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Taxes are scary but getting free money from the government is great. CYG's accountant and the force behind Taxes for Artists, Claudia Yi León returns to tell us all about how to deal with the wild year of unemployment and (non)income that was 2020. From PPP loans (freelancers, you can still get one) to extended filing deadlines (May 17) to claiming your stimulus payment if you didn't file 2019 taxes, this episode is packed with info. Cross-reference our notes at callyourgirlfriend.com and follow @taxesforartists for all the latest. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What better time to be lifting up the people we love and growing together? Brooke Baldwin of CNN joins us to discuss the groups of women - or huddles - that make collective change happen at work, in activism, sports, and our personal lives. And we revisit our own notion of Shine Theory.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You should never pee when you laugh. You can see a midwife for non-pregnancy health exams like pap smears. And you can even insert your own speculum at the gynecologist if that makes you more comfortable. We revisit all the things we learned about pelvic health from our Pelvic Power episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Samantha Power served as the US ambassador to the United Nations in the Obama administration and has been nominated by President Biden to serve as administrator to USAID. We revisit our 2019 interview full of hard and candid truths about what she was and wasn't able to accomplish, especially in Syria. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It doesn't feel like a great time for pleasure, but that's exactly why we need it, right now. We revisit our interview with adrienne maree brown, author of Pleasure Activism, Emergent Strategy, and most recently, We Will Not Cancel Us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting real about recognizing burnout, how it's different from similar feelings like depression, and how ambition means more than working constantly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A planned tar sands pipeline through Northern Minnesota crosses tribal land and would disrupt waterways and wild rice cultivation. Tara Houska is Ojibwe, an attorney, an environmental and indigenous rights advocate, and has a long history on the land Line 3 would travel through.  Links: Stop Line 3 Tara Houska on Twitter Giniw Collective on Twitter Tara Houska TED Talk See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Poet, artist and activist Cleo Wade feels deeply and writes movingly about growing up, finding ourselves, and having good boundaries with the people in our lives and our social feeds. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The NYT's Caity Weaver joins us to discuss her love of Santa Fe, television, pronouncing words correctly, and how her insatiable curiosity compels her to find out how glitter is made. Plus, in her many celebrity profiles: who tried to pick up the check, who was beautiful in person, and who smells amazing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is all about comfort in challenging times and staying true to yourself. We talk with a paragon of creating cozy feelings, Jenny Han, the author behind the book and Netflix series To All the Boys I've Loved Before. How to decide what to say yes to? How do you take time for yourself? How do you deal with gatekeepers (usually white) who want to see characters of color grappling more directly with their racial identity? What can we expect from the final To All the Boys movie? Which Little Women character are you? All this AND Aminatou confesses that she is squeamish about romances like Pride and Prejudice and Bridgerton.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it childish to call people Best Friends? Who holds the various keys to our hearts and identities? And what dreams of the past and future are getting us through the pandemic? Aminatou discusses travel, religion, finding ourselves and how we use coded language to find our people with Jedidiah Jenkins. His new book Like Streams to the Ocean is out Feb 2.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss the inauguration celebrity parade, the fallacy of calls for "unity," Melania's caftan, Bernie's mittens, and "We will be back in some form." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re reading fiction, nonfiction, essays and anxiety-producing novels. The Eagles of Heart Mountain: a True Story of Football, Incarceration, and Resistance in World War II America by Bradford Pearson Red Pill by Hari Kunzru The Resisters by Gish Jen Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new year has already been more of a lot. Amid so many challenges, here are the practices, advice, and rituals we're bringing with us into 2021. CYG producer Jordan Bailey shares her rituals for letting go of the old year and welcoming a new one. Sabrina Hersi Issa, whose personal inventory days may have already changed your life when she last spoke to us in 2018, is back to teach us about coming home to ourselves. Beth Pickens is keeping a death journal while hosting a new podcast and Homework Club for artists. Plus, Aminatou's decision matrix and Ann's daily writing practice.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crawling to the finish line of 2020, we catch up and reflect on what parts of our pandemic routines we may keep as we move into 2021.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As cases spike in the U.S., we talk to one of our favorite consent experts, sex and dating coach Myisha Battle, about how to have the COVID talk with friends, family, and potential romantic prospects.  The first season of Myisha's podcast, Dating White, is out now.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you get more deeply involved in a cause you care about? Especially when it's an issue as challenging as homelessness? We talk with Melissa Acedera who practices mutual aid through Polo's Pantry, a mobile food bank in Los Angeles.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are enjoying this slow season, grateful for what we have and opening our wallets for those who experience food insecurity. In the first of two episodes about food justice, we discuss our Thanksgiving feels and talk with Ebony Derr, financial manager at the Okra Project, which nourishes Black trans people with meals and community. Plus, our favorite Thanksgiving movies, what we're eating, and flashpoint feelings around okra (the food itself).  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Purging our archives, mailing care packages in lieu of clothing swaps, confronting our own consumerism, who we imagine perusing our estate sales, secret talents, and some delightful things we're watching (including cults and sexy chess of course). Watch List: The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) Both versions of The Thomas Crown Affair The Vow (HBO Max) Seduced (Hulu) The Great British Bake Off (Netflix) My Octopus Teacher (Netflix) Golden Girls (Hulu) The Host (Hulu) Kramer vs. Kramer Everything on Criterion See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won. We break away from our stress puzzling to celebrate this win. While there's so much work to be done, seeing Kamala on stage Saturday night was very moving. We revisit our 2018 interview with then Senator, now VP-elect Harris. And we are pleased to announce this officially breaks the CYG curse of only highlighting candidates who do not ultimately win! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.