The Longest Shortest Time
About
The parenting show for everyone
Stories about the surprises and absurdities of raising other humans—and being raised by them.
The Longest Shortest Time is an award-winning podcast about parenthood in all of its forms. But you don’t need to be a parent to listen.
The Longest Shortest Time is a bold, daring podcast about parenthood in all of its forms. But you don’t need to be a parent to listen. We tell stories about the surprises and absurdities of raising other humans—and being raised by them. The show was named one of the 50 Best Podcasts by The Atlantic in 2015—and our signature event, Speed Dating for Mom Friends, has been featured in The New Yorker. THE LONGEST SHORTEST TIME has won awards from New York Festival’s World’s Best Radio, The Academy of Podcasters, and the Third Coast International Festival. The Bump honored Hillary in its inaugural Moms: Movers & Makers awards, created to “recognize women who, through the lens of motherhood, are truly making a difference in the lives of others.”
Many of our stories come from listener submissions. Tell us about YOUR story here!
Read more about the origins of this project here. Our podcast is an Stitcher production.
Hillary Frank is host and creator of The Longest Shortest Time. She is the author of the novels Better Than Running at Night, I Can’t Tell You, and The View from the Top. Her radio work has aired on a variety of public radio programs, including This American Life, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Studio 360, Marketplace, and Weekend America.
Hillary’s daughter Sasha was born in Februrary 2010. Hillary created the Longest Shortest Time as a bedside companion for parents who want to hear in the middle of the night (or day—what’s the difference, really?) that they are not alone. And that as never-ending as any parenting stage seems, it doesn’t last forever. Non-parents report that the show helps them relate better to their own parents, and to their friends who have kids.
Associate producer Abigail Keel may not be a parent herself, but she’s heard her fair share of birth stories. The daughter of a labor and delivery nurse and the sister of a nurse and sexual health educator, you could say reproduction runs in her family. Abigail cut her radio chops at KBIA, an NPR affiliate in Columbia, Missouri, where she produced an award-winning documentary and launched a project to collect stories from the community. Since then she’s contributed to Radiolab, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, and assisted at a Transom Storytelling Workshop. Abigail studied at the Missouri School of Journalism and lives in Brooklyn.
Associate producer Kristen Clark grew up outside of Seattle, the proud daughter of a kindergarten teacher. Before joining LST, she helped launch How to Be Amazing, a podcast about the creative process hosted by Michael Ian Black. Her other work has appeared on Planet Money, Radiolab, the New York Times, NOVA, and IEEE Spectrum. She’s an alum of CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism, and lives in Chinatown, NYC.
Peter Clowney is our editor, as well as the executive editor at Stitcher. Prior to joining our staff, he was head editor at Gimlet Media, and worked for lots of years in public radio, helping to launch This American Life and Studio 360. Peter’s two kids are Tadelech and Owen.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Anthonia Akitunde is the founder and publisher of mater mea, a platform that celebrates women of color at the intersection of career and family. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Fast Company, The Root, and more.
Ann Marie Baldonado is a producer at Fresh Air with Terry Gross. She joined the staff in 1998, and books film, television, and theater guests for the show. She recently began contributing her own interviews to the program. When she isn’t working or wrangling her 2 daughters, she is probably watching television, although she knows she will never, ever be caught up on everything.
Rekha Murthy is a podcast and public radio strategist who enjoys connecting the timeless art of storytelling with the newest modes of listening. At PRX and Radiotopia, she forged new digital pathways for public radio. She was a producer for NPR’s All Things Considered before podcasts were even a thing. Rekha also commissioned our video, The Emperor’s New Onesie, in partnership with the Knight Foundation. She has two little girls who love podcasts and aren’t sure what a radio looks like.