Entertainment
12 Questions for a Grief Therapist
In Cup of Jo’s newly relaunched career column, we ask people to share the big and small lessons they’ve learned on the job.
Grief therapist Natalie Greenberg runs her own practice in Manhattan and works with students at the NYU Counseling Center. She tells us what people don’t realize about grief and how strangers react to her job at dinner parties…
When were you first drawn to therapy?
When I was a kid, my father was an addict, and our family attended Al-Anon, a support group for families and friends of addicts. He’s now been sober for 17 years, but I always understood that therapy was a resource for people during difficult times.
Did you always know you’d become a therapist yourself?
Not at all. After graduating college with a communications degree, I nannied for a family and took a year to figure out what I wanted to do next. During my free time, I set up phone calls with my friends’ parents and interviewed them about their jobs, asking ‘What was your degree? How did you decide to do this? What are the pros and cons of your career?’ And that’s how I learned about social work, and how it has career paths that are similar to psychology, but have more of a social justice lens.
How did you choose to specialize in grief?
At age 22, I lost my mom to suicide. I had no idea how to process her death, and I didn’t know if I was allowed to talk about it with family and friends. Especially because suicide felt like a scary taboo subject. So, when it came to choosing a therapy specialty, I sat down and thought, ‘What is something that I feel especially equipped to help with?’ Grief came to me very quickly.
How do strangers at parties react when they hear you’re a grief therapist?
It’s a funny litmus test! People either ask a million questions or change the subject right away. People also sometimes say, ‘You’re going to psychoanalyze me!’ And, sure, it’s ingrained in me to look out for patterns. But at the same time, psychoanalyzing is work, and I don’t want to work at a party.
What’s the most challenging job you’ve had?
I worked in the Psychiatric ER at Bellevue, the busiest psychiatric hospital in the country. At first, the idea of working there terrified me, but I learned so much. During my second month, Hurricane Sandy flooded the hospital, and I saw firsthand how a hospital operates during a natural disaster. I also learned how to work in an a violent setting, since some patients would come in while intoxicated or psychotic and injure our staff. Going to therapy while working there was key for my own mental health.
You lost your mom at 22. What advice would you give young people who are grieving?
Losing my mother so young was extremely isolating. None of my friends had gone through anything similar; they didn’t know how to show up, and I didn’t know how communicate my needs. I ended up attending a grief group called The Dinner Party, an organization that hosts dinners for young people who have lost family or friends. It also felt so good to be able to talk with people my age about the grieving process without stigma. I’m obsessed with the organization and refer them to many of my clients.
Tell us about a work moment you’ll always remember.
Once during a session, a patient was describing a loss, and I started crying. Afterward I was very insecure and wondered whether I’d acted unprofessionally. My clinical supervisor reassured me, ‘You’re a therapist, but you’re also a human, and you’re responding to something really sad. What more could someone want than for their therapist to be human?’ That moment shifted my idea of how a therapist should show up for their patients, and validate them. In the early days of psychoanalysis, therapists were primarily men who acted like a blank slate. Those types of therapists still exist in some capacity, but that’s not who I am and that’s not the kind of therapist I want to be.
What’s your #1 advice for someone who’s interested in becoming a therapist?
You can be good at therapy but you also need to learn how to run a small business. You need to be organized. You need an accountant and lawyer. You need to know how to hustle.
How can we show up for friends who are grieving loved ones?
Grief lingers and can manifest on random days. So, keep checking in on your friends weeks, months, and even years afterward. For friends and family, I’ll put the death anniversaries of their loved ones in my calendar, so I’ll remember to reach out. Also, come up with your own saying, other than ‘Sorry for your loss’ because it can feel empty. It can be hard to find the right words, but to try to say something a little more genuine — like what you remember about that person, or even acknowledging that you don’t know what to say but you are here for them.
How has your own grief for your mom changed through the years?
My relationship with her has healed a lot since her passing. We didn’t have a close relationship when I was growing up, but now that I’ve experienced the stresses of adulthood and parenthood, I can understand her life a bit better. I can also now see how certain traumas that she experienced affected her parenting. Having that understanding makes it easier to take her off the parent pedestal and see her more as a human who went through hard things.
That’s beautiful.
Since her death, I’ve had dreams where she’s there with me. In those dreams, it doesn’t feel contentious. Instead, it’s always calm and healing, and we talk about unresolved issues. And when I wake up, I feel relieved knowing that my subconscious wasn’t angry or blaming — it’s trying to work things out.
If someone’s grief feels overwhelming, what advice would you give?
I like to help clients come up with meaningful rituals that memorialize this person. When it’s my mom’s birthday or death anniversary, I buy the Le Petit Écolier chocolate biscuit cookies that she loved, then light a Yahrzeit candle and listen to Fleetwood Mac. The ritual doesn’t have to be formal, it’s all about honoring the person that you lost.
Thank you so much, Natalie. What other careers would you like to see featured?
P.S. What it’s like to be a baker and how to navigate a career change.
(Photo illustration by Diana Moss.)
Entertainment
Comic-Con 2026: All the movie and TV announcements you need to know
Comic-Con International: San Diego has always been a barometer for where the entertainment industry is placing its biggest bets, and this year’s lineup made that clearer than ever. Over the course of a single weekend, Marvel Studios, Prime Video, Apple TV, and AMC all used the convention floor to unveil casting reveals and first-look footage for some of their most closely watched projects, spanning superhero blockbusters, prestige sci-fi, and small-screen horror alike.
Long-simmering rumors finally became official announcements, decades-old franchises got new leads and new timelines, and fans packed into panels for a glimpse of what’s coming to theaters and streaming over the next two years.
Here’s a rundown of the biggest reveals to come out of Comic-Con 2026.
MCU’s Ghost Rider
Credit: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney
Ryan Gosling was confirmed as Johnny Blaze in a new Ghost Rider film directed by Shawn Levy, ending years of speculation about the actor joining the MCU. This film is set to release in 2028.
Black Panther 3 release date reveal
Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images
The same Marvel panel brought news of another long-rumored casting: David Jonsson was announced as the new Black Panther, playing the son of Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa, in a film directed by Ryan Coogler and set for release on December 15, 2028.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Season 3’s trailer teased Sauron’s completion of the One Ring and the outbreak of full-scale war across Middle-earth. New cast additions include Simon Pegg voicing the Balrog, Eddie Marsan as Dwarven royal Thrain, and Andrew Richardson as the future King of Gondor, Anárion. Season 3 premieres November 11.
Mashable Top Stories
Blade Runner 2099
Prime Video debuted the first trailer for its Blade Runner series, set decades after Blade Runner 2049. Michelle Yeoh stars as Olwen, a replicant confronting the end of her life, opposite Hunter Schafer as a human fugitive on the run from Blade Runners. Ridley Scott executive produces, with Silka Luisa serving as showrunner. The series arrives November 25.
Carrie
Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series got its first trailer, dragging Stephen King’s telekinetic teen into the smartphone era ahead of an October 7 premiere on Prime Video. The eight-episode miniseries follows Carrie White as she endures bullying at school and abuse at home from her fanatically religious mother, Margaret — all while discovering she has telekinetic powers.
Summer H. Howell leads the new cast as Carrie White, alongside Samantha Sloyan as Margaret, Siena Agudong as Sue Snell, and Matthew Lillard as Principal Grayle, with Alison Thornton, Thalia Dudek, Amber Midthunder, Josie Totah, Arthur Conti, and Joel Oulette rounding out the ensemble.
Yaga
AMC+ and Crave released a teaser for this Canadian supernatural mystery series, starring Noah Reid as a detective investigating the disappearance of Henry Park, an heir to a commercial fishery, in a small coastal town. Park is played by Hudson Williams, known to fans of the queer romance series Heated Rivalry.
The cast also includes Carrie-Anne Moss and Clark Backo, with the series created by Kat Sandler based on her own 2019 stage play of the same name.
Neuromancer
Apple TV entered the fray outside Marvel and Prime’s orbit, releasing its first trailer for an adaptation of William Gibson’s cyberpunk classic, starring Callum Turner as hacker Case.
This article will continue to be updated….
Entertainment
Potential World Cup manipulation on Polymarket flagged by sports advisory group
An independent group that monitors potential manipulation of sports competitions has announced the results of a yet-to-be-released report examining irregularities related to betting and gambling on FIFA World Cup matches.
The organization called Group of Copenhagen monitored all 104 matches and determined that 15 games rose to the level of requiring enhanced monitoring. The group also assessed 12 major controversies from an “integrity risk perspective.”
While the Group of Copenhagen has yet to release its full detailed report, the New York Times has reported that a few of these flagged events involve the online prediction market Polymarket.
The report singles out how $4.8 million was placed on Polymarket for Spain not to defeat Cape Verde in their group stage game, which was the first game either team played in this year’s tournament. The game’s result, a goalless draw, was considered to be one of the biggest shocks of the entire World Cup. Spain was a tournament favorite and went on to win the championship. Cape Verde was playing its first-ever World Cup game.
However, much more notable than a surprising game outcome is the market that was opened on Polymarket based on the red card issued to the U.S. Men’s National Team striker Folarin Balogun.
Mashable Light Speed
According to the report, a Polymarket market was opened on July 2, which asked: “Will Folarin Balogun play against Belgium?” That was the same day that Balogun was issued a red card in U.S.’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The red card meant Balogun would not be able to play in the match against Belgium.
However, on July 5, before the U.S. vs. Belgium match, FIFA announced that Balogun would be allowed to play and that his ban would be suspended. President Donald Trump would take credit for FIFA’s decision shortly after, saying he had a phone call with FIFA head Gianni Infantino. Reporting later confirmed that U.S. officials went to work immediately following the red card being issued to have it overturned.
Did Trump officials who were privy to this information partake in insider trading to make a profit on Polymarket? It’s a legitimate question to ask, especially in light of recent news that Trump’s teleprompter operator profited from their position by placing trades on Kalshi.
Prediction markets have blown up in popularity in recent years. Kalshi, a prediction market that partnered with the World Cup’s official prediction market sponsor, ADI Predictstreet, has said that a record $1.2 billion in trades was placed on its platform to predict the World Cup winner. The company said it also gained 3 million new users directly from the World Cup.
According to experts interviewed by the New York Times, the irregularities don’t necessarily mean that any manipulation occurred. While the Group of Copenhagen’s research was coordinated with FIFA’s own Integrity Task Force, FIFA has released its own findings claiming that “no suspicious betting activity or indications of match manipulation in connection with any fixture” had been identified.
Entertainment
Edit, convert, and chat with PDFs for just $35
TL;DR: PDNob Pro PDF Editor combines AI-powered editing, OCR, document summaries, file conversion, and e-signatures in one app. Get a lifetime subscription for $34.99 (reg. $349.95) with code SAVE15.
$34.99
$349.95
Save $314.96
If you only open a PDF editor a few times per month, paying for a PDF app subscription can feel like overkill. PDNob Pro PDF Editor bundles editing, AI tools, OCR, and file conversions into a one-time purchase for just $34.99 (reg. $349.95) with code SAVE15.
At its core, PDNob handles the PDF basics you’d expect. You can edit text and images without wrecking the formatting, merge and split files, convert PDFs into Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents, annotate drafts, fill and sign forms, and redact sensitive information before sharing. Equipped with OCR technology, it can also turn scanned contracts, receipts, books, and other image-based documents into editable, searchable files.
Mashable Deals
It’s more than just a standard PDF editor, though. Instead of reading an entire manual or report, you can use its AI tools to ask questions about a document, generate summaries, translate passages, or pull out key information in seconds. The lifetime license includes 6,000 AI credits, making those features useful long after your first project.
It also works across Windows, Mac, and iPhone, so you’re not locked into a single operating system if you switch devices throughout the day. One license supports two users with simultaneous use on two devices, includes 20GB of cloud storage, and comes with lifetime updates.
Mashable Deals
Normally $349.95, you can get a lifetime subscription to PDNob Pro PDF Editor for just $34.99 with code SAVE15.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Comic-Con 2026: All the movie and TV announcements you need to know
Potential World Cup manipulation on Polymarket flagged by sports advisory group
