The Longest Shortest Time

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The Longest Shortest Time

A podcast about the surprises + absurdities of raising other humans. Created by Hillary Frank. A Stitcher production. Try our Facebook groups.

This American Life contributor Hillary Frank interviews parents + kids about their surprising struggles. Looking for a safe place to talk mama or papa shop? For a full list, see our website:
http://longestshortesttime.com/facebook-groups/

10/12/2025

🍌 NEW EP 🍌 College student Zaraia Fabunmi became a s3x educator and a doula as a teenager. Today she shares how she's used that training to help her peers — and, at times, her teachers — plus the fascinating reproductive health research she did in India.

The well-placed "actually" in the clip above made our editor laugh out loud and inspired this episode's title 😂

🎧 LISTEN to "Actually, Sir, That's Not How You Put on a Condom" in any podcast app now. Link in bio.

🤩 P.S. You may recognize Zaraia from our spinoff pilot, YOU KNOW WHAT. If you haven't heard it, you must! (Link also in bio.)

26/11/2025

📺 NEW EP 📺 We asked pop culture critic Kristen Meinzer for recommendations on shows to watch with adolescents that we'll actually like and might even spark fun or deep conversations. She understood the assignment 💯

If you're looking for something to watch this holiday weekend (or anytime!) we've got you covered!

Kristen also shares fun and poignant stories about how helped her make sense of the world and bond with her mom and grandma as a kid. She is a featured voice in The Golden Girls 40th anniversary documentary, out now on ✨ In the image above, she's at Golden Con, a convention for Golden Girls fans (far left).

🎧 LISTEN: "TV to Spark Conversations with Adolescent Kids" is available now in all podcast apps (you don't need to have a tween to enjoy). Link in bio!

15/10/2025

🔥 NEW EP 🔥 is a health educator and advisor to Big Mouth, Netfliex's fantastic animated series about puberty. Join us as she walks us through her innovative approach to teaching young people about healthy relationships, which includes games, music, and complicated scenarios based on real-life situations.

🎧 LISTEN to "Shafia Zaloom's Playful Approach to S3x Ed" in any podcast app. Link in bio!

09/07/2025

✨ NEW EP ✨ Amanda Hess writes about the internet for a living. So she didn’t expect to form an emotional bond with a fertility app during her pregnancy. But when Amanda’s pregnancy got complicated, her relationship with the app got complicated, too.

🎧 LISTEN to "A Tech Writer's Eerie Bond with Her Pregnancy App" now, wherever you get your podcasts. Link in bio.

📚 Be sure to check out Amanda's wonderful book, Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age (also in bio)

12/06/2025

🎉 Va**na Survival Kit! 🎉 Curated for us by the one and only Sara Reardon, aka .vagina.whisperer 😊 Keep everything down there going strong for the next 40+ years with help from the products on this list, including her wonderful book FLOORED.

🎧 Tune in to "Secrets from The Va**na Whisperer" for tips on how to use this stuff! Link to episode + list in bio.

11/06/2025

🌭 NEW EP! 🌭 No, that is not a woman in a hot dog costume; it's a v***a!

🎉 We're so excited to have Sara Reardon, aka , join us for all the dirt on peeing, pooping, pain, postpartum, and perimenopause (oh, the alliteration of it all!) Yep, we're talking about everything you need to know to keep things healthy down there!

🎧 Hear how Sara came to possess a v***a costume AND all her extremely useful tips on "Secrets from the Va**na Whisperer" - available now in all podcast apps and in our bio.

⭐ And don't miss Sara's Va**na Survival Kit, curated just for us! (Also link in bio.)

**naWhisperer

04/06/2025

Join us for a pelvic floor AMA!

Exciting news! 🎉 We're hosting another Ask a Pelvic Floor PT Anything with 's very own pelvic floor PT Debra Goldman, live on Zoom! Whether you're curious about peeing, pooping, pain, periods, or perimenopause, no question is too personal.

This is exclusive to LST+ members, and you can join now for 10% off with code VA**NA. Don't miss out on this fun and informative session!

When: June 18th from 1:00-2:00pm ET.

This event is included in membership but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Link in bio.

28/05/2025

⭐ NEW EPISODE ⭐ One of our fav parenting + repro health writers joins us to discuss a permanent brith control method that doctors rarely mention. Find out why Anna chose to end her potential for having more kids *while* giving birth to one - and whether this little known procedure is right for you.

🎧 LISTEN to "The Permanent Birth Control Option Doctors Rarely Mention" in any podcast app now! (Link in bio.)

📸: Seth Pomerantz

14/05/2025

🔥 NEW EPISODE 🔥 Meet the incredible , who started flying planes as a teenager. This story has a surprising reveal, so we don't want to give too much away - but it's a wild one, including a medical mystery, an airplane named Lady Lamar, and a public battle with the FAA ✈️

🎧 You don't want to miss this one! "Xyla vs. the FAA" is live now in all podcast apps.

30/04/2025

😂 NEW EPISODE 😂 Here at LST we are huge fans of
Ashley Parker's political reporting — and so we were thrilled to find out she's a big fan of our show, too! In this ep, we talk to Ashley about a whole bunch of things:

🐣 her obsession with collecting birth stories

🗒️ raising girls while covering the White House

😱 a mistake she made as a teen involving whipped cream + cameras (see video above)

Ashley also talks poignantly about her experience of going through a miscarriage while covering Biden's State of the Union, which she wrote about beautifully in .

🎧 LISTEN to "Ashley Parker on Raising Girls While Covering the White House" in any podcast app. If you're familiar with her work, this is a side of Ashley you've never heard before!

17/04/2025

👶 Ready for some myth-busting around pregnancy + childbirth? Then check out our new episode, THE INSIDIOUS POWER OF MEN OVER MOTHERHOOD, now available in all podcast apps. (Link in bio.)

We talk to journalist about her book BIRTH CONTROL, in which she uncovers stunning data and stories about the patriarchal system embedded in American obstetrics. Ali shares what she learned about maternal care in the U.S., how we got here, and how to advocate for ourselves in a system stacked against both patients and providers.

🎧 A must-listen for anyone planning to give birth in the U.S. and those seeking better understanding of their own birth experiences.

09/04/2025

⭐ This week on the show, we bring you a special episode of - one of our favorite podcasts. It's called "The Birds, the Bees & My Dad" and it features a heartfelt, funny, fascinating conversation between a grown man and his father, who was a p@rn star in the 70s and 80s ⭐

🎧 The episode is NOW LIVE in all podcast apps.

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Our Story

Hillary Frank started The Longest Shortest Time in 2010 after a rough childbirth and recovery. She hosted the show for 7 years. She currently edits the podcast and oversees special projects.

In 2018, Hillary passed the host torch to Andrea Silenzi, who is currently puzzling through how to become a mother as a single woman.