The Bittersweet Life

Last week we talked—among other things—about what it would be like if the year started in March, as it used to do in ancient Rome.

This got us thinking about seasons and how they effect our lives.

On…

Is early January—the deepest, bleakest, darkest moment of winter—really the best time to make New Year's Resolutions? Isn't early spring a more fortuitous time for new beginnings? (And did you know t…

Today we explore a story of one woman whose family legacy—in particular her close relationship with her mother whom she lost suddenly to cancer—brought about a life pivot that she was never expecting…

What if travel doesn't actually change you?

A few weeks ago, we discussed this controversial idea, a conversation inspired by an essay in The New Yorker. (Make sure you listen to that episode first, …

What makes a song a good road trip song? This is something Katy has been musing over for several years now.

What better person to ask than a musician who has crossed the country on tour numero…

Tell me about that trip that changed your life... and I'll tell you how you're lying to yourself.

So claims a recent essay in The New Yorker titled The Case Against Travel. In it, author Agnes Calla…

What makes a life meaningful? Can a meaningful death transform an otherwise meaningless life into a meaningful one?

These are just a few of the many ideas touched on in this week's episode, an interv…

A line from a new book by poet Kaveh Akbar sparks the idea for this episode: in a nutshell, does language have the capacity to truly express what we are trying to convey, or is there always something…

How do we discover our passions? Is it a given that we will discover them at all?

And where do they come from? Are they something we are born with and just need to be discovered within ourselves? Or …

Is it Covid or are we just getting older?

This week we discuss how the social world seems to have changed drastically in recent years—but is it due to this post-Covid era we're living in, or is it si…

A little girl feeds crows and gets gifts in return. It’s a wonderful true story that’s gone viral again and again. But where did it come from? As it happens, it comes from this very podcast, when Kat…

It's our annual New Year's Resoultion Recap! Did we do what we promised to do last year? This is always a cringe-worthy moment for us both as we go back and listen to our own hopeful voices promising…

Happy New Year from your friends at the Bittersweet Life podcast! We wish you and your loved ones a 2024 full of adventure, personal growth, and excitment!

As a final gift from us, we are extending o…

As a special holiday treat, today we are airing a new original radio play by friend of the show, Matthew P. Woerner.

In the tradition of the golden age of radio, Operator is inspired by H. G. Well's …

We've all had it happen: you gushingly recommend your favorite cafe or restaurant or bar to a friend, only to have them go and report back something tepid like, "It was ok."

How is it possible that m…

Have you ever wondered who you would be if you had made different life choices?

Even making just one big decision differently, say, not moving abroad instead of moving abroad. Or not leaving that sta…

On our amazing listener trip to Rome this past October, we interviewed two of our guests, expats Vince and Lindy.

These two native midwesterners talk about their backgrounds—traveling or not travelin…

On this episode, we bring you along with us on the final tour of our amazing Rome Adventure last month! During breaks between the sites of this super-secret Rome walk, Katy pulls out her microphone a…

On the final morning of our amazing first-ever Bittersweet Life listener trip to Rome, we took a bit of time to tape an episode to capture what we were feeling and how the trip was going.

What's it l…

Join us for a live episode with our listeners, the participants of the first-ever Bittersweet Life Roman Adventure! On Day Three of this amazing and magical trip, we stopped for an aperitivo in a sun…