- 12 minutes 27 secondsI Madly Love Anything That Breaks the Thread of Discursive Thought /// Surrealist Games with Laura Hawley
Zak's Weirdly Helpful guru, Laura Hawley, returns to play some surrealist games. She was last on the show talking about inventing play.
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Come to How to Cut the Cheese: A WH Live Show!
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1 July 2026, 8:10 am - 12 minutes 55 secondsHow to Savor Your Summer Trip
Featured on today's show was...
-Treat Yourself to Better Car Snacks with Ethan Frisch
-Viscerally Remember Your Past Vacations with Tad Davis
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Join me for HOW TO CUT THE CHEESE, a Weirdly Helpful Live Experiment on 7/29 in Berkley, Michigan
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24 June 2026, 6:30 am - 1 minute 10 secondsGet Your Tickets for Weirdly Helpful Live on July 29th in Berkley, Michigan!
I want you to be the first to know about WEIRDLY HELPFUL live this summer on 7/29. It's a live show/dinner party and we're calling it...HOW TO CUT THE CHEESE. It's actually a dinner party ABOUT dinner parties and tickets are available HERE.
How to Cut the Cheese is part food show, part podcast performance, part public service you'll partake in while enjoying an incredible 4-course meal at The Rind, which the Detroit Free Press named #3 on their list of the Top 10 New Restaurants & Dining Experiences in 2024 "for its casual approach to upscale dining and its commitment to supporting Michigan's local food economy."
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19 June 2026, 5:12 am - 19 minutes 32 secondsTwo Prospective Parents Wander in the Desert, Debating the Future
Today, in honor of Father's Day, a pod blast from the pod past...episode 1 of Pregnant Pause with Zak and Shira
Meantime, send me your shenanigans at 844-935-2378!
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17 June 2026, 6:22 am - 17 minutes 54 secondsTry This Delightful Dinner Party Maneuver with Dan Heath
Dan Heath hosts What It’s Like to Be… In every episode, he interviews someone from a different profession: a mystery novelist, a couples therapist, a rancher, and more. He's also the #1 New York Times bestselling author (or co-author) of six beloved business books, including Switch, Made to Stick, and The Power of Moments.
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What do you find Weirdly Helpful and/or what shenanigans do you practice at home? Call me at 844-935-2378
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10 June 2026, 6:49 am - 14 minutes 34 secondsWhy Asking Weirder Questions is an Exercise in Accessing Dignity with Megan Saxelby
Megan Saxelby is an early adolescent parent coach and founder of Wild Feelings.
Jesse Thorn hosts Bullseye and The Turnaround.
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What do you find Weirdly Helpful? Call me at 844-935-2378
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3 June 2026, 5:22 am - 20 minutes 14 secondsHow To Make Friends and Find Your People
Rabbi Alana Alpert advocates for bubbe adoption and spiritual engagement in Detroit.
Elizabeth Newcamp writes at Dutch Dutch Goose and Best Moms Friends Forever.
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Thanks to Rula for supporting today's show. Learn more @ https://www.rula.com/weirdlyhelpful
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27 May 2026, 5:22 am - 14 minutes 18 secondsVisit the Most Primal, Teenage Part of Yourself with Maggie Lyons
Maggie Lyons is a creative producer living in LA. Read her essay The Comfort Playlist of Teenage Faves™️.
Listen to her nostalgia playlist here.
Aaron's advice originally aired back in 2022.
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Support the show and listen to Weirdly Helpful without ads by becoming a Patron today!
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Thanks to Rula for supporting today's show. Learn more @ https://www.rula.com/weirdlyhelpful
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20 May 2026, 6:54 am - 20 minutes 6 secondsBless the Phone with Ross Simonini
Ross Simonini is an interdisciplinary artist and writer. Read his essays Bless The Phone here and Through the Fire here. Check out his essential interviews with so many modern masters at The Believer!
Dapne on using our phone less.
Rabbi Yoni on the bathroom blessing.
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Ross has held solo presentations of his work at the Sharjah Biennial (UAE), Francois Ghebaly (NYC), anonymous gallery (NYC), Et Al (SF), SHRINE (LA), suns.works (Zurich), Shoot the Lobster (LU), and Human Resources (LA).
His novel, The Book of Formation (2018, Melville House) chronicles the rise of a fictional philosophical movement. His essays appear in the New York Times, McSweeneys, ArtReview and The Paris Review.
He releases music under his own name and has released music as a member of the bands, NewVillager and Trespassers William. He has performed at Performa, Andy Warhol Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum.
As a professor, he has taught seminars on experimental process, writing, art, sound, and dialogue at Columbia University, CA College of the Arts, and UCLA. He served as an editor at The Believer for a decade and has created audio programs for SFMOMA, KCRW, and ArtReview.
He ran ALICIA, a gallery & performance space on his property in Altadena before the fire.
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13 May 2026, 7:27 am - 13 minutes 38 secondsIntroducing: No Such Thing
I'm excited to share a preview of a new podcast I think you’d enjoy: No Such Thing. It's a show where three best friends and journalists settle their dumb arguments — and yours — by actually doing the research.
Hosts Manny Fidel, Noah Friedman, and Devan Joseph start each episode with an argument using just their gut feelings. Then they go out into the world, investigate, talk to experts, and conduct some experiments. Finally, the guys bring their findings back to the group to see if they can change minds,enlighten each other, and move past their emotional truths. Find No Such Thing on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. New episodes out Wednesdays. The entire episode about featured in today's show can be heard here.
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6 May 2026, 2:26 pm - 11 minutes 20 secondsNavigating Domestic Administration with Clarity and Kindness
Shari and Eric are married with children in NYC. They were last on the show talking about touching feet during marital discord.
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Lucy Anderton on graphing household labor and other weirdly helpful gems.
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What do you find Weirdly Helpful? Call me at 844-935-2378
THE WEIRDLY HELPFUL MERCH STORE!!!!
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6 May 2026, 6:51 am - More Episodes? Get the App