Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel

By Esther Perel Global Media & Gimlet

Society & Culture Education

What's Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel about?

Step into iconic relationship therapist Esther Perel’s office and listen as 10 anonymous couples in search of insight bare the raw, intimate, and profound details of their story. From infidelity, to sexlessness, to loss, it’s a space for people to be heard and understood. It’s also a place for us to listen and feel empowered in our own relationships. So.. where should we begin? New episode every Friday, starting Oct. 20th. Season 2 drops on Audible Oct. 24th.

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On Again/Off Again

09.10.2020

They've been on and off for almost 20 years. While she takes cares of his and their child, she wants to know that he's also there for her. He's been battling depression for years. And the shame that comes with ...

Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel episodes:

09.10.2020 On Again/Off Again They've been on and off for almost 20 years. While she takes cares of his and their child, she wants to know that he's also there for her. He's been battling depression for years. And the shame that comes with ...
09.03.2020 Trapped in Their Own Story Their whole relationship is based on one big misunderstanding, with infidelity and blame on both sides. Years later, they still can't see the other's perspective. Programming note: This conversation was recorded after the COVID-19 lockdown.
08.27.2020 Burdens of the Family They share a legacy of war, a refugee upbringing, and family trauma. Their marriage was seen as taboo, and now they're trying to build a happier relationship for their child. Programming note: This conversation was recorded before the COVID-19 lockdown.
08.20.2020 He Loves Her, His Family Rejects Her She left her life, her family and her country for a man she met on Reddit. Their love is real, but his family has been hell. Programming note: This conversation was recorded before the COVID-19 lockdown.
08.13.2020 When I'm Manic I Cheat Bipolar, infidelity, open relationships: they're stuck in a world of loaded words. Her friends are convinced she should leave, but she doesn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps. Programming note: This conversation was recorded before the COVID-19 lockdown.
08.06.2020 It's Very Hard to Live with a Saint Barely a year into marriage, they're trapped in a cycle of explosive conflict. She can do no right, and he can do no wrong. Programming note: This conversation was recorded before the COVID-19 lockdown.
07.23.2020 In This Relationship What Is "I" and What Is "We"? They grew up with traumatic backgrounds, met in college and immigrated to the U.S. together. They've built stability and security, and now one of them longs for more freedom. Programming note: This conversation was recorded before the COVID-19 lockdown.
07.16.2020 The Chronic Philanderer He's been cheating on her for years, and she's had enough. Now she wants to know: is he in or is he out? Programming note: This conversation was recorded before the COVID-19 lockdown.
07.09.2020 What Would It Take For You to Come Out? Four years in, she can't admit she's attracted to her girlfriend, and her family still doesn't know. Programming note: This conversation was recorded before the COVID-19 lockdown.
07.09.2020 You Want Me To Watch The Kids While You Go Out With Another Guy? They met as religious teenagers and married as virgins. It's the age old story — once you're allowed to be intimate, you no longer want to be. Deciding to open the marriage has brought about huge changes in their sex ...
06.18.2020 Season Four Trailer A new season of Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel.
05.14.2020 Couples Under Lockdown: Lagos, Nigeria Last summer they left everything they'd built in Seattle for a chance at a very different life. He took a dream turn to expand his company and be closer to home; she gave up her nursing job to manage their ...
04.16.2020 Couples Under Lockdown: New York, New York They have three kids and their volatile marriage has fallen apart. She still hopes to rebuild. He can't get out of there fast enough. Two weeks before COVID-19 forced New Yorkers to shelter in place, they filed for divorce. Now ...
04.02.2020 Couples Under Lockdown: Bavaria, Germany For the last year they have lived in separate countries. She took a dream job closer to where she grew up in Germany and he stayed behind with the promise he would follow soon. Six months turned into a year, ...
03.24.2020 Couples Under Lockdown: Sicily, Italy They left each other emotionally years ago, but with three kids they have been trying to keep it together. For the last two weeks they find themselves confined to a small apartment in Sicily, Italy — he bears the brunt ...
02.26.2020 Esther Perel's New Show: How's Work? Today we’re sharing the first episode of Esther Perel’s new show How’s Work? In it, Esther sits down with coworkers, cofounders and colleagues, and brings her inimitable perspective to workplace relationships and conflicts. You can listen to all episodes right ...
12.05.2019 Introducing Heavyweight Buzz and Sheldon are brothers in their eighties who have been estranged for decades. Buzz visits Sheldon to see if there’s still a relationship left to salvage. Listen to more episodes of Heavyweight on Spotify or wherever you get your ...
11.21.2019 Happily Divorced They’re a divorced couple whose two-household relationship may prove that a happy family doesn’t have to end with divorce.
11.14.2019 Mom and Monique They’re a child desperate to connect with their single mother after 28 years of living in the shadow of a special-needs brother.
11.11.2019 Introducing Esther's New Podcast: How's Work? Today we’re sharing the first episode of Esther Perel’s new show How’s Work? In it, Esther sits down with coworkers, cofounders and colleagues, and brings her inimitable perspective to workplace relationships and conflicts. Available only on Spotify. It's free to ...
11.07.2019 A Romantic Revival He’s away a lot. She’s a stepmother at home to four children whose mother died by suicide. Is there anything left over for her?
10.31.2019 The Other Woman She wonders if she can satisfy her attraction to women without losing the husband she loves.
10.24.2019 A Small Town Affair Their relationship started with an affair that ended two marriages. Now they wonder if there’s enough trust there to build something stable together.
10.17.2019 Young Love She lives in Mexico, he lives in the US. Their immigration status has forced them to consider marriage sooner than they might have planned.
03.08.2019 Season Three Trailer A new season of Where Should We Begin?
04.27.2018 I Don't Want to Be Your Caregiver, I Want to Be Your Wife Almost two years ago her husband was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's Disease. They have three kids, a mortgage to pay, and he has developed some compulsive behaviors he isn't proud of. Esther helps them learn how to turn off ...
04.20.2018 I've Had 100 Conversations with You in My Head [Contains mature themes] After a discovery in her doctor's office, a woman realizes her husband has been unfaithful. While betrayed and angry, she still feels a desire to stick it out for the sake of the kids. He, meanwhile, is ...
04.13.2018 You Can Be Right or You Can Be Married [Contains mature themes] They’ve been together for more than a decade, but this isn’t the first time they’ve separated. Stuck in a cycle of explosive escalations, a husband and wife want to make it work but can’t break their habit ...
04.06.2018 Questions You Aren't Allowed to Ask [Contains mature themes] What began as an eight-year affair between two women has stretched into a 19-year partnership. But despite their private commitment to one another, they’ve never quite managed to move beyond the shame of their origin story. Esther ...
03.30.2018 Leaving the Shame Behind A young couple has endured a series of crises early in their marriage, from a benign brain tumor to a serious car crash to the husband’s near-fatal heart attack. Following his recovery, he’s adapting to new physical limitations, while she ...
03.23.2018 Ms. Entitlement and Mr. Sacrifice Out On a Date [Contains mature themes] An on-again, off-again couple in their fifties, dating in a post-divorce landscape, are struggling with different world views, priorities and sexual interests. Recognizing that their polarized dynamic takes the fun out of spending time together, Esther guides ...
03.16.2018 I Want to Feel Wanted After ten years, a husband tells his wife he no longer wishes to be married. A month later, stuck in limbo, they come to Esther. She helps them have an honest conversation about their expectations, desires, and the ways in ...
03.09.2018 You Need Help to Help Her [Contains mature themes] A husband and wife are united in their desire to help their daughter, two years after she suffered a breakdown and moved home, shutting herself off from her family and friends. Esther urges them to examine the ...
12.01.2017 I Can’t Give You a Child [Contains mature themes] A woman realizes she doesn’t want to have children and comes to Esther for help expressing this to her husband, who passionately wishes to be a father. But often the stories people come in with are not ...
11.24.2017 Trauma Doesn’t Like to be Touched [Contains mature themes] A newly-married couple comes to Esther for guidance on how to create a space of safety and physical intimacy, while also giving voice to past trauma.
11.17.2017 Sexlessness [Contains mature themes] A couple are first-generation children of immigrants, raised to believe sex should only take place in a marriage. Now that sex isn’t forbidden, it’s deeply uninteresting…to one of them.
11.10.2017 Tell Me I'm Not Alone [Contains mature themes] A young family, a ten-year age difference, and a wife who found independence through an extra-marital relationship. They’ve decided to forgive and rebuild, but the pain of the betrayal remains.
11.03.2017 There's You There's Me and There's Us [Contains mature themes] They have been together for 17 years, best friends and partners who, despite their loving and positive relationship, go months without connecting sexually.
10.27.2017 Impotent Is No Way to Define a Man [Contains Mature themes.] A man has struggled with impotence for over two decades. His wife, in despair over her feelings of hopelessness in the bedroom, seeks relief for her sexual frustration and feelings of resentment.
10.20.2017 The Addict [Contains mature themes] They’re grandparents, with a 40-year love story and a stable, happy marriage. But one of them had quite a few secrets. Esther gives them some tools to navigate and support each other's experiences.
10.08.2017 Speak to Me in French [Contains mature themes] A husband and wife met while deeply committed to the evangelical faith and didn’t kiss until their wedding day; for her, that kiss felt like “kissing her brother.” Esther gets creative in an effort to help them ...
10.08.2017 Motherless Women [Contains mature themes] A couple with two small children are at physical and emotional odds in their relationship. One has given herself over entirely to the children, while the other struggles to find her place within the family dynamic. Esther ...
10.08.2017 I've Had Better [Contains mature themes] He reached out because a year after the discovery of his affair, they aren’t fighting anymore, but they certainly haven’t moved on. Esther guides them towards a more honest conversation, and a revelation about their communication.
05.17.2017 Prologue Step into iconic relationship therapist Esther Perel’s office and listen as 10 anonymous couples in search of insight bare the raw, intimate, and profound details of their story. From infidelity to sexlessness to loss, it’s a space for people to ...