The Longest Shortest Time
The Longest Shortest Time
Hillary Frank | Realm
Stories about the surprises and absurdities of raising other humans—and being raised by them. But you don’t need to be a parent to listen. Created and hosted by Hillary Frank. The Longest Shortest Time is back after a 5-year hiatus! New episodes drop every other Wednesday. Join LST+ for community, ad-free listening, and access to You Know What, our premium show featuring college students speaking candidly about sex, dating, and relationships. If you’re new to the show or want to get reacquainted, check out some of our classic episodes: • #27 Rewriting Your Birth Story • #88 W. Kamau Bell Asks His Mom About Sex • The Accidental Gay Parents Series (#60, #62, #80, #81, #125, #211) • #79 Terry Gross on Not Having Kids • It's a Real Mother: A Series About Workplace Discrimination (#141, #142, #143, #145)
LST FAVES: My Best Friend's Baby
Two friends try to figure out how to stay friends after one of them has a baby. The one without the baby hatches a secret plan. ⭐️ This episode originally ran on May 24, 2016 and is a favorite from the archives. We hope you enjoy, and we’ll be back next week with a brand new episode. … • Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe! • Follow us on Instagram • Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media • Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!) • Website: longestshortesttime.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 12
40 min
The Pressure to Be the Perfect Black Father
After a panic attack nearly made him lose control on the highway, Mark Anthony Neal continued to bottle up his anxiety and pretend everything was fine. Years later, when he secretly started therapy, he unpacked how the pressures of Black masculinity led him to a mental health crisis. … Recommendations from the archive • A scholar’s take on why “colorblindness” is dangerous: How to Not (Accidentally) Raise a Racist • More on the stigma around therapy in the Black community: When Are You Gonna Be Normal Again? • A Black mom on raising a passing son: How Will They Know I’m Black? … Episode resources • Mark Anthony Neal’s book: Save a Seat for Me: Notes on American Fatherhood … • Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe! • Follow us on Instagram • Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media • Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!) • Website: longestshortesttime.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 5
44 min
LST FAVES: How To Not (Accidentally) Raise A Racist
What's the best way for white parents to talk to their kids about race? We called in Dr. Brigitte Vittrup, who studies children's racial attitudes, to help us out—and to answer questions about cringeworthy moments with your own kids. ⭐️ This episode originally ran on March 8, 2017 and is a favorite from the archives. We hope you enjoy, and we’ll be back next week with a brand new episode. … Take advantage of your LST+ membership at longestshortesttime.com/club • Join the conversation for this episode! • Bond with other listeners! • Suggest a story idea! … • Follow us on Instagram • Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!) • Website: longestshortesttime.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 29
50 min
Jamilah Lemieux on Black Single Motherhood
Jamilah Lemieux’s greatest fear was becoming a single mom. When she found herself pregnant without a partner, she panicked and tried to convince her daughter’s father to get back together with her. But over time, she’s come to embrace single motherhood — and the unexpected joys of co-parenting.  … Recommendations from the archive We have lots of stories about single parenthood! • For something funny: W. Kamau Bell Asks His Mom About Sex • For something political: The Political Power of Black Motherhood • For a story with a twist: Becoming a Single Dad While Trans … Episode resources • Jamila’s book: Black. Single. Mother. • Jamilah’s website: https://www.jamilahlemieux.com/ • Co-parenting book that Jamilah recommends: The 50/50 Solution … • Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe! • Follow us on Instagram • Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media • Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!) • Website: longestshortesttime.com … Cover photo credit: Aria Askari Jocelynn Pedro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 22
44 min
LST FAVES: The Secret Life of a Deaf Superhero
Cece Bell lost her hearing at age four. In this interview, the Newbery-award-winning author and illustrator talks about how she's used her hearing aid for good ... and evil. ⭐️ This episode originally ran on June 7, 2016 and is a favorite from the archives. We hope you enjoy, and we’ll be back next week with a brand new episode. … Read the book Pick up a copy of Cece’s incredible graphic memoir El Deafo! … • Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe! • Follow us on Instagram • Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media • Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!) • Website: longestshortesttime.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 15
43 min
Even Sexperts Struggle with Intimacy in Motherhood
As curator of the Museum of Sex, Sarah Forbes was an expert on kinks and turn-ons. But motherhood taught her that sex is more complicated than attraction — and that something as unsexy as her partner changing a blowout diaper could get her in the mood. … Recommendations from the archive Check out our sex + parenthood series, which includes: • The Parents’ Guide to Doing It with Jane Marie and Dan Savage • The Parents’ Guide to Doing It with Dr. Hilda Hutchinson and Twanna Hines • The Parents’ Guide to Doing It with Esther Perel … More about Sarah Forbes • Sarah’s website: curatorforbes.com • Sarah’s book: Mama Sex … • Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe! • Follow us on Instagram • Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media • Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!) • Website: longestshortesttime.com ... Cover photo credit: Rebecca Smeyne for Cosmopolitan Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 8
40 min
Getting Kids to Bed with Naturepedic's Arin Schultz
As the father of four boys, Arin Schultz treasures his sleep… and because he works at a mattress company, he spends most of his waking hours thinking about sleep. In this episode, sponsored by Naturepedic, Arin shares the company’s dramatic origin story, and some sleep hygiene tips he’s picked up along the way. … Recommendations from the archive We have more episodes about kids and sleep! • Start with our very first episode: Your Singing Really Interferes With My Going-To-Sleep Process • If you like that one, check out the follow-up four years later: Music Together-ish • In 2018, we hosted a call-in show at 2 a.m. for all the sleepless parents out there: You Up? … Episode resources • Thanks to Naturepedic for sponsoring this episode! You can find their products, and a store near you, at naturepedic.com. Plus, get 20% off with code LONGSHORT … • Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe! • Follow us on Instagram • Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media • Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!) • Website: longestshortesttime.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 1
34 min
Preventing Teens from Joining the Manosphere
Most consent education focuses on survivors, and rightly so. But that leaves perpetrators without resources to repair harm. Drew Davis, a die-hard feminist, aims to fix that with a new online tool. … Recommendations from the archive • Our first episode with SafeBAE: How to Not (Accidentally) Raise a Rapist • Hillary’s personal episode about sex ed and consent that relaunched LST: The Staircase … Episode resources • SafeBAE’s website: safebae.org • Try SafeBAE’s online tool: Vibe Check • SafeBAE’s guide for parents: Check Their Vibe … • Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe! • Follow us on Instagram • Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media • Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!) • Website: longestshortesttime.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 24
42 min
LST FAVES: How to Not (Accidentally) Raise a Rapist
Consent education in school is mostly insufficient or non-existent — even when it’s required by state law. An organization called SafeBAE is trying to change that by training teens to teach each other about consent. SafeBAE’s executive director Shael Norris talks about what works and what doesn’t when discussing this topic with young people. We’ll also hear a cautionary tale about a time when Shael’s own daughter attempted to get justice for sexual assault survivors back when she was in high school. ⭐️ This episode originally ran on February 5, 2025 and is a favorite from the archives. We hope you enjoy, and we’ll be back next week with an exciting update on what SafeBAE is up to now… stay tuned! … Episode resources • Check out SafeBAE.org for info on consent ed for teens … • Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe! • Follow us on Instagram • Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media • Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!) • Website: longestshortesttime.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 17
46 min
Negin Farsad Tackles Her Daughter's Unanswerable Questions
In 2017, comedian Negin Farsad came on the show to tackle kids’ unanswerable questions. Now she’s a mom, wrestling with how to explain death, slavery, and war to her own child. Plus, a delightful episode crossover moment with another former guest. (Hint: hot firefighters!) … Recommendations from the archive Want to hear more comedians answer kids’ questions? Check out the whole series! • Kids Ask Negin Farsad Unanswerable Questions • Lauren Lapkus Answers Kids’ Unanswerable Questions • Kids Ask Chris Gethard Unanswerable Questions … Episode resources • Negin’s podcast: Fake the Nation • Negin’s book: How to Make White People Laugh • We recorded this episode at the women’s clothing company M.M.LaFleur in Manhattan. And they’ve got a special promo for you! You get 15% off first-time orders with the code LONGSHORT15 … • Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe! • Follow us on Instagram • Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media • Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!) • Website: longestshortesttime.com … Cover photo credit: Joyce Zhang Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 10
39 min
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