This podcast series is a gift filled with “poetry prescriptions” and “beauty emergencies” showing us how poetry, rather than being elusive, is essential, necessary even for this moment. Faith Salie and Maggie Smith are brilliant and generous and kind and inspiring and the salve we all need for such a time as this.

It’s so hard to find engaging, lively, and intelligent podcasts about literature. This show is an inspiration. Great chemistry between the hosts and a wonderful format, combining celebrities who aren’t necessarily poetry experts with poets who talk about their work. And they all share works that move them. More, please.

I’m so deeply loving the “You Could Make This Beautiful” pilot/miniseries. Such fantastic conversations with poets and with the guests talking about what poetry has meant in their own life. And the poetry prescriptions segment is also just the best. I would LOVE love love to have more of this coming my way. Please, WBUR, You Could Make “You Could Make This Beautiful”!

The “you could make this beautiful” mini series is amazing! They are the poetry prescription I need in my life. Please please keep the episodes coming!

Great insights and perspectives. There is so much empathy and compassion in each episode, definitely worth listening!

I’ve loved this podcast for years! These two have taught me so much about empathy. I still listen to old episodes from time to time, but I’m still hoping there might be a possibility for a new season.

This is such a life changing podcast! Steve and Sheryl speak respond with so much empathy and compassion to every letter they receive. There is no judgement or condemnation to the seemingly bad actors in the letters. I have only been listening for a week but I trust Steve and Sheryl to give thoughtful, compassionate, and helpful advice. Also the music for this podcast is really good!

Very much appreciated the info in part one of your interview with Esther Perel on sexless marriage. But part 2 from the guy’s pov left me wanting more. I, a male in a 23.5 year marriage to a woman, am currently at the edge of my 13th year of celibacy not-of-my choosing and it was hard to escape the sense that the man’s side of the story received short shrift in pt.2. It’s hard to find points of reference/people in a similar situation to me - committed, honest, hardworking and celibate family men who have overcome the unchosen celibacy challenge. Do you know of references or even other of your episodes dealing with this? Yours, Knotted In Fear

I hate this is horrible

I listened to you both years ago…when did you return to this podcast?

In my experience, when it’s magic, it’s not hard. You want to do the work because you want to make each other happy.

Really good

I loved this episode and it resonated with me when I was married to a person living with an addiction. I was a little disappointed that all the hosts weren’t using person-first language when speaking about addiction. Addict is terribly stigmatizing and can further shame those living with addiction.

As a fellow podcaster. This show is what I strive to become. The sugars ate straight up the real deal love everything about this show. From the honesty of the hosts to the guest and everything in between.

Love listening to these two. They have great chemistry. Both of their voices are calming. Nice to listen to when you feel anxious or stressed. Everyone has struggles. They don’t ever seem like they are judging people but just giving their best advice from their own experiences.

I absolutely love the insight in these episodes. So much care and compassionate thought.

have a great on air chemistry together. You remind me of Paul and Sasha from my favorite comedy, serial podcast Community News by Paul and Sasha" I would love to hear you on their show and they on your show.

favorite podcast of all time

I love most of the episodes, but sometimes I pick and choose

This podcast is full of great relationship advice. It is never dull, and they are not afraid to tackle squeamish subjects. I love it.

After listening to Cheryl, both her deep listening skill and also how she offers wisdom. She is articulate, smart, and gentle with people’s feelings. Do the entire show yourself!

Cheryl & Steve are wonderful together. Their insights, compassion & humanity elevate me. Honestly, I could listen to Cheryl all day. Not only is her voice soothing, but she reveals herself with respect & humility. You couldn’t ask for more from a fellow traveler.

Got to know you on “ we can do hard things” by Glennon Doyle and started listening to your podcast two days ago- I’m hooked!!!!! Wonderful podcast. Thanks 🙏

Cheryl and Steve share such wonderful, inclusive wisdom in the kindest way! I’ve learned so much listening and benefitted greatly from their loving advice! Thank you Sugars!!! XOXO

I listened to this podcast years ago but came back to listen to the recent episodes, or repeats and it reminded me of what an impact Dear Sugars had on my life during my first go around.

I’ve been obsessed with Cheryl Strayed so I knew she’d be fabulous but now I’m also a new Steve Almond fan and will start reading his work. Love the care, generosity and thoughtful feedback you provide your audience even when you disagree. Thank you for lending the world your tender and wild artist-hearted advice!

Honestly, this podcast shouldn’t be posting new episodes. Literally only repeats over and over again. I used to love this, but I am tired of the repeats.

Love this podcast. Thank you for the gift of it!!

Most recent episode with Esther Perel was life changing for me. I left my marriage 30 years ago after 16 years of being in a sexless relationship but have always felt a sense of shame about the main reason I couldn’t stay. Esther Perel who joined the Sugars for that episode gave me a sense of validation regarding my needs. She also gave me more insight into how & why my ex partner became who he was with me. Thank you Sugars for all the amazing podcasts. They are truly life changing for many.

Please come back! I’ve listened to every episode more than once! We need wisdom now more than ever.

I met Austin in November because I started playing tennis and got tired of practicing alone so I reached out to him after finding him on the roster of the same college tennis team my friend played on. We eventually started talking daily then sometime between thanksgiving and Christmas he told me he didn’t want to talk daily because the conversation quality was dwindling. I did respect that and stopped reaching out every day and only reached out every two or three days. Two weeks ago he went to Florida and he just returned from his trip on Sunday. He said we could keep in touch while he was gone and we did talk a little but not enough that I was satisfied he did send Snapchat’s every once in a while. He’s aware that I’m scared of being abandoned early on we got over the hurdle of me having feelings for him. He came right out and said he as alright with how I felt and he was okay with it and that I didn’t have to be scared of him running. He’s 22 and I’m 27. I haven’t heard from him since December 30th he said he doesn’t like to hurt people. I’ve tried texting him asking if we are okay or if he’s mad at me and I’m sorry for annoying you on your trip. I even left a message on his phone and didn’t get a response

I take something very meaningful from every episode with me that I can apply to my life. This podcast saved me in my darkest moments when every therapist was booked for weeks and friends couldn't give me the honest advice I needed. I think Cheryl and Steve work so well together and appreciate hearing different their opinions. I don't always agree with everything, but Cheryl and Steve love hearing from listeners and I like when they reflect on prior episodes by going through the feedback they receive. How to get the most out of our lives and relationshipships a joint learning process for all of us and I truly feel that with this podcast

I always turn to this podcast when I need to hear words of comfort and honesty.

I do wish they were more aware of their use of binary language (which excludes non-binary trans people— I’ve heard “men and women” instead of simply “people”, “his or her” instead of “their”. Not everyone uses “he” or “she”. Some of use use they/them singular pronouns) and more aware of how they’re describing trans people (in the episode about the two trans guys). The trans woman spoken about in the beginning wasn’t “a woman who used to be a man”. Trans people have always been the gender we say we are— what you meant to say was, she was a trans woman. A lot of us don’t have the language to explain how we see ourselves, until later on in life (our twenties or later). If you’re talking about us before we came out as trans, you would say “She’s a trans woman” or “She was assigned male at birth”. We commonly use AFAB & AMAB for short, instead of “assigned female/male at birth”. We’re all assigned a binary s*x at birth and the problem lies with the fact that society still conflates s*x with gender. Gender isn’t determined by anatomy, and both s*x and gender are spectrums! Most things in life are, including orientation. Just thought this might be helpful for the future! I mean all the best— I try to educate whenever I possibly can. I’m a non-binary trans & trans masculine person, who uses mainly they/them/their pronouns. For anyone who wants to learn more about trans identities, there’s a huge amount of information available online! It sounds obvious, but Google whatever you want to know and you’ll find answers. Keep in mind that every trans person is unique. Some of us socially transition, but not medically. Some of us can’t medically transition due to financial restrictions or health issues. That’s just a starting point: gender is a spectrum, not determined by the body you were born in to, and for some people, their sense of gender changes. “Non-binary trans” is a term that encompasses a lot of trans identities: gender fluid, genderqueer, trans masculine, trans feminine, agender, and so many more. Binary trans refers to binary trans women and binary trans men. Lastly, gender oppression isn’t only experienced by cisgender women. It’s also experienced by trans people of all genders. We’re discriminated against for being trans, have a huge lack of representation in media and in subjects like s*x ed & history (in schools), have a long way to go in order to have equal rights under the law, and for AFAB trans people, many of us still have to worry about a lack of access to birth control, abortions, period products, etc. Some of us want to get pregnant and give birth to our kids, too. The average cis person doesn’t know about most of this, but I wish it were common knowledge! I hope that information helps in some way, if this podcast addresses issues that affect trans people again

I wish this podcast were still going on.

I recently discovered this podcast and I’ve been binging it. I wish it would come back!

Cannot say enough good things about this podcast. It is tender, deeply empathetic and very insightful. One of my favorites.

OMG I cannot stand one more minute of that “...send some sugar my way...” The other day I listened and I didn’t realize the speed was 1.5x and I thought oh great, they fixed the song! It sounds great! But no. On “Two Truths and Many Lies”, I have a suggestion. This woman should leave this man immediately and stop all communication. They don’t have kids together and she’s only 30. She should ask herself what things will be like in 5 years, when he still has not “changed”.

I really enjoyed this podcast until I realized that over and over, Steve and Cheryl advocate for people to reinvent their family life, divorce, and leave the children to figure it out. ‘Whatever makes you happy will be best for your life and spouse’ is incredibly selfish and, frankly, sad.

dear sugars is one of my favs and i highly recommend. soothing and empathetic. relatable and easy to put into action. please come back !!!

Love the podcast but Steve talks way too low/quiet. I’m constantly trying to turn the volume up when it’s his turn to talk. No need to whisper! Lol

Great storytelling, great podcast. I highly recommend it.

The podcast that made me fall in love with podcasts. Cheryl and Steve are incredible humans and the letters and advice will rip your heart out and mend it together with wholesome and loving advice. This podcast is like listening to hugs.

Out of all the podcasts I listen to, this is one of my top 3 favorites (and I listen to a lotta podcasts).. Thank you Cheryl and Steve for all of your advice for those in every stage of life. You will be dearly missed!

This podcast will be so missed!!! 😢

This episode could have been meaningful to your listeners whose lives have been injured by damaged parents. Honesty, it sounded like you were just winging it. That first letter read by Cheryl was way too long. You should have chosen an excerpt of it. The one good thing was the expertise of Steve’s dad, who should have been allowed to speak more and not interrupted. Because of the lack of focus in your podcast, the lifelong consequences of flawed parents was trivialized.

Missing Dear Sugars!! I can’t begin to express how much I miss the honest, raw, vulnerable advice, interviews and relatable content of this podcast. Please consider bringing it back! Steve and Cheryl strike the perfect balance of moral compass, fire in the belly & sage wisdom. Please, oh please, come back to us! 💗

As a female in my 20’s this podcast meant so much to me. Cheryl is so wise and Steve has such a soothing voice and compassionate personality. Treat yourself to some Sugar Therapy and plug into this podcast!

Listened to an episode about advice on how to deal with a drunk, irresponsible boyfriend. The guest host brought in Trump ! Advice about a drunk driver and making in anti Trump is the wacky world we live in.

Such a powerful episode and it resonated with me so much. The feedback provided to those that wrote it was so caring and honest at the same time. I will continue to listen💜.