Dear Sugars

Exploring the emotional turmoil of feeling ugly, the hosts discuss societal beauty standards and the negative feelings associated with one's physical appearance. Writer Ariel Henley shares her experiences with facial differences and finding self-acceptance. The podcast also explores the power of being an outsider and the significance of recognizing these experiences as valuable lessons.

Catrice M. Jackson, a leading voice for racial justice, joins the Sugars to discuss privilege and creating spaces for women to discuss issues of racism, white supremacy, white privilege, and white feminism. They also explore the ways in which white women engage in interpersonal violence and the importance of understanding everyday racism.

The podcast discusses the challenges of transitioning from financial dependency to independence for young adults. It explores the importance of defining boundaries, creating one's own rite of passage, and fostering problem-solving skills.

Produced by WBUR, Boston’s NPR, in partnership with The Trace, The Gun Machine looks into the past to bring you a story that most Americans never learned in history class: how early partnerships between mad scientist gunsmiths and a fledgling U.S. government created the gun industry in the Northeast, and how that industry has been partners with the government ever since. Host Alain Stephens examines how this 250-year relationship underpins all Americans’ interactions with guns — including our failures in dealing with the fallout of gun violence. The Gun Machine episodes drop every Wednesday, starting Oct. 4, 2023. Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts. https://link.chtbl.com/thegunmachine

Exploring the challenges of being in a relationship with an addict; the difficulty of honesty and trust; the experience of being married to an addict; challenges of dealing with an addict; longing for the past and understanding recovery.

Emily Rapp Black, a writer who decided to have another child after learning that her son had a fatal congenital disorder, joins the Sugars to read letters from parents coping with grief overshadowing their surviving children. They explore the complex emotions of living with grief and happiness simultaneously, the presence of the deceased in the lives of the living, open communication and honesty in parenting after loss, and finding new purpose amidst adversity.

The Sugars discuss struggles with body image and body acceptance, breaking free from body image obsession, trusting your body and letting go of control, and exploring hunger, appetite, satisfaction, and body negativity. They also address understanding body trust, embracing body acceptance, and challenging beauty standards.

"What do I want?" This is the question Oprah Winfrey finally asked herself, after years of struggling to say "no" to people in her life. In the second of this two-part series, the Sugars continue their conversation with Oprah Winfrey on when, why and how to say "no."

In this episode, the Sugars answer letters from letter writers who want to have sex less frequently than their partners do.

In the Empty Chair series, the Sugars discuss early childhood death, an absence that can be ever-present. In Part 1, they read letters from siblings who live in the the shadow of their parents’ grief. This episode was originally released on November 4th, 2017.