Hi there, it's Micah, producer of the slowdown.

Today's guest episode is hosted by the poet and editor Leslie Signs.

I hope you enjoy, and rest assured that Major will return to the host chair on July 1st. I'm Leslie Signs, and this is the slowdown.

I'm Leslie Signs,

and this is the slowdown.

According to

According to,

according to my therapist,

according to my therapist, I am a master at discounting my own experience.

As a perfectionist, the first time I heard her say this, I thought,

so you think I'm really good at something.

It's not that I inherently doubt my self-worth.

For as long as I can remember, I've poked fun at myself to introduce a certain lightness

into difficult or tense conversations. But it turns out that, try as I might, humor is

rarely the way through a problem. Instead, it's more like having access to luxury amenities on the way to the destination,

like flying first class on your way to tenderness and self-grace.

Humor gives you more legroom, better quality snacks,

and personalized service.

But you're still in turbulence. In my experience, relying on humor has eased, if only moderately, the difficulties of taking care of myself

amidst the poly crises of our time.

Late capitalism and widespread fascism,

rising individualism, environmental collapse,

...