Finding Emotional Nourishment with Millicent Souris
The Art of Grief
Writer and cook Millicent Soros joins us to explore her journey of understanding loss and the power of food to connect and heal. From early experiences of unprocessed grief to finding catharsis through cooking, Millicent shares insights on moving through pain, the fine line between coping and avoidance, and embracing the messy reality of emotions.
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On Sports, Scripts, and Signs with Natalia Molina
The Art of Grief
MacArthur Genius Fellow, writer and historian Natalia Molina joins us to talk about scripts of grief, as well as how we become open to signs from beyond in the processes of grieving and healing. We also discuss her award-winning essay, “How I learned the Dodgers are L.A.’s Language of Love,” which speaks with an open heart about her brother David’s unexpected death, and the celebration of their lives together beneath Dodger Blue skies in Echo Park, Los Angeles.
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Collective Grief and the L.A. Wildfires
The Art of Grief
We are joined by voices from around the city of Los Angeles to talk about their personal experiences with the L.A. wildfires, and communal grief in the wake of these catastrophic events. We also ask about their hopes for the future not only for themselves, but our community. Guests include: Myriam Gurba, Mai-Lin Cheng, Margaret Wappler, Guy Branum, Lien Ta, Natalia Molina, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, Colin Campbell, Carolina Miranda, and Courtney Storer.
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The Poetics of Grief with Hala Alyan
The Art of Grief
This week we are joined by Hala Alyan, a Palestinian-American writer, poet, and clinical psychologist, who is also a professor at NYU. A specialist in trauma and cross-cultural identity, and the author of the award-winning novel Salt Houses, as well as four collections of poetry, including The Moon that Turns You Back (2024), Hala brings her expertise as a psychologist and a writer to talk about bearing witness to genocide, and the fatigue, anger and repetition that accompanies the grief of witnessing. She also reads poetry for us, and speaks openly about her own personal vulnerabilities and...
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Holiday Feelings
The Art of Grief
Karen and Megan record their first holiday special, and themselves get caught off-guard by some of their own holiday feelings, including the confluence of grief and joy. Karen opens up about the difficulty of Christmas this year, as well as in years past because it was her grandmother's favorite holiday. Megan talks about seeing the holidays anew through the eyes of her two young children. They also offer words of advice about what's worked for them in the past to calm the holiday overload.
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Grief Groups & Finding Your Place with Japhena Kay
The Art of Grief
Bereavement facilitator, author, and host of the podcast Good Mourning Today, Japhena Kay, joins us for a candid conversation about losing her son Chase to suicide, while animating her processes of grief that have evolved and transformed in the years since. She and Megan met in a grief group specifically for those who’ve lost their loved ones to suicide, and they both reflect on the meaningfulness of that experience, especially while combatting the silence and stigma related to death by suicide.
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Finding the Words with Colin Campbell
The Art of Grief
In June 2019, Colin Campbell and his wife Gail Lerner lost both of their children, Ruby and Hart when a drunk driver hit their car and changed a pleasant family outing into the worst day imaginable. Megan and Karen invite Colin to discuss the book he wrote in the wake of that tragedy, Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose, which offers an honest account of his journey, while providing guidance and practical tools for others going through similar experiences.
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Post-Election Special
The Art of Grief
Megan and Karen check in with each other after the 2024 election, and discuss their own range of emotional responses, including grief, anger, and even a sense of tragicomedy. They also offer some thoughts around how to take care of yourselves and others during this intense, confrontational and difficult time.
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A “Voice Stained with Grief”: Writing After Loss with Regina N. Bradley
The Art of Grief
This week we are joined by Dr. Regina N. Bradley, a prominent public voice on contemporary southern Black life and hip hop culture, who is the author of the widely-acclaimed book, Chronicling Stankonia: the Rise of the Hip-Hop South. Dr. Bradley candidly talks about her efforts to heal and return to a daily practice of writing, after the trauma of her grandmother’s murder at the hands of another family member two years ago. She opens up about the variations of grief she’s experienced since then, while talking about how her social, and academic, professional world sometimes come at odds...
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Visualizing Grief with Cherine Fahd
The Art of Grief
Globally renowned artist Cherine Fahd joins us to talk about the role photography plays in visualizing grief. Based in Australia, her own photographic work and writing not only celebrate the communities around her and their public lives, but delves deeply into what is more difficult to see and say, from family mourning as its captured in private photo archives, to death by suicide and the efforts to de-stigmatize infant loss through photography. In our conversation we explore, in Cherine’s words, the “uncertainties of what photography can or cannot reveal about life, death, and...
info_outlineMacArthur Genius Fellow, writer and historian Natalia Molina joins us to talk about scripts of grief, as well as how we become open to signs from beyond in the processes of grieving and healing.
We also discuss her award-winning essay, “How I learned the Dodgers are L.A.’s Language of Love,” which speaks with an open heart about her brother David’s unexpected death, and the celebration of their lives together beneath Dodger Blue skies in Echo Park, Los Angeles.