Podcasts by Dear Sugars
Radically empathic advice. Produced by WBUR.
Further podcasts by WBUR and The New York Times
Podcast on the topic Beziehungen
All episodes
Redux: Love In Doubt from 2023-11-25T03:00
How many times have you heard this: "I love him, we're great together, but..."? There's always room for doubt, even in the happiest of relationships. So this week, the Sugars take on some of tho...
ListenRedux: The Ugly Truth from 2023-11-08T03:00
Most of us have days when we don’t feel attractive. But in this episode, the Sugars read letters from people whose faces are at odds with conventional ideas of beauty. Writer Ariel Henley joins ...
ListenRedux: Talking About Privilege from 2023-10-21T04:00
Privilege comes in many forms: socio-economic privilege, gender privilege, heterosexual privilege, to name a few. In this episode, the Sugars reply to two letter writers who are facing different...
ListenEncore: Cutting The Financial Cord from 2023-10-07T04:00
At age 18, we are granted the rights and responsibilities of adulthood in the eyes of the law. But for parents of young adults, it’s not so clear cut. When is the right time to wean your childre...
ListenIntroducing ‘The Gun Machine’, a podcast about how America was forged by the gun industry from 2023-10-06T04:00
Produced by WBUR, Boston’s NPR, in partnership with The Trace, The Gun Machine looks into the past to bring you a story that most Americans never learned in history class: how early partnerships...
ListenRedux: A Spy In The House Of Love from 2023-09-23T04:00
Snooping on your spouse is generally ill-advised, but what if he or she has an addiction and is constantly lying about it? The Sugars and writer Ariel Levy answer this question in this episode, ...
ListenRedux: The Empty Chair, Part 2 from 2023-09-09T04:00
This is part two of the series on early childhood death. The Sugars read letters from parents who worry that their grief may overshadow their surviving children. They are joined by the writer Em...
ListenRedux: Trust Your Body from 2023-08-25T13:43:27
Her grandmother always introduced her as the “chubby one.” Now, she vacillates between moderation and binge-eating. “It’s only when my pants are nearly impossible to button that I force myself t...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Power Of No, Part 2: Oprah Winfrey from 2023-08-12T04:00
"What do I want?" This is the question Oprah Winfrey finally asked herself, after years of struggling to say "no" to people in her life. In the second of this two-part series, the Sugars continu...
ListenRedux: The Other Half of Sexless Relationships from 2023-07-29T04:00
In this episode, the Sugars answer letters from letter writers who want to have sex less frequently than their partners do.
ListenEncore: The Empty Chair, Part 1 from 2023-07-15T04:00
In the Empty Chair series, the Sugars discuss early childhood death, an absence that can be ever-present. In Part 1, they read letters from siblings who live in the the shadow of their parents’ ...
ListenEncore: What About The Stepchildren? from 2023-07-01T04:00
When the Sugars answered a letter from a woman who felt trapped in the role of "wicked stepmother," dozens of listeners wrote in asking the same question: what about the stepchildren, who have n...
ListenEncore: I Divorced My Spouse, And My Child Divorced Me from 2023-06-17T04:00
Divorce is always a painful process, but it's especially so when there are children in the middle. In this favorite episode from the archives, the Sugars discuss situations of parental alienatio...
ListenDear Sugars introduces Love Letters from 2023-06-10T04:00
Dear Sugars fans: We wanted to share with you an episode from Love Letters, hosted by Boston Globe advice columnist Meredith Goldstein, that we think you'll enjoy.
ListenEncore: The Power of No, Part 1 from 2023-06-03T04:00
There’s incredible power in saying “yes.” It opens up avenues and allows us to be brave. In Cheryl's case, it’s what led to her becoming Sugar. But saying yes to life's opportunities can also ha...
ListenEncore: In the Shadow of Damaged Parents from 2023-05-20T04:00
A damaged parent can cast a dark shadow over our lives, especially when we inherit some of that damage. In this favorite episode from the archives, Steve’s father, the psychoanalyst Dr. Richard ...
ListenEncore: The Price Of Our Dreams from 2023-05-06T04:00
In this favorite episode from the archives, the Sugars, along with fiction writer George Saunders, field letters from people who are chasing their creative dreams but frightened by the practical...
ListenEncore: Sexual Fluidity from 2023-04-25T13:00
"Whatever" -- that's how the actress Maria Bello describes her sexual orientation. Her "love who you love" attitude toward sexuality, regardless of gender, is often referred to as fluidity. In t...
ListenEncore: When Your Loved Ones Just Don't 'Get It' from 2023-04-08T04:00
Our loved ones are the people who are supposed to understand us. But what if they just...can't? Where do we turn then, and how do we fight the feelings of resentment that this lack of understand...
ListenEncore: Career Vs. Love from 2023-03-24T13:47:11
You love your partner, you love your career... but they're pulling you in different directions. What do you do? In this favorite episode from the archives, The Sugars have help from psychotherap...
ListenDear Sugars introduces Violation, a new podcast about who pulls the levers of power in the justice system from 2023-03-15T16:40:51
Dear Sugars fans: We wanted to share with you a new podcast we're working on at WBUR.
Violation tells the story of two families bound together by an unthinkable crime. It explores Americ...
ListenEncore: Baby or Bust from 2023-03-11T08:00
You wants kids; your partner doesn't. Or your partner wants kids, and you don't. Whatever the scenario, few subjects are as emotionally charged and potentially deal-breaking in a relationship as...
ListenEncore: Emotional Labor from 2023-02-25T08:00
Remembering the grocery list, coordinating with the babysitter, scheduling a get-together with the in-laws: These are some of the invisible tasks that (most) women exclusively do in their romant...
ListenEncore: May-December Romances from 2023-02-11T08:00
In this favorite episode from the archives, The Sugars discuss relationships with big age gaps, so-called "May-December" romances with the help of Lucinda Franks, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journa...
ListenEncore: Should I Stay Or Go? from 2023-01-28T08:00
In this favorite episode from the archives, The Sugars bring you another "Rapid Fire" episode, where they give brief answers to a handful of letters that are all centered around a theme. The the...
ListenEncore: How Do I Find The Courage To Be My Own Guide? from 2022-12-31T08:00
The Sugars often discuss letters dealing with very specific problems or struggles. In this encore episode, they take on a broader, more existential question: how to follow your heart. The Sugars...
ListenEncore: Pet Dilemmas from 2022-12-17T08:00
This encore episode is all about adventures in animal ownership! The Sugars, along with Julie Barton — author of the memoir "Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me From Myself" — answer letters about...
ListenEncore: I'm A Transgender Man, Seeking Acceptance from 2022-12-03T08:00
The Sugars read the letters of two transgender men who are struggling to find love and acceptance. They discuss with Cooper Lee Bombardier, a visual artist, writer and transgender man. This epis...
ListenEncore: Who's Your Daddy? from 2022-11-19T08:00
When Steve Lickteig turned 18, he learned that his mother and father, who he thought were his adoptive parents, are in fact his biological grandparents. With the advent of affordable DNA testing...
ListenEncore: I'm In Love With My Abuser from 2022-11-03T15:35:07
For the first time on the podcast, the Sugars answer a voice mail message from the Dear Sugars hotline. The message comes from a woman who reunited with her ex-boyfriend, who once assaulted her....
ListenEncore: Moving On, Part 2 from 2022-10-22T08:00
In this second part of our series on moving on, the Sugars discuss how we can release ourselves from our past mistakes. Dr. Harriet Lerner drops in to answer a letter from a woman who calls hers...
ListenEncore: Moving On, Part 1 from 2022-10-08T08:00
The Sugars have been thinking about what it means to say goodbye and let go. In this first episode of their two-part series on moving on, the Sugars and Claire Bidwell Smith answer two letters f...
ListenEncore: Emotional Abuse from 2022-09-24T08:00
Reema Zaman, our guest in this week’s episode, was in an emotionally abusive marriage. Although her husband’s abuses never left any physical mark, it took her years to repair the damage he infli...
ListenEncore: The Great Reckoning from 2022-09-10T08:00
Dear Sugars returns to Portland, Oregon, for another epic live show. Special guests Mitchell S. Jackson and Rebecca Skloot share the stage with the Sugars to tell stories of personal reckoning a...
ListenEncore: Haunted by Ghosting from 2022-08-29T12:32:25
The term "ghosting" may be relatively new, but the concept -- someone suddenly and inexplicably disappearing from your life -- is not. In the past, a total halt to communication with a friend mi...
ListenEncore: Do I Follow My Head or My Heart? from 2022-08-13T08:00
The Sugars get a letter from a young woman who has fallen head over heels in love. She and her boyfriend only met a month ago, but are already in deep. Everything seems perfect, and yet the lett...
ListenEncore: Location, Location, Location from 2022-07-29T16:42:19
Location, location, location. It makes all the difference in real estate, and it can make all the difference to one's happiness. But finding a place that really feels like home can be tricky.
ListenEncore: Rapid Fire Letters from 2022-07-15T11:23:15
In a heated moment, a mother reveals a dark chapter from her childhood to her daughter, then immediately regrets it. What now? In this week’s episode, the Sugars tackle this and several other qu...
ListenEncore: Talking About Privilege from 2022-07-02T08:00
Privilege comes in many forms: socio-economic privilege, gender privilege, heterosexual privilege, to name a few. In this episode, the Sugars reply to two letter writers who are facing different...
ListenEncore: Sex & Aging from 2022-06-18T08:00
The erotic lives of senior citizens are typically made invisible by our culture, which can lead to confusion and misinformation. Dr. Pepper Schwartz, the love and relationship columnist for AARP...
ListenEncore: The Stepchild's Dilemma from 2022-06-04T08:00
Whether you’re 5, 15, or 50 years old, it can be difficult to usher a stepparent in and out of the family unit. In today’s episode, the Sugars answer letters from stepchildren who have fraught r...
ListenEncore: The Empty Chair, Part 2 from 2022-05-21T08:00
The Sugars conclude a two-part series on early childhood death. In Part 2, they read letters from parents who worry that their grief may overshadow their surviving children. They are joined by t...
ListenEncore: Love in Doubt from 2022-04-09T08:00
How many times have you heard this: "I love him, we're great together, but..."? There's always room for doubt, even in the happiest of relationships. So this week, the Sugars take on some of tho...
ListenEncore: Body Weight and Romance — with Ashley C. Ford from 2022-03-26T08:00
It’s never easy to talk to our romantic partners about their bodies, especially when it’s about weight. The Sugars, along with writer Ashley C. Ford, answer letters from people questioning their...
ListenEncore: Rapid Fire: Love & Money from 2022-03-12T06:00
When it comes to love, money is supposed to be no object. But there’s no disentangling love from anything in our lives, and income is no exception. So how do you assess the role money should pla...
ListenEncore: Dark Fantasies, Part 2 from 2022-02-26T06:00
In part two of our Dark Fantasies series, Dr. Ian Kerner returns to help the Sugars answer questions about where our central ideas about sex and eroticism come from, and delve deeper into the wo...
ListenEncore: Dark Fantasies, Part 1 from 2022-02-12T06:00
Orgies. Sex in public. Incest. These are the things that some of us think about in the dark. Taboo fantasies can be exciting, but they can also be the source of our deepest shame. In this two-pa...
ListenEncore: The Ugly Truth from 2022-01-27T15:37:19
Most of us have days when we don’t feel attractive. But in this episode, the Sugars read letters from people whose faces are at odds with conventional ideas of beauty. Writer Ariel Henley joins ...
ListenEncore: Rapid Fire: Make the Call from 2022-01-14T15:50:14
In this encore "rapid fire" episode, the Sugars give brief answers to a handful of letters. This time, they challenge each other to make the call -- one way or the other -- on the questions they...
ListenEncore: A Spy In The House Of Love — With Ariel Levy from 2021-12-21T11:44:15
Snooping on your spouse is generally ill-advised, but what if he or she has an addiction and is constantly lying about it? The Sugars and writer Ariel Levy answer this question in this episode, ...
ListenEncore: There's Just One Thing from 2021-12-17T15:37:46
In this "rapid fire" episode, the Sugars read letters from four women who each have one not-so-tiny reservation about the men they’re dating. A Black woman is dating a white man who is unwilling...
ListenEncore: Sexless Relationships, Part 2 from 2021-12-03T16:18:10
The Sugars are joined by the therapist Esther Perel to discuss a letter from a husband who is in a sexless marriage and is looking for a way to help his wife heal from trauma.
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Woman Yelling at a Cat from 2021-11-19T14:51:58
This week, we're sharing an episode of another WBUR podcast, Endless Thread.The show is in the middle of a series all about internet memes, and they recently featured the woman at the center of ...
ListenEncore: A Night of Bad Stories from 2021-11-05T13:20:38
Dear Sugars returns to Portland, Oregon, for another raucous and uplifting live show. The Sugars get a surprising update from a letter writer from their past; discuss a new letter with a special...
ListenEncore: Sexless Relationships, Part 1 from 2021-11-05T12:56:14
A sexless relationship is often a symptom of deeper dysfunction. The Sugars, along with couples therapist Esther Perel, advise a letter writer whose loving partner is erotically absent. This epi...
ListenEncore: The Other Half of Sexless Relationships from 2021-10-08T10:41:46
The Dear Sugars inbox was flooded with responses to the two-part episode “Sexless Relationships” with Esther Perel. In those episodes, the Sugars answered letters from people who were longing fo...
ListenEncore: Should I Intervene? from 2021-09-24T12:51:12
When we decide to meddle, it can often backfire. The Sugars, along with the writer Meghan Daum, answer letters from people who see loved ones heading down the wrong path, but worry intervention ...
ListenEncore: Rage Is A Red Lesson from 2021-09-10T14:02:20
Shortly after the birth of her first child, a letter-writer who calls herself “Tantrum Daughter” lost her mother to suicide. Now, with a second child on the way, Tantrum Daughter is overcome wit...
ListenEncore: Young & Isolated from 2021-08-27T16:27
Feeling like an outsider is one of the hallmarks of adolescence. But in today’s episode, we hear from two 16-year-olds who have cause to feel especially isolated. One is home-schooled; another f...
ListenEncore: Lovers & Friends from 2021-08-13T16:50:24
It’s healthy to cultivate friendships outside of your romantic relationships. But sometimes, they can be the source of jealousy and resentment. So when is jealousy actually justified? In this ra...
ListenEncore: Trust Your Body from 2021-07-30T11:25:30
Her doctor categorized her as overweight when she was 5 years old. Her grandmother always introduced her as the “chubby one.” As an adult, she vacillates between moderation and binge-eating, res...
ListenEncore: Emotional Labor: The Invisible Work (Most) Women Do from 2021-07-16T14:19:59
Women from across the country wrote in to the Dear Sugars inbox echoing identical inequalities in their relationships with their husbands and boyfriends. The Sugars commiserate with this aggriev...
ListenRedux: Family By Proxy from 2021-07-02T12:39:09
When a family experiences loss, familial roles are often redefined. In this episode, the Sugars answer letters from people who are unexpectedly charged with caring for new family members.
<... ListenRedux: In The Shadow Of Damaged Parents from 2021-06-17T13:56:41
A damaged parent can cast a dark shadow over our lives, especially when we inherit some of that damage. Steve’s father, the psychoanalyst Dr. Richard Almond, joins the Sugars to answer letters a...
ListenRedux: Consent, Part 3 from 2021-06-04T16:45:49
The #MeToo movement deluged the Dear Sugars inbox with letters about sexual harassment in the workplace. In the final episode in our series on sexual consent, the Sugars read some of these lette...
ListenRedux: Consent, Part Two from 2021-05-28T16:14:59
Some sexual encounters are obviously consensual, while others are obviously not. But what about those that are neither black nor white? In the second episode in our series on sexual consent, the...
ListenRedux: Consent, Part One from 2021-05-21T15:25:31
In the midst of the #MeToo Movement, women and men all over the country were re-examining sexual encounters from their past. Over the course of a three-part series on consent, the Sugars answer ...
ListenRedux: Cutting The Financial Cord from 2021-04-30T16:25:06
At age 18, we are granted the rights and responsibilities of adulthood in the eyes of the law. But for parents of young adults, it’s not so clear cut. When is the right time to wean your childre...
ListenRedux: The Dark Side Of Porn from 2021-04-09T16:38:09
The Sugars continue their series on porn with a letter from a woman whose fiancé is "addicted" to porn.
This episode was originally released on December 16th, 2016.
ListenRedux: Is Porn Wrong? from 2021-03-26T15:18:19
Pornography is more abundant and accessible than ever before. So it probably isn't surprising that it appears to be having a greater impact on romantic relationships. Part one of a two-part seri...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Double Date from 2021-03-13T11:25:18
This week on Dear Sugars, we have a special treat for you. It's an episode of Marlo Thomas and Phil Donohue's new podcast, Double Date. Hear how actress Viola Davis met Julius Tennon and how the...
ListenRedux: Baby or Bust from 2021-02-26T16:08:10
You wants kids; your partner doesn't. Or your partner wants kids, and you don't. Whatever the scenario, few subjects are as emotionally charged and potentially deal-breaking in a relationship as...
ListenRedux: Career vs. Love from 2021-02-12T15:41:59
You love your partner, you love your career... but they're pulling you in different directions. What do you do? The Sugars have help from psychotherapist and sociologist Leslie Bell, author of H...
ListenRedux: The Price Of Our Dreams from 2021-01-29T16:49:31
The Sugars, along with fiction writer George Saunders, field letters from people who are chasing their creative dreams but frightened by the practical and financial risks that come with that pur...
ListenRedux: You Must Change Your Life from 2021-01-01T23:48:26
“I remember them finding the drugs and holding them up in the sky. And I was like, 'Oh man, I’m going to prison.'” This week’s guest, the writer Mitchell S. Jackson, started selling drugs when h...
ListenRedux: Buyer's Remorse from 2020-12-18T16:05:51
Buzz Bissinger owns more than 100 pairs of leather pants and over 200 pairs of leather gloves, having spent more than $600,000 on leather goods in the span of three years. Mr. Bissinger has a sp...
ListenRedux: Haunted by Ghosting from 2020-12-04T17:03:15
The term "ghosting" may be relatively new, but the concept -- someone suddenly and inexplicably disappearing from your life -- is not. In the past, a total halt to communication with a friend mi...
ListenRedux: Location, Location, Location from 2020-11-20T15:26:04
Location, location, location. It makes all the difference in real estate, and it can make all the difference to one's happiness. But finding a place that really feels like home can be tricky. Th...
ListenRedux: When Your Loved Ones Just Don't 'Get It' from 2020-11-09T12:06:01
Our loved ones are the people who are supposed to understand us. But what if they just...can't? Where do we turn then, and how do we fight the feelings of resentment that this lack of understand...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Anything For Selena from 2020-10-29T14:35:22
Listen to the trailer for "Anything For Selena," a new podcast from WBUR and Futuro Studios coming in January 2021. Subscribe now so you don't miss it!
About The Show:
On March 3...
ListenRedux: Pet Dilemmas from 2020-10-23T15:16:10
The Sugars, along with Julie Barton -- author of the memoir "Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me From Myself" -- answer letters about pet dilemmas and the ways these creatures affect human relatio...
ListenRedux: Male-Female Friendships from 2020-10-09T11:25:51
The Sugars' conversation on friendship continues with a handful of letters concerning male-female friendships. Is there such a thing as a platonic relationship between a heterosexual man and wom...
ListenRedux: I'm A Transgender Man, Seeking Acceptance from 2020-09-25T13:45:28
The Sugars read the letters of two transgender men who are struggling to find love and acceptance. They discuss with Cooper Lee Bombardier, a visual artist, writer and transgender man.
ListenRedux: Inbox Outliers from 2020-08-28T13:02:09
Infidelity. In-Laws. Friendship. These are just a few of the categories that help keep the Dear Sugar inbox organized. But every once in a while, we get a letter that doesn't fit neatly into any...
ListenRedux: 'Totally Confused' Finds A Resolution from 2020-08-17T12:08:10
The Sugars get an update from a 62-year-old, divorced woman who was considering a reconciliation with her ex-husband, even after years of unhappiness inside their marriage. The situation was fur...
ListenRedux: Does 'The Wicked Stepmother' Still Feel Wicked? from 2020-07-31T12:44:37
The Sugars revisit a letter from a woman who felt like a fairytale-esque wicked stepmother. When she wrote to the Sugars, she was feeling pressured to love her stepchildren "like her own," but s...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Loneliness In A Socially Distant World from 2020-07-16T10:05:10
Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy talks with the Kind World team about the startling effects of chronic loneliness and how we can combat this public health concern -- even in a social...
ListenRedux: An Update From 'Head Or The Heart' from 2020-07-10T13:54:54
The Sugars get an update from "Head or the Heart" -- a woman who'd fallen in love with a man with a troubled childhood. She worried that the traumas of his past could surface at some point in th...
ListenRedux: An Update From 'Two Truths And Many Lies' from 2020-07-02T12:04:38
The Sugars catch up with "Two Truths and Many Lies," whose letter about her husband's infidelity generated significant interest and advice from our listeners. Did she stay with her husband or wa...
ListenRedux: Sexual Fluidity from 2020-06-26T16:02:16
"Whatever" -- that's how the actress Maria Bello describes her sexual orientation. Her "love who you love" attitude toward sexuality, regardless of gender, is often referred to as fluidity. Mari...
ListenRedux: I Divorced My Spouse, And My Child Divorced Me from 2020-06-19T13:41:47
Divorce is always a painful process, but it's especially so when there are children in the middle. This week, the Sugars discuss situations of parental alienation caused by divorce. They answer ...
ListenRedux: The Writer's Resist, Part 2 from 2020-06-12T14:19:43
Part 2 of "Dear Sugar Radio: The Writers Resist" at The Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon. They discuss how to counteract post-election cynicism with Zahir Janmohamed, writer and co-host of th...
ListenRedux: The Writers Resist from 2020-06-05T11:50:01
On November 9th, 2016 -- the day after Donald Trump became America's President-elect -- the Dear Sugar inbox was flooded with emails asking some version of the question, "How do we move forward ...
ListenRedux: Friendships from 2020-05-29T12:36:15
Everyone has had a friendship quandary of some sort in the past, right? This week, the Sugars take on frequently asked questions in "rapid fire" fashion – from hating your best friend's signific...
ListenRedux: How Do I Find the Courage to Be My Own Guide? from 2020-05-22T10:31:39
The Sugars often discuss letters dealing with very specific problems or struggles. This week, they take on a broader, more existential question -- how to follow your heart. This episode was orig...
ListenRedux: What About The Stepchildren? from 2020-05-15T11:32:13
When the Sugars answered a letter from a woman who felt trapped in the role of "wicked stepmother," dozens of listeners wrote in asking the same question: what about the stepchildren, who have n...
ListenRedux: May-December Romances from 2020-05-08T15:47:45
Age is just a number in many contexts, but when it comes to finding long-lasting love, an age gap between partners can greatly impact the course of the relationship — both in positive and challe...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Madness from 2020-05-04T12:19:56
"Madness" is a new investigative series from our fellow WBUR podcast, Endless Thread. Told in 5 parts, "Madness" unravels the shocking history of CIA-funded mind-control experiments.
In ...
ListenRedux: Step Into Your Spotlight from 2020-05-01T13:56:22
We find out what happened to two letter writers who let self-image sabotage their love lives. The Sugars find out if “Scared to Choose Wrong” married her fiancé, and they give “Aspiring Warrior ...
ListenRedux: Change Is A Work In Progress from 2020-04-24T11:56:21
In today’s update episode, we check in with some of our most memorable letter writers from previous episodes. The Sugars find out if “Struggling” was kicked out of his mother’s house, and they g...
ListenRedux: Should I Stay Or Go? from 2020-04-17T14:36:04
The Sugars bring you another "Rapid Fire" episode, where they give brief answers to a handful of letters that are all centered around a theme. The theme for this episode is "stay or go" -- peopl...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Saying Goodbye from 2020-04-10T14:08:26
It's never easy saying goodbye to our loved ones, but it can be especially painful when a goodbye is drawn out by illness. This week, the Sugars answer two letters dealing with the guilt and hea...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Sugar Calling from 2020-04-10T10:07
Hear the first episode of the New York Times podcast “Sugar Calling,” featuring our own Cheryl Strayed.
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Great Reckoning from 2020-04-03T13:45:10
Dear Sugars returns to Portland, Oregon, for another epic live show. Special guests Mitchell S. Jackson and Rebecca Skloot share the stage with the Sugars to tell stories of personal reckoning a...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Good Life Project from 2020-04-03T10:24:55
Every week, the Good Life Project podcast from Jonathan Fields and Wondery shares inspirational, intimate and unfiltered conversations about what it really takes to live a good life. Host Jonath...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Emotional Abuse from 2020-03-27T13:44:33
Reema Zaman, our guest in this week’s episode, was in an emotionally abusive marriage. Although her husband’s abuses never left any physical mark, it took her years to repair the damage he infli...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: A 'Kind World' For Troubled Times from 2020-03-20T14:08:25
Take a listen to our sister podcast, Kind World.
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Family Ghosts from 2020-03-13T12:09:05
Dear Sugars wants to tell you about another great podcast: Family Ghosts, a show where people tell stories about experiences that transform their understanding of familial legacy.
On thi...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: WorkLife With Adam Grant from 2020-03-06T16:11:58
Dear Sugars wants to tell you about another great podcast: WorkLife with Adam Grant from TED.
In the episode, Adam Grant speaks with Cheryl Strayed about getting and giving advice about...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Moving On, Part Two from 2020-02-28T09:54:19
In this second part of our series on moving on, the Sugars discuss how we can release ourselves from our past mistakes. Dr. Harriet Lerner drops in to answer a letter from a woman who calls hers...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Moving On, Part 1 from 2020-02-21T14:20:30
The Sugars have been thinking about what it means to say goodbye and let go. In this first episode of their two-part series on moving on, the Sugars and Claire Bidwell Smith answer two letters f...
ListenEpisodes We Love: A Night Of Bad Stories from 2020-02-14T12:44:38
Dear Sugars returns to Portland, Oregon, for another raucous and uplifting live show. The Sugars get a surprising update from a letter writer from their past; discuss a new letter with a special...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Long Goodbye from 2020-02-07T14:55:58
After four years of ministering to the lost, lonely and heartsick, the Sugars say farewell on this final episode of the podcast. We take a look back at some of our most powerful advice, hear fro...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: As Me from 2020-01-31T18:54:39
Dear Sugars wants to tell you about another great podcast: As Me with Sinead Burke.
What’s the first step towards becoming more empathetic? Listening. Academic, TED alum, fashion enthusi...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Young & Isolated from 2020-01-24T16:26:40
Feeling like an outsider is one of the hallmarks of adolescence. But in today’s episode, we hear from two 16-year-olds who have cause to feel especially isolated. One girl is home-schooled and s...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Love & Money from 2020-01-17T12:50:26
When it comes to love, money is supposed to be no object. But there’s no disentangling love from anything in our lives, and income is no exception. So how do you assess the role money should pla...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Talking About Privilege from 2020-01-10T14:18:02
Privilege comes in many forms: socio-economic privilege, gender privilege, heterosexual privilege, to name a few. In this episode, the Sugars reply to two letter writers who are facing different...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Food, We Need To Talk from 2020-01-03T12:37:25
one woman's quest to end her war with food. Hosts Juna Gjata and Dr. Eddie Phillips wield solid science, medical knowledge, common sense and an endless supply of dad jokes to teach us how to eat...
ListenEpisodes We Love: There's Just One Thing from 2019-12-27T11:42:31
In this "rapid fire" episode, the Sugars read letters from four women who each have one not-so-tiny reservation about the men they’re dating. A black woman is dating a white man who is unwilling...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Who's Your Daddy? from 2019-12-20T09:56:38
When Steve Lickteig turned 18, he learned that his mother and father, who he thought were his adoptive parents, are in fact his biological grandparents. With the advent of affordable DNA testing...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Emotional Labor from 2019-12-13T14:50:38
Remembering the grocery list, coordinating with the babysitter, making food for the potluck, scheduling a get-together with the in-laws: These are some of the invisible tasks that (most) women e...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Free To Be Childfree from 2019-12-06T13:20:42
From our partners at WBUR, Endless Thread is a podcast featuring amazing stories found on Reddit. This story is about a growing movement that hits close to home. It's about the hundreds of thous...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Trust Your Body from 2019-11-27T11:57:41
“It’s only when my pants are nearly impossible to button that I force myself to lose weight,” writes the letter-writer who calls herself Body Negative. “And then the pattern starts all over agai...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Sex & Aging from 2019-11-22T11:48:17
The erotic lives of senior citizens are typically made invisible by our culture, which can lead to confusion and misinformation. Dr. Pepper Schwartz, the love and relationship columnist for AARP...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Just Say It from 2019-11-15T10:11:59
Words can be wielded like weapons. On today’s episode, the Sugars hear from people who have something to confess but are afraid to hurt others with the power of their words. This episode was ori...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Hot And Bothered from 2019-11-08T12:36:01
In this special episode of Dear Sugars, Steve Almond is a featured guest on the Spoke Media podcast "Hot and Bothered."
ListenDear Sugars Presents: A Place Of Respite from 2019-11-01T13:55:15
Dear Sugars' sister podcast, Kind World, recently produced a special series featuring stories of kindness and compassion at the U.S.-Mexico border. It's called "Lifelines" and tells stories of o...
ListenEpisodes We Love: I'm In Love With My Abuser from 2019-10-25T13:19:48
The Sugars answer a voicemail message from the Dear Sugars hotline. The message comes from a woman who reunited with her ex-boyfriend, who once assaulted her. Wracked with shame, she wonders if ...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Rage Is A Red Lesson from 2019-10-18T11:50:14
Shortly after the birth of her first child, a letter-writer who calls herself “Tantrum Daughter” lost her mother to suicide. Now, with a second child on the way, Tantrum Daughter is overcome wit...
ListenEpisodes We Love: A Spy In The House Of Love from 2019-10-11T13:26:13
Snooping on your spouse is generally ill-advised, but what if he or she has an addiction and is constantly lying about it? The Sugars answer this question with the help of writer Ariel Levy. Thi...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: How To! With Charles Duhigg from 2019-10-04T12:53:52
In this special episode of Dear Sugars, Cheryl Strayed is a featured guest on the Slate podcast How To! with Charles Duhigg. We hear from Megan who is 35 years old, a lawyer, happily married — a...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Cutting The Financial Cord from 2019-09-30T09:30:06
At age 18, we are granted the rights and responsibilities of adulthood in the eyes of the law. But for parents of young adults, it’s not so clear cut. When is the right time to wean your childre...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Ugly Truth from 2019-09-21T15:56:19
Most of us have days when we don’t feel attractive. But in this episode, the Sugars read letters from people whose faces are at odds with conventional ideas of beauty. The writer Ariel Henley jo...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Lovers & Friends from 2019-09-16T08:44:24
It’s healthy to cultivate friendships outside of your romantic relationships. But sometimes, they can be the source of jealousy and resentment. So when is jealousy actually justified? In this ra...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Double Bind Of Female Ambition from 2019-09-06T14:23:41
The Sugars are joined by Hillary Clinton to answer a letter about female ambition. This episode was originally released on November 18th, 2017.
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Stepchild's Dilemma from 2019-08-30T14:07:19
Whether you’re 5, 15, or 50 years old, it can be difficult to usher a stepparent in and out of the family unit. In today’s episode, the Sugars answer letters from stepchildren who have fraught r...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Consent Part Three from 2019-08-26T09:14:31
The #MeToo movement deluged the Dear Sugars inbox with letters about sexual harassment in the workplace. In the final episode in our series on sexual consent, the Sugars read some of these lette...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Consent Part Two from 2019-08-16T14:12:12
Some sexual encounters are obviously consensual, while others are obviously not. But what about those that are neither black nor white? In the second episode in our series on sexual consent, the...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Consent Part One from 2019-08-09T14:30:26
In the midst of the #MeToo Movement, women and men all over the country are re-examining sexual encounters from their past. Over the course of a three-part series on consent, the Sugars answer l...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Buyer's Remorse from 2019-08-02T23:35:45
Buzz Bissinger owns more than 100 pairs of leather pants and over 200 pairs of leather gloves, having spent more than $600,000 on leather goods in the span of three years. Mr. Bissinger has a sp...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Family By Proxy from 2019-07-26T11:12:11
When a family experiences loss, familial roles are often redefined. In this episode, the Sugars answer letters from people who are unexpectedly charged with caring for new family members. This e...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Dark Fantasies Part 2 from 2019-07-19T12:59:59
In part two of our Dark Fantasies series, Dr. Ian Kerner returns to help the Sugars answer questions about where our central ideas about sex and eroticism come from, and delve deeper into the w...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Dark Fantasies, Part 1 from 2019-07-12T14:20:08
Orgies. Sex in public. Incest. These are the things that some of us think about in the dark. Taboo fantasies can be exciting, but they can also be the source of our deepest shame. In the first c...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Empty Chair, Part 2 from 2019-07-07T21:18:21
The Sugars conclude a two-part series on early childhood death. In Part 2, they read letters from parents who worry that their grief may overshadow their surviving children. They are joined by t...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Empty Chair, Part 1 from 2019-06-29T16:12:15
In the Empty Chair series, the Sugars discuss early childhood death, an absence that can be ever-present. In Part 1, they read letters from siblings who live in the the shadow of their parents’ ...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Other Half Of Sexless Relationships from 2019-06-21T12:49:49
Sex-starved, meet sex-hounded. In today’s episode, we hear from a letter writer who feels pressured by her partner to have sex. This episode was originally released on October 28th, 2017.
ListenEpisodes We Love: You Must Change Your Life from 2019-06-13T13:08:28
“I remember them finding the drugs and holding them up in the sky. And I was like, 'Oh man, I’m going to prison.'” This week’s guest, the writer Mitchell S. Jackson, started selling drugs when h...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Sexless Relationships, Part 2 from 2019-06-07T14:05:50
The Sugars are joined by the therapist Esther Perel to discuss a letter from a husband who is in a sexless marriage and is looking for a way to help his wife heal from trauma. This episode was o...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Sexless Relationships, Part 1 from 2019-05-31T12:54:11
A sexless relationship is often a symptom of deeper dysfunction. The Sugars, along with couples therapist Esther Perel, advise a letter writer whose loving partner is erotically absent. This epi...
ListenEpisodes We Love: In The Shadow Of Damaged Parents from 2019-05-26T10:14:12
A damaged parent can cast a dark shadow over our lives, especially when we inherit some of that damage. Steve’s father, the psychoanalyst Dr. Richard Almond, joins the Sugars to answer letters a...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Dear Dad, It's Over from 2019-05-17T13:24:21
We can't choose our parents, but we can choose whether or not to have a relationship with them. This week, the Sugars discuss parental estrangement with the help of Stephen Elliott -- founding e...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Career Vs. Love from 2019-05-10T15:29:55
You love your partner, you love your career... but they're pulling you in different directions. What do you do? The Sugars have help from psychotherapist and sociologist Leslie Bell, author of H...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Inbox Outliers from 2019-05-03T13:08:26
Infidelity. In-Laws. Friendship. These are just a few of the categories that help keep the Dear Sugar inbox organized. But every once in a while, we get a letter that doesn't fit neatly into any...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Baby Or Bust from 2019-04-26T12:36:08
You wants kids; your partner doesn't. Or your partner wants kids, and you don't. Whatever the scenario, few subjects are as emotionally charged and potentially deal-breaking in a relationship as...
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Kind World from 2019-04-22T13:30:01
Dear Sugars wants to tell you about another great show: Kind World. Subscribe today!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kind-world/id963244879
ListenEpisodes We Love: Pet Dilemmas from 2019-04-19T12:56:51
This week, adventures in animal ownership! The Sugars, along with Julie Barton -- author of the memoir "Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me From Myself" -- answer letters about pet dilemmas and th...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Body Weight And Romance from 2019-04-12T12:38:17
It’s never easy to talk to our romantic partners about their bodies, especially when it’s about weight. The Sugars, along with the writer Ashley C. Ford, answer letters from people questioning t...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Should I Intervene? from 2019-04-05T12:26:56
When we decide to meddle, it can often backfire. The Sugars, along with the writer Meghan Daum, answer letters from people who see loved ones heading down the wrong path, but worry intervention ...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Haunted By Ghosting from 2019-03-29T12:42:13
The term "ghosting" may be relatively new, but the concept -- someone suddenly and inexplicably disappearing from your life -- is not. In the past, a total halt to communication with a friend mi...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Location, Location, Location from 2019-03-22T09:55:59
Location, location, location. It makes all the difference in real estate, and it can make all the difference to one's happiness. But finding a place that really feels like home can be tricky. Th...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Sexual Fluidity from 2019-03-18T11:38:29
"Whatever" -- that's how the actress Maria Bello describes her sexual orientation. Her "love who you love" attitude toward sexuality, regardless of gender, is often referred to as fluidity. Mari...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Happy Two Years Of Sugar, Part 2 from 2019-03-08T11:54:18
It's part 2 of "the year in Sugar," where Steve and Cheryl reflect on some of the most memorable letters and episodes of 2016. This episode was originally published on February 9th, 2017.
ListenEpisodes We Love: Happy Two Years Of Sugar, Part 1 from 2019-03-01T14:20:30
The Sugars look back on some of the most memorable letters and episodes of 2016. There are so many that they'll be doing this in two parts. This episode was originally released on January 27th, ...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Writers Resist, Part 2 from 2019-02-22T11:17:33
Part two of Dear Sugar Radio: The Writers Resist at The Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon. This episode was originally released on January 27th, 2017.
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Dear Hank and John from 2019-02-19T15:42:33
Dear Sugars wants to tell you about another great advice show: Dear Hank & John.
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Writers Resist, Part 1 from 2019-02-15T07:43:46
On November 9th, 2016 -- the day after Donald Trump became America's President-elect -- the Dear Sugar inbox was flooded with emails asking some version of the question, "How do we move forward ...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Love In Doubt from 2019-02-08T09:55:55
How many times have you heard this: "I love him, we're great together, but..."? There's always room for doubt, even in the happiest of relationships. So this week, the Sugars take on some of tho...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Dark Side Of Porn from 2019-02-01T09:43:53
The Sugars continue their series on porn with a letter from a woman whose fiancé is "addicted" to porn. This episode was originally released on December 16th, 2016.
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Endless Thread from 2019-01-28T14:54:04
From our partners at WBUR, Endless Thread is a podcast featuring amazing stories found on Reddit. In this story, they talk to a happily married couple who has recently decided to experiment with...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Is Porn Wrong? from 2019-01-25T09:19:46
Pornography is more abundant and accessible than ever before. So it probably isn't surprising that it appears to be having a greater impact on romantic relationships. Part one of a two-part seri...
ListenEpisodes We Love: What About The Stepchildren? from 2019-01-18T10:23:53
When the Sugars answered a letter from a woman who felt trapped in the role of "wicked stepmother," dozens of listeners wrote in asking the same question: what about the stepchildren, who have n...
ListenEpisodes We Love: When Your Loved Ones Just Don't 'Get It' from 2019-01-11T14:06:34
Our loved ones are the people who are supposed to understand us. But what if they just...can't? Where do we turn then, and how do we fight the feelings of resentment that this lack of understand...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Friendships, Part 2 from 2019-01-07T10:05:35
The Sugars have another conversation on friendship, this time with a handful of letters concerning male-female friendships. Is there such a thing as a platonic relationship between a heterosexua...
ListenIntroducing Safe for Work from 2018-12-19T12:46
Safe For Work is an advice show that reminds you that while your office may be crazy, you don’t have to be. Office MVPs and corporate veterans Liz Dolan (ex-CMO, Nike, NatGeo, Oprah Winfrey Netw...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Price Of Our Dreams from 2018-12-08T06:00
The Sugars, along with fiction writer George Saunders, field letters from people who are chasing their creative dreams but frightened by the practical and financial risks that come with that pur...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Rapid Fire Letters from 2018-12-01T06:00
In a heated moment, a mother reveals a dark chapter from her childhood to her daughter, then immediately regrets it. What now? In this week’s episode, the Sugars tackle this and several other qu...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Power Of No, Part 2 from 2018-11-17T06:00
"What do I want?" This is the question Oprah Winfrey finally asked herself, after years of struggling to say "no" to people in her life. In the second of this two-part series, the Sugars continu...
ListenEpisodes We Love: The Power Of No, Part 1 from 2018-11-10T06:00
There’s incredible power in saying “yes.” It opens up avenues and allows us to be brave. In Cheryl's case, it’s what led to her becoming Sugar. But saying yes to life's opportunities can also ha...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Friendship, Part 1 from 2018-11-03T06:00
Everyone has had a friendship quandary of some sort in the past, right? This week, the Sugars take on frequently asked questions in "rapid fire" fashion – from hating your best friend's signific...
ListenEpisodes We Love: May-December Romances from 2018-10-27T06:00
Age is just a number in many contexts, but when it comes to finding long-lasting love, an age gap between partners can greatly impact the course of the relationship — both in positive and challe...
ListenEpisodes We Love: I Divorced My Spouse, And My Child Divorced Me from 2018-10-20T06:00
Divorce is always a painful process, but it's especially so when there are children in the middle. This week, the Sugars discuss situations of parental alienation caused by divorce. They answer ...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Make The Call from 2018-10-13T06:00
The Sugars bring you another "rapid fire" episode, where they give brief answers to a handful of letters. This time, they challenge each other to make the call — one way or the other — on the qu...
ListenEpisodes We Love: How Do I Find The Courage To Be My Own Guide? from 2018-09-29T06:00
The Sugars often discuss letters dealing with very specific problems or struggles. This week, they take on a broader, more existential question -- how to follow your heart. The Sugars discuss wi...
ListenEpisodes We Love: I'm A Transgender Man, Seeking Acceptance from 2018-09-22T06:00
The Sugars read the letters of two transgender men who are struggling to find love and acceptance. They discuss with Cooper Lee Bombardier, a visual artist, writer and transgender man.
ListenDear Sugars Presents: Last Seen from 2018-09-18T06:00
From our partners at WBUR, a new podcast that looks into the greatest unsolved art heist in history: the theft of half a billion dollars worth of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in ...
ListenEpisodes We Love: Can A Sexual Assault Survivor Love A Rapist? from 2018-09-15T06:00
The Sugars discuss a letter from a survivor of sexual assault who has just been told by her long-time partner that he raped someone when he was in high school. The writer wonders how she, as a s...
ListenMoving On, Part 2 — With Dr. Harriet Lerner from 2018-08-25T06:00
In this second part of our series on moving on, the Sugars discuss how we can release ourselves from our past mistakes. Dr. Harriet Lerner drops in to answer a letter from a woman who calls hers...
ListenTalking About Privilege — With Catrice M. Jackson from 2018-08-11T06:00
Privilege comes in many forms: socio-economic privilege, gender privilege, heterosexual privilege, to name a few. In this episode, the Sugars reply to two letter writers who are facing different...
ListenMoving On, Part 1 — With Claire Bidwell Smith from 2018-08-08T06:00
As our final season draws to a close, the Sugars have been thinking about what it means to say goodbye and let go. In this first episode of our two-part series on moving on, the Sugars and Clair...
ListenEmotional Abuse — With Reema Zaman from 2018-08-04T06:00
He removed her makeup when he thought she was wearing too much. He refused to put her name on the leases for their car and their house. He told her that she had a green card only because he chos...
ListenDear Sugars Live: The Great Reckoning from 2018-07-28T06:00
Dear Sugars returns to Portland, Oregon, for another epic live show. Special guests Mitchell S. Jackson and Rebecca Skloot share the stage with the Sugars to tell stories of personal reckoning, ...
ListenRapid Fire: Love & Money from 2018-07-21T06:00
When it comes to love, money is supposed to be no object. But there’s no disentangling love from anything in our lives, and income is no exception. So how do you assess the role money should pla...
ListenYoung & Isolated — With Shirley Manson from 2018-07-14T06:00
Feeling like an outsider is one of the hallmarks of adolescence. But in today’s episode, we hear from two 16-year-olds who have cause to feel especially isolated. One girl is home-schooled and s...
ListenWho's Your Daddy? — With Steve Lickteig from 2018-06-16T06:00
When Steve Lickteig turned 18, he learned that his mother and father, who he thought were his adoptive parents, are in fact his biological grandparents. With the advent of affordable DNA testing...
ListenTrust Your Body — With Hilary Kinavey & Dana Sturtevant from 2018-06-09T06:00
“It’s only when my pants are nearly impossible to button that I force myself to lose weight,” writes the letter-writer who calls herself Body Negative. “And then the pattern starts all over agai...
ListenRapid Fire: There's Just One Thing from 2018-05-26T06:00
In this "rapid fire" episode, the Sugars read letters from four women who each have one not-so-tiny reservation about the men they’re dating. A black woman is dating a white man who is unwilling...
ListenSex & Aging — With Dr. Pepper Schwartz from 2018-05-19T06:00
The erotic lives of senior citizens are typically made invisible by our culture, which can lead to confusion and misinformation. Dr. Pepper Schwartz, the love and relationship columnist for AARP...
ListenRage Is A Red Lesson from 2018-05-12T06:00
Shortly after the birth of her first child, a letter-writer who calls herself “Tantrum Daughter” lost her mother to suicide. Now, with a second child on the way, Tantrum Daughter is overcome wit...
ListenEmotional Labor: The Invisible Work (Most) Women Do from 2018-05-05T06:00
Remembering the grocery list, coordinating with the babysitter, making food for the potluck, scheduling a get-together with the in-laws: These are some of the invisible tasks that (most) women e...
ListenThe Stepchild's Dilemma — With Theo Pauline Nestor from 2018-04-28T06:00
Whether you’re 5, 15, or 50 years old, it can be difficult to usher a stepparent in and out of the family unit. In today’s episode, the Sugars answer letters from stepchildren who have fraught r...
ListenI'm In Love With My Abuser — With Esta Soler from 2018-04-21T06:00
For the first time on the podcast, the Sugars answer a voice mail message from the Dear Sugars hotline. The message comes from a woman who reunited with her ex-boyfriend, who once assaulted her....
ListenBuyer's Remorse — With Buzz Bissinger from 2018-04-14T06:00
Buzz Bissinger owns more than 100 pairs of leather pants and over 200 pairs of leather gloves, having spent more than $600,000 on leather goods in the span of three years. Mr. Bissinger has a sp...
ListenDear Sugars Live: A Night Of Bad Stories from 2018-04-07T06:00
Dear Sugars returns to Portland, Oregon, for another raucous and uplifting live show. The Sugars get a surprising update from a letter writer from their past; discuss a new letter with a special...
ListenRapid Fire: Lovers & Friends from 2018-03-31T06:00
In this rapid-fire episode, the Sugars weigh in on jealousy -- when is it justified, and how can it be confronted or neutralized?
ListenConsent, Part 3: Working In The Gray from 2018-03-24T06:00
In the final episode in our series on sexual consent, the Sugars discuss what happens when non-consensual sexual attention moves from the private to the public realm.
ListenConsent, Part 2: Stuck In The Gray from 2018-03-17T06:00
In the second episode in our series on sexual consent, the Sugars dive deeper into encounters that are neither clearly consensual nor non-consensual.
ListenConsent Part 1: Into The Gray — With Jaclyn Friedman from 2018-03-10T06:00
In the midst of the #MeToo Movement, women and men all over the country are re-examining sexual encounters from their past. Over the course of a three-part series on consent, the Sugars answer l...
ListenFamily By Proxy — With Jessie Glenn from 2018-02-10T06:00
When a family experiences loss, familial roles are often redefined. In this episode, the Sugars answer letters from people who are unexpectedly charged with caring for new family members.
ListenUpdates Part 2: Step Into Your Spotlight from 2018-02-04T10:54
In part two of our updates series, we find out what happened to two letter writers who let self-image sabotage their love lives. The Sugars find out if “Scared to Choose Wrong” married her fianc...
ListenUpdates Part 1: Change Is A Work In Progress from 2018-01-27T06:00
In today’s update episode, we check in with some of our most memorable letter writers from previous episodes. The Sugars find out if “Struggling” was kicked out of his mother’s house, and they g...
ListenDark Fantasies Part 2 — With Dr. Ian Kerner from 2018-01-20T06:00
In part two of our Dark Fantasies series, Dr. Ian Kerner returns to help the Sugars answer questions about where our central ideas about sex and eroticism come from, and delve deeper into the w...
ListenDark Fantasies, Part 1 — With Dr. Ian Kerner from 2018-01-13T06:00
Orgies. Sex in public. Incest. These are the things that some of us think about in the dark. Taboo fantasies can be exciting, but they can also be the source of our deepest shame. In this two-pa...
ListenCutting The Financial Cord — With Dr. Kate Gale from 2017-12-23T06:00
At age 18, we are granted the rights and responsibilities of adulthood in the eyes of the law. But for parents of young adults, it’s not so clear cut. When is the right time to wean your childre...
ListenThe Ugly Truth from 2017-12-16T06:00
Most of us have days when we don’t feel attractive. But in this episode, the Sugars read letters from people whose faces are at odds with conventional ideas of beauty. The writer Ariel Henley jo...
ListenJust Say It from 2017-12-09T06:00
Words can be wielded like weapons. On today’s episode, the Sugars hear from people who have something to confess but are afraid to hurt others with the power of their words.
ListenA Spy In The House Of Love — With Ariel Levy from 2017-12-02T06:00
Snooping on your spouse is generally ill-advised, but what if he or she has an addiction and is constantly lying about it? The Sugars and writer Ariel Levy answer this question on today’s episod...
ListenThe Double Bind of Female Ambition — With Hillary Clinton from 2017-11-18T06:00
The Sugars are joined by Hillary Clinton to answer a letter about female ambition.
ListenThe Empty Chair: Part 2 — With Emily Rapp Black from 2017-11-11T06:00
The Sugars conclude a two-part series on early childhood death. In Part 2, they read letters from parents who worry that their grief may overshadow their surviving children. They are joined by t...
ListenThe Empty Chair: Part 1 — With Jessica Handler from 2017-11-04T06:00
The Sugars begin a two-part series on early childhood death. In Part 1, they read letters from siblings who live in the the shadow of their parents’ grief. They're joined by the writer Jessica H...
ListenThe Other Half Of Sexless Relationships from 2017-10-28T06:00
In this episode, the Sugars answer letters from letter writers who want to have sex less frequently than their partners do.
ListenYou Must Change Your Life — With Mitchell S. Jackson from 2017-10-21T06:00
In this episode, the Sugars talk to writer Mitchell S. Jackson, who started selling drugs when he was 14 years old and went to prison for drug possession years later. “There was no way for me to...
ListenWhen Friendship Ends from 2017-09-30T06:00
Friendships are different from any other type of relationship in our lives. They are purely voluntary, which can make them feel more tenuous. In this episode, the Sugars take questions from two ...
ListenSexless Relationships, Part 2: Esther Perel from 2017-09-16T06:00
The Sugars are joined by the therapist Esther Perel to discuss a letter from a husband who is in a sexless marriage and is looking for a way to help his wife heal from trauma.
ListenSexless Relationships, Part 1: Esther Perel from 2017-09-09T06:00
A sexless relationship is often a symptom of deeper dysfunction. The Sugars, along with couples therapist Esther Perel, advise a letter writer whose loving partner is erotically absent.
ListenIn The Shadow Of Damaged Parents — With Dr. Richard Almond from 2017-09-02T06:00
A damaged parent can cast a dark shadow over our lives, especially when we inherit some of that damage. Steve’s father, the psychoanalyst Dr. Richard Almond, joins the Sugars to answer letters a...
ListenPet Dilemmas — With Julie Barton from 2017-08-26T06:00
This week, adventures in animal ownership! The Sugars, along with Julie Barton -- author of the memoir "Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me From Myself" -- answer letters about pet dilemmas and th...
ListenBody Weight And Romance — With Ashley C. Ford from 2017-08-19T06:00
It’s never easy to talk to our romantic partners about their bodies, especially when it’s about weight. The Sugars, along with the writer Ashley C. Ford, answer letters from people questioning t...
ListenShould I Intervene? — With Meghan Daum from 2017-08-12T09:10
When we decide to meddle, it can often backfire. The Sugars, along with the writer Meghan Daum, answer letters from people who see loved ones heading down the wrong path, but worry intervention ...
ListenThe Price Of Our Dreams — With George Saunders from 2017-08-05T06:00
The Sugars, along with the fiction writer George Saunders, field letters from people who are chasing their creative dreams but frightened by the practical and financial risks that come with that...
ListenRapid Fire: Summer 2017 Edition from 2017-07-29T06:00
In a heated moment, a mother reveals a dark chapter from her childhood to her daughter, then immediately regrets it. What now? In this week’s episode, the Sugars tackle this and several other qu...
ListenThe Power Of No, Part 2: Oprah Winfrey from 2017-07-22T06:00
"What do I want?" This is the question Oprah Winfrey finally asked herself, after years of struggling to say "no" to people in her life. In the second of this two-part series, the Sugars continu...
ListenThe Power Of No, Part 1: Oprah Winfrey from 2017-07-15T06:00
There’s incredible power in saying “yes.” It opens up avenues and allows us to be brave. In Cheryl's case, it’s what led to her becoming Sugar. But saying yes to life's opportunities can also ha...
ListenRapid Fire: A Wealthy Sister, An Impatient Girlfriend, An Unshakable Love from 2017-07-08T06:00
The Sugars are back for another batch of rapid-fire questions and answers. In this round, the Sugars take on six questions, ranging from a letter writer who is jealous of her sister's wealth, to...
ListenAm I Too Young To Get Married? from 2017-06-10T06:00
In this short episode, the Sugars take a question from a 23 year-old woman who is engaged to the man she's been dating since she was 19. As a child of divorced parents who married young, the let...
ListenFormer Hellraisers from 2017-06-06T14:31
Every child has wondered of their parent: What were you like when you were my age? Who were you before I was here? And every parent has to decide how honestly to answer those questions. The Suga...
ListenThe Infidelity Episodes, Part 4: The Other Woman from 2017-05-23T15:34:23
In our Infidelity series thus far, we've heard from the cheaters, from those who have been cheated on, and from a psychotherapist and expert on the topic. In this final installment, the Sugars f...
ListenThe Infidelity Episodes, Part 3: Esther Perel from 2017-05-16T08:27:55
The Sugars' exploration of infidelity continues with a conversation with Esther Perel, a relationship therapist with extensive insight and expertise on the subject. What qualifies as infidelity?...
ListenThe Infidelity Episodes, Part 2: The Betrayers from 2017-05-10T13:16:16
The Sugars continue their exploration of infidelity by hearing from people who have betrayed their partners. They discuss a letter from a desperate wife, whose husband gave her a second chance a...
ListenThe Infidelity Episodes, Part 1: The Betrayed from 2017-05-04T18:05:22
The Sugars will be spending the next couple of months working on new episodes. During the month of May, by popular demand, we're listening back to our 4-part series on Infidelity, beginning this...
ListenDear Dad, It's Over from 2017-04-20T16:22:29
We can't choose our parents, but we can choose whether or not to have a relationship with them. This week, the Sugars discuss parental estrangement. It's a follow-up to a conversation the Sugars...
ListenCareer Vs. Love from 2017-04-13T11:02:15
You love your partner, you love your career... but they're pulling you in different directions. What do you do? Is it foolish to put your career on hold for the sake of your relationship? Or is ...
ListenRapid Fire: Inbox Outliers from 2017-04-05T10:58:53
Infidelity. In-Laws. Friendship. These are just a few of the categories that help keep the Dear Sugar inbox organized. But every once in a while, we get a letter that doesn't fit neatly into any...
ListenBaby Or Bust from 2017-03-22T13:38:24
You wants kids; your partner doesn't. Or your partner wants kids, and you don't. Whatever the scenario, few subjects are as emotionally charged and potentially deal-breaking in a relationship as...
ListenHaunted By Ghosting from 2017-03-16T11:46:31
The term "ghosting" may be relatively new, but the concept -- someone suddenly and inexplicably disappearing from your life -- is not. In the past, a total halt to communication with a friend mi...
ListenLocation, Location, Location from 2017-03-09T15:22:24
Location, location, location. It makes all the difference in real estate, and it can make all the difference to one's happiness. But finding a place that really feels like home can be tricky. Ho...
ListenSexual Fluidity from 2017-02-28T16:28:56
"Whatever" -- that's how the actress Maria Bello describes her sexual orientation. Her "love who you love" attitude toward sexuality, regardless of gender, is often referred to as fluidity. Mari...
ListenHappy Two Years Of Sugar, Part 2 from 2017-02-09T12:34:38
It's part 2 of "the year in Sugar," where Steve and Cheryl reflect on some of the most memorable letters and episodes of 2016. Plus, the letter-writer who called herself "Out of Ideas" in last y...
ListenHappy Two Years Of Sugar, Part 1 from 2017-02-02T16:27:52
The Sugars look back on some of the most memorable letters and episodes of 2016. There are so many that they'll be doing this in two parts. This week, they discuss the feedback they received on ...
ListenDear Sugar Radio Live: The Writers Resist, Part 2 from 2017-01-25T14:09:40
The Sugars return for Part 2 of "Dear Sugar Radio: The Writers Resist" at The Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon. They discuss how to counteract post-election cynicism with Zahir Janmohamed, wr...
ListenDear Sugar Radio Live: The Writers Resist, Part 1 from 2017-01-20T02:26:20
On November 9th, 2016 -- the day after Donald Trump became America's President-elect -- the Dear Sugar inbox was flooded with emails asking some version of the question, "How do we move forward ...
ListenRapid Fire: Love In Doubt from 2017-01-05T18:30:54
How many times have you heard this: "I love him, we're great together, but..."? There's always room for doubt, even in the happiest of relationships. So this week, the Sugars take on some of tho...
ListenPorn, Part 2: The Dark Side from 2016-12-15T17:34:20
The Sugars continue their series on porn with a letter from a woman whose fiancé is "addicted" to porn. They discuss with Noah Church, a self-described former porn addict and author of the book ...
ListenPorn, Part 1: Is It Wrong? from 2016-12-01T15:27:37
Pornography is more abundant and accessible than ever before. So it probably isn't surprising that it appears to be having a greater impact on romantic relationships. This week, the Sugars begin...
ListenDear Sugar: What About The Stepchildren? from 2016-11-17T13:02:39
When the Sugars answered a letter from a woman who felt trapped in the role of "wicked stepmother," dozens of listeners wrote in asking the same question: what about the stepchildren, who have n...
ListenWhen Your Loved Ones Just Don't 'Get It' from 2016-11-10T18:27:08
Our loved ones are the people who are supposed to understand us. But what if they just...can't? Where do we turn then, and how do we fight the feelings of resentment that this lack of understand...
ListenRapid Fire: Friendship, Part 2 - Male-Female Friendships from 2016-11-04T05:27:15
The Sugars' conversation on friendship continues with a handful of letters concerning male-female friendships. Is there such a thing as a platonic relationship between a heterosexual man and wom...
ListenRapid Fire: Friendship, Part 1 - FAQs from 2016-10-27T16:34:31
Everyone has had a friendship quandary of some sort in the past, right? This week, the Sugars take on frequently asked questions in "rapid fire" fashion – from hating your best friend's signific...
ListenMay-December Romances from 2016-10-18T14:38:53
Age is just a number in many contexts, but when it comes to finding long-lasting love, an age gap between partners can greatly impact the course of the relationship -- both in positive and chall...
ListenDear Sugar: I Divorced My Spouse, And My Child Divorced Me from 2016-10-13T17:47:03
Divorce is always a painful process, but it's especially so when there are children in the middle. This week, the Sugars discuss situations of parental alienation caused by divorce. They answer ...
ListenRapid Fire: Make The Call from 2016-09-29T21:24:21
The Sugars bring you another "rapid fire" episode, where they give brief answers to a handful of letters. This time, they challenge each other to make the call -- one way or the other -- on the ...
ListenDear Sugar: How Do I Find The Courage To Be My Own Guide? from 2016-09-22T14:04:29
The Sugars often discuss letters dealing with very specific problems or struggles. This week, they take on a broader, more existential question -- how to follow your heart. The Sugars discuss wi...
ListenThe Long Goodbye from 2016-09-15T16:57:18
It's never easy saying goodbye to our loved ones, but it can be especially painful when a goodbye is drawn out by illness. This week, the Sugars answer two letters dealing with the guilt and hea...
ListenRapid Fire: Should I Stay Or Go? from 2016-09-08T16:59:15
The Sugars bring you another "Rapid Fire" episode, where they give brief answers to a handful of letters that are all centered around a theme. The theme for this episode is "stay or go" -- peopl...
ListenDear Sugar: I'm A Transgender Man, Seeking Acceptance from 2016-09-01T20:29:43
The Sugars read the letters of two transgender men who are struggling to find love and acceptance. They discuss with Cooper Lee Bombardier, a visual artist, writer and transgender man.
Listen'Totally Confused' Finds A Resolution from 2016-08-25T16:05:51
The Sugars get an update from a 62-year-old, divorced woman who was considering a reconciliation with her ex-husband, even after years of unhappiness inside their marriage. The situation was fur...
ListenDoes 'The Wicked Stepmother' Still Feel Wicked? from 2016-08-18T18:58:50
The Sugars revisit a letter from a woman who felt like a fairytale-esque wicked stepmother. When she wrote to the Sugars, she was feeling pressured to love her stepchildren "like her own," but s...
ListenAn Update From 'Head Or The Heart' from 2016-08-11T16:41:02
The Sugars get an update from "Head or the Heart" -- a woman who'd fallen in love with a man with a troubled childhood. She worried that the traumas of his past could surface at some point in th...
ListenAn Update From 'Two Truths And Many Lies' from 2016-08-04T20:17:02
The Sugars catch up with "Two Truths and Many Lies," whose letter about her husband's infidelity generated significant interest and advice from our listeners. Did she stay with her husband or wa...
ListenCan A Sexual Assault Survivor Love A Rapist? from 2016-07-28T16:16:45
The Sugars discuss a letter from a survivor of sexual assault who has just been told by her long-time partner that he raped someone when he was in high school. The writer wonders how she, as a s...
ListenDear Sugar Live In Portland: Part 2 from 2016-07-20T20:19:45
The Sugars record the show in front of a live audience at Revolution Hall in Portland, OR. In Part 2, they take on alcohol addiction with Sarah Hepola, author of the memoir, "Blackout: Rememberi...
ListenDear Sugar Live In Portland: Part 1 from 2016-07-13T16:11:30
The Sugars record the show in front of a live audience at Revolution Hall in Portland, OR. In Part 1, they talk reinvention with the writer Lidia Yuknavitch, asking: "How can we treat our mistak...
ListenFamily Secrets, Part 2: Truths Revealed from 2016-07-02T03:17:41
In Part 2, the Sugars turn from the holding of a secret to its discovery. What happens within a family when a secret is revealed? They take a letter from a woman who is reeling after learning th...
ListenFamily Secrets, Part 1: Unspeakable Truths from 2016-06-24T19:46:07
Every family has its secrets, but it's how those secrets are dealt with that determines the power they hold. In Part 1, the Sugars consider the implications of keeping a secret within a family s...
ListenWedding Drama, Part 2: The Big Day from 2016-06-10T17:59:34
Most of the questions the Sugars receive about weddings are about the drama that precedes them — the expectations in the build up to the big day. But that doesn't mean Wedding Day is drama-free....
ListenWedding Drama, Part 1: Great Expectations from 2016-06-04T04:18:29
It's wedding season, and the Sugars have been getting all kinds of letters that reflect the anxiety and expectation that accompany preparations for the big day. They take on all forms of wedding...
ListenDear Sugar: I'm Falling For My Ex-Husband from 2016-05-28T20:36:27
The Sugars take a letter from a 62-year-old divorced woman who is shocked to find herself considering a reconciliation with her ex-husband, after years of unhappiness inside the marriage. The si...
ListenWhen Politics Is Personal: Romantic Partners from 2016-05-20T19:28:27
The Sugars wonder if romantic relationships can survive profound political differences. They take a question from a young woman who prides herself on being a strong feminist, and worries her boy...
ListenWhen Politics Is Personal: Friends & Family from 2016-05-14T14:28:28
It's election season, and while politics may not seem like the domain of Dear Sugar Radio, it can become deeply personal. In Part 1, the Sugars look at how politics can get in between our relati...
ListenThe Inevitable Guilt Of Motherhood from 2016-05-07T00:04:28
Being a mother means feeling conflicted in some way about the balance between raising one's children and the rest of life. The Sugars take two letters from women in the midst of such conflicts—o...
ListenThe Infidelity Episodes: The Other Woman from 2016-04-25T04:04:27
The Sugars return with another installment in the Infidelity Episodes — looking at the often-overlooked experience of the other woman. After the Sugars had taken on the Betrayed and the Betrayer...
ListenThe Irrational Jealousy Of Lovers And Friends from 2016-04-16T05:00:28
The Sugars take on jealousy — the fiery, irrational kind we feel toward our lovers and friends. They read a letter from a woman struggling with her competitive instincts toward an attractive new...
ListenLetter From A Closeted Atheist from 2016-04-08T17:48:27
The Sugars take a letter from a young woman who was raised in a deeply Christian household. As she has grown older, her beliefs and values have become increasingly at odds with those of her pare...
ListenFriends With Benefits, Foursomes And Other Messy Relationships from 2016-04-01T21:06:27
What if the man you love wants to break up but keep hooking up? What if he wants to see other people? How should you handle your jealousy toward a long-distance lover's friend of the opposite se...
ListenThe Tale Of The Wicked Stepmother from 2016-03-27T14:40:27
There's a long tradition in fairy tales of the wicked stepmother. And the archetype endures in contemporary life. The Sugars take on two real-life versions of the tale — a mother whose ex-husban...
ListenThe Secret Lives Of Lovers from 2016-03-19T02:24:28
The Sugars take a question from a newly married woman who is facing a nightmare — the man of her dreams has turned out to be someone else entirely. They are joined by the writer Julie Metz, who ...
ListenThe Past Is Present from 2016-03-12T00:06:29
Are we doomed to repeat the patterns of our childhood? The Sugars hear from the child of two alcoholics, who cannot tolerate her new boyfriend's drinking; from a young woman whose partner is rem...
ListenGrief And Jealousy Collide After An Ex's Death from 2016-03-05T02:30:29
The Sugars receive a pained letter from a young woman whose ex-boyfriend was recently murdered in an altercation at a bar. His death came not long after she had cut off communication in an effor...
ListenPowerful Women And The Men Who Love Them from 2016-02-27T02:54:27
In this episode, the Sugars take two questions on the dynamics of gender, power, and love — one from a man and one from a woman. A young man struggles with jealousy when his girlfriend gets a ca...
ListenThe Allure Of The Forbidden Crush from 2016-02-13T06:54:27
The Sugars look at one especially painful form of love: the crush. They take questions from two letter writers struggling with illicit love interests — one from a career-oriented woman who finds...
ListenRapid Fire: A Wealthy Sister, An Impatient Girlfriend, An Unshakeable Love from 2016-02-06T04:16:27
The Sugars are back for another batch of shorter questions and answers. They take on six quick questions, ranging from a letter writer who is jealous of her sister's wealth to a young woman who ...
ListenLooking For The One, Part 3: Reimagining Spinster from 2016-01-30T00:10:29
The Sugars consider the way forward for their single letter writers. For many of the women they hear from, finding "the one" has become the all-consuming focus of their lives. The anxiety and th...
ListenLooking For The One, Part 2: The Reality from 2016-01-22T21:32:27
The Sugars have been avoiding the most frequently asked question they receive from women: Will I ever find the one? In the first episode, they explored the anxieties around that question. In Par...
ListenLooking For The One, Part 1: The Anxiety from 2016-01-16T04:24:28
The Sugars have been avoiding the most frequently asked question they receive: Will I ever find the one? In this first episode on the theme, the Sugars explore the anxieties of the women who wri...
ListenHappy One Year Of Sugar from 2016-01-09T10:00:29
The Sugars look back at some of the most memorable letters of 2015. They check back in on a young gay man who was agonizing over whether to come out to his homophobic family, and a new mother wh...
ListenDear Sugar: Back To The Beginning from 2016-01-02T18:22:27
The Sugars often tell advice seekers: You have to go back to the beginning to get to the bottom of it. So, as 2016 begins, to mark the first year of Dear Sugar Radio, we're revisiting the pilot ...
ListenSugar For The Holidays from 2015-12-20T16:06:27
The Sugars take on some of the big questions of the holiday season. How do we balance the competing demands of families? How do we act like adults when we return to our childhood homes? And, wha...
ListenMoms Who Hate Motherhood from 2015-12-12T01:42:27
Motherhood has a near-sacred status in our society. If we dare speak negatively about it, it's only to say: "Motherhood is hard, but it's worth it." But for some mothers, it isn't. In this episo...
ListenThe Weight Of Love from 2015-12-05T01:18:28
The Sugars explore the fraught relationship between body image and romance. In one letter, a married woman reconsiders her priorities after losing 100 pounds. In another, a young man wants his g...
ListenThe Deal Killer from 2015-11-27T23:16:27
The Sugars are taking Thanksgiving weekend off. We'll be back next week with a new episode. This week, we revisit an earlier episode — The Deal Killer.
ListenDear Sugar: Live In Cambridge from 2015-11-21T02:34:27
The Sugars record the show in front of a live audience at First Parish Church in Harvard Square. Taped on the occasion of Cheryl's new book of quotes, Brave Enough, the Sugars discuss the import...
ListenLetter From An Aching Single Father from 2015-11-15T02:36:29
The Sugars take a question from a single father who's just dropped his oldest son off at college. He is seized by feelings of guilt — that his attention was often elsewhere, that he didn't do en...
ListenDear Sugar: Do I Follow My Head Or My Heart? from 2015-11-07T01:36:28
The Sugars get a letter from a young woman who has fallen head over heels in love. She and her boyfriend only met a month ago, but they are already in deep. Everything seems perfect, and yet the...
ListenSibling Rivalry from 2015-10-31T01:28:28
The Sugars take on sibling rivalry. The mother of an only child wonders if she should have another but fears cruelty and conflict between the siblings. And a young man is caught between his pare...
ListenDear Sugar: Is My Husband's Pot Habit A Problem? from 2015-10-23T20:00:28
If someone smokes pot multiple times a day, but is still a highly functional partner, parent, and worker — is there a problem? That's the question to the Sugars from a letter writer whose husban...
ListenAn Experiment In Radical Brevity from 2015-10-16T22:10:28
The Sugars try something new — answering more questions, more quickly. While they always give their hearts and souls to the letters they receive, some questions are just a little more straightfo...
ListenWhen Bad Things Happen from 2015-10-02T21:48:28
The Sugars grapple with a difficult question — how do we make sense of the fact that very bad things can happen to people who have done nothing wrong? They take letters from a visual artist who ...
ListenThe Infidelity Episodes: Esther Perel from 2015-09-26T21:34:28
The Sugars exploration of infidelity culminates in Part 3, a conversation with Esther Perel. The relationship therapist is focusing her attention on the subject of infidelity - what it is, why w...
ListenThe Infidelity Episodes: The Betrayers from 2015-09-18T19:52:31
The Sugars exploration of infidelity continues with Part 2: The Betrayers. They take letters from a desperate wife, whose husband gave her a second chance after an emotional infidelity, only for...
ListenThe Infidelity Episodes: The Betrayed from 2015-09-11T21:10:28
The first in a multi-part exploration of infidelity. In Part 1, the Sugars consider letters from the Betrayed; in Part 2, they'll consider the Betrayers. They're also joined by the writer and pe...
ListenDear Sugar: How Do I Survive The Critics? from 2015-09-04T19:12:28
Dear Sugar Radio is taking off Labor Day 2015 weekend. We'll be back next week with new episodes. In the meantime, we're reposting this episode from March 2015, "How Do I Survive The Critics?" w...
ListenWhen Life Takes A U-Turn from 2015-08-28T20:52:28
There are those moments in all of our lives — sudden and radical — when we get spun around and everything feels out of our control. The Sugars take questions from two letter writers who have com...
ListenThe Unmothered Mother from 2015-08-21T23:16:28
The Sugars take a question from the mother of young twins. Her own mother left when she was two years old, and her stepmother was a controlling and manipulative presence in her life. The letter ...
ListenDear Sugar: Do I Wait For My Ex? from 2015-08-14T22:28:28
In this episode, the Sugars take a question from a young woman whose boyfriend recently broke up with her because of questions about his sexuality. The letter writer is heartbroken and confused ...
ListenSocial Butterfly In Love With A Hermit Crab from 2015-08-07T19:36:29
The Sugars take a question from a young woman who takes great pleasure in socializing. Her fiance, on the other hand, dreads group settings and gets very agitated every time she wants to go to a...
ListenLetters From Teenagers from 2015-07-31T22:06:28
In this episode, the Sugars take questions exclusively from teenagers. They answer two letters that get at the universal themes of adolescence — the sense of being alone, the fear of being left ...
ListenDear Sugar: Do I Tell My Mom I'm Gay? from 2015-07-24T15:30:27
The Sugars take a question from a young man whose mother has metastatic breast cancer. He is spending a month back home in Kentucky over the summer, then returning to graduate school in the fall...
ListenLove In The Digital Age from 2015-07-19T22:34:27
Love is complicated in the digital age. Many of us go online in search of connection, but those interactions often leave us feeling profoundly disconnected. The Sugars take on two questions that...
ListenMy Best Friend's Wedding from 2015-07-11T09:46:28
The Sugars take a question from a young woman whose best friend since childhood is about to get married to a man she's known for only six months. The two friends are very different, and the lett...
ListenDear Sugar: I'm An Undocumented Immigrant from 2015-07-08T11:48:27
In this episode, the Sugars take a question from a young woman who came to the United States as an 11-year-old undocumented immigrant. After years of uncertainty and limbo, she is now poised to ...
ListenDear Sugar: How Do I Stop Lying? from 2015-06-29T04:22:30
The Sugars take on a letter from a young woman who is a habitual liar — telling her friends about imagined experiences of rape and loss. The lying always seems to happen at a moment of emotional...
ListenHow Do We Forgive Our Fathers? from 2015-06-23T18:30:27
We all know the narrative of the good father. That's the father we all want, but it's not the father we all got. The Sugars take two questions on fatherhood — from a new father who fears that hi...
ListenMore Money, More Problems from 2015-06-13T06:40:30
Money makes us crazy. In this episode, the Sugars take questions from two letter writers struggling with complicated relationships to money. The first, an aspiring playwright, feels guilty about...
ListenDear Sugar: Am I Too Young To Get Married? from 2015-06-03T04:16:27
In this short episode, the Sugars take a question from a young woman who is engaged to the man she's been with since she was 19. As a child of divorce, whose parents were married young, the lett...
ListenThe Wounded Child Within from 2015-05-24T04:28:27
Are we ever able to fully let go of our past? The Sugars address a letter writer grappling with that essential question. At 68 years old, she is troubled to recognize that her life is still being i...
ListenThe Land Of The In-Law from 2015-05-19T03:10:30
Entering into another family is like entering into another culture — with its own codes, expectations, and set of rules. Naturally, it's a situation ripe for conflict and contention. The Sugars fie...
ListenDear Sugar: I'm Sleeping With Younger Men from 2015-05-10T01:00:29
The Sugars take a question from a woman in her forties who lives a second life. She is known as a professional, PTA-going mom — but she's secretly sleeping with significantly younger men. She's beg...
ListenWhen Friendships End from 2015-05-02T23:18:28
Friendships are different from any other type of relationship in our lives. They are purely voluntary, and so can feel more tenuous. Do you tell a friend if you are unhappy with the relationship, o...
ListenFormer Hellraisers (Should We Share Our Past With Our Children?) from 2015-04-25T21:16:28
The Sugars respond to a letter from a woman whose teenage son has discovered her high-school yearbook — filled with stories of bad behavior from her past life. In answering the letter, the Sugars a...
ListenDear Sugar: I'm Bad At Breaking Up from 2015-04-11T19:54:28
In this short episode, the Sugars take a question from a young man whose ex-girlfriends have felt blindsided when he ended the relationships. He is questioning his intuition - having ended the rela...
ListenBig Love (Polyamory And Its Discontents) from 2015-04-05T03:16:30
The Sugars field questions from two letter writers in polyamorous relationships, facing two very different challenges. One woman is feeling guilty that she is taking more advantage of the arrangeme...
ListenDear Sugar: My Brother Is Too Affectionate With His Boyfriend from 2015-03-28T16:30:30
The Sugars take a question from a woman whose brother has recently come out to the family. He and his boyfriend sit on each other's laps and kiss in front of the family - which bothers the letter w...
ListenThe Hidden Worlds Of Guilt And Shame from 2015-03-21T05:40:28
Many of us spend huge amounts of our emotional resources hiding the things we feel guilty or ashamed about. In this episode, the Sugars field questions from two letter writers beginning to acknowle...
ListenThe Family We Carry from 2015-02-28T20:40:27
The Sugars field questions from a new mother who walked in on her alcoholic father relapsing in her home, and from a woman grappling with how to be childless in a society in which parenthood is so ...
ListenMaking Love from 2015-02-13T23:52:28
The Sugars celebrate Valentine's Day by fielding questions from a married woman whose long-dormant passions have been reignited by an old high-school boyfriend, and from a young woman struggling wi...
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