This is My Thing

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re celebrating the spookiest month of the year with what is arguably the spookiest episode of the show – this one’s all about tales of the paranormal! Our guests – let’s call them ‘Todd’ and ‘Carl’ because they’ve chosen to keep their paranormal hobby separate from their professional lives and prefer not to use their real names on the air – have been friend...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Cecie Suknaic about her love for a pretty specific type of baking – she specializes in gluten-free sourdough, mostly breads and bagels. She started making sourdough during the early days of the pandemic which, yes, is kind of a cliché, but for Cecie it wasn’t about jumping onto everyone’s favorite lockdown bandwagon; she wanted to make glute...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Elizabeth Warren (not the senator from Massachusetts – a different one) about her love of trash collecting. We’re talking here about 'trash collecting' in the sense of picking up trash that’s lying around where it doesn’t belong, not about creating a collection of trash to keep at home. Although there is a bit of that involved, too, and we’l...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Scott Cohen about his love of Austin’s trail system. He discovered the trails after moving from New York – where wooded hiking and running trails are a little less plentiful – and they became his favorite place. He likes to run on them, walk, on them, and just spend time on them thinking, relaxing, and feeling more grounded. How does Austin’...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Robin Arnold about her longtime love of clog dancing! It's a centuries-old form of dance that's still a little misunderstood by some folks, Robin says. It doesn't involved wooden shoes (that's a different, unrelated use of the word 'clog') and while it shares some similarities with tap dancing, it's much louder , which Robin says also makes...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Kenneth Liechti about his nearly lifelong love for the Great Highland Bagpipes. He took up the instrument as a part of his school's pipe and drums band (roughly the Scottish equivalent of an American school's marching band) and just never really stopped playing. Even after moving to the states for grad school, Ken found places to play the pi...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Sarah Bentley about her love of community singing. It’s a world she entered during the Covid lockdowns, and now it’s become a very large part of her life, helping her find connections and a creative outlet. We'll talk about where she sings, what she sings, who she sings with, and what it all means to her. If you've got a thing you want to ta...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Kim Vidrine about Cake Club, which Kim created around seven years ago to celebrate two of her great loves: her friend group and cake. Every month, Kim and five of her friends (Kathy Nicklebur, Rowena Suarez, Yadira McCarter, Rachel Woodall, and Kelly Gin) each bake a cake then meet up to reconnect while eating six pieces of cake. We'll talk...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Travis Smith about his love of sidewalk stamps! That term might not be immediately familiar to you, but you've probably seen them -- they're the imprints, usually of contractors' names, left in curbs, sidewalks, and driveways. They're not used much anymore, and most of us probably walk past them without really noticing them. But not Travis....

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Matt Jeanes about his love of vintage film photography. Matt's taken photos all his life, but a few years ago he made the switch back to using old-school cameras — the kind that use physical film. That quickly led to a hobby of collecting vintage and unique film cameras and a love of experimenting with different film, including some rolls th...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with David Karp about his love of crocheting and knitting (as any crocheter or knitter will tell you, those are two separate but related yarn-based arts). David kind of stumbled into the hobby, deciding to work on a crochet kit after his kids lost interest in it. Much to his surprise, he fell in love with yarn hard and fast. We'll talk about his...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Yael Ouzillou about her love of doodling. It's a practice she took up several years ago; she draws colorful and intricate designs, patterns and pictures to process events in her life and the world around her. We'll talk about why she started the practice, why she prefers to call it 'doodling' and not 'art,' how it's helped her to embrace imp...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Matthew Bey about his love of loquats. For the unfamiliar, loquats are small, juicy, orange fruits; they're native to China but also grow in the wild in Central Texas. Matthew discovered loquat trees and their fruit when he moved to Austin around the turn of the century and quickly became a big fan. We'll talk about how he discovered loquats...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Susan Hanson about her love of snorkeling. Every week, she puts on her gear and jumps into the San Marcos River to float a bit, take some photos, clean up any trash she sees, and occasionally recover a lost phone or wallet. We'll talk about her first river plunge, which parts of the world she's snorkeled in in the two decades since, the frie...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Steve Jackobs about his nearly lifelong love of model railroading. He discovered the hobby at age 10, when his father (after trying the pastime for himself and finding it wasn't for him) gave young Steve an HO scale train set. Trains very much were for Steve, and he embarked on a journey that's been going on for fifty-plus years so far. We'l...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Niki Hansen about her love for kickball. She refers to it as a 'recess sport,' and though she loved it as a kid (and, she says, she was pretty good at it), she put it away for years before moving to Austin a few years ago. Here, she discovered a vibrant kickball scene and decided to jump back into the sport. We'll talk about her childhood fo...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Michael Young about his love of ceramics. That relationship started over 40 years ago, when Michael needed to find a non-science course as an undergrad and took a ceramics class. After a 35 year hiatus, he rediscovered his love of clay and now has a ceramics studio in what used to be his dining room. We'll talk about how his interest in cera...

The 2026 Winter Olympics may be over, but that doesn't mean we have to stop talking about winter sports! This week we're chatting with Heather Cooke about her love of figure skating. She skated a bit as a kid, but never really fell in love with the sport until she discovered team synchronized skating decades later. In this type of figure skating (not an Olympic sport yet but one can hope), between...

If you're a keen-eared This Is My Thing listener, you might notice that you've heard this episode about curling before. It was originally released in April of 2025, but we're putting it into your feed again for a couple of reasons. One is that we're in the middle of the 2026 Winter Olympics, so curling is a little more top-of-mind at the moment. And another is that, if you're reading this before (...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Addie and Ben Ruth about their shared love of lightsabers and lightsaber choreography. We'll talk about all things Star Wars and lightsaber -- why they decided to start swinging pretend laser swords around, what sort of costumes they wear and what sort of characters they play. What does this hobby do for them and who are they doing it for? A...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Fabiana Meléndez Ruiz about her dedication to pole dancing. She had her first lesson seven years ago, and quickly fell in love with the sport. Now she’s at the pole studio four days a week. We'll talk about what the pole means to her, why she intends to keep doing it for the remainder of her life, and how it makes her feel. Plus, we'll hear...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Chuck Loesch about his longtime love of the barbershop quartet. Chuck was introduced to the singing style years ago, as a student at New Braunfels High School (which, we discovered during our conversation, we attended at the same time, though we never knew each other back then). After taking a break from barbershop for a quarter century or s...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Fran Rush about her nearly lifelong love of choral singing. Her connection to the art form began in 1950s Chicago, where she started singing in her school's choral group. She continued singing through college, then took a break for a couple of decades while raising a family. Then, in Austin, she re-embraced her love of group singing and neve...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Beth Rowan about her love of dragon boat racing. She took up the sport several years ago as a sort of physical therapy; dragon boat racing has been done in China for millennia but it's only in the past few decades that it's been realized to be excellent exercise for breast cancer survivors.  Beth is a member of Paddlers With a Purpose , Aust...

On this episode of This Is My Thing , we’re talking with Jean Nelson about her nearly lifelong love of glass blowing. Her fascination began at age 10, but four decades went by before she was able to begin learning the art form. Now it’s her passion. I met Jean at Austin’s Ghost Pepper Glass, where she gave me a glass blowing demonstration while me making a lovely pair of drinking glasses. We'll ta...