Weirdly Helpful (formerly The Best Advice Show)

Epizode

• A Weirdly Helpful View From Behind the Supermarket Register 22.07.2026 15min

  Ann Larson is the author of Cleanup on Aisle Five: Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View from Behind the Supermarket Register. Her writing on education, debt, and low-wage work has appeared in The New Republic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Fast Company, and The Nation, among other publications. She is coauthor of Can’t Pay Won’t Pay: The Case for Economic Disobedience and Debt Abolition and is a fellow with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.  --- What do you find Weirdly Helpful? Call me at 844-935-2378 ⁠⁠THE WEIRDLY HELPFUL MERCH STORE!!!!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a WH Patron and listen to the show ad-free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Why Do We Say "Um" So Much? with Dr. ⁠Steven D. Cohen⁠ 15.07.2026 16min

  Steven D. Cohen is an award-winning professor, author, and coach who empowers you and your team to communicate with influence, inspire your audience, and achieve your leadership potential. Express yourself better with Toastmasters --- What do you find Weirdly Helpful and/or what shenanigan do you practice!? Call me and tell me all abou it @ 844-935-2378 ⁠⁠THE WEIRDLY HELPFUL MERCH STORE!!!!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a WH Patron and listen to the show ad-free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Give All Your Attention To Whatever Is Annoying You with Sharon Mashihi 08.07.2026 16min

  Sharon Mashihi is the creator of the serialized audio mindtrip Appearances. Her new project is available on Audible and called 30 Days To Rediscover Your Creativity . If you like today's episode you might like this one about creative appetizers and procrastination. Sharon was last on the show talking about structured walking. --- What do you find Weirdly Helpful? Call me at 844-935-2378 ⁠⁠THE WEIRDLY HELPFUL MERCH STORE!!!!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a WH Patron and listen to the show ad-free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• I Madly Love Anything That Breaks the Thread of Discursive Thought /// Surrealist Games with Laura Hawley 01.07.2026 12min

  Zak's Weirdly Helpful guru, Laura Hawley, returns to play some surrealist games. She was last on the show talking about inventing play. A Book of Surrealist Games --- Come to How to Cut the Cheese: A WH Live Show! What do you find Weirdly Helpful? Call me at 844-935-2378 ⁠⁠THE WEIRDLY HELPFUL MERCH STORE!!!!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a WH Patron and listen to the show ad-free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• How to Savor Your Summer Trip 24.06.2026 12min

  Featured on today's show was... -Treat Yourself to Better Car Snacks with Ethan Frisch -Viscerally Remember Your Past Vacations with Tad Davis --- Join me for HOW TO CUT THE CHEESE, a Weirdly Helpful Live Experiment on 7/29 in Berkley, Michigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Get Your Tickets for Weirdly Helpful Live on July 29th in Berkley, Michigan! 19.06.2026 1min

  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." --- https://mongersprovisions.com/products/weirdly-helpful-and-audace-creative-present-super-club-the-rind --- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Two Prospective Parents Wander in the Desert, Debating the Future 17.06.2026 19min

  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! SHOP ⁠⁠THE WEIRDLY HELPFUL MERCH STORE!!!!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a WH Patron and listen to the show ad-free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Try This Delightful Dinner Party Maneuver with Dan Heath 10.06.2026 17min

  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. --- What do you find Weirdly Helpful and/or what shenanigans do you practice at home? Call me at 844-935-2378 ⁠⁠THE WEIRDLY HELPFUL MERCH STORE!!!!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a WH Patron and listen to the show ad-free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Why Asking Weirder Questions is an Exercise in Accessing Dignity with Megan Saxelby 03.06.2026 14min

  Megan Saxelby is an early adolescent parent coach and founder of Wild Feelings. Jesse Thorn hosts Bullseye and The Turnaround. --- What do you find Weirdly Helpful? Call me at 844-935-2378 ⁠THE WEIRDLY HELPFUL MERCH STORE!!!!⁠ ⁠Become a WH Patron and listen to the show ad-free. ⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• How To Make Friends and Find Your People 27.05.2026 20min

  Rabbi Alana Alpert advocates for bubbe adoption and spiritual engagement in Detroit. ADOPT A GRANDPARENT! Elizabeth Newcamp writes at Dutch Dutch Goose and Best Moms Friends Forever. -- ⁠Support the show and listen to Weirdly Helpful without ads by becoming a Patron today!⁠ -- Thanks to Rula for supporting today's show. Learn more @ https://www.rula.com/weirdlyhelpful Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Visit the Most Primal, Teenage Part of Yourself with Maggie Lyons 20.05.2026 14min

  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. -- Support the show and listen to Weirdly Helpful without ads by becoming a Patron today! -- Thanks to Rula for supporting today's show. Learn more @ https://www.rula.com/weirdlyhelpful Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Bless the Phone with Ross Simonini 13.05.2026 20min

  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! Noa on using our phone less. Dapne on using our phone less. Rabbi Yoni on the bathroom blessing. -- BECOME A WEIRD HELPER AND LISTEN TO THE SHOW AD-FREE! GET YOUR WEIRDLY HELPFUL MERCH HERE! -- 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Introducing: No Such Thing 06.05.2026 13min

  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. SUBSCRIBE TO NO SUCH THING! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Navigating Domestic Administration with Clarity and Kindness 06.05.2026 11min

  Shari and Eric are married with children in NYC. They were last on the show talking about touching feet during marital discord. More on SPOA - Lucy Anderton on graphing household labor and other weirdly helpful gems. - What do you find Weirdly Helpful? Call me at 844-935-2378 THE WEIRDLY HELPFUL MERCH STORE!!!! Become a WH Patron and listen to the show ad-free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Farting for Relief and Walking for Peace in Our Fragmented World 29.04.2026 17min

  On today's episode, a family's post-dinner ritual and later Zak tells the improbable tale of Peace Pilgrim. Lucy, Gino and Avery fart walk in Miami, FL. Lucy co-hosts Slate's parenting show with Zak and Elizabeth Newcamp. It's called Care and Feeding. She also hosts the Mamacita Rica and co-authors Best Mom Friends Forever. --- LISTEN TO WH AD-FREE BY BECOMING A PATRON TODAY! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• How Understanding Your Brain Chemistry Can Change Your Life 22.04.2026 20min

  Mike Pesca is the creator and host of The Gist, the longest-running daily news podcast in history, moderator of Not Even Mad, a political debate podcast, and host of Funny You Should Mention, a co-production with the Comedy Cellar, where he conducts in-depth interviews with stand up comedians. On today's show we get into how understanding your own neurochemistry can offer new perspectives on mental health and anxiety. READ: Opinion | The Feel-Good Gene LISTEN: How to address acute anxiety with Terry Rawls --- LISTEN: You in Mind |Yoni London --- LISTEN TO WH ad-free by becoming a Patron today! WH MERCH IS HERE!!!!!!!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• How to Make it Work as a Young Artist 15.04.2026 20min

  Cara Ryan is an academic living in Florida. --- Laura Weber Davis originally gave her cover letter advice back in 2023. --- Listen to WH ad-free by becoming a Weird Helper right now @ Patreon.com/weirdlyhelpful Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Inventing Play & Three Ideas to Curb Self-Mutilation with Laura Hawley 08.04.2026 15min

  Laura Hawley is an artist and therapist from Philadelphia. She's a frequent contributor to the show having first called about howling, then giving away 62 balls! Bob Newhart's Stop It Sketch from MAD TV. -- Call me (Zak) on the Weirdly Helpline @ 844-935-2378 to share what you find weirdly helpful. -- Listen to the show ad-free by becoming a Patron today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Play the Tape All the Way Through with Eric Zimmer + The Battle of Night Guy Vs Morning Guy with Jerry Seinfeld 01.04.2026 19min

  Eric Zimmer is an author, teacher, speaker, and the creator of The One You Feed podcast—an award-winning show with over 50 million downloads across 800+ conversations exploring meaningful living. His new book is How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life. --- Billy Oppenheimer is a writer and research assistant to Ryan Holiday based in Austin, TX. Every Sunday at 6 AM (CT) Billy sends out an email with SIX things he's learned, thought were interesting, or found useful. SUBSCRIBE HERE.  --- COMEDIAN - A look at the work of two stand-up comics, Jerry Seinfeld and a lesser-known newcomer, detailing the effort and frustration behind putting together a successful act and career while living a life on the road. --- Hasan Minaj on the Gary Vee Audio Experience  --- Listen to WH ad-free by becoming a patron today @ https://www.patreon.com/weirdlyhelpful Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• The Transcendental Power of Wiggling with Toogie Barcelo 25.03.2026 23min

  On today's episode, Toogie Barcelo shares her unique approach to movement, creativity, and emotional well-being through the power of wiggling! Toogie is a ⁠dancer⁠, ⁠choreographer⁠, ⁠movement director⁠, ⁠certified breath & meditation coach⁠, ⁠educator⁠, and emerging ⁠director for film⁠ and ⁠immersive performance⁠. Go to the ⁠Wiggle Room⁠ if you're in LA!   -Watch an Impala Wiggle --- Related from the Weirdly Helpful archive: Let Your Voice Break with Abigail Bengson --- Become a Weirdly Helpful patron and access the show ad-free today @ https://www.patreon.com/weirdlyhelpful Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices