Forever is a Long Time
A series of songs and conversations about every marriage in one man’s family that ended in divorce — which is most of them.
Ian Coss
Show overview
Forever is a Long Time has published 6 episodes, alongside 1 trailer or bonus episode during 2021. That works out to roughly 3 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a several-times-a-week cadence.
Episodes typically run twenty to thirty-five minutes — most land between 30 min and 32 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language Society & Culture show.
The catalogue appears to be on hiatus or wound down — the most recent episode landed 4.8 years ago, with no new episodes in over a year. Published by Ian Coss.
From the publisher
When Ian Coss decided to get married, every living member of his family who had ever been married had also gotten divorced: parents, grandparents, and all his aunts and uncles on both sides — some of them twice. Today, he has questions: What is the value of a lifetime commitment? Are we doomed to recycle the patterns of behavior we get from our ancestors? Are we all just better off alone? Forever is a Long Time is a five episode series that weaves reflection and original music through Ian’s conversations with his wife and divorced family members — a look at love with people who have made mistakes.
Latest Episodes
S1 Ep 5Part 5: Aunt Rari
My aunt Rari divorced her husband so completely and so long ago that I don’t even know the man’s name. She tells me that story and about the life she built without him. It makes me contemplate the value of a life spent alone — but also of lifelong companionship.
S1 Ep 4Part 4: Uncle Eric
Most divorces in my family bring some sense of relief. It may take three years to get there, or it may take thirty years, but once it’s over, it feels pretty clear that this is for the best. But it’s not so clear for my Uncle Eric’s relationship.
S1 Ep 3Part 3: Aunt Mia and Uncle Paul
The idea of a lifetime commitment can feel impossible, when it can still fall apart in year 20, or year 30, or 35. My own parents’ marriage never made it that far, but some of my aunts and uncles did, only to find that after all those years, they too were better off apart.
S1 Ep 2Part 2: My Grandmother, Marianne
My grandmother never sent presents for birthdays or holidays, and didn't expect us to either. She seemed to resist anything that felt like authority, convention and tradition; which is why it's so strange that she was once married to my grandfather — a Harvard-educated lawyer.
S1 Ep 1Part 1: My Parents, Ellen and Tom
My parents divorced when I was eight years old — young enough that I don’t have a lot of clear memories of it, but old enough that I was definitely watching, listening, and learning. So I asked them both to tell me what happened, and got two pretty different stories.
Trailer: "Forever is a Long Time"
trailerWhen I decided to get married, every living member of my family who had ever been married had also gotten divorced. Apparently, I thought my marriage would end differently.