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It's Going To Be OK

Feelings & Co

“It’s Going To Be OK” is a hard thing to believe given the state of, oh, everything. Many things are, in fact, not going to be okay at all. But on the advice of a wise therapist, we’re on a quest to find one okay thing about every day. Each morning, we bring you a short story, essay, or interview about one thing that makes us — or our guests — feel like it might not all be so bad ... even if some things are. Join us every morning to start your day with the opposite of a doom scroll. And share your okay thing by leaving us a voicemail at 612-568-4441 or by emailing IGTBO@feelingsand.co.

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Monday · 58 min
463. Can Breast Cancer and A Brain Aneurysm be…okay? With Elise Loehnen
Finding the OK things in life when you are living through the Worst Case Scenario can feel borderline impossible. When you are facing down the horrible things, the idea of even trying to find one OK thing is probably laughable. Elise Loehnen is staring Terrible right in the eye – she has been recently diagnosed with breast cancer and had a brain aneurysm. And yet, she joins Nora on the show today to talk about these “speed bumps” (yes, those are her words, she is really that bad ass) and how she’s finding the OK in every day in spite of it all. You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 5 · 58 min
462. Billionaires Are Boring with David Gate
Nora McInerny welcomes poet David Gate for a lively conversation about finding “okay” in the everyday. They talk about unexpected moments of connection, new hope in Alzheimer’s research, the joy of Costco, family life, and why politicians should be held to their promises. Along the way: billionaires, hot dogs, Kelly Clarkson, and the small comforts that make a difficult world feel a little more manageable. You can get more from David at DavidGatePoet.com You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
September 21 · 48 min
461. Let’s Lower the Bar Together
These days, daily life can feel unpredictable. Every moment, many of us are bracing for impact or expecting to be pushed back into the pit of despair – but there is always a bright spot of OK. Today, Nora’s finding that for you and encouraging you to lower the bar. The thing that can make you realize that it’s going to be OK can be small, mundane, or ordinary. That doesn’t make them any less spectacular. On this episode, Nora talks about finding the OK moments even when you’re in the thick of grief, her amazing experience in Burlington, Vermont (if only she could pack up from Arizona and move there forever), her decluttering journey, restarting The Artist’s Way, and more. Read more about my life with a wife! My experience with morning pages is documented here and my conversation with Elizabeth Kott about The Artist’s Way is here. For more about my decluttering experience, check out my decluttering Office Hours, decluttering with Elizabeth Kott, and my article about it. You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
September 7 · 52 min
460. Two Spiraling Women Telling You To Stop Spiraling with Amanda White
On today’s episode of IGTBO, Nora is joined by host of Nuance Needed podcast and friend Amanda White to give you your weekly dose of OK. This week, Nora and Amanda discuss the surprising human connections that can be made when you need to call AAA, talking yourself down from a spiral, the best ways to turn your brain off, and, of course, celebrating the post office. If you didn’t know, this is a very post-office friendly podcast. Tune in to take your mind off the general NOT-OKness of the world – not everything will be OK, but something will be. Come find it with Nora and Amanda today. You can find Amanda on Instagram, Substack, and tune in to her podcast, Nuance Needed, on Apple and Spotify! You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 24 · 41 min
459. The Portal Is Open with Caroline Moss
Some things are just a little too perfect to be random – and this is coined by Nora and guest Caroline Moss as “the portal opening.” In today’s episode of IGTBO, Nora and Caroline talk about the small moments of magic and stars aligning: Nora’s daughter’s new boyfriend’s invisible string through their lives, signs from Caroline’s grandmother, and a puppy finally learning how to ask to go outside after weeks of failed training. Not everything is going to be OK all the time. We know that. You know that. But this episode is a celebration of the moments where it feels like the universe is giving you a little nudge to remind you that something will be OK. You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 10 · 57 min
458. The Luckiest Person In The World
A mattress in New York once told Nora, “You cannot let the bastards get you down.” Today, with this episode of IGTBO, we are not letting the bastards get us down – we’re celebrating the OK things in the world. And Nora’s algorithm (and our voicemail box) have been full of people leaning into the Summer of Surrender (click here to get the full picture!). Whether it’s finding gratitude in the fact that you have hot water and a microwave or World Cup fans being genuinely wholesome, there’s always something OK to find. You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here and check out Nora’s Substack here! Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 27 · 1 hr 8 min
457. Crusty Soul Energy with Elizabeth Kott
On today’s episode, Nora is joined by Elizabeth Kott to renew your hope in humanity and give you your much-needed dose of OK. If you continue to forget the days of the week (Tuesday shouldn’t exist and we are prepared to cut them out of our calendars), find joy in having and using multiple notebooks while constantly on the quest to find the most PERFECT notebook, and love gossiping about the Summer House reunion (the receipts re: the Amanda and West betrayal is INSANE), you are very much in the right place. Take a moment today and find the OK with us. You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 13 · 52 min
456. Is this a 90s Summer? With Jo Piazza
Some days, OK things are all around us and naming them is a breeze. On other days, it feels like you have never, EVER been OK in your entire life. Whatever day you’re having, Nora and special guest and friend of the pod Jo Piazza are bringing you a message: to join them in their version of a 90s summer of surrender. They talk about lowering expectations, enjoying the whimsical little things (think: bedazzled pill bottles and cold pasta salad in the heat), and what parenting in the summer looks like when it isn’t a 10 second Instagram reel. You can share your okay things with us at☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 29 · 1 hr 6 min
455. A Bluebird Day with Laura McKowen
What’s okay with Laura McKowen right now? After we talk about the weather (and who doesn’t love to talk about the weather?) we go on a journey through prestige and lowbrow television, briefcases, baked goods and a poem that will bring you the soul hug you need. Laura McKowens books: We Are The Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life (Bookshop | Amazon) Push Off From Here: 9 Essential Truths To Get You Through Sobriety (And Everything Else ( Bookshop | Amazon) And Laura’s substack, Love Story. You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 24 · 1 hr 2 min
454. Nothing Starts on Sunday but Birth Control with Courtney Maum
If you’ve been feeling like life is throwing everything at you all at once – burnout, exhaustion, chaos – today’s episode is for you. Today, Nora is joined by author and friend of the pod Courtney Maum, who brought OK things from weird Zillow listings in Florida to fancy gifts from very classy ladies. And, despite their love for each other, they very nearly have a friendship-ending fight – over whether the calendar should start on Sunday or Monday. Things get pretty heated. If you’re searching for joy in the chaos, sit back and press play on today’s episode. You can find Nadia’s work on Substack ⁠here⁠. You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 ⁠IGTBO@feelingsand.co⁠ To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content ⁠here⁠. Check out the IGTBO Instagram ⁠here⁠! Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on ⁠Spotify⁠ or ⁠Apple⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 12 · 53 min
453. A Spiritual Hug with Nadia Bolz-Weber
Today’s IGTBO episode is a spiritual hug – as previous guest and friend of the pod Kelly Corrigon called it – with guest Nadia Bolz-Weber, a beautiful writer, a fellow griever, and a pastor. Don't be frightened away from this episode if you are not a religious person – there won’t be any lecturing here. Nadia is not that kind of religious person. She’s the kind of religious person that, at the very least, inspires you to find the beauty in the world around you. And that’s what today’s episode is – a balm for your soul and a confirmation that a small, simple life is more than enough. You can find Nadia’s work on Substack here. You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Check out the IGTBO Instagram here! Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 18 · 38 min
452. Shark Vacuum Lovers with Charley Burlock
On today’s episode of IGTBO, Charley Burlock – one of our favorite guests from our sister show, Thanks for Asking – joins Nora and is locked, loaded, and ready to make your day more OK. The universe itself blessed this episode with the Shark vacuum (Charley’s favorite AND a company Nora’s late father wrote infomercials for), brave farmers refusing to hand over their land to data centers, the beauty of spontaneous kindness, and younger Charley’s trail of adoring fan letters to every author she loved. If your news feeds have been inundated with only the bad, click play on this episode. We’re here with you. It’s going to be OK. Read Charley’s article “The AI Companies Trying to Make Grief Obsolete” here. Listen to the TFA episode with Charley here and the bonus episode she’s featured in here. You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Check us out on Instagram here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 4 · 56 min
451. What is Happening and Where Are We? with Catherine Newman
Nora talks with author Catherine Newman about the small things that make life feel okay—from quitting drinking and finding new rituals to parenting, loneliness, and the magic of shared meals and "night cereal." Catherine’s books: Sandwich Amazon | Bookshop Wreck Amazon | Bookshop The Adidas Pants Catherine’s Snack Recs! You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
April 20 · 1 hr 2 min
450. A Goose-Forward Home with Sharon McMahon
Here on IGTBO, we're not about toxic positivity -- we're about finding things that are good even when the world is dark. Today's guest, Sharon McMahon -- a fellow tall woman -- brought her OK things, including geese, being in a goose-forward household, and the acts of kindness that can change the trajectory of your life. For any long-time fans of IGTBO, this is a classic bird episode, and we couldn’t be happier. Sharon’s book: Amazon | Bookshop You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
April 6 · 49 min
449. Baja Blast Your Body (feat. Ralph)
This week on It's Going To Be OK: a 13-year-old boy tries to convince his mother that he should be allowed to have a Baja Blast at 7pm on a school night, sings the praises of Wetzel's Pretzels and asks whether or not he can become CEO of McDonald's if he drops out of 8th grade... Every other week, we're here to put some more okay in your day, but this is a group project and you can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
March 23 · 1 hr 7 min
448. A Daily Dose of Wonder with Kelly Corrigan
You know what makes things feel more okay? Kelly Corrigan, the host of Kelly Corrigan Wonders and the author of so many wonderful books (my favorite is Tell Me More). Today, Kelly and Nora dig through a treasure trove of (more than) okay things, including unexpected gratitude from an adult child (CALL YOUR MOM!), a book about a possible alien encounter, slow but steady civic progress and much more. You can share your okay things with us at ☎️502-388-OKAY (6529) or 📧 IGTBO@feelingsand.co To support our show, you can subscribe to our YouTube content here. Our music is by Secret Audio, and their new album is on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
March 9 · 54 min
447. Middle School Divorcee | It's Going to be OK with Elise Loehnen
We would never tell you that everything is going to be OK, but we will tell you that something will be. Today, Nora and guest Elise Loehnen share the things that make them feel like the world isn’t crumbling down around them. Watch us on YouTube here! Get this episode ad-free here! Listen to the Secret Audio album on Spotify or Apple! Elise’s lipstick LInk to Heads Carolina, Tails California on Spotify and Apple Check out Elise’s book! Listen to the Secret Audio album on Spotify or Apple! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
February 18 · 50 min
446. The Return of Ralph: It’s Going to be OK
Things are not good in the world right now, and you don’t need us to tell you that. But despair is also not good. Having no hope is not good. And Nora believes that the antidote to despair is action – doing things for others in whatever capacity you can. So she and her son Ralph are bringing back IGTBO for you as an exercise in seeing the OK things in the world around you, even when it seems like all hope is lost. ⁠Watch us on YouTube here⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
February 17 · 41 min
445. IGTBO: Widow Weddings, Sleepovers, and My Dead Uncle’s Sweater
You’ve seen the headlines. You’ve looked at the world. You know, like we do, that not everything is going to be OK. But to start 2026, we’re going to look at some of the things that make us feel like something will be OK. If you need a sign that there is still good in the world, let this be it. ⁠Watch us on YouTube here⁠⁠⁠! Listen to Geoffrey’s album on ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 12, 2025 · 45 min
444. Baby Wants a Gas Mask
Kids ask for the darndest things, and this year, Nora’s youngest asked for… a gas mask. An old-timey gas mask. So, she asked for the weirdest things that your kids have asked Santa for, AKA a nightmare fuel gift guide. (Warning: do not listen with little kids in the car because we will discuss Santa!) ⁠Watch us on YouTube here⁠⁠! Listen to Geoffrey’s album on ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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