454 episodes

Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.

Death, Sex & Money Slate Podcasts

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.6 • 7.3K Ratings

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Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    What’s Missing From the Overdose Crisis Conversation

    What’s Missing From the Overdose Crisis Conversation

    From a young age, James T. Morrison used drugs to help him feel better. He started with pills that were prescribed to him–medications like Xanax and Klonopin–but he soon moved on to basically whatever he could get his hands on. In this episode, James discusses his experience with substance use disorder, housing instability, and the criminal justice system. At a time when public officials and policy experts are debating ways to address the overdose crisis in the U.S., James discusses what humane drug policies could look like and how we as a society need to completely change the way we talk about drug use. We first learned about James’ story from an essay he wrote in Slate titled One More Day.
    If you’d like to check out some of our previous episodes about substance use and recover, here’s a short list: 

    I Can't Fix It: A First Responder on Heroin

    I Felt Like the Story Had To Change: Life After Heroin

    How Jeff Daniels Got Sober, Again

    Falling In Love...With Heroin

    Margo Price After Cheating and Drinking


    NOTE: We want to mention that this episode mentions suicide and self harm. If you or someone you love is struggling, please call 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
    Podcast production by Cameron Drews
    Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.
    And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 52 min
    The Mayor of the Most Controversial City in the U.S.

    The Mayor of the Most Controversial City in the U.S.

    San Francisco mayor London Breed grew up learning again and again about the dangers of drugs and addiction. She lived in public housing in the city in the 1980’s and saw friends and family members in her community get hooked, get sick, and sometimes pass away. Fast forward to now, and San Francisco is seeing sky-high overdose numbers (though they’re down a bit from last year), and the city has earned a reputation for being in disarray. Mayor London Breed faces a tough reelection campaign this fall, and this week on the show, she talks about the many different measures she and her administration are taking to address San Francisco’s problems, and she shares some of the important life experiences that have informed her approach. 
    Podcast production by Anna Sale.
    Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.
    And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 55 min
    Sex Parties and Shakespeare With Carvell Wallace

    Sex Parties and Shakespeare With Carvell Wallace

    Carvell Wallace’s brilliant new memoir Another Word for Love has been rightfully praised for its passages about childhood trauma, about apologies and forgiveness, and about the healing power of love. But the book also features some important lessons about sex, consent, and the ways popular culture can send the wrong messages about both of those things. This week on the show, Carvell digs into those lessons and the experiences that changed him forever, including his first encounters with Shakespeare and his trip to an unforgettable sex party.
    Podcast production by Cameron Drews.
    Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.
    And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 52 min
    Baby Reindeer’s Intimacy Coordinator on Sex and Trauma on Screen

    Baby Reindeer’s Intimacy Coordinator on Sex and Trauma on Screen

    Since the #MeToo movement, the presence of intimacy coordinators have become more common on movie and TV sets. In this episode, Elle McAlpine the intimacy coordinator for many projects including Poor Things and Baby Reindeer, talks about what her job entails, from choreographing the perfect orgasm to navigating tricky workplace dynamics.
    Podcast production by Zoe Azulay
    Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.
    And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 42 min
    Kara Swisher and Orna Guralnik on How to Get People Talking

    Kara Swisher and Orna Guralnik on How to Get People Talking

    Anna talks to Dr. Orna Guralnik, the psychoanalyst from Showtime’s Couples Therapy, and then to Kara Swisher, the pugnacious tech journalist and podcast host, about the art of the interview, and how they get people to open up to them. 
    Kara Swisher’s new book is Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, and you can read her 1989 Washington Post article here.
    This episode is from a live conversation, earlier this month, at the Tribeca Festival. It was produced by Slate’s Katie Rayford and Alexandra Cohl and Tribeca Festival’s Davy Gardner, with help from Zoe Azulay and Cameron Drews.
    Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.
    And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 1 hr 14 min
    Mark Duplass on Making Money, Mental Health and Midlife

    Mark Duplass on Making Money, Mental Health and Midlife

    Mark Duplass’s first big dream came true when he was 28: a movie he wrote and directed with his brother, Jay, got into The Sundance Film Festival. It was a major accomplishment, but Mark was miserable. “The week after Sundance was probably one of the worst weeks of my life because I realized I hit the top of the mountain. The top of the mountain didn't make me happy. So now what am I going to do?”
    In this episode, filmmaker Mark Duplass talks about managing depression, what it’s like to have a creative partnership with his brother, and how they talk about making and spending money. “If I didn't have Jay as a partner, I would make a hundred mediocre movies a year, and if he didn't have me, he would die with two thirds of the greatest film ever made, not finished.”
    Read: With Hollywood shedding jobs, here is help for coping with the slowdown
    Podcast production by Andrew Dunn
    Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.
    And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 53 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
7.3K Ratings

7.3K Ratings

Omariadr ,

Anna is a pro

Long time listener. Anna is the reason. She’s empathic, sharp, generous.

But I have to say, the most recent episode about the overdose crisis felt odd. Anna definitely kept it on the rails; it was the guest I found really hard to listen to. I know his article was published by Slate, which I suspect was—at least partially—why he was booked. But a good portion of his points struck me as unfocused and contradictory. I was really trying to understand where he was coming from, but it was difficult, even coming from someone who has experienced serious mental health issues of her own.

I think the reason why was there didn’t seem to be a mirroring of the kind of empathy Anna was extending in his direction. Her point about wanting her kids to be safe in cities where drug use is open, common, and effecting public health was met with a level of selfishness that shocked me so much, I almost stopped listening. “I don’t want my kids to die” she says. “I hear that” he says, “I don’t have kids and I’m never going to have kids…”

This was a tough one for me. Glad I listened, but it definitely boiled my blood a bit. Did not make me feel the way I usually do after a DSM episode— enlightened, hopeful, closer to understanding another perspective.

StayHydrated! ,

Really much to enjoy

Nice show!!!!!!

giraffeyamama ,

Love DSM

So glad DSM has found a new home!

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