Dr. Sharon Malone"
Today we bring you an episode of "The Second Opinion with Dr. Sharon Malone." On Dr. Sharon’s new podcast, women take back the conversation on health with straight talk, real experience, and the care we all deserve. You’ll hear prominent female advocates, experts and patients just like you sharing how they confronted gaps in our healthcare system and got second opinions that saved their lives. Alongside each guest, Dr. Sharon tackles the questions and topics we’ve been conditioned to ignore — the ones we search for at 3 a.m. but never bring up at the doctor’s office. From dismissed symptoms to systemic failures, she pulls back the curtain on what’s really going on in women’s health and gives women the tools to advocate for themselves and each other.
In this episode, Dr. Sharon talks to Board Certified Ob/GYN and Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgeon, Dr. Karen Tang. The two unpack the evolution of Obstetrics Gynecology, the different OB-GYN subspecialties, and surgical options for reproductive health. Plus, Dr. Tang shares experiences patients may have on the surgical table and why you may want to choose a minimally invasive surgery for gynecologic conditions. Find more episodes of “The Second Opinion with Dr. Sharon Malone” wherever you get your podcasts.
…
• 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
...more
34min
October 08, 2025 LST FAVES: How to Make a Fella Feel Relaxed
Strange but real lessons of American sex ed. Historian Lisa Andersen walks us through the decades.
⭐️ This episode originally ran on August 23, 2017 and is a favorite from the archives. We hope you enjoy, and we’ll be back next week with a brand new episode.
📚 The book Lisa talks about developing in this episode is now available. She co-wrote it with Lauren Bialystok and it’s called
Touchy Subject: The History and Philosophy of Sex Education. Using this link supports the show!
…
Recommendations from the archive
• #220 The Staircase
• #221 How to Not (Accidentally) Raise a Rapist
• #224 Sex-Positive Books for Tweens and Teens (and Parents!) - with reading list (buying books from this link supports the show!)
• We’ve also got a whole series on Sex & Parenthood!
…
• 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
...more
50min
October 01, 2025 You Know What: An LST Spinoff
Does more sex make you “wider”? Is it bad to swallow sperm? How do you clean a sex toy? In the pilot episode of our spinoff show, YOU KNOW WHAT, college students answer anonymous questions from teens and young adults — with help from sex educator Shafia Zaloom.
This episode is a pilot for a concept we very much want to keep making. As you can imagine, it’s not easy to get funding for a sex ed show for young adults, but we know it would be very popular! If you work for an org that might be interested in partnering, or you have the means to help out, email [email protected].
You can hear more episodes with the fabulous Zaraia, Niko, and Ollie when you join our special club, LST+ 🙂
…
Recommendations from the archive
• #50 Mom, It’s Time We Had the Talk
• #220 The Staircase
…
More on Shafia Zaloom
• Shafia’s website
• Shafia’s book: Sex, Teens, and Everything In Between
…
• 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
...more
37min
September 24, 2025 Sick of "Morning" Sickness
If pregnant people need to eat for two, why do so many of us puke morning, noon, and night? Our friends from Vox's Unexplainable investigate.
Guests: Julia Longoria, host, Unexplainable; Marlena Fejzo, Ph.D., ⁠geneticist⁠, and Research Director at the ⁠HER Foundation⁠.
For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unexplainable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Contact Unexplainable: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠
…
Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!
Follow us on Instagram
Website: longestshortesttime.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
34min
September 17, 2025 Elise Hu on Sharks, Cheeseburgers, and Raising Kids Abroad
In this episode, Elise Hu gets personal. Tune in for her dad’s refugee story involving sharks, the unique challenges of parenting a tall girl, what she ate in childbirth, and a 3rd grade disappointment that shaped her career in journalism.
…
Recommendations from the archive
#19 The Mortality of Motherhood
#183 Postpartum House Arrest
…
Check out Elise’s work!
• Raising Us: a parenting podcast from A Kid’s Co.
• Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital
• Elise’s website
…
Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe!
Follow us on Instagram
Website: longestshortesttime.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
39min
September 10, 2025 LST FAVES: The Mortality of Motherhood
NPR’s Kelly McEvers compares and contrasts childbirth vs being a war correspondent.
⭐️ This episode originally ran on July 25, 2013, with an update on June 13, 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
Website: longestshortesttime.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
36min

FAQs about The Longest Shortest Time:

How many episodes does The Longest Shortest Time have?

The podcast currently has 274 episodes available.

More shows like The Longest Shortest Time

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

91,073 Listeners

Modern Love by The New York Times

Modern Love

8,837 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,147 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,204 Listeners

Invisibilia by NPR

Invisibilia

21,631 Listeners

Care and Feeding | Slate's parenting show by Slate Podcasts

Care and Feeding | Slate's parenting show

1,029 Listeners

The Sporkful by Dan Pashman

The Sporkful

3,941 Listeners

Death, Sex & Money by Slate Podcasts

Death, Sex & Money

7,730 Listeners

StoryCorps by NPR

StoryCorps

4,002 Listeners

Heavyweight by Pushkin Industries

Heavyweight

17,646 Listeners

Thanks For Asking by Feelings & Co.

Thanks For Asking

13,253 Listeners

Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel by Esther Perel Global Media

Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel

14,936 Listeners

LeVar Burton Reads by LeVar Burton and Stitcher

LeVar Burton Reads

16,991 Listeners

Love Letters by The Boston Globe

Love Letters

1,336 Listeners

The Dream by Little Everywhere

The Dream

15,003 Listeners

Literally! With Rob Lowe by Stitcher & Team Coco, Rob Lowe

Literally! With Rob Lowe

12,704 Listeners

No Stupid Questions by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

No Stupid Questions

3,651 Listeners

The Distraction: A Defector Podcast by Defector Media

The Distraction: A Defector Podcast

2,457 Listeners

People I (Mostly) Admire by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

People I (Mostly) Admire

2,108 Listeners

Glamorous Trash: A Celebrity Memoir Podcast by Chelsea Devantez

Glamorous Trash: A Celebrity Memoir Podcast

2,206 Listeners

The Atlas Obscura Podcast by SiriusXM and Atlas Obscura

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

1,712 Listeners

Normal Gossip by Normal Gossip

Normal Gossip

5,727 Listeners

The Retrievals by Serial Productions & The New York Times

The Retrievals

10,250 Listeners

Culture Study Podcast by Anne Helen Petersen

Culture Study Podcast

699 Listeners

Proxy with Yowei Shaw by Y3 Productions

Proxy with Yowei Shaw

557 Listeners