This Is Love

Photograph of an open yearbook with rows of headshots. In the bottom left corner is a photo of Minh Nguyen wearing a tuxedo with a butterfly bowtie, and glasses. He looks straight into the camera without smiling.

Episode 127: How’s Your Life?

Episode #127

2025-12-03 05:00:58

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When Minh Nguyen was in school, he didn’t ask anyone to sign his yearbooks — he says he was too uncomfortable. But twenty years later, he started reaching out to all his former classmates. He asks everyone the same questions.
A black and white photograph of Judith Jamison, a Black woman, dancing “Cry.” She stands on her left leg, her right leg extended in the air to form an angle about ninety degrees wide, toe pointed. Her torso is twisted, her head angled partially toward the floor. Her right arm extends vertically above her head and her left arm forms a straight line just slightly below her right leg. Her full ankle-length white skirt arcs around her, forming an approximate three-quarters circle. She is barefoot and wearing a white long-sleeve leotard with her skirt. Her hair is short. The stage behind her fades to black. Photo credit: Fred Fehl, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library.

Episode 126: Cry

Episode #126

2025-11-19 05:00:29

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In 1971, for his mother’s birthday, Alvin Ailey gave her a ballet. The dance was grueling – sometimes the women who did it bled. “I remember very well seeing my mother on her knees scrubbing these white folks’ rooms and halls. That image is in my ballet ‘Cry.’”
A photo of Ava Do leaning on Apollo Robbins while his arm is around her. They are standing on a pier, with the water behind them.

Episode 125: Ava and the Pickpocket

Episode #125

2025-11-05 05:00:28

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“He stole my watch. He stole my jewelry. I stopped wearing jewelry – just to see what else he would steal.”
Color photograph of Robert Davidson's "Bear Mother" totem pole, taken from the ground looking up. The totem pole reaches into the sky and is covered in figures and faces painted in red and black paint. There are wispy clouds in the sky behind the totem pole.

Episode 124: One More Time

Episode #124

2025-10-22 05:00:10

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A visitor to the islands of the Pacific Northwest once described seeing “a forest of totem poles.” But by the time Robert Davidson was born, there wasn't a single one left standing in his village.
A selfie of Nadeem Shehzad. He's wearing glasses, a jacket, and a gray beanie, with a neutral expression. The sky behind him is gray and clouded and full of flying birds - black kites.

Episode 123: A Sky of Kites

Episode #123

2025-10-08 05:00:43

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People in India have been flying kites for hundreds of years – using them to predict the weather, carry love letters, and compete in the air. But they share the sky and a name with hundreds of thousands of scavenging birds: black kites.
Black and white photograph of a Black man, James Hampton, standing in front of a shining, intricate array of objects in a room with brick walls. He is wearing a suit and a similarly reflective crown and holding a second crown in his arms.

Episode 122: The Throne

Episode #122

2025-09-24 05:00:24

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In 1964, a landlord in Washington, DC, noticed that his tenant hadn’t paid rent and went to look for him. The tenant wasn’t in the building – but he’d left behind something strange – something that he’d been working on for 14 years.
Jeff Ingram and Penny Hansen on their wedding day, standing together in a parking lot and smiling. Jeff is wearing a suit and holding a small dog, and Penny is wearing a white dress and cardigan.

Episode 121: My Penny

Episode #121

2025-09-10 05:00:24

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In October of 2006, a press conference was held at a hospital in Denver. During the press conference, a man asked if anyone watching could tell him who he was, or how he got there. Because he didn’t know.
Rick Steves wearing glasses, a thin scarf, and black jacket standing in a street in Bern, Switzerland. There is a clock tower behind him and he is holding a guidebook he's written about Switzerland.

Episode 120: The World According to Rick Steves

Episode #120

2025-08-20 05:00:22

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Never check a bag, always bring a journal, and consider duct tape: a conversation with Rick Steves.
Color photograph of Maurice and Maralyn Bailey posing inside a small inflatable orange and blue raft with a canopy over it, floating in water. They're both wearing orange raincoats. Maurice is wearing a navy blue hat, and Maralyn's arm is resting on the side of the raft. They're both smiling slightly and looking at the camera.

Episode 119: Alone Together

Episode #119

2025-08-06 05:00:46

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In 1966, Maurice and Maralyn Bailey had been married for three years. They’d bought a house in the suburbs in the middle of England, and had jobs at the tax office and a printing press. “They're living a respectable day-to-day suburban existence — which is kind of driving them both crazy. And one rainy evening, Maralyn just says, ‘You know what? Why don't we sell this house and build a boat and go?’”
An old color photograph of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman reading a book together. They're surrounded by trees and behind them is a blue ski.

Episode 118: The Sea Around Us

Episode #118

2025-07-16 05:00:30

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When writer Rachel Carson built a house on Maine’s Southport Island, her new neighbor, Dorothy Freeman, sent her a note to welcome her. Rachel wrote back. And when the summer was over, they kept writing to each other.
Old color photograph of a young Black woman (Virginia Ali) standing at the front grill of Ben's Chili Bowl. She's holding a bun in one hand, and a hot dog in tongs in the other. There are hot dogs lined up cooking on the grill in front of her, and a sign behind her that reads "Hot Dog." She's wearing a white shirt and earrings and her hair is pulled back. She's looking at the camera and smiling.

Episode 117: Hot Dog!

Episode #117

2025-07-02 05:00:43

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An episode all about hot dogs and the people who love them.
Black and white photograph from an expedition on Antarctica in 1911. The photographer is standing within an ice cave and the photograph captures the cave entrance, where two men stand, and in the distance we see the ocean and a ship.

Episode 116: The Terra Nova

Episode #116

2025-06-18 05:00:19

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In 1910, a group of British men set off on an expedition to the South Pole. Over a hundred years later, in the journals and letters that survived, a writer discovered a love story.
A black and white photo of two people sitting at a table laughing. One is a man dressed in a suit, and the other person is a woman. On the wall behind them are posters for "Your next first lady president, Mrs. Yetta Bronstein." They appear to be working: there are papers scattered around the table as well as a coffee cup and some cake.

Episode 115: An American Original

Episode #115

2025-06-04 05:00:32

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In 1963, Jeanne and Alan Abel traveled to Washington, DC to picket in front of the White House. They said they were part of a campaign that wanted to put clothes on animals — including the first lady’s horse.
A photo of a 30 year old bear sent to Winey Bears Repair.

Episode 114: The Bear Repair

Episode #114

2025-05-21 05:00:16

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"That bear's been with them through everything.”
A photo of Terence McPherson and Shawnika Giger. They are standing outside, and Shawnika has her arm around Terence.

Episode 113: This Is Uncomfortable

Episode #113

2025-05-07 05:00:21

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When money makes falling in love uncomfortable.
A collage of four printed blind date columns side by side -- each with "Blind Date" in large pink text and a picture of a couple posing below.

Episode 112: And… Did You Kiss? Part 2

Episode #112

2025-04-23 05:00:43

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When The Guardian sends two strangers on a blind date, the last question they have to answer for the newspaper column is “Would you meet again?” We asked people how their dates went – and what happened next.