Perel is great but my primary experience of listening to this podcast is one of trying to escape their strategies for getting money out of it/me. Upwards of three minutes of advertising drivel between segments, so much content behind a subscription, and much of the free content a teaser for the paid stuff, which never becomes free even months later. It’s so jarring when juxtaposed with the show itself, which is trying to be about the fundamentally non commodifiable human goods. As I listen to Perel rattling off yet another pitch for socks or vitamins or whatever I just keep thinking “you have several best selling books, do speaking engagements all over the world and have a psychotherapy practice in Manhattan. Aren’t you rich enough? Isn’t this supposed to be about helping people?” Ditto on the celebrity content — these people are not interesting because they aren’t actually sharing any of their genuine struggles and thus they make Perel decidedly less interesting too. Of course we are all inured to this kind of thing by now but on this podcast it feels especially aggressive.

I can’t believe the point wasn’t raised that the guy could have worn protection if he didn’t want a child!

For a modest subscription fee, you get access to more mind blowing therapy than you could get by emptying your bank account to pay for personal therapy over the course of a lifetime. What a gift to the masses!

I miss the original format of the show that was so different than anything else out there! I wish the show would return to couples and working with people.

Thank you Esther for the way you sound and deliver insights and facts to me. I listen to these podcasts and always come away with compassion and self understanding - remarkable.

First you will LOVE this podcast. You’ll binge it. Maybe relisten to a few favorite sessions. And then you start to see the very trendy commercial aspect to this product. Esther will hop onto nearly any new fad in the zeitgeist. It takes a bit, but once you see through her misplaced confidence and her bandwagon jumping this podcast product becomes unfortunately not helpful even if you do become one of her paid followers. Enjoy the honeymoon period, but don’t misplace your trust here

Esther really listens. She is amazing how she hears small details that provide insight and understanding into the complicated web of intimate relationships .

HUGE fun of Esther Perel from now on. So blessed to have discovered this podcast

Each episode is life-changing for me in terms of insight into myself, my relationships, and ways I can improve both. Thank you Esther!

I discovered Esther Perel for the first time on YouTube. It was her “Modern Love and Relationships” segment from SXSW. Esther asks: How do you show up in your relationships? What are some of the things that you do to disconnect from others? Is there someone that you would need to call at this moment to whom you owe some apology or to whom you simply owe a checking in, 'how are you?' “The quality of your relationships is what determines the quality of your life. Relationships are your stories. Write well. Edit often.” Thank you, Esther.

Amazing podcast and storytelling where content from each episode resonate with us. It’s opens up real human behavior, vulnerability and insecurities that exists everywhere but is often not discussed openly within our friends and family. It provides information and creates agency to handle our own relationships.

I admire Dr. Perel and her ways of exploring the provocative topics, but I think there seems to be a nuanced approach to clear acts of toxicity and violation of boundaries , especially among men who are typically in monogamous relationships but are committing acts of infidelity. I think the show needs to expand into more than just sex and romantic relationships and cheating. It needs to add in other parts of life and relationships. What irked me was the polyamory couple where the woman clearly was distraught and basically was resentful that she has a child that was fathered by an irresponsible man who had sex with another woman. This reflects a poor understanding of what healthy polyamorous relationships are and it doesn’t address the collateral damage of the other woman being involved. This showcases the importance that if he can’t keep it in the pants, then wear a condom or get a vasectomy.

I am a therapist myself and I learn so much from ester, she is brilliant.

I love love love Esther snd her approach to therapy. I glean so much from listening to these sessions. I want more of this amazing, intelligent and insightful woman. That said, it seems like every “new” episode lately is a repeat. I can respect that she has expanded her listener base, but we all know how to go back into the archives and discover new (to us) content. If you’re a longtime listener having old episodes reposted as new is a bummer.

I always look forward to listening and learning from you Esther!

What a gift Esther has given us! As a therapist and a person who is eternally curious about myself and my relationship with others, this podcast is extremely enlightening and entertaining.

I appreciated the conversation in this episode. The individual’s experience is so very similar to mine. Just this year, I’ve been ghosted five times without reason, conversation, etc. it drives me mad how our society has become so disassociated and lacks maturity to treat one another as adults. People don’t seem to know what mature and respectful encounters are. Dating is no fun!

The topics have been mostly about polyamory this year…. It’s fine for a couple of episodes, but this show used to have variety of topics. I am so bored with the content now. Will have to unsubscribe at the next poly episode.

I love this show and feel so sad that it has become pay only content at a time when people need so much help resolving conflicts. I understand maybe a deeper dive on the content for a pay subscription. There are so many people out of work, struggling to pay bills that are deeply affected by relationship issues that could benefit from this content.

The conversational quality of the sessions makes each episode so relatable, even if the clients lives are vastly different than my own. I’ve learned a lot about myself and my relationships through listening to this podcast. I’m so thankful it exists. Ester is a treasure.

I don’t understand how she can SEE so much SO clearly SO quickly. It’s eerie and mind blowing. I could hear the story of my ex in the interview and the advice “you guys would be better friends—not ever a couple”—I was like F. It hit me.

I used to very much like the podcast but recently, I am losing patience. Today, for example, I listened to the April 15 episode, “I think I married the wrong man.” The husband comes across as entitled, controlling and change-resistant (he’s always right because he’s the better observer), a textbook narcissist. Here’s hoping that the wife got out of the marriage and at started solo therapy stat. There are other, similar episodes, where particularly women cling to toxic partners. I don’t get it. It’s extremely disheartening, discouraging and reinforcing stereotypes of women being weak, slightly stupid and by default victims.

I am specifically writing about The Arc of Love episode. I feel that her advice was extremely careless and reckless. It IS possible to have an amicable divorce and share holidays, etc. together as a couple creates a community of compassion and love around them and the child. It saddened me to hear her suggest they stay married, rather than understand why they are as close as they are; codependency, emotional and sexual neglect, love addictive tendencies, control issues. There is a reason the wife wanted the divorce and to suggest they stay together was very reckless without digging in deeper to their core issues before that comment. Marriage doesn’t fix people.

When I first listened to this podcast, every session was a one-time counseling event. Now? Not so much. The ‘expert guests’ are of no interest to me. The broadcasts in ‘themes’ or conversations with others about ‘topics’ that might interest leave me cold. I tune in for the one-time counseling event — and lately am sad to see they are rare. Has the well dried? If so - I will no longer subscribe.

This kind of therapy gives therapy a bad rap.

This podcast brought me to tears. The counseling seems to work for people really well and it’s really special to see all these relationships get better.

I used to really like this show and found it helpful, but lately it just seems like she nit picks certain things. For example, the episode I’m listening to now - she said she wonders when the last time the man touched the woman’s legs was. The man answers and Esther says he’s insecure for answering. When it clearly seems like she was asking him. I would feel very self conscious if I was in one of her sessions, and I’m sure some of them do feel that way. Also, seems like she insinuates too much. It’s also no longer couple counseling, as there was one with a daughter talking about her dad. Which is fine, I’m just saying it’s not what the show originally was.

What an excellent session that offered a different way to view her father. Childhood trauma is so deep and it is amazing how it gets passed on. I love this podcast. The best therapy I have ever had.

This episode brought me to tears because I recognized my nurturing tendencies to others & holding back from asking others to nurture me. When I do experience nurturing from family, friends & strangers, I’m surprised & grateful. I need to say “thank you “ more than I do along with asking for nurturing. Thank you Esther!

Why is every third or second guest gay? Is there an agenda of message going on here. Statistically we are only about 10% of the population. Seems forced

I used to really love this show and now it seems to have constant same sex couples that don’t appeal at all to my situation. I wish Esther would take it into consideration that only a small percentage of the population identifies as gay. Why are most of her episodes I hear now mainly same sex. Very disappointing.

This podcast has helped me tremendously on so many levels. It’s truly incredible.

No one is letting this man speak. Both Ester and the wife continue to interrupt him, despite him being scolded when he “responds too quickly.” Ester is inferring things about their relationship after just minutes of interacting with them, which seems to suit the wife’s narrative but clearly not the husband’s, but he never has a chance to clarify his narrative because they won’t let him speak. Arg. The woman screams in front of their child, which is unacceptable to the husband, and rightly so. The wife desperately needs to work through her trauma so she’s not so angry all the time. Ester telling the husband to just let her yell but to be kind to her while she’s yelling (because that will apparently break her pattern of yelling) is absurd. Maybe that can come in time but this woman needs more immediate help and skills in controlling her anger and should be told so. I find that Ester is totally enabling this women’s behavior, and that both Ester and the wife are ganging up on the husband without ever giving him a chance to finish a single sentence. It’s infuriating. I get that he’s an intellectualizer and needs to work on that, but feel bad for him.

Oh boy, I hope he can take in what is being said. He sounds like he isn't getting it. She seems observant and intelligent. He wants to always be right. If it's a fact, it should be said, whether it hurts or not. Not a good skill for a relationship.

I’ve listened to three non-special guest episodes and have to say a big red flag for me is when a host does more talking than listening. She is very quick to put words in her guests mouths and makes assumptions about why they feel or act a certain way. It could be that the sessions are edited down to only sound bytes that allow her to give her opinion, because it feels like they are missing a lot of context. It almost feels more exploitative that useful. If you prefer a more patient-guided conversation as well as helpful tips and advice that can be applied to listeners in various situations, not just the caller, I would highly recommend “Dear Therapists.”

Use to love this podcast before it became apart of vox media. The new content strategies are not it.

I have a long history of therapy and coaching, yet I always learn something from Esther. She has an uncanny ability to dive right into the heart of a person’s issues - to see it more clearly than they had been able to see it - and to reframe it and give nonjudgmental guidance.

Esther Perel’s podcast is raw, intimate, and organically revealing to me. I take pleasure in how she listens to, reflects on, and works with her clients. She's incredibly perceptive and this podcast will give you something to relate to in your own relationships.

This podcast ever softens my edges towards others and reminds me of humanity and the absolutely precious intricacies of the human story. Thank you for teaching us all through this format of storytelling and support!

“Where Should We Begin” has become my favorite podcast since it was released, and I eagerly anticipate each new episode week after week. Esther Perel’s insight and intelligence shine through in evey session, and I’m captivated listening to her. Her ability to delve deep into the core of each issue and articulate complex concepts in a relatable manner is so fascinating to me. I learn something valuable from each episode, and feel I have grown mentally so much through her. Than you and keep doing what you’re doing!

Very sad when patients are used like this.

For her own good

It used to be real. People who were relatable to an average person were the ones interviewed. Now it’s more about a product and branding. Lot’s of money to be made and Esther is taking full advantage of it. There are enough products in the world. The contradiction between something so very intimate as the original intent and what is being produced now creates a dissonance that makes me not listen anymore. So I stopped. I recommend you stop as well unless you want to pay for content or listen to fee things like famous or successful people talk about their lives. Part of what made the original show great was it was real people…

Esther has been one of my personal thought leaders for years, these sessions have made me a better therapist, lover, daughter, coworker, and human. I also appreciate so much how Esther has listened to feedback from fans about recycled episodes, short episodes, and excessive commercials. I feel like the community’s concerns were heard and addressed.

Thank you for your work.

It’s amazing how she gets to the bottom of the problems. Thank you for your insight, I have learnt so much about human conditions by just listening your show. Bless you Esther.

So often when the episode starts, I think I can’t even relate to these people, and they are so unwise… But when I continue to listen, I start to realize that everyone can relate, and we are all so unwise. Thank you!

Incredibly rich and deep and intelligent

I love Ester’s show so much! It is my favorite podcast and I look forward to episodes being released. Her calming voice and demeanor, no matter the subject matter, is really soothing. I prefer this type of conversation to the sensationalist tone of some of the therapist on tv and online. Amazing show!

I love Esther’s show so much. No matter what the topic or description I find listening to how she talks to people amazing. I take something away from every episode from a new mental idea or just general calmness.