Support for Explaned to Me comes from Starbucks, vibing to the hook of your favorite song,

stepping outside and immediately feeling the sun on your face, sipping a refreshing drink.

Those are the moments that energize us. And if that third one sounds particularly enticing,

you might be due for a new energy refresher from Starbucks. It's the flavors you know and love,

and now with a boost of energy. Try the all-new energy refreshers at Starbucks. I do have aging parents,

and that's a whole conversation over two beers and three pizzas. There's a uniquely American burnout crisis in families.

I can't control the diseases my loved ones have, but I can control my own mindset.

More than 63 million people in America are caregivers, of kids, of parents, and other loved ones.

And nearly half of caregivers under the age of 50 are taking care of a parent and a child at the same time.

Maybe you're one of them.

Maybe you're also trying to hold down a job and handle everything else life throws your

way. And maybe it's got you feeling spent. So how do you handle burnout when the call is coming

from inside the house, when you just can't walk away? I'm John Glenn Hill, and this week Unexplained to me from Vox, we talk to people who've

been there and who have made it through.

Alyssa Quart runs the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.

She's also a member of what's known as the

sandwich generation. You've probably heard the phrase. It was coined in the 80s to describe people

in their 40s through their 60s, caring for their parents while raising kids. But a growing number

of people like me, Gen Xers and millennials, are now joining in this generation.

A few years ago, Alyssa's mother was diagnosed with cancer.

So we were getting infusions daily and radiation after that.

And meanwhile, I have this 14-year-old daughter who kept calling, you know, would I be able to go to her volleyball game, would I make dinner, would I go over her homework?

...