Depresh Mode with John Moe

I mean, even before you see the baked goods available at Depressed Cake Shop, the name alone is good for a laugh. Because what could be less depressing than a cake shop? And then you see the storm cloud cookies or the cupcakes with gray frosting and the joke gets even funnier. The world of depression? It can be pretty hilarious at times. Depressed Cake Shop isn’t fixed to one location, rather it’s a series of pop-up shops selling funny/bleak sweets to benefit local mental health charities. We speak with Valerie Van Galder, the CEO of the organization that helps make all the little shops possible.We also meet Sascha Biesi, co-owner of Skull and Cakebones, a bakery near Austin, Texas that has been hosting Depressed Cake Shops every May for years. And we get Sascha’s own story of a life struggling with depression, bipolar losses, and devastating grief.Both Sascha and Valerie also talk about the connection between mental illness, baking, art, and drawing people together.Go to DepressedCakeShop.org to learn more, get involved, and bear witness to the cakes! Follow Depressed Cake Shop on Twitter @depressedcake, Instagram @depressedcakeshop, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DepressedCakeShop.Visit the Skull & Cakebones website at www.skullandcakebones.com or visit the bakery at 3991 E Hwy 290 A, Unit A, Dripping Springs, Texas 78620.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

Granted, there have been people very high on the prospects of psychedelics for a long time as a means of achieving better mental health. But these folks didn’t appear in scientific and medical circles so much as they appeared in drum circles. Things are different now, with very promising research and results being reported on the ability of these drugs to kind of un-stick one’s mind and achieve a better state of mental health.We talk with freelance reporter and researcher John Semley, who has been reporting on the gold rush among scientists and pharma companies to create and patent new drugs. We find out when these treatments might be available in clinical settings for the general public and when you can pick some up at your local Walgreen’s. The High-Stakes Race to Engineer New Psychedelic Drugs by John Semley in WiredFollow John Semley on Twitter @johnsemley3000.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

Kristin Hersh is an acclaimed and accomplished musician and songwriter through her solo work and as part of the bands Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave. When Kristin Hersh was young, her father, Dude (that’s what everyone calls him), taught her some basic chords on the guitar. And that was fine but to Kristin, Dude was just showing her the red, blue, and green chords whereas she wanted to learn, like turquoise, burgundy, and magenta chords. Synesthesia has always been part of Kristin’s approach to music, she sees sound as color. Another more alarming aspect of her music was that for many years she didn’t really remember performing. She was mentally present between songs and all the rest of her day but when it came time to play the song, it was like someone else was doing it while Kristin just went... elsewhere.We talk about those phenomena as well as trauma, car accidents, babies, misdiagnosed bipolar disorder, and her journey of mental health discovery.Kristin’s web site  - https://www.kristinhersh.com/Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

Jason Kander had heard of post-traumatic stress disorder. He just didn’t think he had it. After all, he hadn’t been in any firefights while stationed in wartime Afghanistan, he had merely worked as an intelligence officer. And even though that job put him in positions of tremendous vulnerability where he may have to kill or be killed in an instant, it never occurred to him that he was experiencing trauma.So when Jason got back stateside and remained hypervigilant, was destroyed by night terrors, patrolled his house with a gun, and was generally a mess, he figured it was something that would soon go away. As he waited for that to happen, he climbed the ranks of Democratic politics, eventually being told by Barack Obama that he should consider running for the highest office in the land.But you can’t run from mental illness forever. It catches you. It caught Jason in the middle of a race for Mayor of Kansas City. That’s when he hit bottom and got help. It’s a story told in his new book, Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD.Get your copy of Jason's book, Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD, wherever books are sold. Listen to Majority 54, Jason's podcast with Ravi Gupta, wherever fine pods are cast. Visit Jason Kander's website at JasonKander.com. Follow Jason on Twitter @JasonKander and on Instagram @jasonkander.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

People are many things. Tabitha Soren became famous for her conversations with star musicians of the 90’s during her stint on MTV News. But that’s not who she is anymore. Tabitha is, among many things, a mother grieving the loss of her daughter, Dixie, in a 2021 car accident. She talks about the challenge of having to come up with words to talk about Dixie and what her family has been through in the last year and a half. And she talks about the inspiration she stills draws from the life Dixie led. Tabitha is also a successful and acclaimed artist, working within the medium of photography to create pieces that are vibrant, complex, and multi-layered in both the literal and figurative sense.And yeah, she is still the same person who had a front row seat to important musical moments. She fills us in on what it was like to be an extra in the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right” music video. It involved cream pies that were far from fresh.For more information and Tabitha's photography, visit her website at TabithaSoren.com. Follow Tabitha on Twitter @tabithasoren and on Instagram @tabithasoren.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, is serving his second non-consecutive term as U.S. Surgeon General, having previously served under President Obama. Dr. Murthy’s office has issued a Framework for Mental Health & Well-Being in the Workplace. It’s a set of guidelines aimed at reducing burnout at work and promoting positive mental health:1. Protection from Harm2. Connection and Community3. Work-Life Harmony4. Mattering at Work5. Opportunity for GrowthBut the framework isn’t really aimed at employees as much as it is aimed at employers. Management has the power to create better environments, retain more employees, attract new ones, and increase productivity.We talk with the Surgeon General about the challenge and opportunity employees and employers face and how realistic these goals are. We also get into the effect of social media on our collective mental health and the ongoing problem of loneliness in America.Read the Surgeon General's Workplace Well-Being framework in full here: www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.htmlThank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

If you’re a fan of the podcast Song Exploder, and a whole lot of people are, you know that it’s all about creativity. A musician walks the audience through the components of their song and the inspirations and decisions that went into forming those parts as they came together as a whole. Meanwhile, Hrishikesh Hirway, creator of the show, drops in separated tracks so you can follow the story. It’s somewhat surprising then that Hrishi, a musician himself, was unable to write a song for years, even during the run of his show that so many other people find inspirational. Any idea he would get would be shot down by the negative voices in his brain, which told him that anything he made was bound to suck, that he had no business even attempting music. Finally, an invitation came from musician Jenny Owen Youngs to collaborate on a song for her podcast about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The pressure was off and Jenny’s belief in Hrishi’s talent was enough to break through those horrible voices.Hrishikesh Hirway has a new single, Still Dreaming, out October 19th, and he’s on tour with Jenny Owen Youngs.For music, tour dates, podcasts, and more information, visit Hrishikesh Hirway's website at hrishikesh.co. Follow Hrishi on Twitter @HrishiHirway and on Instagram @hrishihirway.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

A lot of people think of clinical depression as a condition wherein the patient lies in bed immobilized with sadness and despair. And sure, it can present that way. But depression can show up in a lot of other ways too, including road rage, which John details in a harrowing and darkly funny chapter of his memoir. Learn why frat bros in fancy trucks set off a potentially dangerous episode at the city dump.We also hear about John finally getting help for his depression at the urging of his wife after a great deal of resistance. John experiences the unexpected joy and exhilaration of being told he has a chronic mental illness.And we check in on a role-playing game in the Dungeons & Dragons tradition that’s helping teenagers navigate therapy.John's acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionLearn more about Mary Devorak and Dungeons & Dragons therapy here: https://taggsummit.org/using-rpgs-with-family-systems/Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

From a very early age, Kevin Love was great at sports. He had the talent, the size, and, most of all, he loved playing basketball. In this way, he was just like his father, Stan, who played in the NBA long ago. But with high achievement comes more pressure than Kevin was ready to handle and depression and anxiety came calling. As Kevin’s career progressed - scholarship player at UCLA, 5th overall pick in the NBA draft, All-Star selections, an NBA championship - he waited for the next big achievement to solve his mental health problems. He didn’t realize that mental health doesn’t work that way. It took an on-court panic attack during a game against Atlanta to get him the help he finally needed. Now, 34 and a respected veteran in the league, he’s telling his story in order to help players and non-players alike. Find out more about Kevin's mental health advocacy work by visiting KevinLoveFund.org.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John's acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

You Are Not Alone: the NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health is a deep and thorough look at mental health and mental illness as they are experienced by people from all walks of life. The book’s author, Dr. Ken Duckworth, medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, interviewed 130 people who have dealt with trauma, depression, psychosis, OCD, and just about any other mental disorder you can think of. He hadn’t intended to talk to so many but it was all too fascinating to stop. He says it was only a book deadline that prevented him from talking to 130 more. Ken contends that there are two kinds of experts: the ones who get advanced degrees and career achievements in psychiatry and psychology and the ones who become experts by living through mental health situations.In this interview with Depresh Mode, Ken talks about the vast knowledge and wisdom we can gain from one another and how the new societal openness about mental health is creating a better world.We also talk about Bigfoot.Get your copy of You Are Not Alone: the NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health wherever books are sold. Learn more about the National Alliance on Mental Illness by visiting nami.org.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John's acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.