Up-to-date Love Podcast: Neko Case: “If I didn’t scream the truth, what good was I?”

In a novel memoir out next week, singer-songwriter Neko Case will share painful childhood memories. In the studio with Anna Martin, Case is open and unapologetically furious as she describes being treated like an “unwanted child.” He says both parents struggled with trauma and addiction. They often left her without food and only with animals for company. Case also reads the essay Up-to-date Love about the convoluted heartbreak of being separated from an addicted parent and the joys of finding love and acceptance in the face of that pain.

Memoirs of Neko Case, “The harder I fight, the more I love you”, is published on January 28.

Caitlin McCormick’s essay on state-of-the-art love titled “My Mother, the Stranger” can be found here. McCormick, who recently published a tiny feature article in Sewanee ReviewI’m working on a novel.

Note to listeners: In the upcoming Valentine’s Day episode, the Up-to-date Love team wants to hear about the moment you knew you were in love with someone. Whether it happened all at once or in a gradual process, we want to find out how it happened. Where have you been? How does it feel? What did you do next? (You can tell us about a current relationship, a past love or something that is happening to you now.)

The deadline to submit entries is February 5, 2025. Submission instructions can be found here.

How to Submit an Essay on Up-to-date Love to The Recent York Times

Links to episode transcripts typically appear on these sites throughout the week.

Up-to-date Love is hosted by Anna Martin and produced by Reva Goldberg, Emily Lang, Davis Land and Amy Pearl. The series editor is Jen Poyant, our executive producer. Production management is handled by Christina Djossa. The song was mixed by Sophia Lanman and Daniel Ramirez, and recorded by Maddy Masiello and Nick Pitman. Featuring original music by Pat McCusker, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Carole Sabouraud and Rowan Niemisto. Our theme song is Dan Powell.

Special thanks to Larissa Anderson, Dahlia Haddad, Lisa Tobin, Brooke Minters, Sawyer Roque, Eddie Costas, Daniel Jones, Miya Lee, Mahima Chablani, Nell Gallogly, Jeffrey Miranda, Isabella Anderson, Christine Nguyen, Reyna Desai, Jordan Cohen, Victoria Kim , Nina Lassam and Julia Simon.

Thinks? Email us at modernlovepodcast@nytimes.com.

You want more from Up-to-date love? Read stories from the past. Watch the series and subscribe to the newsletter. We also have loot NYT store and two books:Modern love: true stories of love, loss and redemption“And”Little love stories: real love stories in 100 words or less“