Death, Sex & Money - Podcast Rankings and reviews

Anna sale is an amazing interviewer. Her thoughtful questions are what we all wanna ask but are afraid to say, she does it artfully. The taboo topics are approached respectfully and we can all learn from each other’s life experiences. I don’t miss an episode and so glad they found a new home!!

I love this podcast. As so many others have said, Anna is a great interviewer. I can always count on her to ask the hard questions. Having said that, I have to say that I was really disappointed with the recent episode with the sociopathic mother, Patric. I feel like so many great but uncomfortable questions weren’t asked! Why? This topic is insanely interesting but by the end of the episode, I was screaming, “Really, that’s it?!” Why not ask more questions about attachment, love, and how her inability to maybe emote the feeling of love affects her children, affects her experience or her partner’s experience of her as a mother? This episode was just so extremely whitewashed that I have to think the guest refused to delve in to certain topics. There had to be some prior agreement that Anna and the guest would only scratch the surface of how her sociopathy has impacted her life and relationships. Also, it would have been more enlightening to speak with her partner. We only received a one-sided perspective …a one-sided perspective from a Sociopath. The interview was just not what I’ve come to expect from Anna.

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.

This is one of my favorite podcasts. I enjoy the topics and the skillful way the host interviews guests. It’s a refreshing show and one I look forward to seeing in my podcast feed. Keep up the good work, DSM team!

I have been a long time listener of DSM and was delighted when they found a new home with Slate. However, since this significant change, I don’t enjoy this podcast anymore. Anna Sales former curious, inquisitive and thoughtful interviewing style has been replaced with a defined trepidation, along with a lot of ‘um’s…when interviewing guests. Her hesitation to probe deeply and empathetically feels like a muted Anna, which is not what initially attracted me to listening to this podcast. Additionally, I haven’t even found the guests particularly interesting, much less insightful. My guess is that Slate now controls much of what is said, how it is said, and that there is an overall agenda that feels meaningless. Will be unfollowing this podcast.