Death, Sex & Money

Hosted by Slate Podcasts

Business Society Culture Health FitnessInterviews guestsExplicit

Website RSS feed

Episodes

564

Latest episode

Sep 2026

Language

About the show

Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation. Get more Death, Sex & Money with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Death, Sex & Money show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/dsmplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 29, 202650 min

Stavros Halkias Worries Fame Might Kill Him

This year, Stavros Halkias released a stand-up special, appeared in the Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony , and continued his run on the hit Netflix show Tires . Despite the high points, he says this year has also been “torture.” This week on the show, Stavros breaks down why success and unhealthy habits go hand in hand for him. He also traces his upbringing in a working-class immigrant family in Baltimore, his experiences in therapy, and his growing aptitude for flirting with women. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Right now, we’re running a deal on Death, Sex & Money Plus memberships! Sign up to get bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/dsmplus and use promo code DSM50 to get 50% off your membership – a full year of Death, Sex & Money Plus for $59. 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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 22, 202655 min

My Homeschool Curriculum Was My Mother’s Unhappiness

Stefan’s mother said he was too smart for public school and took him out of 4th grade. But instead of studying, Stefan’s homeschool curriculum was organized around keeping his mother company and pretending he wouldn’t grow up and leave her. In this episode, Stefan Merrill Block talks about his five year homeschool experience, how it shaped him as a father and writer, and the ambivalence of loving a parent while recognizing the harm they caused. Stefan Merrill Block’s memoir Homeschooled is out now. Podcast production by Zoe Azulay 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 15, 20261 hr 0 min

How I “Failed” at OnlyFans

Anna Blake started an OnlyFans account, not as a pleasure project, but to achieve some financial stability. When she found out she hated the work and made little money, her relationship to sex – and to money – had to change. This week on the show, she talks to Anna Sale about being homeschooled as a kid, having few job prospects as a young adult with a G.E.D., and the class conversation that she feels is missing from the discourse about sex work. You can read Anna Blake’s writing at nothingseriousbyannablake.substack.com , or you can follow her on TikTok at tiktok.com/@nerdnextdoorbabe . Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Right now, we’re running a deal on Death, Sex & Money Plus memberships! Sign up to get bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/dsmplus and use promo code DSM50 to get 50% off your membership – a full year of Death, Sex & Money Plus for $59. 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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 8, 202654 min

'Pay-What-You-Want' Defies Logic, Confuses Economists, and Can Really Work

The pay-what-you-want business model is mostly found in museums and churches, but this week we’ll hear from entrepreneurs and artists who are implementing it in unlikely places. Guests include: Katie Bishop, owner of Principles G.I. Coffee House in Brooklyn, musician Jeff Rosenstock of Bomb the Music Industry!, and Aimé Nuñez, owner of Pegasus Creative Reuse in Dallas. We also hear from Shelle Santana , assistant professor of marketing at Bentley University, who studies the PWYW model and tells Anna why its success is so confusing to economists. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Right now, we’re running a deal on Death, Sex & Money Plus memberships! Sign up to get bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/dsmplus and use promo code DSM50 to get 50% off your membership – a full year of Death, Sex & Money Plus for $59. 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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 1, 202630 min

Behind Closed Tabs: Your Porn Stories

Porn. It’s something that people use in their most intimate, private moments. It’s a way to acknowledge desire — without any of the attachments of intimacy. For some of you, that's incredibly freeing. For others, it's caused some real problems. This episode originally aired in 2016 and was produced by Chester Jesus Soria and Katie Bishop If you have stories about using AI porn, experimenting with deepfakes, or seeing yourself depicted in one, record a voice memo and email it to us at deathsexmoney@slate.com. 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. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 25, 202644 min

'Humane Eldercare Has Become a Luxury Item’

Nursing home care in the U.S. can run families $10,000 a month, a cost Medicare won’t pay for. When Anna de la Cruz's parents both developed dementia around the same time, her family split into two paths: a Medicaid ‘spend down’ in the U.S. for her mom, and a move to a memory care facility in Mexico for her dad. Anna De La Cruz writes a newsletter about caregiving called Gen Xandwich . Laura Silverstein is a senior care manager with Silver and Sage Consulting NW . Wendy Jane Carrel, a care advocate, runs Wellness Shepherd . To find a care manager near you, try searching the Aging Life Care Association . This episode was produced by Zoe Azulay. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 18, 202647 min

Passive Aggressive vs. ‘Massive Aggressive’ With Novelist Elizabeth Strout

The bestselling novelist behind works like Amy and Isabelle and Olive Kitteridge discusses her excitement about turning 70, her reserved New England upbringing, and how death figures into her latest novel, The Things We Never Say . She also talks about her later start in publishing, her experience taking a stand-up comedy class, and her fascination with New York City’s loud, emotional straight talk. Get more Death, Sex & Money with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Death, Sex & Money show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify . Or, visit slate.com/dsmplus to get access wherever you listen. 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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 11, 202655 min

A Refreshingly Curious Adventure through Our Divided America

Peter Santenello has been documenting his world travels on YouTube for nearly two decades, but it wasn’t until he moved in with a family in the Ukrainian countryside that he really began to hone his storytelling approach. There were no flashy edits or celebrities, just visits with locals talking about their home, and his Ukraine series quickly gained an online following in that country. When the pandemic hit, Peter moved home to the United States and wondered if his formula could work there too – and that’s when his audience really exploded. Now with more than 4 million subscribers, Peter travels around the country chronicling all sorts of micro-cultures that “the media fails to capture,” showcasing places at various points of the economic cycle, some booming, and others left out of prosperity and struggling to hold on. He joins Anna to talk about transitioning to US-based videos, what makes his approach unique, and why curiosity beats expertise. You can watch all of Peter’s videos on his YouTube channel @PeterSantenello , and his new book Your Fellow Americans: Dispatches from Across the Country We Call Home is out now. This episode was produced by Andrew Dunn. Get more Death, Sex & Money with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Death, Sex & Money show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify . Or, visit slate.com/dsmplus to get access wherever you listen. 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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 4, 202655 min

I Have a Crush on My Therapist. Now What?

Caroline started going to therapy as a teenager because of depression. After a couple of years working together, she expressed a fantasy. “I had a vision of us dancing to Pachelbel's Canon” she told him. Caroline's therapist was 45-years-old and married, but they soon started a romantic relationship. In this episode, Anna hears from Caroline and other listeners about when romantic feelings come up in therapy and unpacks it all with Sally Openshaw, a psychologist and expert who studies erotic transference. Podcast production by Zoe Azulay 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 28, 202657 min

How a Very Polite Danny McBride Creates Characters That Go Berserk

The man behind artful and goofy comedies like The Righteous Gemstones and Eastbound and Down talks about finding his people at an upstart public film program in North Carolina, crafting characters that are nothing like himself, and nurturing a community of like-minded filmmaker friends far away from Hollywood. He also discusses his new short story collection Thrilling Tales of Modern Men . Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Get more Death, Sex & Money with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Death, Sex & Money show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify . Or, visit slate.com/dsmplus to get access wherever you listen. 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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.