Podcasts by Tiny Victories

The Jazzgasm from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.174549

**Content Warning: If you are sensitive to bragging and/or indifference to The Lord of The Rings movies, listen with caution.**

In this week’s episode, Laura House brings ...

Psst! Gossip Is Good Now from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.173722

This week we hear from Maggie Rowe, a listener who called the Tiny Victory Hotline with a story about an old word that gave her a new perspective on a much-maligned habit. Also, there’s some hot go...

Rage Against the Machine...That Dirty Dishes Go In from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.100661

This week Annabelle tells us about a novel way that she–and lots of women–have dealt with rage in the time of COVID. It involves a tire iron and protective gear. And it turns out that Laura has als...

The Dirty Little Secret of Car Repairs from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.097028

Our first episode of 2021 will inspire you. If you find New Year’s Resolutions pointless and doomed to fail, Annabelle and Laura share a tinier approach to kicking the year off. Listener Heather G...

Effing Neighbors from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.093735

We all strive to be civilized human beings, and if it weren’t for our neighbors, it wouldn’t be so challenging. This week, we’ve got three tales of difficult neighbors who redeemed themselves. Joan...

Annabelle’s Church of Ukulele from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.092884

One silver lining of the pandemic is that people who might otherwise be too busy to try new things, now find themselves with lots of free time. Millions of quarantining people took up gardening, or...

The Most Thoughtful Care Package Ever from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.087162

This week we hear victories about friendship and community from callers Sarah and Wendy. In our first call, Sarah tells us about how worried she was to move to the town of Idyllwild, CA in the duri...

House Becomes Homeowner from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.079491

Sure, on the surface becoming a homeowner is a major victory. And it is, sort of. The IDEA of becoming a homeowner can be daunting. But as Laura Homeowner, née House, explains, it’s really a collec...

Julia Sweeney’s Pandemic Victory from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.076097

It’s week one of MaxFunDrive! To honor this auspicious occasion, Laura and Annabelle decided to bring a guest on the show to share their victory in real time! And this being MFD 2021, the guest nee...

We’re All Screwing Up...Together from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.071889

This week, we return again to stories of our post-quarantine stumbles. Just one week after Annabelle spoke about missing two flights in two days, Tiny Victories producer Swish almost followed in An...

We Quit! from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.068223

It’s estimated that Jeff Bezos earns $13 million an hour, whereas the the average Amazon warehouse worker earns $15 an hour…and sometimes has to pee in a cup. Is it any wonder workers are quitting?...

Side Effects May Include Art Theft from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.064643

No matter how many ads for pharmaceuticals you may have seen, nor possible side effects you’ve heard listed at the end of these ads, nothing will prepare you for the side effect Annabelle experienc...

Ridiculous Gifts That Keep on Giving from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.063846

This week’s topic are those gifts that keep on giving. Laura House tells us about two ridiculous gifts she would never buy for herself, that her brother got for her. One of those gifts was a set of...

The Inception Episode from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.060454

Do you ever get recurring stress dreams? Annabelle’s been bedeviled by a particular dream for the past twenty years where she’s living in the same studio apartment from another lifetime ago. Recent...

Secret Cleaning System Leads to Triumph from 2022-02-22T08:14:25.057032

This week a listener calls in with a post-vacation victory made possible by a special cleaning system she developed. Plus, we learn that Annabelle isn’t the only one who’s been faced with a recurri...

A Trio of Victories! from 2022-02-22T08:14:24.991448

This week Laura & Annabellein celebrate the small stuff with three different callers: Ben, Shira and Carol. Ben created a meaningful routine; Shira cheered up after hearing about hoops, and Carol s...

National Book Lover's Day! from 2022-02-22T08:14:24.990201

These week, we’re celebrating National Book Lover’s Day by recommending some of our favorite books. As the episode had been conceived, Annabelle, Laura and Swish would each recommend a book and rea...

Book Lovers II: Good Reads & Good Friends from 2022-02-22T08:14:24.969546

This week Laura and Annabelle bring you part two of their discussion on writing we love. We have calls to the Tiny Victory Hotline from FANTI’s Jarrett Hill, and stage and screen’s Tonya Pinkins. P...

The Perfect Hate Storm from 2022-02-22T08:14:24.966132

Happy New Year! This week’s episode is full of laughs and gassy confessions. Laura and Annabelle take turns playing the role of “Ellen”, a listener who wrote about a pandemic hobby she stumbled int...

Chocolate Tear Soup from 2022-02-22T08:14:24.961494

Laura notes that Annabelle’s neighborhood is Schitt’s Creek-ian, after an account of Annabelle’s difficult day, made a little bit brighter by an act of neighborly kindness. Speaking of tears, after...

What Do You Do When the Devil Crashes Your Family Gathering? from 2022-02-21T11:00

What would YOU do if you had an encounter with Sen. Ted Cruz in real life? This week, Annabelle breaks down the series of events that landed her and the polarizing senator in the same place at the ...

Rethinking Valentine’s Day from 2022-02-14T11:00

Annabelle is not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day, but she’s willing to accept that she could be, were someone to convince her. Or maybe there’s another way to celebrate the holiday that even people d...

To DON’T Lists, Procrastination & Clutter! from 2022-01-31T11:00

This week we hear from Jeannie, whose victory wouldn’t have happened if her nutritionist hadn’t intervened. Plus, how long would you let dirty laundry pile up on your kitchen floor? Producer Swish ...

Thou Shalt Wordle! from 2022-01-24T11:20

For weeks, producer Swish has been urging hosts Annabelle and Laura to Wordle. Both resisted. Then House tried it, and texted, “I get it.” But New York Times bestselling author and self-described l...

How to Know You’ve Found the One from 2022-01-17T11:00

Sometimes it takes a waiter dropping a tray of food on you to realize who you want to spend the rest of your life with. At least, that’s what it took for Laura to upend everything she thought she k...

The Wise and Inspirational Claudette from 2022-01-10T11:00

Annabelle Gurwitch is not proud to have dropped out of college, but if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to share this week’s tiny victory. That’s because her decision to forego dor...

Our Non-Resolution Resolutions for 2022 from 2021-12-27T11:00

Annabelle and Laura wrap up this comically-awful year with a somewhat different approach to New Year’s Resolutions. While millions (billions?) of people around the world choose to make resolutions ...

The Victory of Giving into Grief from 2021-12-20T11:00

This week, Annabelle has an objective. She wants to convince Laura that, “giving into grief can be a tiny victory.” In this episode, Annabelle celebrates the life of longtime friend Willie Garson, ...

A 23 & Me Christmas (Tree) Victory! from 2021-12-13T11:00

23 & Me brought Laura House and her younger brother together, and now it’s up to the two of them to make up for lost time. Plus, Annabelle’s grandma made the best matzo ball soup–the kind of soup t...

Victory on the Bat Boat! from 2021-11-29T21:22:14

This week, Laura joins arms with Austin’s tourists to float down the river and enjoy the city’s millions of bats at sunset. Why was this the FIRST TIME Laura had taken this trip despite having live...

PSA: Write Your Victories Down! from 2021-11-22T23:19:27

Happy week of (American) Thanksgiving! Annabelle and Laura hit pause on their anxiety this week to acknowledge things that they're grateful for. And House tells us about a major mental breakthrough...

To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo? from 2021-11-15T11:00

This week, Laura and Annabelle consider what it means to have a tattoo, and ask the question: Do ephemeral tattoos count? Should Annabelle get one? Plus, a listener calls in with a dapping success ...

Taylor Finally Gets to Enjoy Halloween Again from 2021-10-25T10:00

This week we’ll hear why Taylor finally gets to enjoy Halloween again. Plus, Annabelle reveals she had ulterior motives for wanting to watch scary movies with her kid, and Laura doesn’t know what y...

Real Estate Professionals Got Talent from 2021-10-18T09:20:09

The world of real estate is cut throat. Whether you stage homes to ready them for prospective buyers, or work as a real estate agent, it’s crucial to stand out from your competition. So much so, th...

D’Annabelle Versus Goliaths from 2021-10-11T10:00

This week, Annabelle faces off against two Goliaths--Hulu and ADP Security. She slays one of them, while the other’s customer service representative sapped her of the will to live. Prepare yourself...

In Praise of Giving Up from 2021-09-27T10:00

This episode is for everyone who is haunted by the notion that they’re not self-helping enough. Fans of NPR’s Ask Me Another can hear host Ophira Eisenberg on the Tiny Victories hotline. That show...

Just Give 30% from 2021-09-20T10:00

We have two listener calls this week. Fielding Edlow, who stars in the web series Bitter Homes and Gardens, has unearthed the secret to a happier marriage. Plus, Cindy calls in to explain the benef...

F**k You, Pumpkin Spice: The Victory from 2021-09-13T10:00

Whether you like it or not, it’s pumpkin season. You can get a pumpkin latte at Starbucks, pumpkin spice Bud Light, pumpkin spice scented candles. People are simply wild about pumpkin...except for ...

Grudging Acceptance Beats Prairie Dress Hate from 2021-08-30T10:00

There’s a fashion trend never seems to die: the prairie dress. The BBC chronicled the popularity of this zombie dress in a piece by writer Addison Nugent entitled The Prairie Look That Keeps Coming...

Is It Still “Working” Out if It’s Fun? from 2021-08-24T23:01:36

For anyone who, like Laura House, HATED exercise, this is the episode for you! For her entire life, no-longer-spring-chicken Laura House has approached exercise as some approach dental care: It suc...

Breathing Your Anxieties Away from 2021-08-16T10:00

When Annabelle got lost en route to a party, she felt a panic attack coming on and had to pull over to the side of the road. A friend recommended she try “breathwork”, and 800 classes later, Annabe...

The OPPOSITE of Schadenfreude from 2021-07-26T20:26:04

One of the benefits of recording in the same space is that there’s no 2-second lag, and it’s a much more natural experience. But if you put two friends who like to talk in the same space for just t...

Out Past Midnight from 2021-07-19T10:00

What do you do if Annabelle invites you to a show last minute and, oh yeah, it starts at 11pm? If you’re Swish (Other Laura), Annabelle’s producer, you think, “Ugh. A late show?” And then you immed...

Mamma Mia What a Secret! from 2021-07-12T10:00

House is in the House! For the first time in the show’s history, Annabelle and Laura recorded face to face. In this week’s episode, we hear from two listeners who called into the Tiny Victory Hotli...

Oys & Joys from 2021-06-28T18:08:21

Kristen inspired this week’s topic, which she learned about in an ice-breaking exercise. It’s called “Oys & Joys”. Plus, Annabelle is inspired to share an oy and joy-inspiring time in her life when...

Errand Hang Fun Times! from 2021-06-21T10:00

Description: This week’s topic was inspired by tweets posted by Cindy Wang Brandt and Annika Hansteen-Izora. They are fans of “The Errand Hang”, and so is Laura House, who has been doing it for yea...

TFW You Learn Your Mom Has Secrets from 2021-05-31T10:00

This week, we hear from Liz Brown, the grand niece of William Andrew Clark Jr. Clark was one of the richest men in 1920s Hollywood and the founder of the LA Philharmonic. Uncle Will also had a secr...

We Can Freak Out If We Need To from 2021-05-24T10:00

This week, Annabelle and Laura swap  stories about their turbulent re-entry into the world now that we’ve moved on to a post-lockdown life. But after a year of Zoom, sweatpants and relative isol...

Four Seasons Total Landscaping: The Victory from 2021-05-17T10:00

In this week’s episode, Mike from Four Seasons Total Landscaping (yes, that FSTL), made listener Tara’s day, and his Philly accent takes Annabelle back to when she lived in Delaware as a kid. Plus,...

DIY Chicken Coops w/ Morgan & Matt Walsh from 2021-05-10T11:19:13

For week two of #MaxFunDrive, we’re joined by Morgan and Matt Walsh. They regale us with tales of fixing the dishwasher, bathroom plumbing and the multiple attempts to build a chicken coop in the b...

Reunited and It Feels SO GOOD! from 2021-04-26T07:29:51

Remember back in the before times when you’d have friends over for coffee or dinner, and it was no big deal? Jump forward to today when about a quarter of all Americans are fully vaccinated and alm...

Don’t Be a Helpless Bystander from 2021-04-19T07:00

Seemingly every newscast these days features cell phone video of one horrible incident after another. It got Annabelle thinking, “What would I do if I were in the shoes of one of these bystanders? ...

Awful Jazz Cafes & Other Ambient Sounds from 2021-04-12T23:36:20

This week, we get a call from Los Angeles writer Cari-Lynn, whose tiny victory inspired today’s episode. Annabelle and Laura explore the world of ambient sounds, and Annabelle explains the science ...

Passover Bunny? Sure! from 2021-03-29T08:00

Spring brings big holidays in many traditions--Ramadan, Easter, Passover--which brings up a dilemma: What’s a NONE (a nonreligious person) to do if they want to take part in the ritual of a holy ho...

Sweat the Small Stuff! from 2021-03-22T08:00

We pack a lot into this tiny episode. Annabelle and Laura talk disenfranchised grief this week, inspired by an article journalist Tara Parker-Pope wrote in the New York Times. The term “disenfranch...

Second Acts: For Shakira It’s Skateboarding...You? from 2021-03-15T07:00

This week’s episode was inspired by Katie Heaney’s article in The Cut about Shakira’s newfound love of skateboarding in her forties. The Colombian singer & songwriter has stunned fans with how quic...

The Color Yellow! from 2021-02-22T11:00

Annabelle is obsessed with color. And ever since she watched Amanda Gorman deliver her inaugural poem to more than thirty million viewers, she sees Illuminating everywhere! Illuminating is one of t...

Coins & Ammo: The Saga of Two Texas Siblings from 2021-02-15T11:00

When Laura House and her older brother inherit their grandfather’s coin collection, it falls on her to find out if they're millionaires or not because big brother is safeguarding the Internet and i...

The McSnail Is Back: Ancient Fast Food Discovered from 2021-01-25T11:00

Fun Fact: There were food courts in 79 AD! Recently, archeologists unearthed a thermopolium in Pompeii, preserved in volcanic ash. In this week’s episode, @LAGurwitch and @ImLauraHouse travel back ...

Look for the Helpers from 2021-01-18T18:35:24

This week, Joanna from St. Louis calls into the Tiny Victory Hotline to tell us about a tiny victory she found in the immediate aftermath of a harrowing car accident, and another caller found herse...

Killing Plants to Relax, and Other Ways to Putter from 2021-01-11T21:03:29

This week Annabelle celebrates the art–or lack thereof–of puttering. What is a “putter”, you’re not really asking? For Annabelle, a putter has to meet a set of criteria:

You can’t earn mon...

Sad Songs That Help a Little...Not a Lot from 2020-12-28T20:58:27

If you read Annabelle’s op-ed in the New York Times about being diagnosed with lung cancer, you might be able to infer this year has been a bit much. So why would a friend recommend Annabelle watch...

The Secret Life of Cats & Nurse Justin from 2020-12-21T11:00

This week we have two tiny victories to share! Chris from Mt. Shasta recounts his life & death struggle with the Corona virus, and why he believes he owes his recovery to the care of his nurse, Jus...

The Scent That Saved Me from 2020-12-14T11:00

**This episode deals with end of life issues and loss. For anyone who is especially sensitive to this subject matter right now, you may want to bookmark this episode to listen at another time.** Listen

Marie KonDON'T Worry About Landfills! from 2020-11-30T11:00

This week our tiny victories come from the Tiny Victory Hotline. Listener Bonnie tells us how she’s taken advantage of the extra time she has in the age of COVID, and Annabelle’s response traumatiz...

Laura House: Dragon Slayer from 2020-11-23T08:35:43

This week’s tale is less of a tiny victory than it is an epic poem. It’s the story of how Laura House had to overcome her fears so she could slay the dragon that threatened–in a tiny way–her, and e...

The Worst Year Ever from 2020-11-16T11:00

IS 2020 the worst year ever? Can such an assertion even be proven? Whether or not such a thing can be proven, there is a definite consensus among historians about what year is, by far, “the worst”....

Ep 1 The People of Prehistoric Instagram from 2020-10-26T10:00

In this inaugural episode of Tiny Victories, Annabelle falls down a paleo archeological rabbit hole, and comes out with a glimmer of hope for the continuance of our species.

Coming October 26th! from 2020-10-15T21:00

Tiny Victories is the 15 minute podcast that pushes back on the notion that you have to "go big" or "go home". Sometimes just going is the victory. Each week, hosts Annabelle Gurwitch and...

Coming October 26th! from 2020-10-15T21:00

Tiny Victories is the 15 minute podcast that pushes back on the notion that you have to "go big" or "go home". Sometimes just going is the victory. Each week, hosts Annabelle Gurwitch and Laura Hou...

Coming October 26th! from 2020-10-15T21:00

Tiny Victories is the 15 minute podcast that pushes back on the notion that you have to "go big" or "go home". Sometimes just going is the victory. Each week, hosts Annabelle Gurwitch and...