The Bittersweet Life

Sagittarius or Scorpio, Leo or Libra, visit Rome based on your sign.

In this mini-episode, Tiffany tells you what to see and do in Rome based on the traits of your zodiac sign.

**Links to some of the…

Katy's father and sister join us this week to look back on their family travels to Southeast Asia, specifically Vietnam. Katy, who was not a travel-lover as a younger person, asks her dad if he invit…

Michigan, Minnesota, Montana... oh my!

Katy's sister and father have lived, respectively, in some of the snowiest places in the US. What do they think about the snow nostalgia that plagues so much of…

Most people either love snow or hate it. How much of that depends on where you live and how much snow you see in a typical year?

Or maybe our love of snow is determined by how much it gets in the way…

There’s nothing like curling up in your favorite armchair and traveling the world via an amazing book. But what about when the shoe is on the other foot? What about the writers who must craft stories…

Most book-lovers would agree that reading is the best way to travel without leaving the comfort of your favorite armchair.

This week, Katy sits down with librarian and world-famous book expert Nancy …

So you set yourself a bunch of New Year’s resolutions and now you’re on your way to Rome. How in the world are you going to keep them? Do you even want to try?

Well, we’ve got good news for you! This…

What are your resolutions this year? And did you get your resolutions done last year?

We start every year with our Resolutions episode, where we look back on last year’s accomplishments (or non-accom…

What did Shakespeare think about his own mortality? Is it possible to discern how he felt about death from his writing? We explore the intersection of art and death in this special presentation of th…

Has Christmas lost its magic now that you’re all grown up? Katy and Tiffany brainstorm ways to bring that holiday magic back even if you don’t believe in Santa anymore. Katy tells the story of the ti…

Who doesn’t love a good cocktail, especially around the holidays?

On this week’s Bittersweet Moment, Katy revisits Monday’s episode and her interview with author Adrienne Brodeur to discover her moth…

Can you keep a secret? Author Adrienne Brodeur was asked to keep an explosive secret at just fourteen years old when her mother confided in her about her extramarital affair. From that moment on, Adr…

Spending Christmas in Rome? On this week's mini-episode, Tiffany shares her tips on the best, coziest, and most festive ways to celebrate Christmas in Rome! Buon Natale e Buone Feste from The Bitters…

Should you visit a country if you can't speak the language? Some say no, that you'll never be able to understand or truly experience a culture if you can't make sense of what its people are saying. (…

We won't be remembered for long after we die—that’s a conclusion that Mo Rocca, correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning, came to on Episode 290 MOBITUARIES.

Today, we continue to explore the transience …

What makes someone’s life worth remembering? Mo Rocca spends a lot of time thinking and talking about this, on his podcast Mobituaries with Mo Rocca. Today he joins The Bittersweet Life to continue t…

We are so grateful for all of our wonderful listeners around the world for your love, attention, and support throughout the over five years of this show! On this extra-mini-episode, we have a quick T…

In the lead up to Thanksgiving, Katy and Tiffany muse on the inevitable missing out on important holidays and events that comes with being a far-away expat. And the annual November dilemma: do I make…

Do you love opera? Hate it? Indifferent? Give Tiffany the length of a mini-episode and you might finding yourself warming to it.

Tiffany tells how she fell in love with opera at age 12, and how her p…

Mike Shaw recently moved to Bali after eleven years in Beijing. So far, it has been a hard move. On this week’s episode, he chats with Katy about why he decided to leave an adopted city he loves so m…