1 phone call. 1 hour. No names. No holds barred. Thats the premise behind Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People, hosted by comedian Chris Gethard (the Chris Gethard Show, Broad City, This American Life, and one of Time Outs 10 best comedians of 2015). Every week, Chris opens the phone line to one anonymous caller, and he cant hang up first, no matter what. From shocking confessions and family secrets to philosophical discussions and shameless self-promotion, anything can and will happen! Theme song by Shellshag.
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
Raised by a Criminal and a Drifter
A 25-year-old with a quarter-life crisis calls to talk with Geth about capitalism, growing up too fast, complicated sibling dynamics, how childhood shapes adulthood, and
Oct 27 1 h 12 min
How to Keep Going After You Lose a Child
Five years ago, this week's caller lost his 15-year-old son. Today, he's raising his 15-year-old daughter and navigating what it means to live with grief while continuing
Oct 20 1 h 18 min
Secret Lives of Cruise Ship Workers
This week's caller met her husband while working on a cruise ship. She's got plenty of stories about life behind the scenes at sea: from a painful breakup that sent her i
Oct 13 1 h 44 min
Armored Combat Game Designer
This week's caller works in video games. The first half of the call gets into the current state of the industry and what it's like building a career in something you love
Oct 6 1 h 10 min
Enough Good to Counteract the Bad
It's this caller's birthday, and she has a lot to celebrate: a career she's crushing, a new house, and the chance to provide for people she loves. The conversation is fun
Sep 29 1 h 15 min
A Fish With Legs
A middle school Spanish teacher calls before first period to talk with Gethard about her deskless classroom, eating chocolate in front of her students, and finding an ide
Sep 22 1 h 10 min
Arizona to Alaska
Smoking a cigar on a riverbank in Alaska, this caller tells Gethard about the therapist's offhand suggestion that sent him north, and the long, rambling road that led him
Sep 15 1 h 17 min
A Proudly Unpredictable Human Being
A proudly unpredictable mom calls to talk with Gethard about errant mouth bones, thrift-store vendettas, and escaping a fundamentalist upbringing. Plus: dead snakes, a di
Sep 8 1 h 05 min
I Didn't Come Here to Win
Losing her job wasn't exactly the plan, but it gave this caller the reset she needed. She talks with Geth about ADHD, burnout, GenAI, and just how much drama happens offs
Sep 1 1 h 02 min
Prison Bound Week: Day 5 - Eight Years Later
It's Friday, and we've finally caught up.
All week, we've been following the Prison Bound caller from the original 2018 episode through three follow-ups recorded during
Aug 28 1 h 06 min
Prison Bound Week: Day 4 - COVID Lockdown
It's Thursday, and Prison Bound Week is almost caught up to the present.
We started on Monday with the original 2018 call, then followed the caller through two check-in
Aug 27 32 min
Prison Bound Week: Day 3 - Halfway Through
It's Wednesday, and Prison Bound Week continues.
We started Monday with the original 2018 call, and yesterday we heard from our caller nine months into her sentence. To
Aug 26 46 min
Prison Bound Week: Day 2 - Nine Months In
It's Tuesday, which is normally when you get your weekly episode of Beautiful Anonymous, but this week, we're doing things differently.
Yesterday, we went back to the o
Aug 25 18 min
Prison Bound Week: Day 1 - The First Call
Yes, it's Monday. Yes, Beautiful Anonymous is in your feed a day early. We're doing something a little different this week.
Eight years ago, a caller phoned Beautiful
Aug 24 1 h 10 min
Hacker Tendencies at a Hacker Convention
A sixth-degree black belt calls from a hacker convention to talk ham radio, phone phreaking, off-grid networks, hacking E-ZPass (fine, theoretically), and whether Chinese
Aug 18 1 h 05 min
This One Is NOT About Avatar: The Last Airbender
This week's caller has a full-time job, a toddler, and somehow also helps run an anime convention in their spare (lol) time. Gethard gets a crash-course in anime as he ta
Aug 11 1 h 09 min
Gratuitous Live Turkeys
This week's caller had an encounter with a psychic that is tailor-made for Beautiful/Anonymous. She tells Gethard that story, shares memories of her free-range '90s child
Aug 4 1 h 09 min
A Completely Normal Call That Goes Exactly As Planned
Let's all agree we can blame Mercury retrograde for the technical difficulties we had in getting this one off the ground. The rest of the chaos, though, is entirely on th
Jul 28 1 h 06 min
Stopped a Serial Killer?
Recovering from surgery and ten days into a liquid diet, our caller is hungry for conversation. Geth and this Good Vibes Caller compare shared surgeries, shared interests
Jul 21 1 h 09 min
Forty-One Unscripted Plays About Our Sport
This week, an audio engineer at a major sports arena calls in from a seat in the arena bowl. He and Gethard talk about what it's like to work in a place built for tens of
Jul 14 1 h 10 min
Chart trend
Position in the Society & Culture chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#98#195AugOct
#81
all-time peak
3
days in the top 100 since Jul 2025
Chart positions
Where Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 28, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
This podcast reminds me that I haven’t spoken to that old friend in a while and that I haven’t had dinner with my neighbors in years.
The internet makes my world fill small but this pushes me to remember that every person has hope, tragedy, triumph and story waiting to be told.
Thank you Chris. This makes the world better.
jh2224 · Apr 2025
I’ve been listening since the beginning and this is my all-time favorite podcast. I love it because it feels like having a chat with a couple of friends. Chris does a great job asking interesting questions and digging deep. Love the funny episodes, too, though. (Every time an amateur comedian is on the show, they hit it off with Chris and things get extra entertaining.) Because each caller brings a different story and energy, some episodes will probably speak to you more than others. I recommend getting to know the show by listening to 2-3 episodes — you’ll start to understand the spirit of the show, and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.
bhrath · Mar 2025
Chris’ podcast is a beautiful one, filled with humanity, encouragement, and humor, and packed with the authenticity that Chris brings. Please don’t platform hate in the name of addressing criticism. Not every show is for everyone, and if Chris’ politics aren’t for you, you’ll find plenty that are.
Code chLbH2 · Nov 2024
I have been listening to BA for years and it is still my Tuesday treat! Chris Gethard is such a great human and reads the callers so well. Thank goodness we have this show which lets me still have hope that there are good people out there.
Bocajr5553 · Oct 2024
I’ve listened since this started. Unfortunately, I’m unsubscribing after this latest episode. I’m all for hearing diverse perspectives but draw the line at giving misinformation a platform. Chris, I’m incredibly disappointed that you let this caller speak to mistruths like “using late term abortions like birth control” which is a blatant lie not an “incredibly fascinating” perspective as you state. You are contributing to making abortions harder by not challenging the caller’s incorrect facts. You have a national platform and a responsibility to do better.
JessJo234 · Oct 2024
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Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
