This is Love

In 1984, Yla Eason’s three-year-old son told her he couldn’t be a superhero because he wasn’t white like his He-Man action figures. So she looked for a Black action figure for him. When she couldn’t find one anywhere, she decided to make one herself. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5 Want to listen to This is Lov...

Mark Kuhn grew up in Iowa in a family of corn farmers. When he was 10 years old, he heard a BBC broadcast of the Wimbledon finals. He couldn’t stop thinking about it — he would daydream about tennis while doing his chores. And one day, he got an idea. “I’m looking at this cattle feedlot when I realized, ‘This is just about the right size for a tennis court.’” Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Ins...

Brown’s Barbershop in Athens, Georgia, has been in business for more than 60 years.  One day, Everett Long went in for a haircut. Fred Smith was getting his hair cut in the next chair. All of a sudden, Everett’s barber said: “I think you should meet.”  Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5 We also make Criminal and P...

“Our Sydney. Died Sept 4, 1902. Born a dog. Lived like a gentleman.” A story about the oldest pet cemetery in the country. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5 We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander.  Episode transcripts are posted on our website. Learn more about your ad cho...

When Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić broke up, they had a hard time dividing up their belongings – there were items that felt too painful for either of them to keep.  “We were kind of imagining the space where these objects could have their own life, and where they could keep the memory of that love, which is no longer there, somehow ignited, living.” If you’d like to send something to the Muse...

“He loves the clouds, the wind, the sky. He wants you to love them too.” Meteorologist Tom Skilling has been forecasting on TV in Chicago for the past 45 years, and has been called the “undisputed king of Chicago weather.” Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5 We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork...

Growing up, Albert Samaha knew his uncle Spanky Rigor had been a musician in the Philippines. Spanky had helped start a band called VST & Company in the 1970s. But it wasn’t until Albert was an adult that he realized how famous Spanky really was. Albert Samaha’s book is Concepcion and you can find more photos of VST here. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review...

A story about two golden retrievers. Aynsley Floyd’s short film about Sampson and Baylor is called The Mountain Dogs. You can watch it here. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5 We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.  Episode transcripts are posted...

Alex Borovenskiy and Anabell Ramires run a theater in Kyiv, Ukraine. It's called ProEnglish Theatre, and was used as a bomb shelter during World War II. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Alex and Anabell decided to leave their apartment and go to the theater, where they hoped they might be safe. Then a neighbor showed up and asked if she could join them. “This is how it all started. People started comi...

As a kid, Josh Dela Cruz used to watch Blue’s Clues with his little sister. The show was entirely animated except for a single human - Steve - who talked to the audience and asked for their help to solve puzzles. In 2018, after years of Blue's Clues being off the air, Josh heard the show was looking for a new host. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Appl...

Five years ago, on Valentine's Day, we started a show about the ways we’re connected to each other. Today, we’re catching up with some of the people we’ve met. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5 We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.  Episode tra...

When Bill Russell joined the NBA in the 1950s, he was the only Black player on the Celtics. He went on to win 11 championships, more than any player in basketball history. When President Barack Obama awarded him the Medal of Freedom in 2011, he said: “Bill Russell stood up for the rights and dignity of all men.” Today, former NBA player Spencer Haywood remembers his coach and friend. Say hello on...

A woman becomes a best-selling novelist by writing more than 100 books about her first romance. Find out more about Brenda Jackson’s books here. This episode contains adult material. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5 We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our on...

In 1983, Nelson Sullivan picked up a video camera and started filming everything – going to nightclubs in New York City, shopping at the grocery store, even waiting for a flight at the airport. "He became the narrator of his own life story.” Special thanks to Kino Library for for letting us share audio from Nelson Sullivan’s videos. You can watch more of Nelson Sullivan’s work on YouTube. Say hell...

Delia Ephron has worked on some of the most famous romantic comedies of all time – like Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail – alongside her sister, Nora Ephron. In You’ve Got Mail, two people fall in love over email. Decades after writing that screenplay, Delia Ephron found herself in the middle of a very similar story. “I really did think I’d fallen into my own romantic comedy.” Say hello o...

Last November, George Linnane found himself at the bottom of a hole, deep inside a cave. He was badly injured after falling more than two stories. And the only people who could rescue him were his friends in the caving community. "If somebody is in trouble, we all know that we're the only ones who can get them out." Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on App...

Grace Young remembers her parents were obsessed with food growing up — they went shopping every day for groceries and every night they cooked traditional Cantonese dishes for dinner. She started to learn to cook when she was young, but not from her parents. She learned from Julia Child. “She was a little jolly. She was always in a good mood. I was fascinated by what she was cooking. None of it was...

Meredith Goldstein started giving her mother dating advice when she was a teenager, and today she offers people advice as the author of the Love Letters column for The Boston Globe. She says: “My favorite letters are breakup letters because it doesn't matter who you are – if you have been dumped, it is awful." Meredith Goldstein’s podcast is Love Letters.  Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instag...

Michael Packard makes a living fishing off the coast of Cape Cod. He catches mostly tuna and mackerel. He drags for clams. And for three months every summer, he dives for lobsters. "It's an extremely dangerous profession. I think about it a lot, but I try not to. I can't dwell on it,” he told us. “You know, this is what I love. It's a different world down there. It’s a whole different world." Last...

When Margaret Dugan was 17, she ate lunch most days at a place called Little Venice where a young Domenico DeMarco would sing while he made pizza. “He would always be singing. And he had a beautiful voice,” she told us. Eventually, he asked her out on a date. At their wedding in 1965, she had no idea she was marrying the man who’d later be called “The Godfather of Pizza.” Today, a look at the man...

As a teenager, Kendra James had a crush on the actor Orlando Bloom. She decorated her room with pictures of him, she wrote stories imagining a romance with him, and she joined a message board dedicated entirely to him.  One day, someone on the message board had an idea to make contact with Orlando Bloom himself.  Kendra James’s book is Admissions: A Memoir Of Surviving Boarding School. Say hello o...

Evan Woodard explores the city of Baltimore from underneath. He searches for things buried underground—things that some people might consider trash. We decided to go to Baltimore and join him on a dig. Take our survey: vox.com/podsurvey Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5 We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a My...

Nnenna and Phil met on a friend’s front porch in Carrboro, North Carolina in 1978. “It felt like I was meeting someone that I had known, but forgot that I knew,” she says. “It just was magic.”  You can listen to Nnenna’s podcast, Great Grief, here. We need your help. We are conducting a short audience survey to help plan for our future and hear from you. To participate, head to vox.com/podsurvey,...

A few months ago, Frank Dumas won his 4th grade class spelling bee. And then he just kept winning. We need your help. We are conducting a short audience survey to help plan for our future and hear from you. To participate, head to vox.com/podsurvey, and thank you! Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5 We also make Cr...

Many years ago, Cathy Raven decided to build herself a small house on a large piece of land in rural Montana. She’s said, “I saw myself alone in the furthest future that I could imagine.” Then a red fox began to arrive, at the same time every day.  Cathy Raven’s book is The Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship. We need your help. We are conducting a short audience survey to help plan for our future a...