Hospice care, told plainly from the bedside and the heart.
The episode follows Joanne Chitwood into hospice care through a nursing-home encounter that first pointed a patient's son toward her bedside manner.
Life experience, patiently told.
The gist
Tell Me What It's Like follows people through experiences that changed how they understand work, family, care, place, and themselves. The conversations are patient and plainspoken, with room for fear, humor, grief, and hard-earned clarity.
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About Tell Me What It's Like
Tell Me What It's Like is built around the simple power of asking someone to describe an experience from the inside. The format is direct. A guest arrives with a defining chapter, and the conversation moves patiently through what happened, what was confusing, and what changed afterward. The subject matter ranges widely, but the tone stays steady. Hospice nursing sits beside late-life dating, toy photography, urban planning, Medicare, nonprofit strategy, Buddhist retreat, and parenting tween girls. That range gives the show a humane curiosity rather than a single-issue identity. It is interested in people at thresholds. JoAnne Chitwood speaks about decades of hospice care with a focus on presence, grief, and not holding the heart back. Victoria Vaughn brings humor and caution to the dating pool after a long marriage. Mitch Wu traces a creative turn from wedding photography to staged toy images after a day in the park with his nephew. Toni King makes Medicare feel less like paperwork and more like a set of decisions with real consequences. Jahnavi Kirtane connects car-dependent places to the design of walkable places. Suzanne Smith frames nonprofit growth as strategy, sustainability, and responsibility. Laurie Jacobson’s monastery story turns silence into a path through fear and loneliness. Christina King talks about the teenage brain, comparison culture, and the pressure surrounding tween and teen girls. The show’s strength is its restraint. It does not rush guests toward a slogan. Instead, it lets personal detail carry the meaning, then gently draws out the practical lesson. The result is intimate, useful, and unusually easy to enter, even when the topic is unfamiliar.
Made for: For listeners who like thoughtful one-on-one interviews about real turning points, personal change, and practical wisdom. It especially fits people drawn to caregiving, parenting, aging, community design, creativity, and life after disruption.
What sets it apart: The show makes specialized or emotionally heavy subjects feel approachable by staying close to one person’s story. Its best episodes turn practical topics into intimate conversations without losing clarity.
In their own words
Have you ever wished for a window into someone else’s world? Tell Me What It’s Like is a podcast about lived experience — the experiences that challenge us, surprise us, and shape how we see the world. Host Stacy Raine sits down with people to explore what it was like to live through them, and how those experiences changed their perspective.
As heard by us
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
On the Sports shelf, Stacey Raine's patient interviews offer lived experience and practical perspective, though athletic subjects remain peripheral.
Tell Me What It's Like gives Stacey Raine room to follow one guest's experience from its beginnings into the choices and lessons that followed.
Why you'd press play
This is the show that lets your curiosity roam from hospice beds to catastrophically bad cafeteria dates.
Press play if you want
- Stacey Raine to ask the practical questions you would bring to a hospice nurse
- a clearer view of how social media comparison lands on tween girls
life-changing decisionshealthcare and hospicedating after divorcecreative career shiftsMedicare confusionwalkable communitiesnonprofit strategyparenting tween girls
Talks about
Best episodes of Tell Me What It's Like
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A plainspoken look at divorce, dating, and the line between compromise and settling.
The episode tracks Victoria Vaughn from an amicable 30-year marriage ending to the awkward territory of dating again after a long stretch. Its sharpest moments come from the details: a cafeteria lunch that slides into a complaint session, a man tapping on the receipts before…
A planning conversation that keeps returning to the places people actually use every day.
Tell Me What It's Like turns to urban planning with a grounded question: why did a suburban New Jersey upbringing require a car, while New York City let classmates move on their own?
A monastery story shaped by chores, fear, and chanting.
Laurie Jacobson's conversation with Stacey Raine follows a difficult turn from years of isolation in an old farmhouse in the mountains of Pennsylvania to 22 days at a Buddhist monastery, and the small details carry much of the weight.
A therapist's teen story becomes a grounded look at pressure, comparison, and practical parent questions.
Christina King gives a familiar teen-and-tween parenting issue a steady, therapist-led shape, starting with the question her own mother once asked about happiness and the uneasy answer that hid behind good grades, sports, and a packed schedule.
Podcasts like Tell Me What It's Like
Episodes
- 1
Building Community Wherever You Go: Kandi Hart on What She's Learned as a Military Spouse
Jun 24, 2026·48m - 2
Diagnosed with Asperger's at 65: Charles Grimes on Finally Understanding Himself
Jun 17, 2026·50m - 3
Coming Back to the Game: A Quad Amputee Soccer Coach on Reclaiming His Confidence
Jun 10, 2026·47m - 4
Inside Fertility Medicine: Dr. Yemi Famuyiwa on Birth, Loss, and the Science of Having Babies
Jun 3, 2026·44m - 5
From Blogger to Influencer to Done: Chelsea Coulston on the Creator Economy
May 27, 2026·44m - 6
The Reality of Reality TV: The Psychologist Who Decides Who Gets on the Show
May 20, 2026·42m - 7
Joining Their Reality: Lisa Skinner on Alzheimer's, Dementia, and Caregiving
May 13, 2026·52m - 8
Finding her Birth Mother at 51: Julie Melanson on Adoption and Identity
May 6, 2026·55m - 9
Switching Sides: James Porfido on Becoming a Defense Attorney After Prosecuting
Apr 29, 2026·44m - 10
Earth Day Special | Trash Wolf: Leader of the Anti-Litter Pack (Re-Release)
Apr 22, 2026·43m - 11
Dying Well: JoAnne Chitwood on 40 Years of Hospice Nursing
Hidden gemOn Tell Me What It's Like, Stacey Rayne interviews JoAnne Chitwood about 40 years of hospice nursing and the "last six months of life." Chitwood says a hospice volunteer in Tennessee identified her as "a hospice nurse," and she built her career around listening, touch, and symptom management in patients' homes.
Apr 15, 2026·51m·3 clips - 12
Dating Again After 30 Years: Victoria Vaughn on the Frogs She’s Kissed
Hidden gemVictoria Vaughn joins the host after a 30-year marriage ended.
Apr 8, 2026·34m·2 clips - 13
Becoming a Toy Photographer: Mitch Wu on Turning Play into a Creative Career
Mitch Wu discusses his transition from wedding photography to becoming a toy photographer after a pivotal moment in a park with his nephew, exploring his creative journey and career shifts.
Apr 1, 2026·43m - 14
Understanding Medicare: Toni King on Navigating a Complex System
Toni King shares her journey from a Medicare workshop to helping Americans navigate the complex Medicare system, highlighting a case where misinformation led to significant financial consequences.
Mar 25, 2026·38m - 15
How Cities Are Designed: Creating Walkable Places with Jahnavi Kirtane
Hidden gemStacey opens by asking listeners to leave a rating and review, then frames the show around life-changing decisions, extraordinary challenges, and defining moments.
Mar 18, 2026·45m·4 clips - 16
Scaling Social Impact: Suzanne Smith on Helping Organizations Create Change
Suzanne Smith discusses her background in social change and how she helps nonprofits scale their impact through strategic planning and sustainability.
Mar 11, 2026·42m - 17
22 Days in a Buddhist Monastery: Clarity That Comes From Silence
Hidden gemStacey Raine speaks with Laurie Jacobson about when she was 43, when she realized something had to change.
Mar 4, 2026·51m·2 clips - 18
Parenting Tween Girls: Christina King on the Teenage Brain
Hidden gemStacey Raine opens the episode with Christina King.
Feb 25, 2026·53m·2 clips - 19
Unexpected Pregnancy at 21: Finding a Safety Net with Kristen Mardis
This episode features an interview with Kristen Mardis about her experience with an unexpected pregnancy at age 21 and how government assistance programs helped her pursue her career as a speech pathologist while raising a child.
Feb 18, 2026·39m - 20
Behind the Scenes of News and Life: Carol Lin on Reporting History
Feb 18, 2026·42m - 21
Season 2 Trailer: Tell Me What It’s Like
Feb 4, 2026·1m - 22
What’s Your Favorite Holiday Tradition? Season 1 Guests Share
Dec 18, 2025·25m - 23
Sustainable Style: Sarah Teresinski on Upcycling for Stylish Home Decor
Nov 5, 2025·42m - 24
The Woman Who Changed Chess: Susan Polgar on Becoming a Grandmaster
Oct 29, 2025·38m - 25
Becoming Wise in the Age of AI: Jeff Burningham on What It Means to Be Human
Oct 22, 2025·40m - 26
Growing Up Millennial: Charlie Wells on What Shaped a Generation
Oct 15, 2025·35m - 27
Creating a Walking Shoe for Women: Cori Burns on Filling the Fitness Shoe Gap
Oct 8, 2025·35m - 28
Fighting Forest Fires: Linda Strader on Breaking Barriers in the U.S. Forest Service
Oct 1, 2025·42m - 29
Teaching Modern Manners: Jennifer Daniel on Etiquette and Kindness
Sep 24, 2025·41m - 30
Leaving It All Behind: Valerie Russell on Starting a Business Abroad
Sep 17, 2025·39m - 31
Singing About Poop: Matt Farley on Creativity and 26,000 Songs
Sep 10, 2025·38m - 32
Diana Greenlee: Uncovering the Story of Poverty Point
Sep 3, 2025·36m - 33
Bill Gerhart: Loss and Action in the Opioid Crisis, Part 2
Aug 27, 2025·34m - 34
Bill Gerhart: Loss and Action in the Opioid Crisis, Part 1
Aug 20, 2025·34m - 35
Mary Hayden: Studying the Human Side of Mosquito Risk
Aug 13, 2025·36m - 36
Brandon Phillips: From Childhood Cancer to Supporting Families Through Polo
Aug 6, 2025·37m - 37
When Characters Talk Back: Carol Hoenig on Writing Fiction That Comes to Life
Jul 30, 2025·38m - 38
Rich "Big Daddy" Salgado: Building a Network by Showing Up for Others
Jul 23, 2025·35m - 39
Bill Horan: Talking About Success for 37 Years
Jul 16, 2025·37m - 40
Saving Wild Animals: Alexis Broz on Rehabilitation, Rescue Missions, and a Beaver Named Bo
Jul 9, 2025·48m - 41
What Really Happens to Our Trash: Dr. Morton Barlaz on 40 Years of Studying Landfills
This episode features an interview with Dr.
Jul 2, 2025·35m - 42
Running 7 Marathons on 7 Continents: Becca Pizzi on Grit, Endurance, and Making History
Becca Pizzi discusses her experience as the first American woman to complete the World Marathon Challenge, running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days, highlighting her preparation and achievements.
Jun 25, 2025·35m - 43
Saundra Pelletier: Bringing a New Birth Control to Market
Jun 18, 2025·44m - 44
Inventing from Home: April Mitchell on Turning Everyday Problems into Products That Sell
Jun 11, 2025·44m - 45
Leigh Dzvonick: Living Through Guillain-Barré Syndrome
Jun 4, 2025·35m - 46
Keri Nelson: Life and Work in Antarctica
Jun 4, 2025·42m - 47
Trash Wolf: Becoming Leader of the Anti-Litter Pack
This episode features an interview with Trash Wolf, a man in a wolf costume who cleans up litter in Tampa Bay, discussing how his idea originated from observing trash at bus stops and evolved into a community activism effort.
Jun 4, 2025·42m - 48
Tell Me What It's Like trailer
May 21, 2025·1m