Big Mood, Little Mood with Daniel M. Lavery

Slate Podcasts

4.3 (1K)
SEXUALITY

Every week, Danny M. Lavery brings on a guest to answer questions from listeners before diving into conversation about relationships, dissatisfaction, drives, regrets, estrangement, embarrassment, self-assessments, and feelings from the monumental to the minute.

FEB 5

Outward | Creating A Home for Trans Surgery Recovery

This week, Jules Gill-Peterson sits down with Owen Dempsey, the founder of Quest Healing House, a post-op recovery home providing safe, affordable lodging and wraparound support for transmasculine people. They discuss how Quest House, began, the urgent need for trans-led recovery spaces, and how the project has grown to meet community needs. Dempsey shares their vision for a future where no trans person has to heal alone—and why it’s so critical to talk about transition as an ongoing, years-long process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

43 min
JAN 8

Outward: Conversion Therapy and Survival with Lucas Wilson

Bryan Lowder talks with writer and scholar Lucas Wilson about his new book, Shame Sex: Survivors’ Stories of Conversion Therapy. They chat about Wilson’s experience navigating same-sex attraction while on an evangelical path, experiencing conversion therapy, and the complicated relationships he experienced along the way. He also shares powerful stories from other survivors and explores the enduring harm of these practices, offering a poignant look at resilience, shame, and healing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

42 min
12/11/2024

Outward: How Lesbian Artists Turned Renaissance Ruins Into Queer Spaces with Kate Thomas

This week, Christina Cauterucci explores the intimate connections between queer identity and the natural world with Bryn Mawr professor Kate Thomas. In this episode, we journey through the lives of Florence Blood and Princess Ghika, two enigmatic lesbians who found self-expression, love, and freedom renovating their Italian Renaissance estate at the turn of the 20th century- creating an enchanting landscape to host lesbian artists and thinkers of the time. Thomas unpacks how their landscapes reflect their identities and what they can teach us about the enduring relationship between queerness and the environment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

32 min
12/04/2024

Outward: Masculinity and Muscles with Michael Andor Brodeur

This week, Bryan Lowder chats with Michael Andor Brodeur, author of Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle, to unpack the complex intersections of fitness, masculinity, and queer identity. From the sweaty intimacy of the gym to the charged symbolism of muscle, Brodeur examines how bodies become sites of desire, power, and transformation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

39 min
11/27/2024

Outward: Sarah McBride’s Win and the Rise of Anti-Trans Politics

This week, the hosts come together to unpack Sarah McBride’s groundbreaking win as the first openly transgender member of Congress. While the win is historic, Bryan, Jules, and Christina dig in to unpack the limits of representational politics and what it means for this win to exist alongside the emergence of anti-trans politics, which hit their all time high during this election cycle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

40 min
11/06/2024

Outward: Gays in the Woods: History and Identity with Ben Miller

In this episode, historian Ben Miller chats with Bryan Lowder about the surprising ways white gay men have romanticized the idea of the 'primitive' in their search for utopia. Ben shares stories about key figures like Harry Hay and the radical gay activism of the 70s that centered a 'back to the land' fantasy that relied on racialized fantasies of the past. Together, they explore how these fantasies shaped identities and political movements, revealing the strange allure of these ideas and their lasting impact on queer culture today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

36 min
10/30/2024

Outward: Building Movements with Gender Liberation March Organizers Raquel Willis and Eliel Cruz

On September 14th 2024, thousands of people joined the Gender Liberation March in Washington D.C. to join the call to protect reproductive health, bodily autonomy, and comprehensive healthcare access. In this episode, Jules Gill-Peterson sits down with lead organizers Raquel Willis and Eliel Cruz to talk about the march and movement building during an election year. Raquel and Eliel share into their intersectional approach to organizing and how gender liberation frees us all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

41 min
10/23/2024

Outward: The Amicus Brief for U.S. v. Skrmetti with co-author Jules Gill Peterson

On December 4th, the Supreme Court will hear arguments for U.S. v. Skrmetti, a case that could decide the fate of gender-affirming care for trans people across the country. Outward’s own Jules Gill Peterson contributed to an amicus brief for the case, a document that provides expertise and historical context to assist the court in making it’s decision. In this episode, Bryan and Christina reunite with Jules to break down her contributions to the document and dive into the history of transition and the powerful voices of trans youth from across time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

40 min

See All (446)

Daniel M. Lavery

Host

4.3

out of 5

1,049 Ratings

Love Danny, guests are hit-or-mess

09/06/2023

Anais Béa

Danny gives thoughtful, eloquent advice, and I really enjoyed his book as well. His guests, however, can be pretty hit-or-miss. It’d be great if he can invite more guests whose expertise or lived experience is relevant to giving advice (eg the psychologists and social workers tend to be good), versus writers and other podcasters who can sometimes give questionable advice at best, and sound apathetic or sarcastic at worst. While I enjoy being introduced to artists I did not know, I’m not sure people looking to market their own work are necessarily the most qualified people to give advice. The format doesn’t seem to do justice to people who are writing to Danny about their heartfelt problems.
my emotional support podcast :’)

12/22/2023

circedel

big mood, little mood has been my emotional support podcast for the past 3 years (starting when danny was dear prudence) and i am on the one hand despondent to hear of its ending, but on the other i respect and support danny’s choice to move on to other projects! it has meant so much to have a podcast that satisfies my unending need for gossip & on which the host and guest also have such consistently good takes that align with my values/worldview/interests. when my friends ask me for advice i think of what danny would say (and believe me, they KNOW that is what i am thinking.) also, this may be very parasocial of me, but i feel very seen by anything danny shares about how his mind works. danny, i’m not sure if you’re reading this and it’s therefore weird of me to be using the third person, but thank you so much for putting this into the world, and i am very excited to see / hear / engage with your future work!!!
Wisdom

12/07/2023

Ughnicknames111

I love Danny and have learned so much about how to be a good human from him over the years.
Love the podcast

05/30/2023

Masen Everson S.

But I wish he picked “juicer” letters more frequently. Some of them are boring and have predictable answers/responses

Every week, Danny M. Lavery brings on a guest to answer questions from listeners before diving into conversation about relationships, dissatisfaction, drives, regrets, estrangement, embarrassment, self-assessments, and feelings from the monumental to the minute.