Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People
Chris Gethard
300 episodes · Explicit
1 phone call. 1 hour. No names. No holds barred. Thats the premise behind Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People, hosted by comedian Chris Gethard (the Chris Gethard Show, Broad City, This American Life, and one of Time Outs 10 best comedians of 2015). Every week, Chris opens the phone line to one anonymous caller, and he cant hang up first, no matter what. From shocking confessions and family secrets to philosophical discussions and shameless self-promotion, anything can and will happen! Theme song by Shellshag.
Episodes page 3 of 6
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2025 New Year's Resolutions
As per tradition, Gethard chats with callers two minutes at a time to hear their big plans for 2025. From tackling one of the toughest hikes in the United States to diving deeper into their kink community to simply…
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Picking a New Name
This week's caller has a simple pitch: help me pick a new name. What follows is a fun and free-wheeling discussion about names, identity, and all the ways we define ourselves. Oh, and Orville Peck. A lot of this call…
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My Son Tried to Murder Me
"It was like an episode of Dateline." Gethard takes a call from a mom with an unbelievable story—her son tried to kill her. What follows is an intense, deeply human conversation about survival, healing, and the complex…
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Screw It, We're Just Gonna Talk About Star Trek
Look, this one is about Star Trek. Specifically, it's about one stoned fan's deep love for Star Trek: The Next Generation. They call in to chat with Gethard about Klingon sex, favorite episodes, and the show's…
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Sexting in Korean
This one's a wild ride. Our caller dropped just as they were being patched through to Gethard, so this one got sent through without an official screening. We had no idea what to expect, but it turned into a classic…
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Clothes on at the Nudist Resort
A field of goats, an unexpected marriage-by-mail, a baffling bachelor party at a nudist resort – and that barely scratches the surface. This week's caller is a vegan pansexual horse trainer who has lived a lot of life.…
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Listen Now: 'Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast
Christmas AGAIN?? Join the Grinch in stubbornly refusing the joys of the season with season 2 of 'Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast! Broadcasting straight from Whoville, with the help of his producer Cindy and loyal dog…
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Weight Loss Surgery
The week's caller shares a deeply personal journey of undergoing weight loss surgery and the challenges and triumphs that followed. He and Gethard discuss body positivity, the emotional and psychological aspects of…
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Invite Chaos
This week's caller wants to invite more chaos and creativity into their life while debating a new career opportunity. He and Gethard talk family expectations, chasing passions, and the joy of weird little hobbies.…
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Election Day Special 2024
In this Election Day special, Gethard gives listeners from every corner of the country two minutes to share where they're from, who they're voting for, and why. It's a chance to hear beyond the headlines, offering a…
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Trump Voter 2024
In this bonus episode of Beautiful/Anonymous, Gethard addresses some recent critiques of the show's political bias by inviting a 2024 Trump voter for an open conversation. It's a call filled with both tension and…
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Steamed Placentas
This week's caller recounts her unconventional journey from pickles to placentas as she and Gethard discuss the incredible work of birth doulas. More specifically, she breaks down the nitty gritty process of placenta…
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A Little Communism is Fine
This week's caller shares his experiences in elder care and running a worker-owned coffee roasting cooperative. He discusses the challenges of financial planning for seniors, systemic issues in long-term care, and his…
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Halloween House
It's spooky season here at Beautiful/Anonymous, and we're kicking things off with a caller whose house became the Halloween House in his neighborhood. He and Gethard bond over their shared love of all things Halloween,…
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Dreaming of Kamloops
A heavy duty mechanic from Western Canada talks with Gethard about the major injury that totally shifted her career plans, growing up as the youngest member on her dad's construction crew, and dreaming of moving to the…
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A City of Extremes
Fresh from rescuing her backyard ducks from a bald eagle attack, a plant pathologist calls with a bone to pick about Gethard's feelings on the great state of Oregon. They chat about Portland's unionized strippers, the…
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Jersey Anonymous
This week, Gethard chats with a brand-new social worker who shares the path that led her to this career change while also defending New Jersey's honor against its many detractors and bonding with Geth over where to get…
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A Series of Charming Distractions
A dietitian with strong opinions on fast food joins Gethard to talk about a little bit of everything. From attending one of Geth's most notorious stand-up shows, to "perfectly engineered foods," and a million other…
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Grandma's Turn
Last month, Gethard talked with a guy whose wife was in labor. Last week, Gethard talked to that wife, now a new mom to a squishy squid. This week, Gethard talks to that squishy squid's grandmother. It's a frank and…
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Introducing: Origins with Cush Jumbo
Hear the rest of this episode and many more stories like this by adding "Origins with Cush Jumbo" to your weekly listening, wherever you get your podcasts
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The Squishy Squid
Six weeks ago, Gethard talked to a guy who was calling from the hospital while he waited for his wife to give birth to their first child. This week, by some act of fate, she got through herself. Our caller catches Geth…
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Biked Across My State in Two Days
After a significant life event turned her world upside down, this week's caller was inspired to start seeking out challenges and diving into new hobbies. She and Gethard chat about finding new passions, exploring…
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A Dot Dot Dot Moment
This week's caller is all about beginnings—moving to a new city, making new friends, and maybe even jumping back into the dating scene. While taking a walk around her new neighborhood, she and Gethard bond over the…
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Beautiful Follow Ups: Love Is Everywhere (Bonus Episode)
As longtime listeners of Beautiful/Anonymous know, one of the most beloved members of our community is Heidi, AKA: "Love Is Everywhere". This call is a little different from our usual follow-ups. In this case, Heidi…
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Running a Food Pantry
This week's caller is the director of a food pantry. She tells Gethard how she came to this position at a fairly young age and how she works to support her community. She and Geth talk about the stresses of working in…
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Vegan Lesbian Horse Girl
A self-described "vegan lesbian horse girl" calls to talk with Gethard about being YouTube famous in a very niche community, going to Catholic school as a closeted queer kid, living with agoraphobia, and a whole lot…
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Countdown to Parenthood
This week's caller made the possibly ill-advised choice to call in to the show from his wife's hospital bedside mere hours after she was induced to deliver their first child. But he promised Gethard she's cool with it,…
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American Teenager in 2024
A high school student heading into his senior year calls in to offer the teen perspective on our world. Geth asks about high school after the pandemic, school violence, sex, gender, all the stuff adults pretend to…
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Grandpa Murdered Grandma
An heirloom ring, a tiny island in the middle of a lake, a tragic murder, a malfunctioning gun, addiction, rehab, recovery, long-distance love, poetry. It's the kind of story a true crime podcast could easily spend an…
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Hoagie Mouth (Live from Philly)
A Philly transplant calls to talk with Gethard in front of a crowd of a few hundred Philadelphians at the First Person Arts Festival. She tells him all about being a victim of the Kia Boys, what it's like to manage a…
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The Resource Vector
An occupational therapist calls to talk with Gethard about going back to school and becoming a professor at fifty. They discuss what an occupational therapist actually does, how different generations understand and…
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Life at 1.5x Speed
A thoughtful and resilient caller who has lived a lot of life calls to talk with Gethard about family, work, love, and loss. But also about adventures abroad, DFMOs (Dance Floor MakeOuts, obviously), cleaning out the…
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Taking Off a Backpack Full of Rocks
This week's caller is gearing up for a big move across the country. He calls to talk with Gethard about living his life as a trans man, some of the difficult reasons he's making this move, and how, despite those…
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Rules of Combat
A martial arts instructor who definitely doesn't have an accent calls Gethard to talk about running his own studio, making a big career change, and the rules of sparring if he and Geth ever meet on a random dock in…
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The Most Thoughtful Caller
A reluctant-but-proud military father who's looking forward to seeing his son for the first time in seventeen weeks calls to talk with Gethard about being thoughtful, empathetic, and willing to have your worldview…
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Raising the Roof Returns!
This week's caller is back to make history a second time. Two weeks ago, our caller hung up early on Geth, and we've all been debating what happened there ever since. Well, guess what, she somehow managed to get back…
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Our Nerdiest Caller Ever?
A clinical researcher who works in oncology talks with Gethard about the advances that have been made in the field and why there's something bittersweet about making strides. And learning about this caller's life–from…
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Raising the Roof (Skoolie Life)
This week's caller is finally going to embrace her tiny home dreams. That is, if her husband can stop jumping off roofs long enough for them to finish the bus renovation they started three years ago. This one starts…
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Waiting for the Shame to Kick In
This week's caller is queer, polyamorous, and on ADHD-related academic probation in seminary school. These are all fairly new developments in her life. She talks to Gethard about how opening herself up to exploration…
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Local TV News Producer
A local TV news producer talks with Gethard about telling local stories, connecting with her community, the changing news landscape, and how to stay human in a field that expects you to distance yourself from the…
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Wrote the New Bible
A signmaker calls to talk to Gethard about the novel she spent 35 years writing, tapping into life on the quantum level, and a whole lot of stuff we honestly aren't sure we understand. It's a fascinating call. Some of…
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Comedy-Themed Butt Tattoos
This week's caller joins Gethard for a good ol' fashioned chit-chat. From working in the restaurant industry, to recreational substance-fueled movie marathons, to getting your DnD numbers just right, this call is a…
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Borehole Geologist
This week, Gethard talks with a borehole geologist about his very unique career. He describes the perils of the job, like traveling 2000 feet underground into a mine with only one way out, the exciting parts of his…
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Medieval Recreator
A medieval recreator calls to talk with Gethard about their shared love for her city, meeting her husband while dressed in medieval garb, why what she does isn't reeanctment, and how today's politics manage to show up…
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An Episode for Dave Matthews
A dedicated Dave Matthews Band fan tells Gethard how her love for DMB led her to donate a kidney to a total stranger. She explains some of the more complicated aspects of the process and how donating her kidney set off…
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Mother, Woman, Artist
This week's caller is an artist and a mother who called in to talk about the gifts and challenges of both of those aspects of her identity. She tells Geth about what it's like making art with her dad, how being an…
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Imagine a Road Trip in the Sky
A unique soul with outer space on the brain, this week's caller has never heard an entire episode of Beautiful/Anonymous and just called to see if our phone number was real. He talks with Gethard about going to the…
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The Hammer You Use to Smash Your Old Life Apart
In classic Beautiful/Anonymous fashion, this week's caller is in a major transition phase of his life, leaving behind a lucrative career in favor of something less soul-sucking. He talks with Gethard about ghostwriting…
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Beautiful Follow-Ups: The Whirlpool Galaxy (BA+ Bonus)
Every month, subscribers at the Touch Tone tier of Beautiful/Anonymous+ get a bonus follow-up episode with a past caller. For February, that call is with one of our community's most beloved callers, "The Whirlpool…
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Listen Now: The Cat in the Hat Cast
Hold on tight and prepare to be whisked away on a weekly adventure with Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat! In a world full of delightful mix-ups and exhilarating mayhem, the mischievous Cat takes the reins and enlightens…
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