Last Day

Before we finish this countdown to Last Day’s fifth anniversary, we are resharing an episode from season one. This episode was chosen by Lizzie, our Senior Vice President of Growth and Marketing.  Most of us have seen an opioid overdose depicted on TV or in movies, but what happens in real life? On this episode, Stephanie talks to Karen Host, Senior Director at Cataldo Ambulance, and Dr. Jay, an emergency room doctor, about the anatomy of an overdose, what it’s like to save a life, the immediate aftermath, and the complexity of prescribing opioids for pain in the midst of an opioid crisis. Continue the conversation on your phone at https://flick.group/lastday. Last Day contains strong language, mature themes, and may not be appropriate for all listeners. Transcriptions available shortly after air date at https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/last-day/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To commemorate Last Day’s fifth anniversary, we are revisiting the season two finale. This episode was chosen by Jackie – one of the first people to work on the show, and a previous Last Day guest herself.  Season 2 Finale! We started this season on a bridge but told you not to get caught up in the romantic notion of saviors and last minute interventions. Suicide isn’t about one moment in time. But if you or someone you love is suicidal, a single moment can be the difference between life and death. So, this week we’re doing a toolkit episode all about crisis response. What do you do when help is needed right now? This week, we role play with a suicide hotline employee, give the Cliff’s notes version of QPR suicide prevention training, and hear about what happens when therapists go on strike.  This episode features a host of talented people, including Tara Consolino (director of suicide prevention and substance abuse, Detroit V.A.), Dr. Julie Goldstein Grumet (director, Zero Suicide Institute at the Education Development Center), Dr. John Draper (executive director, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), Susan Whitney (licensed marriage and family therapist, Kaiser), and Sal Rosselli (president and co-founder, National Union of Healthcare Workers). Resources from the episode: Read up on QPR from the QPR Institute and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center Zero Suicide Institute, their general toolkit, and population-specific toolkits  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  Lifeline’s 5 Steps to Help Someone in Crisis #Bethe1To NUHW Kaiser Don’t Deny campaign webpage NUHW Care Delayed, Care Denied white paper Learn more about SB 855 via CapRadio If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. Contact one of the resources below for a free, confidential conversation with a trained counselor anytime.  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 Crisis Text line: Text “Connect” to 741-741 The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386 Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.  Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/ For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To continue the countdown to Last Day’s fifth birthday, here’s our next pick: the first episode of our season on gun violence, chosen by our senior producer — and first-time gun wielder — Kegan. In episode 1, our team travels to Montana, where cowboy culture reigns supreme, everyone is armed, and 86% of firearm deaths are suicides. There, we meet a couple that represents all the contradictions at the root of America’s gun debate: One is a suicide prevention advocate, and the other is the most adamant Second Amendment supporter we’ve ever met. Plus, our team tries out shooting some big-ass guns. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.  Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/ For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last Day is turning five! From investigating America’s deaths of despair to featuring real-life stories of hope and change, the journey of Last Day has been kinda unbelievable. All the tears! All the laughter! And all of you! We’re so grateful to our loyal listeners who have come along with us for the ride. To celebrate, we are counting down five of our staff’s favorite Last Day episodes of all time. This week, you’ll hear Lina’s story introduced by Wendolyne, Lemonada’s business operations manager.  Growing up, Lina Martinez treasured holidays spent with her family. She remembers the food, the ornaments, the dancing, and — above all – her dad, who made everything warmer and brighter. Year round, her dad Luis was her person, her best friend. But when Luis fell ill shortly before Christmas, Lina could already tell her holidays were going to look different from then on. Lina shares with Stephanie what it was like to receive and lose the most important kind of love in her life, and how she makes space for her grief, even during the most “wonderful” time of the year.  Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.  Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/ For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re sharing a story from another podcast near and dear to our hearts. Love Letters, from The Boston Globe, shares stories from real life people. Host Meredith Goldstein hears from people about dating, relationships and falling in love. Tooky Kavanagh is one of the people, and she had her own Last Day moment in 2014. After years of being told she wasn’t enough – good enough, smart enough, pretty enough – Tooky discovered that, yeah, actually, she was enough. This revelation came in the unlikeliest of places: the basement of a burger place, at a comedy open mic night. For the first time, Tooky could see who she was supposed to be. Find out more about Love Letters here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carrie and Joe were college sweethearts who made a picture-perfect family. They worked and saved to pay for their kids’ sports, vacations, and everything in between. Then, after over a decade of marriage, Carrie stumbled upon the secret that compromised everything they built. Carrie shares with Stephanie how her husband’s betrayal left her with absolutely nothing – not a roof over her head, or answers from her life partner about why he deceived her. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.  Have a story you want to share? Head to bit.ly/lastdaystories to fill out our confidential Google form.  Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/ For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If comedian Tig Notaro hadn’t had cancer, her life might’ve actually been worse. In those sobering moments post-diagnosis, she got up on stage and told a room of people all about it. “The crowd went wild” is an understatement and was only a taste of what was to come. Years after a recording of that standup set went viral and launched her into the cultural mainstream, Tig sits down with Stephanie to talk about living in a world of unknowns. Because as hard as her life was back then, Tig could have never imagined how good it was about to get. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.  Have a story you want to share? Head to bit.ly/lastdaystories to fill out our confidential Google form.  Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/ For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vinnie grew up in a strict, insular environment that instilled a simple message in him from a young age: who you are is fundamentally wrong. After spending years praying to God to fix him, he finally hit his breaking point. Vinnie talks to Steph about the joys and struggles of coming out in his mid 30s and extricating himself from the Evangelical church. To support Vinnie’s work, check out his website and the essay collection Fashionably Late: Gay, Bi, and Trans Men Who Came Out Later in Life. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.  Have a story you want to share? Head to bit.ly/lastdaystories to fill out our confidential Google form.  Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/ For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Geena Rocero has yet to meet a stage she doesn’t like. As the reigning trans beauty queen in the Philippines, she was adored and envied with equal passion – all while being out and proud. But when she moved to America and became a model, she went back in the closet to protect her livelihood, at least until the secrecy began to do more harm than it was worth. Geena tells Stephanie how she was finally able to live without compromising what was most important to her, starting with the moment she reclaimed her identity, all while standing on one of the biggest and most pivotal stages in the world. Lemonada has teamed up with Apple Books to bring you the Lemonada Book Club. “Horse Barbie” by Geena Rocero is our May 2024 audiobook of the month! For more details, visit http://apple.co/lemonadabookclub. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.  Have a story you want to share? Head to bit.ly/lastdaystories to fill out our confidential Google form.  Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/ For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After getting engaged, Nikki Vargas was staring down a lifetime of white picket fences, suburbs, and 2.5 kids. And deep down she knew she couldn’t do it. So years into a confining relationship, and even deeper into a love affair with travel and journalism that compromised the future her fiancé imagined, Nikki had to make a life-changing choice. She talks with Stephanie about how, ultimately, that choice might just be the best one she’s ever made. This series is presented by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. MCF supports leaders who work to shift the balance of power in their communities toward working people and families, and who have the vision and capacity for building a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org or visit on social media @caseygrants. Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.  Have a story you want to share? Head to bit.ly/lastdaystories to fill out our confidential Google form.  Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/ For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.