The Support and Kindness Podcast

Episode 51: The Cost of Survival — Money Stress, Disability Budgets, and Economic Shame A budget can be careful, detailed, and honest—and still come up short. In this episode, Greg is joined by Rich, Liam, and Sarah for an open conversation about disability, fixed incomes, rising costs, benefit rules, and the shame people are often…

Content note: This episode discusses undiagnosed illness, medical uncertainty, and the emotional toll of waiting for answers. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (US Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). You are not alone. Episode 50 of The Support and Kindness Podcast sits in a place that is honestly a little hard to name. Medical…

Content note: this episode discusses emotional abuse, controlling relationship dynamics, and burnout. If you feel controlled or unsafe in a relationship, you are not alone. US: National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233,or text START to 88788. You ask someone to do a task they have done before, and it goes wrong every time, until you give…

Invisible Illness: When You Don’t Look Sick Content note: this episode discusses living with chronic illness, being dismissed by doctors and loved ones, and the toll of not being believed. Be gentle with yourself as you listen. “You don’t look sick.” Four words usually meant kindly — that can land like a door quietly closing….

Content note: This episode discusses chronic illness, chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. If you're struggling, call or text 988 (US) for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Fibromyalgia is invisible on the outside and relentless on the inside – and still too often met with "it's all in your head." In our first-ever guest episode, occupational…

Content note: This episode discusses cyberbullying, online harassment, and scams. Nothing is graphic. If you’re in crisis, call or text 988 anytime — the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free and available 24/7. We treat online life like it’s less real than the rest of our lives — but there’s a real person on…

Episode 45: Are People Really Getting Ruder? Public Etiquette in a Distracted World Nearly half of Americans say people have gotten ruder since the pandemic — but 84% say they personally know exactly how to behave. Both can’t be true. This week Greg, Rich, and Sarah ask whether people are really getting ruder, or whether…

Episode 44 Content note: This episode discusses suicidal thinking and the ways some AI tools have responded poorly to people in crisis, including young people. If you're struggling, you're not alone. In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. International listeners: please contact your local crisis line.It's 2 a.m. Your…

This week we skipped the script for a real fireside chat. Greg, Rich, and Liam talk about what it actually takes to get by when money is tight — and why needing help is nothing to be ashamed of. With costs climbing and grocery budgets shrinking, more of us are leaning on food pantries, benefits,…

Hold a door. Wave a car in. Text an old friend out of nowhere. Small kindnesses — but that same gesture can mean something completely different three time zones away. In Episode 42, we travel the world to ask one question: does kindness look the same everywhere? The heart of it does. The shape of…

Content note: this episode discusses rejection, shame, and self-harm. If you are struggling, you are not alone. In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. That sinking feeling when one small piece of feedback lands like a punch? There is a name for it: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, or RSD. In…

Episode 40: The Cost of Kindness Content note: One segment includes a personal story of childhood family violence. If you’re struggling, you’re not alone: In the US call or text 988, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. We almost always hear “the cost of kindness” as a warning. This episode flips it: the…

You wrote the plan down. You even put it on your phone. By 10 a.m. you’d started four things and finished none — and that same old voice was asking what’s wrong with you. If that’s familiar, this one’s for you. In Episode 39, Greg and Rich have an honest, personal conversation about adult ADHD:…

It’s late, you’re scrolling, and there’s a low hum under everything — the headlines, the economy, the things you can’t fix. You’re not upset about one thing; you’re just heavy, tired, and small. Episode 38 is about that feeling, and about finding where your power actually lives. Greg, Rich, Derek, and Sarah define agency (the…

Welcome back to the Support and Kindness Podcast, I'm your host, Greg Shaw, and I just wanted to let you know that we're not going to actually air a podcast this week. We've got some people who are sick this week, some people who are on vacation, and some people are just playing hooky. Rich…