Depresh Mode with John Moe

It’s not actually all that hard to tell when Tim Heidecker is kidding and when he’s not, but it does take a little bit of practice. When he’s performing on shows like Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! or Tim & Eric’s Bedtime Stories, it’s comedy. When he acts in comedic movies, sure, that’s comedy as well. But on albums such as his new one, High School, you don’t need to listen carefully for the punchline because there isn’t one. He’s not trying to fake you out with his music, he’s giving it you straight as a singer/songwriter with a bit of a 1970’s sheen to it.Tim says he’s never been diagnosed with depression but he’s had some rough times. He talks about losing close friends to drugs and alcohol and he talks about an incident several years ago when he got stabbed by someone he knew.We talk to Tim about comedy, tragedy, and whether a clinical diagnosis of a particular disorder is really all that necessary when dealing with the dark parts of life.Pre-order Tim Heidecker's new album High School, out June 24, 2022 on Spacebomb Records, here. For tour dates and more information, visit Tim's website at www.timheidecker.com. Follow Tim on Twitter @timheidecker and on TikTok @timheideckermusic.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: 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.

Honestly, I really expected to call this episode “Covid Sedaris” because David Sedaris had just tested positive for COVID when we taped the interview. But when we spoke, he wasn’t feeling it much at all. Had some symptoms that might have been allergies or COVID but were barely noticeable. Other people have it a lot worse, he says.David has been delighting audiences for 30 years now, ever since the broadcast of Santaland Diaries. His latest book, Happy-Go-Lucky, is deceptively titled, containing a lot of stories and memories that are pretty painful. David’s father died last year at age 98 and liberated David to share some things he hasn’t shared so openly before. He talks about how his father ridiculed him, belittled him, and just flat out didn’t like him. He shares the story of being invited to give the commencement address at Princeton and bringing along his dad, who told the university president that they should have booked his sister Amy Sedaris instead.David also shares stories of his sister Tiffany, who died by suicide in 2013. He’s caught heat over the years for writing and talking about how difficult it was for him to deal with her when she was at her most unstable. He also talks about the charges of abuse Tiffany made against David and their father before he died.There are still plenty of laughs in the interview because, come on, it’s David Sedaris, but there’s also pain and melancholy that you might not have heard from him before.Get your copy of David Sedaris' Happy-Go-Lucky wherever books are sold.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: 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.

Comedian and writer Ginny Hogan got interested in standup comedy when she was in her twenties and working at a tech startup in San Francisco. Soon she was hooked on comedy. And alcohol. She got hooked on alcohol as well. The comedy was definitely more positive and healthy than the alcohol.In this interview, Ginny recounts a habit she developed for getting drunk, picking up a little extra wine to take with her, and then spending the night walking the streets of San Francisco and New York with headphones on. We also talk about her experiences with eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and ADHD, and she speculates on which of those might a symptom of which other ones.Ginny is sober now and in recovery and she can have some hard-won laughs about those days. She’s also dating once in a while, which she says is a different kind of thing when you’re sober compared to when you’re not. She writes a lot about the often strange and confusing world of dating in her new book, a collection of essays called I’m More Dateable Than a Plate of Refried Beans.After you hear the interview, come on back here to catch her standup hour:https://youtu.be/NnFTAYIhdy8For tour dates and more information, visit Ginny's Linktree at linktr.ee/ginnyhogan or her website: www.ginnyhogancomedy.com. Follow Ginny on Twitter @ginnyhogan_.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: 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.

Jamie never expected to be a mental health advocate. He was working in the industry that had always been his dream career: surfing apparel. But things changed after several days spent taking care of a young woman he didn’t know, who was struggling with suicidal thoughts, substance use disorder, and self-harm. Renee had carved the word “fuckup” onto her arms but couldn’t get into a treatment facility for several days. Jamie’s essay about their time together became a viral sensation on MySpace, which led the way to t-shirt sales to help fund Renee’s recovery. From there, the essay became a large, successful mental health advocacy non-profit.Jamie tells that story as well as why he ultimately left TWLOHA, how he perseveres through bleak suicide statistics, and what he’s doing about a recent breakup.Visit Jamie's website at JamieTworkowski.com. Follow Jamie on Twitter @jamietworkowski and on Instagram @jamietworkowski. Check out Jamie's new clothing company Needs An Ocean at NeedsAnOcean.com. To learn more about To Write Love On Her Arms and to read Jamie's original story, visit twloha.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: 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.

Right now, in our society, there is so much to be anxious about. There are many factors that could lead one to feel depressed and defeated. If one already has a tendency toward anxiety and depression, that path can be even shorter. But as a member of that society, one must look for hope anyway. It’s that dynamic relationship between despair and hope that led us to reach out to Maggie Smith. The American poet Maggie Smith, not the British actor Maggie Smith.Maggie is the author of several volumes of poetry and her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Paris Review, the New York Times, and the Best American Poetry anthology. She became very well known in 2016 when her poem “Good Bones”, about the bleakness of the present and the possibility of a better future, became a viral hit.In this interview, she talks about her anxious childhood, the pessimism people knew her for as an adult, a divorce that changed her significantly, and how to unleash your inner weirdness for the benefit of yourself and your writing.For books, events, and more poems, visit Maggie's website at www.MaggieSmithPoet.com. Follow Maggie on Twitter @maggiesmithpoet.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: 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.

The English language is constantly growing and evolving, and so is our usage of that language. We don’t refer to people with mental illness as “lunatics” anymore. At least we shouldn’t. But there was a time when that was a commonly accepted term.Even language that we think to be more enlightened can fall out of favor. Person-first terminology has become popular in recent years. That’s where you don’t say “Tom has depression.” You say, “Tom is a person with depression,” in an effort to convey that Tom is a person above anything else. But the person-first has detractors as well, who argue, among other things, that one’s personhood shouldn’t require reiteration and that doing so could call it into question.We’re joined by Helen Zaltzman noted wordsmith and host of The Allusionist podcast. And we speak with Dr. Ksera Dyette, a therapist in practice in Boston.Listen to The Allusionist podcast wherever fine pods are cast. Follow Helen Zaltzman on Twitter @HelenZaltzman and on Instagram @helenzaltzman. Learn more about Dr. Ksera Dyette and Cup of Tea Counselling by visiting beacons.ai/cteacounselling. Follow Dr. Dyette on Instagram @cteacounselling and on TikTok @drdyette.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: 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.

A lot of people listen to Shamir’s music, and have since he was 19 years old and his songs began circulating. People listen for the innovative arrangements, the poetic lyrics, and the artist’s unique singing voice. The music has been described as house-hop, disco, and indie-pop.Shamir pays a lot of attention to the music as well. He’s listening to make sure he’s staying true to himself. He wants to make certain that what he’s creating forms an accurate portrait of who he is. This conviction, this personal requirement to stay true to himself, has helped guide Shamir through depression, self-doubt, bipolar disorder, and a psychotic break.In this episode, Shamir walks us through his career and the challenges he has faced along the way. For tour dates, music, and more, visit Shamir's Bandcamp at shamir.bandcamp.com. Follow Shamir on Twitter @ShamirBailey and on Instagram @shamir326. 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: 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.

Current events in the world today can be a lot to deal with even as a regular person. You got war in Ukraine, anti-democracy and pro-Putin forces in a major political party, a movement against LGBTQ and trans people, COVID, and environmental worries to name just a few things. And it might be even more intense if you’re one of the people producing the news. S.E. Cupp has to follow the news very closely, it’s part of her job at CNN and as a newspaper columnist. But she says the close proximity to things like the war in Syria and school shootings have taken their toll on her and she hasn’t always had a great strategy for managing that kind of potentially traumatic stress. S.E. was in line in a store last summer, just out running errands, when she checked her Twitter feed and saw a kid on a ventilator. That sight was the final straw and she had a terrifying panic attack that wounded her mind pretty severely. She’s more functional now, though she says she’ll never be the same. And that experience has prompted her to make some big changes in how she approaches something like social media.It is week 2 of MAX FUN DRIVE! Now is your chance to support Depresh Mode so it can keep happening!To entice you, we are offering:The satisfaction of helping make this show, which helps people, possible!Access to SLEEPING WITH CELEBRITIES, our star-studded sleep aid mega-episode! It features beloved voices like John Hodgman, Peter Sagal, Janet Varney, Jordan Morris and Jesse Thorn, and more talking about the most boring stuff imaginable. You can put it on, let it soothe you with it’s lack of drama and surprises, and drift off to sleep! A one-of-a-kind Depresh Mode patch featuring Oops Nope, our official Depresh Mode mascot!Hats, messenger bags, and so much more!Go to maximumfun.org/join, find a level that works for you, and join us RIGHT NOW! Exclamation points!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: 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.

The singer, songwriter, guitarist, and acclaimed author John Darnielle is one of the more prolific creative forces you’re likely to run across. He’s released 20 full-length studio albums, plus a mess of EPs, tapes, and singles over his 25-plus years of recording. And he’s written three novels in recent years as well.In this interview, John talks about his interest in written material about violence and horror and what he thinks might be behind society’s stronger than ever fascination with true crime. We also hear about his experiences on drugs, his need to get off drugs to avoid going to prison, and his modern relationship with wine at parties, which has a connection to his lifelong relationship with anxiety. Learn about a nervous party experience with John Hodgman and why he also makes sure to have lunch with John Hodgman at every opportunity, even if he has a full schedule. Yep, John Darnielle, in conversation with John Moe, talks about John Hodgman. So many Johns. It’s a Johnslaught. They form a Johntourage. OH AND ALSO it’s the very beginning of our annual MAX FUN DRIVE! Now is your chance to support Depresh Mode so it can keep happening!To entice you, we are offering:The satisfaction of helping make this show, which helps people, possible!Access to SLEEPING WITH CELEBRITIES, our star-studded sleep aid mega-episode! It features beloved voices like John Hodgman, Peter Sagal, Janet Varney, Jordan Morris and Jesse Thorn, and more talking about the most boring stuff imaginable. You can put it on, let it soothe you with it’s lack of drama and surprises, and drift off to sleep! A one-of-a-kind Depresh Mode patch featuring Oops Nope, our official Depresh Mode mascot!Hats, messenger bags, and so much more!Go to maximumfun.org/join, find a level that works for you, and join us RIGHT NOW! Exclamation points!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: 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.

Sarah Edmonson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames were doing okay in life. They were healthy, they were working, and, like a lot of people, they were looking for more success. So when they were introduced to some self-help courses called the Executive Success Program, they gave it a shot. When it seemed to be working pretty well, naturally, they stuck with it.The group they ended up in, pronounced “nexium” but spelled in unpronounceable capital letters, manipulated that desire for success and happiness, eventually consuming the time, money, and lives of the people who joined. Members were made to follow the charismatic leader, Keith Raniere, as though he were a divine figure. You could move up in rank and wear special symbolic sashes. Many members were encouraged to move to Albany to live together and be near Raniere.From the introduction to this episode:“I’ve always been fascinated by the mental health aspect of cult membership. How was someone doing, psychologically, before they joined up? What happened to their mind during their time with the cult. And how their mental health was after being in a group like that. I think it’s comforting to think, well, I could never be sucked into something like that, I’m too smart and aware. But I think a lot of us feel psychologically incomplete at times. Adrift. In some form of peril. I know I do. And if someone charismatic comes along, welcomes you, seems to be able to help, how can you not listen?”Sarah's resources can be found at SarahEdmondson.com/Resources. Listen to the A Little Bit Culty podcast wherever pods are cast. Get your copy of Sarah's book Scarred wherever books are sold. Follow Sarah and Nippy on Instagram @sarahedmondson and @anthonyames11.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: 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.