Pop Culture Therapy: Love, Loss and Little House on the Prairie

In today's episode, we'll be celebrating the discovery that our childhood memories might be just what the doctor ordered, in a discussion of how nostalgia has helped so many of our listeners through difficult times. When we started this podcast several years ago, our goal was not a serious one. First and foremost, we wanted to entertain. And we wanted to do that by bringing funny, unexpected references to things that people once held dear -- like romper stompers, and Dr. Shrinker and the 64 box of Crayola crayons with the sharpener in the back. But then something surprising happened -- almost immediately we started getting emails and DMs from people who shared with us that they had found us at a very important time. It might have been illness or heartbreak or job insecurity. And often, because we are of a certain age, it was that last kid leaving the nest or grieving the loss of a parent. And somehow these discussions of Schoolhouse Rock and Battle of the Network Stars gave us the superhuman strength to carry on. We'll delve into the science behind this phenomenon with Jennifer Cramer-Miller, author of the book Incurable Optimist: Living With Illness and Chronic Hope and give you all a peek into our Pop Culture Therapy Toolboxes -- aka the music, tv shows and other pop culture remedies we turn to when we need to soothe our ragged souls.

Visit Jennifer Cramer-Miller’s website

Follow Jennifer on Instagram and Facebook

Purchase Incurable Optimist: Living With Illness and Chronic Hope on Amazon or Bookshop.org

Support Carolyn and Down syndrome research https://secure.givelively.org/donate/lumind-idsc-foundation/bank-of-america-chicago-marathon-october-12-2025/carolyn-cochrane

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