Janet had been seeing Aaron for a few weeks, and she knew she couldn’t wait much longer to tell him. They had fallen for each other fast, and it seemed like things would only get better – but how would Aaron react when she told him she was transgender?

This week we talked to Janet and Aaron about their love (a story so goddamn sweet it gave us goosebumps) and about going public.

Learn more about Janet and her upcoming memoir at janetmock.com or listen to Janet and Aaron be sickeningly cute (good sick) on their podcast, The Missing Piece.

Music this week by Madrid (Ulrich Schnauss remix of “Out To Sea”, though watch the video of the original too). Additional songs by:

Blondfire
“Pretty Young Thing” (mp3)
from “Pretty Young Thing”
(Tender Tender Rush)
More On This Album

Angel Miller
“Bridge Over Troubled Water” (mp3)
from “Who I Am”
(Northern Shore Productions)
More On This Album

Allo Darlin’
“My Heart is a Drummer” (mp3)
from “Allo Darlin’”
(Fortuna POP!)
Buy at Napster
More On This Album

Clare Lawlor’s brother stubbornly refused to take this story to the talk show circuit, so we snapped it up instead. We treat her tale with the utmost sophistication and delicacy, of course, and somehow learn something about being mature adults along the way. Happy holidays!

Music this week by Drew Danburry (theme song), Abigail Clarke, and…

Jimmy & The Rackets

“Black Eyes” (mp3)
from “The Complete Sixties Collection”(Elite Special)
More On This Album

How do you make a good impression online? More precisely, how do you avoid triggering the wrath of your fellow internet daters, people who are set off by such seemingly harmless phrases as “down to earth” and “likes to laugh”? With help from friends, family and the irritable people of the web, JP and Elah give you tips for how NOT to make an online profile. If you squint really hard and think in metaphors, these are good tips for life too.

Thanks to everyone who contributed pet peeves and the talented voice actors who read them.

Music this week by Abigail Clarke and…

Hafdis Huld
“Robot Robot” (mp3)
from “Synchronised Swimmers”
(Red Grape Records)
More On This Album

JReign
“Just a Text” (mp3)
from “Private Tease: The Soundtrack – Vol 1″
(Pulsar Music Group)
More On This Album

Collection Get
“I Know” (mp3)
from “Save As”
(Magnatune)
More On This Album

Elliott Smith
“Needle In The Hay” (mp3)
from “Elliott Smith”
(Kill Rock Stars)
More On This Album

JP’s parents have been married for 35 whole years. He investigates how lifelong love and commitment works and gets some handy advice for young’uns. This is one of our favourites, and we hope you like it too.

See original post for episode music downloads.

Self-help books give bizarre advice. Men like to hunt animals, so women should act like prey. (We think this means wearing camo and fleeing if spotted.) If a woman finds a man sexually attractive right away, he is dangerous, and she should stop seeing him. For all their tips and tricks, these guides make opposite-sex love sound pretty hopeless. But straight people, fear not, this week, we talk to Mari Ruti who skewers the self-help perspective in her new book, The Case for Falling in Love.

Music this week by

Fox in the Henhouse
“Fears” (mp3)
from “Fox in the Henhouse”
(IBOT Records)
More On This Album

El Capitan
“Happy All The Time” (mp3)
from “Stickeen”
(GRASS ROOTS RECORD CO)
More On This Album

The Promise Ring
“Best Looking Boys” (mp3)
from “Boys & Girls”
(Jade Tree)
More On This Album

Sean Hayes
“When We Fall In” (mp3)
from “Run Wolves Run”
(Sean Hayes)
More On This Album

You get a call from an ex telling you he’s probably infected you with HIV. Remember when he said he’d gotten tested and he was all good? Well, it looks like he lied. What do you do? How will this change your life? The less we tell you about Jessica Whitbread’s story in advance, the better. But we will say that she defied all our expectations. She made us laugh so hard, we felt a little weird about it (mostly good weird). We challenge you to find a more uplifting, more entertaining hour about HIV anywhere on the nets.

For more about HIV/AIDS in Toronto, visit the AIDS Committee of Toronto, where Jessica works.

UPDATE: The No Pants No Problem underwear dance party will take place on September 10th at the Garrison in Toronto. Facebook event.

Oh, and there’s this Sarah Silverman clip too.

Music this week by Drew Danburry (theme music), Abigail Clarke, and

This Will Destroy You
“The World Is Our ___” (mp3)
from “Young Mountain”
(Magic Bullet)

More On This Album

Chris Garneau
“Baby’s Romance” (mp3)
from “Music For Tourists”
(Absolutely Kosher)

More On This Album

Rodriguez
“Sugar Man” (mp3)
from “Cold Fact”
(Light In The Attic)

More On This Album

Pickering Pick
“Like A River” (mp3)
from “Tiger Balm”
(Yer Bird Records)

More On This Album

Marc Ribot
“Delancey Waltz” (mp3)
from “Silent Movies”
(Pi Recordings)

More On This Album

Metric
“Gimme Sympathy” (mp3)
from “Fantasies”
(Arts & Crafts Mexico)

More On This Album

Maximilian
“Greyhound” (mp3)
from “Maximilian”
(Twirl Records)

More On This Album

Breakups. Sierra Bellows asks people in her town when they knew it was over. This is an all-time ILY favourite from the vault, mostly because it makes us cry. If you fail to cry, listen to Against All Odds, the Postal Service cover. The original by Phil Collins is also somewhat effective.

See the original episode post for music downloads and credits.

Two curious monosexuals journey into the strange and wonderful world of people who are attracted to men and women. BOTH OF THEM. (Not necessarily at the same time though.) After hearing our Gay Talk episode, our friend and historian, Anna, decided we might learn a thing or two about the bisexual way and she patiently submitted to an hour long interrogation. We report back with our astonishing findings.

Show notes:

• For some people, bisexuality means they are attracted to more than one gender, not necessarily just men and women.
• We mention a widely reported 2005 study which allegedly refuted the existence of bisexuality in men. Before you take it too seriously, consider that a) it had a tiny sample size, b) people who identify as bisexual might feel exclusive attraction to one gender some of the time, so measuring their attraction at just one point in their lives might not reveal their bisexuality, and c) attraction is not synonymous with having an erection (thankfully). CBS gave a nice quick overview of the study and some criticisms.

Music this week by…

Marc Ribot
“Delancey Waltz” (mp3)
from “Silent Movies”
(Pi Recordings)

More On This Album

Starfucker
“Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second” (mp3)
from “Starfucker”
(Badman Recording Co)

More On This Album

JP and I are having trouble seeing eye to eye about whether exes should be friends. Your input is much appreciated.

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Why does anyone get married anymore? And why do they make us get out of bed to watch it happen? This week, we try to figure out why, against all reason, we hope to get married one day. Sierra talks to two friends as they prepare for their weddings, and things begin to make a bit more sense. Their stories are really heart-warming, and if you’ve got an acute case of the singles, kind of reassuring too.

Music this week by Abigail Clarke and

Marc Ribot
“The Kid” (mp3)
from “Silent Movies”
(Pi Recordings)

More On This Album

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
“Never Far from My Heart” (mp3)
from “Bright Examples (EP)”
(Ninth Street Opus)

More On This Album