This week's Decent Human Being is author Shelly Edwards Jorgensen. Her story is about her mother's murder. Other topics include alcoholism, domestic violence, sexual assault, and arson. You can buy her memoir on Amazon.com. Shelly knew trouble was brewing. Her dad was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde alcoholic, and on this day he was preparing dinner and …

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Michelle. Her fucked up story is about growing up with a learning disability called dyscalculia. Other topics include bullying, shame, limited hand dexterity, and visual perception issues. Michelle is a smart woman. That will become clear as you listen to the episode, but I need to say it because people with lear…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Paula. Her fucked up story is about being raised by a toxic mother who tried to murder her as an infant. Other topics in this episode include narcissistic abuse, alcoholism, and anxiety. Paula's mother tried to kill her. She was only 3 months old the first time it happened, and five months old the second. It's ta…

Warning: Producer Dan couldn’t make it to this episode, so please don’t turn it off when you hear Scott's voice first. Also, note that this is not our usual format - it's our first update interview. The updates are nothing but positive, but we revisit parts of Amy's story about her broken neck and sheared brain stem, and we also talk about the suic…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Simon Rinne. His fucked up story is about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Other topics in this episode include alcohol abuse, parental divorce, anxiety, masculinity, and a very professional intro. Simon suffered from undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder for 20 years before he learned what it was or that…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Kelli Murbach. Her fucked up story is about quiet trauma. Other topics include chronic illness, loneliness, and depression. Kelli’s childhood was filled with what she described as quiet trauma. She wasn’t abused, nor did she find herself on death’s door at any point, but her upbringing was less than ideal. When s…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Katrina Lelli. Her fucked up story is about alcoholism. Other topics include bipolar depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts/ideation. Katrina was a good girl as a teenager. She grew up in an alcoholic home and was forced to be the adult in the house after her father walked out on the family on the day after C…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Bill Lee-Emery. His fucked up story is about surviving throat cancer. In 2022, Bill was diagnosed with throat cancer. He was a healthy, 70-something-year-old man who up until that point wouldn't even take an aspirin for a headache. He'd prioritized alternative medicine for over 40 years, so the diagnosis created …

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Melanie Verstraete. Her fucked up story is about toxic relationships. Melanie had six step-dads by the time she was 21. You might think a stable of step-dads makes for a fucked up story in itself, but that wasn't the bulk of the story here. It contributed for sure, and nobody can argue that she had a great role m…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Tonje Wyn-Jones. Her fucked up story is about the death of her 18-month old daughter from SIDS. Tonje was on a business trip when she got “the call no mother wants to get.” It was her brother, and all he would say is that she had to come home. She hung up and called her husband, and he told her their 18-month old…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Lisa Marie. Her fucked up story includes compound grief, life-changing deaths, death from disease, death from cancer, and death from an accident. You can probably tell by the title, but Lisa had a rough couple of years. Rough is probably selling it short – maybe I should call it a fucked-up couple of years. It st…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Julie. Her fucked up story includes infidelity, depression, job loss, gas-lighting, and her (now ex-) husband fathering a child with another woman during their marriage. When Julie met her now ex-husband, she was smitten. He wasn't her normal type - she described him as a big, burly goth guy with painted nails an…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Jackie. Her fucked up story includes growing up in poverty, sexual abuse, teen pregnancy, alcoholism, drug use, (barely) surviving a house fire, and the murder of her oldest son. Jackie was one of those kids you'd say never had a chance. She was born into poverty, was sexually abused by multiple adults, and start…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Heidi Johnson. Her fucked up story took place in the school library during the Columbine massacre. Topics in this episode include murder, school shootings, and suicide. On April 20, 1999, two students walked into Columbine High School and changed this country forever. They murdered thirteen people - including 12 …

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Jorge V Gonzalez. His fucked up story started when he suffered a life-altering back injury at work. Topics in this episode include debilitating physical injury, job loss, depression, and suicidal ideation. Jorge’s career in Warehouse Logistics started when he was 19. He’d realized he either had to find a decent g…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Harris Eddie Hill. Their fucked up story is about overcoming trauma and helping others heal. Topics covered in this episode include self-harm, suicidal ideation, sexual trauma, family dysfunction, cancer, and ADHD. Harris is an impressive human being. I want to get that out of the way because that’s the thought I…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Carleigh. Her fucked up story is about living with undiagnosed bipolar disorder. This episode contains talk of self-harm and suicide. Carleigh looked like a normal kid on the outside. She might have been a tad hyper, but she did alright in school and didn't have any issues making friends. Those are the things you…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Uncle Satan. His fucked up story is about anxiety and teenage drug/alcohol abuse. I'm having a hard time not naming this episode Uncle Satan, the Punk Rock Archaeologist. That feels a little too click-baity for me, even if those words contain no lies. We did interview an Uncle Satan, he is an archeologist who cam…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Marie Miller. Her fucked up story is about emotional abuse and non-consensual kink. Marie is a fascinating woman. She’s been part of a backyard circus where she learned to do the Russian Ladder trick, performed blacklight theater in a Lovecraft piece, and did a hell of a lot of other cool things that Dan and I wo…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Christine Errico. Christine was born with a cleft lip and palate. Her first of many surgeries was when she was only two months old. She detailed the bullying and discrimination she faced in various stages of her life, including in the workplace. Notable Quotes: Christine Errico: "I always felt broken... I just wa…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is Andy Turner, author of Who Turned Up the Silence. His fucked up story is about grief, secrets, false accusations, and fighting back. Andy Turner thought he had a great marriage. He met his late wife at church, and when she invited him out to coffee he didn't hesitate. They dated and married quickly, and Heather b…

This week's fucked up story is about trauma, addiction, and recovery. Sean Young is a combat veteran, has enough ex-wives that I lost count during the episode, sports a beard that's longer than Dan and Scott's combined, and hosts two podcasts (Recover Out Loud and Beyond the Veil). If you noticed this episode is longer than recent releases, go back…

I wasn’t sure about doing an episode about someone losing their job when Angilie first reached out. We’ve done episodes about terminal illnesses, murder, and stalking, and I wasn’t sure that this quite fit what we normally do. After maybe five minutes, I realized that people lose their jobs every day. Not only does it suck, but it’s traumatic to be…

Libby Supan grew up considering the letters f, a, and t to be the building blocks of one very bad word. A lot of us felt that way though, didn’t we? During my childhood, everyone was looking for ways to lose weight with aerobics and fat-free diets. In Libby’s memories, it was her mom who was always on a diet. She learned that gaining weight equals …

Lots of childhood trauma is what Dana came on to talk about. Not just childhood trauma, but lots of childhood trauma. He said he suffered his first traumas in the womb before experiencing just about every form of abuse you can. Six months after being sexually abused, before he'd even had a chance to process what happened, he had to go on the run wi…

Desi grew up in the house with the juke box. Didn't we all have a friend like that? Sometimes they had a juke box, other times it was a pinball machine. The only thing that was certain was that they always had a drink fridge stocked with all the best sodas - both the name brands and the generics (what up Mountain Holler Flavored Citrus Soft Drink).…

Patrice is lucky. You might not expect me to to describe any of our guests as “lucky”, especially one who came on to talk about the devastation of losing the two most important people in her world. That part of her story genuinely sucked. The losses left her in a deep depression. It was a pain that disrupted her life in ways that I’ve never experie…

Eileen Tull grew up a theater (theatre?) kid with feelings of superiority, at least in part due to her religous morals. Sobriety was part of her personality until she was twenty — and then it very much wasn’t. When she decided it was time to have her first drink, she threw a party so she could turn it into an event and get all the attention she cra…

This week’s Decent Fucking Human is a man I admire. That might not sound like much considering anyone who earns the title of Decent Fucking Human has my admiration, but this guy has the acclaim to go with it. You see, in 2017 he decided therapy was too expensive and (probably) said “fuck it, I’ll go start a podcast,” and start a podcast he did. It’…

Aly Bird is a Decent Fucking Human and author of a book called Grief Ally. Want to guess why it's called Grief Ally? It's because people don't know how to best support loved ones when they suffer a traumatic loss, and Aly suffered a traumatic loss. Aly and her husband were a power couple. Maybe not with the fame of Taylor Swift and whoever that foo…

This week’s Decent Fucking Human is Josh Patterson, host of the (Re)thinking Faith Podcast. Josh sent us an email with the subject “My fucked-up experience as a pastor,” and expressed interest in joining us for an interview. He had my attention, but I’ll admit that I was worried about touching religion. He mentioned the word deconstruction somewher…

Katy is a Decent Fucking Human if there ever was one, and after listening to this episode, you're going to admire her for being so. It would have been easy for her life to go off the rails, if there were ever rails for it to go off. Katy was raised for a time on a commune disguised as a cult. She spent her time in the woods instead of school, and h…

At the start of 2014, Amy Thurman was your everyday Decent Fucking Human. She was a wife and mom with a career, and she lived life with a brainstem you would not have described as “sheared,” and a neck you would not have described as “broken.” Let’s just say that her circumstances were about to change — and not for the better. What happened? Amy fe…

Scott was still recovering from Covid, so this week's episode is the second installment of our "Interview a Therapist Who Almost Definitely Loves Producer Dan" format. Decent Fucking Human and LCPC, Rose Metivier, tolerates Scott and Dan long enough to answer our questions about finding a therapist and going to therapy. Comprehensive directories of…

Today's Decent Fucking Human comes from Producer Dan's Decent Fucking Family. We recorded this episode with Dan's big sister Loren in 2021 before we'd figured out what Positively Terrible was, so this doesn't match the regular format. We learn about Loren's career as a Board Certified Music Therapist and about growing up as Dan's sister. Music Ther…

Darlene was never expected to go to University. Hell, she didn't even finish high school. It's hard to judge her for that considering she had an alcoholic parent and untreated ADHD. It's hard to have any real direction when your priority is surviving. She eventually found her passion though, and through that, a direction. She went to University. Sh…

Zaira was 18 years old when she was sexually assaulted by a man she knew. Three months later she was sexually assaulted by a man she didn't. The Complex Like Wine host shared an incredibly honest and vulnerable account of both. She didn't always tell her fucked up story. When she first tried to tell her friend group, one of them told her she was wr…

Daniel was a physically fit teenager taking a day trip with his buddy to Door County, Wisconsin. Things were things. He didn't have any particular direction, but he certainly wasn't intending to have his life disrupted when the SUV he was riding in started flipping down the highway that day. That's what happened though. The cool thing is that his f…

Imagine finding your friend murdered. First, you're going to be treated as a suspect. After the police determine your weren't involved, you now have to help them. You fear for your safety because the killer is still on the loose before he's finally arrested. After the case is built, you're brought in to testify for the prosecution as the defense do…

Oh, hi. Terrible Scott here - you may know me from such trauma and mental health podcasts as Positively Terrible, and, well, I guess just that one. But it's a damn good Podcast, and I've got some guest appearances lined up too. We'll be announcing those later. Today you might want to watch this excerpt from Episode 1 before you listen, because this…

This week’s Decent Fucking Human is Elizabeth. In March 2022 she entered recovery after surviving a life-threatening situation following one too many drunken nights. That sounds scary, but rock-bottom usually is. It was an opportunity to turn her mistakes into a success story, but the following month her father was diagnosed with terminal brain can…

Scooter’s enthusiasm for beer quickly went from being his passion, to his medication, after his father passed away from cancer in 2021. It was the easy choice to avoid facing his trauma, and it did make him feel better – until it didn’t. He’s since learned to drink mindfully, so let’s all raise a Miller Lite in memory of Gus for his part in raising…

This week's fucked up story starts when Mike went to college only to return home a week later when changing shampoo didn't make the lumps on his head go away. It turned out he needed treatment for cancer, not a new hair routine. After a successful treatment and returning to a normal life, he discovered a new lump, indicating his cancer had returned…

This week, Gracen winds his way through his fucked up story of gender trauma. He explains how culture assigns an identity whether you like it or not, and what it was like to transition publicly at work. Scott and Dan reminisce about the day HR walked into a staff meeting and said "His name is Gracen, his pronouns are he/him, and you will have no pr…

This week’s Decent Fucking Human is going by the initial M. Karma decided to kick M. in the ass after she ditched her blind date to go out with the man who would become her husband and stalker. He showed subtle signs of manipulation and control early, but their marriage slowly turned into a hellscape of isolation and abuse. M. finally escaped throu…

In this very special bonus episode, Naseem shares the very first episode of her show, Terrible Sex with Naseem. Creators & Guests Producer Dan - Host Naseem - GuestBy Scott Alleman; Dan Metivier

This weeks decent fucking human is Naseem. She’s got a fucked up story about growing up brown in the Rust Belt post 9-11. Settle in my terrible listeners, today's episode is going to be Positively Terrible.By Scott Alleman; Dan Metivier

Join Scott, Dan, and their pal Bill for a wild ride on this week's episode. Bill, once a promising 12-year-old vowing never to touch drugs, nosedived into addiction by 21, landing in jail and rehab. His early floundering attempts at sobriety laid the groundwork for his eventual reach for help. Today, with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), he's…

This week, we're joined by the indomitable Neighbor Francis, whose positive outlook and infectious spirit remind us of the power of connection and the importance of cherishing every moment. Despite his terminal cancer diagnosis, Francis refuses to let life's challenges get him down. He shares his unique perspective on the world, urging us all to ta…

This week's Decent Fucking Human is co-host Terrible Scott. His fucked up story is about emotional abuse and discovering his wife's secret lives. Hello Terrible Listener, and welcome to the first episode of Positively Terrible. This story is the one where Scott (that's me), his wife's fiance, and her boyfriend, all walk into a bar. It's the story a…