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Neurotic Tornado

by Yuvi Zalkow

A podcast series that explores relationships and emotions and pain and other messy, hilarious things.

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Mar 24, 2026 · Source feed

Episodes

  1. 45: The Failed Q&A Episode

    We attempt a Q&A episode with various fake questions that lead us into a conversation about gardening, narcissism, and self-discovery. This the last episode of the season! 😭 If you want more info about the Neurotic Tornado 😫🌪podcast, check out the podcast home page (link). And if you want more...

  2. 44: Stage Fright, Book Launches, and Other Nightmares

    With my new novel launching on June 7th, we discuss stage fright, the book launch experience, and my nightmares about peeing. We also give Jackie Shannon Hollis a call (17 minutes into the show). She hosted this show in seasons 2 & 3, and released a fabulous memoir in 2019: This Particular...

  3. 43: The Depression and Anxiety Episode

    We discuss my relationship to depression and anxiety over the years. Turns out that I used to date depression but now I'm hooking up with anxiety. So... yay??? To get more info about depression and anxiety: Tell Me All I Need to Know About Depression (Psycom.net link) Depression Definition and...

  4. 42: Pain Scale from 1 to Fuchsia

    I suffer from chronic migraines. Every week I have to work through the ups and downs of how I feel. In this episode, my wife and I talk about how we manage our lives alongside my chronic pain. For some context, here are two YouTube videos I made about chronic pain: The Pain in My Head: the story…

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  5. 41: Spiral of Foreboding

    We discuss my overactive sense of dread and foreboding, and why my sense of object permanence is only slightly better than a baby's. If you want more info about the Neurotic Tornado 😫🌪podcast, check out the podcast home page (link). And if you want more info about my new novel, check out I Only...

  6. 40: I'm My Obsession

    Welcome back to the podcast after a long hiatus! In this episode, my wife visits me up in the attic to talk about obsessive thinking, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and why I'm capable of re-reading an already-sent email 87 times. Related links: Measuring Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms…

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  7. Season 4 Prep: The Catastrophizer (Episode 39)

    So I brought my wife on the show again after a FOUR-year hiatus to check-in about... relationshippy things. And then I lost the episode for THREE years. And so now, after a SEVEN-year hiatus, my wife and I talk about our marriage, and her counseling, and my ability to catastrophize. To those of…

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  8. S3-38: Very much our space

    We conclude the Beyond Coupled season. We talk through what we learned. And we share an exciting update about Ben... We loved doing this season; we’re so appreciative that you joined us; we appreciate the honesty of the crew we interviewed; we’re even appreciative of the semicolon. But now we…

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  9. S3-37: The beautiful messiness

    We dig a little more into the nature of their relationship. Some things we can immediately identify with, and some things we have to talk through...

  10. S3-36: Defining the relationship

    In this podcast episode, Nikki, Ben, and Stevan start to define their relationship now that everything is out in the open. If you're just tuning in, be sure to go back to episode 31 for the beginning of the season: It was a good marriage, but...

  11. S3-35: They go to therapy

    We go with Nikki, Ben, and Stevan to therapy. This is the first therapy session with all of them at the table together. Find out what happens!......

  12. S3-34: An upended fishbowl

    We finally check in with Ben (the husband!) to find out how he learned about his wife's affair, and how he began processing it. Whew. Heavy stuff....

  13. S3-33: Preparing the ground

    In this episode, we listen to Stevan and Nikki talk about their continuing affair. At this point, the affair is still a secret, but Nikki is preparing to tell her husband. I don't know about you, but I'm already starting to get chest pains...

  14. S3-32: How an affair begins

    In this episode, we meet Stevan. He is recently divorced when he meets Nikki, a married woman in a not-completely-happy marriage. Find out what happens next.

  15. S3-31: It was a good marriage, but…

    In this episode, we begin our quest into this season's relationship. Meet Nikki. She was mostly happy in her marriage, but there was one thing missing. Listen to the episode to find out what she was looking for...

  16. Season 3 Intro *** (S3-30)

    Neurotic Tornado is (almost) back for season 3. In this ShOrT podcast episode, we tell you what's coming... and how we got to know the three people you're going to hear from...

  17. S2-29: Wisdom, Advice, Analysis

    We go back one last time to the four couples we interviewed to hear any wisdom, analysis, or advice they shared. We also rudely interrupt couples trying to eat at the Portland food carts to score any free advice. This is our last official episode of the season, but we may have some bonus episodes...

  18. S2-28: Gender Roles, Attraction, Sexuality

    Jackie and I explore the non-traditional gender roles for two of the couples we interviewed. And we question what the labels mean in the first place. We look at attraction in this light. And I think I confess my attraction for a brooding vampire... If you haven't already done so, check out the...

  19. S2-27: The Sexpisode

    In this podcast episode (third in the Being Coupled season), Jackie & I... uhhh... actually... uhhh... try to talk about sex. With the couples we interviewed. And with our partners. But this stuff isn't easy. So we use a New York Times article about sex talk in therapy, along with a few other...

  20. S2-26: Communication & Conflict

    We dig into how the four couples we interviewed communicate with each other, and what arguments look like for them. We use research from the Gottman Institute as the basis for some of our ideas about relationships and the different personality types in a relationship. Except we simplify it down…

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  21. S2-25: Meet the Couples

    Jackie and I introduce you to the four couples we interviewed for this season. We share with you how they met and what they consider their "mission" as a couple. We had a great time putting this series together and we're excited to finally get this thing into your... ears. So here we go, the…

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  22. Season 2 Intro *** (S2-24)

    We go behind the scenes to explain what is coming in season two. Jackie Shannon Hollis and I interviewed four couples to prepare for this season. You'll hear why I'm doing it, why Jackie is doing it, and what my wife thinks about me podcast-cheating on her...

  23. S2-23: Writing About Loved Ones

    Jackie, Bill, and I discuss what it is like to write about the people we care about, and how it affects them. Jackie is currently working on a (second) memoir and I've written lots of autobiographical-sounding fiction (along with a few essays). So apparently we can easily BS about this subject…

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  24. S2-22: Alone Time with Jackie and Bill

    I talk to Jackie and Bill about a writer's need for alone time, and how that goes over with the writer's partner...

  25. 21: The Podcast Effect

    This is the fifteenth podcast episode my wife and I have done together. So in this episode, we talk about how the podcast has affected our relationship. It has caused some ups and downs, with more ups than downs. We also talk about how you too can reap the benefits of this experience, without...

  26. 20: Hey Jealousy

    In this podcast episode, my wife and I talk about jealousy -- her jealousy of me and my jealousy of her. Although a certain amount of jealousy is allowed in our relationship, are we jealous enough???

  27. 19: Drawn to Women

    In this podcast episode, my wife and I analyze why we both typically prefer to talk with women more than men. This isn't an across the board thing though -- we both have close male friends -- and so we try to untangle why it's that way. Hopefully no genders were harmed in the making of this...

  28. 18: Sex and Marriage

    In this podcast episode, my wife and I actually try to talk about our sex life -- or at least our struggle with getting sex into our busy lives. WARNING: This discussion is not so sexy...

  29. 17: Resentment and You

    My wife and I talk about resentment. Or at least we try to talk about resentment -- a little bit of my resentment and a little bit of my wife's resentment. We bicker about our messy home. You'll also learn a brilliant (or horrifying) technique for saving time when folding (or not folding) your...

  30. 16: New Frontiers of Vulnerability

    In this podcast episode, my wife and I discuss vulnerability, shame, and my own craziness. We talk about Brene Brown's research and we talk about the essay I recently published (His First Dress). Join us for this delightfully vulnerable romp.

  31. 15: Neurotic Tour of the Vagina Tour

    Yeah, you're just going to have to listen to this one to make sense of it. Sorry.

  32. 14: Money Trouble

    My wife and I talk about money. Or more specifically, we talk about our money problems. Or more specifically, we talk about our relationship problems that relate to our money problems.

  33. 13: Repair Attempts

    My wife and I discuss something known as a repair attempt. It is a term coined by John Gottman. He is a psychologist who has done 40 years of research on relationships and marital stability and divorce prediction. A repair attempt relates to the way a couple tries to reconnect after a fight. Find...

  34. 12: Marrying an Insecure Angsty Depressive

    I talk to my wife about what it is like to be married to an insecure, angst-ridden, depressed person. Is it as sexy as it sounds? I was particularly insecure and full of anxiety in the first few years of our relationship and we talk about how that impacted our relationship. Join us for this...

  35. 11: Marrying a Divorcée

    The wife and I discuss the impact of us getting together later in life, as a couple and as parents. Join us and let's get old together...

  36. 10: Our Couples Counselors

    The wife and I take you on a tour of every one of our couples counselors. What could be more arousing than analyzing a whole bunch of analysts?

  37. 9: Our Unromantic Romance

    My wife and I recorded this podcast episode on Valentine's Day after having NOT celebrated V-Day, so it seems fitting that we talk about how unromantic we are. Though we end up finding romance in our marriage in less typical places. I again try (and fail) to pick a fight with her. I again get us…

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  38. 8: Our Dark Periods

    I talk to my wife about our "dark period." Actually, she clarified for me that we have had several dark periods -- these are periods in our marriage where we have really struggled to connect, nearly to the point of it all falling apart. Not only do we talk about our dark periods, but we talk…

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  39. 7: Never Good Enough

    I persuade my wife to join the show. Listen to her talk about my various failings as a husband. Everything from my failures as a lawn mower-er to my inability to plan trips with the family to our combined attraction for Angel, the brooding vampire with a soul from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What's...

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

A podcast series that explores relationships and emotions and pain and other messy, hilarious things.

HOSTED BY

Yuvi Zalkow

CATEGORIES

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Neurotic Tornado have?

Neurotic Tornado currently has 39 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Neurotic Tornado about?

A podcast series that explores relationships and emotions and pain and other messy, hilarious things.

How often does Neurotic Tornado release new episodes?

Neurotic Tornado has 39 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Neurotic Tornado?

You can listen to Neurotic Tornado on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Neurotic Tornado?

Neurotic Tornado is created and hosted by Yuvi Zalkow.
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