The 2024 election was a lot. And now that we're past it, you might be avoiding political news

altogether, or you might want to understand the other side of the aisle, but without poisoning

your algorithm or treading into online territory that feels like an alien planet, you need left, right,

and center. It's your weekly political news check-in

with representatives from both parties,

so you can hear from the other guys

in a way that helps you actually make sense of it.

I'm David Green.

Join me on Left, Right, and Center from KCRW.

New episodes drop every Friday

wherever you listen to podcasts.

Thank you. Friday, wherever you listen to podcasts. Sometimes a dark room, a pint of ice cream and a good cry, really are the best medicine after a terrible day.

But how often do we really allow ourselves that kind of

catharsis? The pressures of everyday life make it difficult to lean into our sadness and process

grief or anxiety. But there are lessons to be learned from truly embracing big emotions.

From KERA in Dallas, this is think. I'm Chris Boyd. Susan Cain is an author and an introvert who became a motivational speaker after coming out of her shell. Her book is called Bittersweet, How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole. And in it, she explains why striving to be happy all the time robs us of deeper emotional experiences. And she helps us notice

all the places where joy and sorrow naturally intersect in music, in spirituality, and in loss.

Susan joined us in 2022. Susan, welcome to think. Chris, thank you so much for having me.

So how do you define this way of being that you call bittersweetness?

What sorts of things does a person with a kind of bittersweet, melancholic orientation to the world pay attention to that others might overlook?

We created a quiz.

I say we, I collaborated with two of our greatest psychologists, Scott Barry

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