The Bittersweet Life

Are you afraid of the dark? Spider or rats? Being buried alive or drowning? Encountering a wild ferocious beast? Are you afraid of ghosts? Someone lurking in the shadows who is about to jump out and …

Considered for centuries to be the most mysterious sculpture in the world, The Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino (1753) is an astoundingly realistically marble creation of the crucified Christ cov…

"All things cute and cuddly" was the surprising topic requested by listener Sara, who supports us at the $50 level on Patreon. Choosing the topic of an episode is just one of many bonuses we offer ou…

What are book tours like in the time of Covid? For this week's mini-episode, Katy sits down with bestselling author Jess Walter to discuss what it's like to do book events in his office while staring…

This week we give all our listeners a peek into some of the extra bonus content that our Patreon donors are receiving. Every month we offer one or more bonus episodes exclusively for our Patreon supp…

Moving abroad is already a daunting experience at the best of times. Imagine doing it during a deadly pandemic. For this mini-interview we are joined by listener Gabriela Proietti who took the leap a…

As devastating as this pandemic has been, to our lives, our loved ones, and our livelihoods, is there a silver lining? In the midst of the suffering and the uncertainty, sometimes you have to let you…

It's a much-told legend that Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci used to rob graves in order to dissect bodies in secret so they could achieve anatomical accuracy in their art.

But is it actually true…

Is the Mona Lisa in the Louvre fake? Was impressionist painter Claude Monet a radical? And was Caravaggio—our show's muse—murdered? Art history holds as many mysteries and baffling stories as it does…

It's that time of year again, but this year everything is different. In Italy, kids are now back in the classroom full-time but the rules are complicated and very strict. In this mini-episode, Tiffan…

Ready or not, election season is upon us! And it's never been easier for Americans living abroad to vote—well, in some states. Tiffany is lucky as Arizona (where she's registered to vote) allows onli…

Katy, and all of our fellow-West Coast listeners, are seeing massive tracts of their states destroyed, smoke blotting out the sun, and highly hazardous breathing conditions. If they couldn't go out t…

From lucky and unlucky numbers to numbers that make almost magical equations, from significant date to the "perfect" numbers, this week's episode is all about, well, numbers. And the fact that this i…

Pompeii, an entire ancient city preserved exactly as it was when it was covered in lava and ash during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Even for a seasoned traveler like Tiffany, the site inspires …

Daily life during a devastating pandemic—something nearly no one alive has ever experienced before—is captured poignantly and artistically by Bill Hayes in his new book, How We Live Now: Scenes from …

Monday's Conversation Starters episode just didn't cover all the things we want to know about each other! In today's mini-episode we continue the question-and-answer drill to delve deep into what mak…

Whether you're looking for a great question to break the ice on a first date or just want to get to know your best friend, parent, or spouse even better, today we ask each other odd and unusual quest…

When our listeners reach out to us to share how we've inspired them, delighted them, challenged them, or simply kept them company—well, it doesn't get much better than that for a podcaster.

On this w…

A record number of Americans—42%—now hold passports (up from 27% in 2007) but much good it will do them. In the wake of this unprecedented pandemic, there are only a handful of countries in the entir…

Tiffany is 19 and desperate to meet up with her boyfriend in Italy in the final weeks of summer before heading back to university in the fall. She's worked all summer and saved enough for the flight.…