Death, Sex & Money1 Huhti 2025

Laughing About Hard Things

Alongside life's darkest moments there often are moments of absurdity that make us laugh.

In this episode, from a live San Francisco comedy festival in January, Anna and guests talk about the special kind of comedy born of something sad. Comedians Guy Branum and Carl Tart share stories of writing a sitcom about Zoom-era social relationships. Chanel Miller, author of Know My Name, talks about coping with the trauma of being a victim of a high profile sexual assault case… by doing standup. And Faith Albright, a veterinarian specializing in at-home euthanasia, explores the delicate art of finding humor while supporting grieving families through difficult goodbyes. Plus an AI chatbot and musician Matt Nathanson duke it out over who can more creatively sum up each segment.

Chanel Miller’s books are the memoir Know My Name and Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All, which was recognized by the Newbury Awards this year.

Faith Albright’s work at onelivingsanctuary.org.

Matt Nathanson’s new album is called King of Unsimple and he’s on tour…find dates at mattnathanson.com

Guy Branum has upcoming standup shows in LA, Chicago, Seattle and more…find those dates at guybranum.com

Watch Carl Tart’s writing work on SNL… keep track of all his podcasts and improv shows on his instagram.

Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.

And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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