Giving the music life: Remembering Dad one record at a time

Giving the music life: Remembering Dad one record at a time

Author: Charts & Leisure March 11, 2026 Duration: 39:53

This episode of Unravelling explores how grief unfolds not only within us but also in community. Kurt interviews Nikki, creator of the Instagram project Dad’s Vinyl Stash, which she began after the death of her father, Bobby, a passionate and deeply private drummer with a vast record collection. By sharing his albums one by one, Nikki continues her relationship with him through the music he loved. She reflects on growing up with a father whose drumming and records formed the soundtrack of her life, and how songs from artists like Pat Benatar, Def Leppard, Robbie Robertson, Cigarettes After Sex, and Beach House now bring him instantly to mind. She also shares the lesson her father taught her about sitting back and simply listening, a practice that now shapes how she approaches grief.

Nikki explains why she chose to share such a personal process publicly and how the community around Dad’s Vinyl Stash has become a place where others reflect on their own losses. Together, they explore how music, memory, and storytelling can help people stay connected to those they love while creating space for healing.

Follow Dad's Vinyl Stash on Instagram


There’s a thread that connects our inner lives to the culture we live in, and Unravelling pulls on it to see what emerges. This isn’t a lecture series, but a conversation guided by therapist Kurt White and journalist Mary Wilson, who bring their distinct perspectives to every discussion. They explore how mental health is woven into everything from our daily fitness routines and societal pressures to the art we consume and the relationships we keep. In each episode, you’ll hear from experts who study the mind alongside individuals sharing their personal, lived experiences, creating a dialogue that feels both intellectually rigorous and deeply human. The aim is to move beyond simple definitions, examining how anxiety, resilience, joy, and struggle shape our collective reality. Produced by Charts & Leisure, this podcast provides a space for nuance, challenging the idea that our psychological worlds exist in a vacuum. It’s for anyone who has ever felt the tension between their private thoughts and the public world, offering not easy answers but a more textured understanding. By listening, you become part of a broader exploration into how compassion, for ourselves and our society, can actually be built from a place of genuine curiosity.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Unravelling
Podcast Episodes
The psychology of the Black experience [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:03
In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt White sits down with Professor Nnamdi Pole, Harold and Elsa Israel Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Psychology Department at Smith College, to discuss his course, The Psycholo…
What you don't know about alcohol [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:56
In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt White sits down with his colleague Dr. Geoff Kane, MD, MPH, Emeritus Chief of Addiction Services at the Brattleboro Retreat, to delve into the evolving understanding of alcohol’s heal…
The riddles within: Crosswords, anorexia, and feminist history [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:17
In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt White sits down with Anna Shechtman, author and renowned crossword creator, at the Brattleboro Literary Festival to discuss her book, The Riddles of the Sphinx: Inheriting the Feminis…
Family estrangement: Breaking ties, building community [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:26
Description: In this episode of Unravelling, Mary Wilson speaks with Angel Cassin, CEO of Together Estranged, about the complex and often taboo topic of family estrangement. Angel shares her own journey of going no-conta…
Democracy and distress: The mental health impact of politics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:34
In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt White speaks with Dr. Kevin Smith, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, about the connection between politics, stress, and mental health. They discuss Dr. Smit…
The embodied wisdom of peer-led approaches [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:19
Description:This episode of Unravelling delves into peer-led mental health care by exploring the work of Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu, founder of Project LETS. This national grassroots organization centers the voices…