Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
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Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
How I “Failed” at OnlyFans
#22 trending · Society & Culture
Anna Blake started an OnlyFans account, not as a pleasure project, but to achieve some financial stability. When she found out she hated the work and made little money, h
Sep 15 1 h 00 min
'Pay-What-You-Want' Defies Logic, Confuses Economists, and Can Really Work
The pay-what-you-want business model is mostly found in museums and churches, but this week we’ll hear from entrepreneurs and artists who are implementing it in unlikely
Sep 8 54 min
Behind Closed Tabs: Your Porn Stories
Porn. It’s something that people use in their most intimate, private moments. It’s a way to acknowledge desire — without any of the attachments of intimacy. For some of y
Sep 1 30 min
'Humane Eldercare Has Become a Luxury Item’
Nursing home care in the U.S. can run families $10,000 a month, a cost Medicare won’t pay for. When Anna de la Cruz's parents both developed dementia around the same time
Aug 25 44 min
Passive Aggressive vs. ‘Massive Aggressive’ With Novelist Elizabeth Strout
The bestselling novelist behind works like Amy and Isabelle and Olive Kitteridge discusses her excitement about turning 70, her reserved New England upbringing, and how d
Aug 18 47 min
A Refreshingly Curious Adventure through Our Divided America
Peter Santenello has been documenting his world travels on YouTube for nearly two decades, but it wasn’t until he moved in with a family in the Ukrainian countryside that
Aug 11 55 min
I Have a Crush on My Therapist. Now What?
Caroline started going to therapy as a teenager because of depression. After a couple of years working together, she expressed a fantasy. “I had a vision of us dancing to
Aug 4 55 min
How a Very Polite Danny McBride Creates Characters That Go Berserk
The man behind artful and goofy comedies like The Righteous Gemstones and Eastbound and Down talks about finding his people at an upstart public film program in North Car
Jul 28 57 min
The Sexy Soundtrack for the ‘New Black Middle Class’
In the mid-1970’s, a small college radio station created an evening program catering to a new socioeconomic group referred to as the “new Black middle class.” The show wa
Jul 21 56 min
The Pet Detective
Jim Tierney, pet tracker, has worked on more than 250 lost pet cases around New York City. Jim says once a dog is lost, their behavior changes. “They become less like you
Jul 14 45 min
How Much Should You Spend on a Wedding?
This week, listeners share what it’s like to plan a dream wedding when money and family relationships lead to conflict and compromise. We hear from couples with vastly di
Jul 7 41 min
Emmy-Winner Jeff Hiller Returns! Talking Bodies and Money in a Changing Hollywood
A lot has happened in Jeff Hiller’s life since he was last on the show in 2024. Last year he won an Emmy for his role on the HBO show Somebody Somewhere and then went vi
Jun 30 51 min
Was Dad Being a Creep? And Other Childhood Memories to Decipher
Growing up, whenever Anna Konkle's parents fought–which was frequently–she usually sided with her dad. As she got older, she started to see those memories differently. Wa
Jun 23 52 min
Spouses Peter Dinklage and Erica Schmidt on Bad Interviews, Fame, and Parenting
Actor Peter Dinklage and playwright Erica Schmidt have been married for two decades, and even though they’ve collaborated on projects, it’s rare for them to do an intervi
Jun 16 1 h 10 min
Something Rotten at Stanford
Theo Baker was seventeen when he enrolled at Stanford and stumbled into one of the biggest stories on campus: academic misconduct allegations against the university's pre
Jun 9 50 min
A Sex Party Love Story
Romy Holland is a Berkeley mom whose meet-cute happened at a raucous sex party. That night she had sex with dozens of men, one of which would become her husband. In this
Jun 2 48 min
The Parent-Child Anxiety Trap
Anna talks to Alexis, a parent whose 8 year old son has an anxiety disorder, about what it was like attending a therapy program designed for parents of anxious children.
May 26 36 min
A Brat Pack Star Remembers How to Have Friends
The actor and travel writer Andrew McCarthy used to be a member of one of pop culture’s most famous friend groups: The Brat Pack. He starred in movies like Pretty in Pink
May 19 50 min
Death, SNAKES & Money
Tim Friede grew up in a strict, religious household with an obsession for science and a knack for breaking rules. He became fixated on a particular problem: roughly 120,0
May 12 53 min
Kara Swisher on the Rich Guys Trying to Live Forever
Kara Swisher has built an impressive career reporting on–and forcefully critiquing–the world of tech, especially the ultra-wealthy power players increasingly calling the
May 5 55 min
Chart trend
Position in the Relationships chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#12#22JunJulAugSep
#2
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Chart positions
Where Death, Sex & Money ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 16, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
May be my new favorite Slate podcast. I’m a long time Slate Plus subscriber, regular listener to about six Slate podcasts, and boy do I love this one. The current episode on “erotic transference “ in therapy made me sit down and marvel at the vulnerability and courage of the guests, all nimbly guided by the empathic, gentle hand of Anna Sale. It’s a keeper for me. Give it a try.
avianovum · Aug 2026
Anna Sale is a gem. Incredible interviewer. She’s a wonderful listener. The latest episode about people getting cosmetic procedures is strange… It’s worrisome that there are so many people who just can’t accept aging. DSM episodes are always thoughtfully done.
seb415 · Sep 2025
Easily half of every episode is indulgently unedited clips of Anna laughing, and laughing, and laughing in a way that, though it probably isn’t, sounds intentional and forced as a compliment to the guest. She can’t just chuckle, she has to laugh for 10 seconds straight, and they keep it in the episode. At this point, it’s beyond distracting. Misophonia folks beware this chuckle porn.
redesdale · Sep 2025
Very long time listener of this excellent show. I’m very disappointed to hear your wonderful voice doing ad reads for weight loss program “Hers,” Anna. It was especially off-putting in your most recent episode with the memoirist who was discussing her disordered relationship with her body and food. Weight loss simply does not work and the promotion of it is simply fatphobic. Please reconsider this sponsor, it is not a good look and is harmful to your listeners.
Shenannagans · Aug 2025
After being a long time listener and following across multiple production changes, I noticed I’d fallen off listening. I realized why after coming back and trying a few. DSM used to be a gentle but direct interrogation of hard to discuss subjects. Now it’s become a basic interview show, and this is not Anna’s strength. I’ve come to see her as pretty narcissistic, but the kind of narcissist who presents with faux insight (speaking as a psychoanalyst). This is fine in itself, it’s a common enough quality. But she has been interviewing people with this same quality, whether the one on cosmetic surgery, or motherhood, without actually interrogating them that deeply. So the conversation becomes quite boring. And also she’s interviewing George Saunders and a Senate candidate? What is going on here? DSM has really changed over time but holding on to its branding.
NYC psychology · Mar 2026
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.
LollyListener · Jul 2024
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