Quit Opiates, Alcohol, and Cats

Quit Opiates, Alcohol, and Cats

Author: Chris Gethard October 28, 2025 Duration: 1:23:55

A caller checks in from a Costco parking lot to mark one year sober after 25 years of blackout drinking. He talks about kicking opioids, rebuilding his life, and what it's like to actually remember things again. He and Geth get into punk shows, lost friends, and how addiction doesn't always look the way people think it does.

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There's a unique and vulnerable alchemy that happens when two strangers talk with no safety nets. Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People is built entirely on that premise. Each episode, host and comedian Chris Gethard connects with a single, anonymous caller for exactly one hour, bound by a simple rule: he cannot be the one to hang up. What unfolds in that protected space is never predictable. The conversations, guided by Gethard's empathetic and often humorous presence, can spiral from lighthearted pop culture debates into raw, personal confessions in a single breath. You'll hear callers unravel long-held family secrets, grapple with profound philosophical questions, or share surprisingly ordinary moments that somehow feel extraordinary when voiced aloud. This isn't an interview show, but a genuine dialogue where the anonymity strips away pretense, revealing the messy, beautiful, and universally human stories we usually keep to ourselves. By committing to the full hour with no names attached, the podcast creates a rare kind of intimacy, reminding us that compelling narratives aren't just found in grand adventures, but in the unvarnished truth of a single voice on the other end of the line.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People
Podcast Episodes
SWAT Medic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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A paramedic calls in this week, and he and Gethard bond fast over the real deal world of first response. This caller is operating at a pretty intense level, working in roles that require very specific skill sets. He and…
Two Years, Five Jobs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Our caller talks with Gethard about graduating from NYU into a job market that's getting worse by the minute, bouncing between temp jobs, losing health insurance, and the exhaustion of trying to build a future when nothi…
6'3" Runt of the Family [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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A caller from South Jersey (Editor's Note: 856 4EVER) tells Gethard what it was like being more than six feet tall by age 10 and growing up as, by far, the tallest girl in school while still being the "runt" in a very ta…
A Card Game in the Sky [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Our caller lost her husband to cancer when he was only 33. She talks with Gethard about working in oncology while carrying her own history of caregiving, the strange persistence of grief, and finding a partner who unders…
Ex-Mother-in-Law Ice Cream Dates [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:53
This week's caller tells us about a living situation so uniquely hilarious it feels like it came straight from a sitcom. He also shares how he found community and culture far from home. Plus, we get a look at some of Ger…
Three Different Dads [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:55
This week officially marks the 10-year anniversary of the very first episode of Beautiful Anonymous, and we might have the perfect call for the occasion. Our caller learned as a teenager that the man she knew as her uncl…
Pottery-Based Death Threats [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:15
A potter who just had their biggest sales day ever calls in to talk about what life has been like since their political post went viral. They talk about the simultaneous blessing and curse of viral attention as a small b…
Sorority House Jane Goodall [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:21
This week's caller is a 44-year-old sorority house director who lives in the house full-time and walks Geth through the ins and outs of the job. From coordinating chefs and plumbers to the occasional late-night emergency…
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Duration: 1:21:05
Live from Bottlerocket Social Hall in Pittsburgh, Gethard talks to a witch as she prepares for a full moon ritual, and . . . let's just be honest, he has absolutely no idea what's happening. Tarot cards, birth charts, a…
Construction, Mob, Sex, Movies (Live from Hamtramck, MI) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:05
Live from Hamtramck, Michigan, a Chicago caller joins us with an all-time pitch: "I'm a woman in construction. I technically worked for the mob in high school. I almost died having sex . . . or we can talk about movies f…