Unravelling

About Unravelling

How can a deeper understanding of mental health help us see our world, and ourselves, differently? Hosted by therapist Kurt White and journalist Mary Wilson, each episode of Unravelling explores a complex mental health topic with insights from both professionals and people with lived experience. Whether you're trying to make sense of the world or just the slice of it inside of your head, Unravelling is here to foster a more compassionate and informed perspective on life.

Publisher

Charts & Leisure

Category

health & fitness · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Jun 2024

Latest episode

21 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

63 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   21 Oct 2026

   Not about the monster: Why we need scary stories

   Why are we drawn to the things that frighten us? From zombies and horror films to the deeper fears they bring to the surface, horror can offer more than a good scare. It can help us explore our anxieties, make sense of the world around us, and better understand ourselves. In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt White sits down with Dr. Steven Schlozman, a child psychiatrist, educator, and horror enthusiast, to explore the psychology behind our fascination with the macabre. Known for his expertise in the fictional neuroscience of zombies, Dr. Schlozman brings a clinician’s perspective to the monsters, fears, and unsettling stories that captivate us. Together, they explore what horror reveals about the human mind, why we seek out frightening experiences, and how the monsters on screen can sometimes help us confront what scares us in real life. Buy the Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0446564656?lv=shuf&channelId=520&plpRedirect=mhFallback) Learn more about Dr. Steven Schlozman (https://www.uvmhealth.org/providers/steven-schlozman-md)

2. 

   7 Oct 2026

   The hero of your own story: Storytelling, fairy tales, and holding hope

   Once upon a time, there was a story that helped a child feel safe. This episode of Unravelling kicks off an ongoing series exploring the stories we tell ourselves, one another, and the world. Our guest, Zheala Qayyum, MD, MMSc, Medical Director, Emergency Psychiatry Service at Boston Children’s Hospital, explores how fairy tales can help children make sense of difficult experiences, express big feelings, and imagine possibilities beyond what they can see. Dr. Qayyum shares how stories shaped her own childhood, including a story her mother told her during the Iran-Iraq War when low-flying planes frightened her. The conversation explores how trusted adults can use storytelling and imaginative play to help children process fear, anger, sibling rivalry, trauma, and other complicated emotions. Through fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood and The Juniper Tree, they consider how stories change across cultures and generations, and how fantasy gives children a safe distance from which to explore difficult realities. They also discuss the role of pretend play in developing creativity, empathy, perspective-taking, problem-solving, and the ability to imagine different endings. This conversation kicks off a broader Unravelling series on storytelling and mental health, with upcoming episodes exploring horror, zombies, and the ways film, comics, memoir, poetry, and fiction can help us understand ourselves and the world around us. Links Zheala Qayyum, MD, MMSc (https://www.childrenshospital.org/providers/zheala-qayyum) Fairy Tales and Psychiatry: a Psychiatry Residency’s Experience Using Fairy Tales and Related Literary Forms to Highlight Theoretical and Clinical Concepts in Childhood Development (https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/63133656/Kaliambou_2018_w_Wallace_FairyTalesAndPsychiatryAPsychi20200429-11019-145723s-libre.pdf?1588167806=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DFairy_Tales_and_Psychiatry_a_Psychiatry.pdf&Expires=1791325834&Signature=Cte8IzwPHSXLQuVyN0qoWRrQmH4h7iaa-paPdmxV1YGpQFWiDJ~QKpqD6ViMz1Jil2EJ49JPlxx33cAJDEwD~FDW3XB8uOwa9oiV-LwSN7V1H0E41wbMZ3qwnhfl-GOQ8hReTOJG56D2iB4cKy--Ue4RtgNWQoDctDtIMxCTUicQgZ5h5pmMa3vFbOdSRq1DoQS47wuBh0JoHpgT-bgwKEnV4TiAroTjAGudgcTI24jlCbg1gIIkvB33LDLyIGt87Ya4t~9UACxMKjEJrN8zaXUATF6JqoCcu13XuZRQYGmZzJzeuSY-wpNML434bopdLGlRZjhlZN~c3ZoLQlTh~Q__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA)

3. 

   23 Sept 2026

   Let's make some sawdust: Tom Bodett on woodworking & recovery

   In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt sits down with Tom Bodett, lifelong carpenter, broadcaster, and co-founder of HatchSpace, a community woodworking school and shop in Brattleboro, Vermont. Sober for 34 years, Tom reflects on what led him to recovery and the unexpected connection he eventually discovered between sobriety and woodworking. Tom shares how making things may help repair some of the damage caused by addiction, engaging the brain through spatial reasoning and focused, absorbing work. As Tom puts it, "You're taking the medicine and you don't know it." He explores how those ideas led to HatchSpace and how what began as an idea for a place where woodworkers could share tools turned into a place for people who wanted to learn, make, and belong. Along the way, Tom and Kurt consider how making things can help us connect with ourselves and each other. A conversation about recovery, creativity, community, and the many ways we keep recovering. Links HatchSpace (https://www.hatchspace.org/) Book: Flow (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66354.Flow) (mentioned in episode) Turning Point of Windham County (https://turningpointwc.org/)

Who has been a guest on Unravelling

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dr Marley Balasco
• Evelyn Lee
• Britt Billmeyer-Finn
• Dr. Geoff Kane
• Anna Shechtman

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

383,770

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

14 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

21 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 71 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

87

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

51

Contact Unravelling

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Shows with a similar audience

• 

  Hidden Brain

• 

  This American Life

• 

  Gender Reveal

• 

  The Moth

• 

  Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

• 

  The Daily

Questions about Unravelling