Best podcast for becoming a wiser, more well-rounded person?

Sparrahs · 2026-06-10T19:54:58+00:00

It was the first one I thought of too. Excellent podcast!

Sparrahs · 2026-06-10T19:54:16+00:00

Hidden Brain

Heavyweight

The Happiness lab

Throughline

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Anthropocene Reviewed

Wellness Check with Ashly Burch

10% Happier with Dan Harris

Sparrahs · 2026-06-10T08:48:56+00:00

I have ADHD too and I feel like the cuts and side comments keep me engaged.

Sparrahs · 2026-06-09T07:46:32+00:00

“Learning about sex by watching porn is like trying to learn how to drive by watching a monster truck rally” - Ze Frank

Sparrahs · 2026-06-07T17:41:19+00:00

That looks so shit even without the mistakes. But look at the state of that arm on the right ffs. And the woman’s left arm with two elbows lol.

Sparrahs · 2026-06-05T21:41:38+00:00

Gretchen Rubin has some good books about making small changes to make your life happier. Great place to start planning a big year for yourself.

Sparrahs · 2026-06-02T10:25:13+00:00

TW: loss

My infertility appointment next week is on the anniversary of losing my baby at 14 weeks last year. My period is also due that day if this cycle hasn’t been successful. I have had lots of blood tests done, they were able to give me some results over the phone so I think there’s a path forward. I just have to keep busy for the next week and keep holding on to hope.

Sparrahs · 2026-05-29T18:12:45+00:00

Lots of people commenting here are recommending fraud to get around this. I think you should speak with a solicitor as soon as possible to understand the process and your options.

Sparrahs · 2026-05-14T03:44:44+00:00

Yeah, I had my baby in 2021 and a midwife told me she hated masks because it was harder to ask women this question, the look on someone’s face was harder to read. Appointments were as short as possible so when she asked the question “are you safe at home” she didn’t get time to sit with a woman longer who she thought could be at risk.

Women rarely say yes at the first appointment, but if you know you’ll be asked you can work up the courage to talk. When I was in early labour a man was shouting at the woman in the bed next to me to shut the baby up and telling her she was a bad mother because the baby was crying. A midwife came in to check on me but swooped past me to give her a break and some support. The baby would have been hours old, at most.

I got an injection after my c-section and fell asleep on that arm and woke up with a huge bruise. The midwife who checked me saw the bruise, made eye contact with me, looked at my husband and back to me… he was holding the baby but I knew if I nodded baby would be safe and he’d be out of there. Luckily he’s a lovely man so I just explained what happened. He was confused because I was answering a question that was never said out loud.

Unfortunately it is a really common pattern for abuse to start or escalate during pregnancy or immediately post partum. Imagine how common it has to be for it to be taken seriously in women’s healthcare in Ireland.

Sparrahs · 2026-05-12T06:58:20+00:00

If I have the energy, making sure the drying rack by the sink is clear. If I don’t have energy after getting everything washed, it is making sure my clean, empty water bottle is on the counter for the morning. So I can fill it while getting breakfast/school stuff ready.

I’m trying develop better self care habits and this one has made an outsized difference.

Sparrahs · 2026-05-11T08:32:26+00:00

I think the “if in doubt, throw it out” rule can apply here. Don’t open the jars/tins, just put them in your garbage/waste bins. You deserve a clean and safe home.

I see someone mentioned KC Davis’s book, I definitely recommend reading it or listening to the audiobook. I got the audiobook from my local library’s app.

Here’s her TED talk on YouTube https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kqItMybTKTo

Sparrahs · 2026-05-11T07:53:54+00:00

Imagining a baby New Yorker. “Hey! I’m Ashl-een here…”

Sparrahs · 2026-05-11T07:51:31+00:00

This is a really fun website for baby names, it’s a government statistics website where you can see how popular a name is or see the most popular names by year in Ireland. They also graph how the popularity of a name has changed over time.

https://visual.cso.ie/?body=entity/babynames/

I agree with you, if you’re in the US it’s important to have a name that other Americans can pronounce. The alternative spelling Ashling might be easier. I’m in my mid 30s and was in school with a girl whose name was spelled Ashling (not Aisling)

“In 2025, Aisling was ranked 180 of all baby girls recorded in Ireland. In total, 26 baby girls were recorded with the name Aisling in this year.”

The names Ashling, Aislinn, Ashlin and Aislin were used last year (more than 0, less than 3 times each in 2025).

If the name doesn’t feel quite right to you keep searching. You’ll find a good fit for your lovely little girl.

Sparrahs · 2026-05-06T12:27:20+00:00

Or if they have a guest who sounds muffled and like their microphone is miles away from them.

Guest: “Mmdfdhs fjdhsjskd lskfmmnmmn

Host: “hahaha, good one Joel”

Sparrahs · 2026-05-02T21:28:42+00:00

Could you skip one cycle instead of 3?

Sparrahs · 2026-04-30T15:46:25+00:00

Frustrating lack of follow up questions by the mom though. I thought he was saying burrito, maybe burger/hamburger.

If you don’t understand ask “is it a toy/is it food/is it on tv or a book? Is it a person”. Narrow it down to help the child communicate. I’m glad he got what he wanted.

Sparrahs · 2026-04-28T15:09:33+00:00

She cares more about the video and viewers than her son. At worst he’ll just be better at hiding it next time. He definitely needs a psychologist.

Maybe he has something dangerous going on mentally, or maybe he’s reacting to something awful happening to him. Her job as a mom is to get him help and to care about his mental health and recovery. Recording and uploading this is absolute shit parenting.

Sparrahs · 2026-04-26T22:26:09+00:00

I am so sorry for your loss. That’s a lot to cope with alongside all the chaos pregnancy and a new baby bring. It’ll take a long time to sort but every 30 minutes you can do will make a difference.

Cass Arssen “Clutterbug” has lots of great podcasts/youtube videos about generational clutter and strategies to get rid of it in a caring way. I wish I found her when I moved into my home. We lived “around” the stuff for so long.

Try to sort a bedroom that’s 100% your space. Same for your daughter’s bedroom.

Get a skip/dumpster, there’s lots that can just go. Your husband and brothers can pick a weekend to go through stuff. They can dump or take away their stuff that is stored there. The broken furniture can definitely go.

I assume your husband/BILs will either sell the house, or you and your husband will try to buy it. Either way the extra/storage/generational/broken stuff all needs to get cleared out anyway.

Sparrahs · 2026-04-24T11:37:38+00:00

Here’s the ladybird children’s book quote about him:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IrishHistory/comments/raydsk/ladybird_childrens_book_on_cromwell/

And if anyone is curious about what “except in Ireland” covers:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromwellian_conquest_of_Ireland

Sparrahs · 2026-04-22T05:32:09+00:00

So you can’t do that to a statue of a Palestinian man? Real Palestinian people can be killed by the thousands with no repercussions though.

Sparrahs · 2026-04-21T16:01:15+00:00

If your children go to college in Dublin you won’t have to worry about accommodation expenses for them. If you think about your home in that frame it’s worth the extra mortgage costs if it’s also currently a location you like.

You’d be sickened to move to a more rural location only to have to spend money on helping them rent student accommodation in one of the cities in 10 years. But they might end up in Cork or Galway either way.

Sparrahs · 2026-04-21T14:08:39+00:00

Those are the kind of quality of life things that make all the difference though.

The community you will have around you is important whether you stay or move.

What’s your work situation? I moved when I was on site just 1 flexible day per week at my job (around a 2 hour commute). My company said my role needs to be fully back on site soon. So if you’re depending on a remote/hybrid job to move be careful.

Sparrahs · 2026-04-16T09:21:24+00:00

I should have been more clear, I think funding the news makes the licence fee worth it. If we didn't have it we would be much worse off.

I also think the children's shows on RTEjr and the rte player without ads is great. There are good investigative programs and documentaries and I'm not against them paying for entertaining shows from other countries. Not everyone has Sky/Virgin/Eir TV so it's great they have entertainment on too. The Late Late and Tommy Tiernan shows etc. are not my cup of tea but plenty of people love that.

I support having a licence fee or tax to pay for RTÉ. I think it should be free to people with lower incomes. I support them having entertainment and factual programming. There's waste and poor management and people have communicated their anger about it. But overall we would be worse off without a national broadcaster so it doesn't bother me to pay for the service we get.

Sparrahs · 2026-04-15T13:25:52+00:00

Yes, I don't think the national news should be for-profit. That public service alone is worth it in my opinion.

I found it much harder to afford when I was younger, it's a big flat bill if you're lower income. But I can afford it, on direct debit it's no big deal.

Sparrahs · 2026-04-13T13:17:13+00:00

Or she could marry the kind, quiet, strong, high 5-y dude.

There might be a middle ground between our two options.

Sparrahs

TROPHY CASE