Episode 49: Coping

On this edition of B-Side, host Tamara Keith visits a bar. It’s the kind of place where you can get a strong drink and disappear. And it seems the appropriate location to do a show about coping: the things we do to deal with the unexpected, the unpleasant, the sometimes miserable parts of life. Originally aired in December 2006.

Liner Notes

Retail Therapy: Claudine Zap
Claudine found that for her the best place to cope with a loss wasn’t a bar, but a shopping mall. For her, shopping couldn’t bring back the dead, it couldn’t make the pain disappear… but it could help her forget, at least for a little while.

T-Shirt Addiction: Rob Sachs
Sometimes coping with a loss is hardest when the thing you love is slowly fading away. That’s what literally what happens for our next contributor Rob Sachs. Rob is a self-proclaimed tee-shirt aficionado who’s spent countless hours scouring thrift shops for the coolest in vintage fashion. But with each washing Rob’s faced with the inevitable reality that his precious tees won’t last forever.

After the Dumpster: Elizabeth Chur
Many people might need to do a bit of spring cleaning. But for some, the sheer volume of their possessions reaches epidemic proportions. You might never know from someone’s outward appearance that they have a problem with hoarding and cluttering. But their piles of papers, books, clothing, food, and other belongings often reach from floor to ceiling and endanger their safety and their ability to function. In this story we hear from one such person who has struggled with clutter for decades. This story was originally produced for Transom.org.

Kitty Prozac: Kristi Birch 
This story starts with a woman who decides to get a cat. Then the cat decides to cause some trouble…and the situation gradually spirals towards absurdity.