This Is Love

A Herdwick sheep stands in a barn staring at the camera.

Episode 74: Beatrix Potter and Her Sheep

Episode #74

2023-09-20 05:00:21

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“It's all about finding the place that makes you happy, finding the life that makes you happy, and not worrying that other people make different choices.”
A photo of a conductor's legs standing on a podium. The conductor is wearing a suit and holding a baton, and on his feet are hobbit slippers - hairy feet with toes. The podium has the letters "RTOOT" on the sides.

Episode 73: A Really Terrible Orchestra

Episode #73

2023-09-06 05:00:48

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Where it’s perfectly good to sound bad.
Photograph of wolves walking across snow in a line. Pine trees and cottonwood trees are in the background.

Episode 72: The Wolves

Episode #72

2023-08-23 05:00:08

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We go searching for wolves in Yellowstone National Park, and learn about the dramatic and surprisingly relatable relationship between a powerful young wolf and the small, elderly wolf who had raised him.
A faded illustration in earth tones of three beehives -- likely woven baskets, or skeps, positioned in a row on a slightly elevated wooden slab. Large bees are depicted crawling in and out of small rectangular entrances to the hives, and they also spread evenly across the area above the hives, filling the sky.

Episode 71: Telling the Bees

Episode #71

2023-08-09 05:00:39

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For a long time, beekeepers have told bees their news. They’ve told their bees about weddings, and when people they know have died. It’s said that if they don’t, the bees will leave their hives, or stop making honey, or die.
A black and white photo of Yla Eason behind her young son, Menelik Puryear. They are both smiling and Yla has her arms around Menelik. Menelik is holding a Sun-Man action figure.

Episode 70: Sun-Man

Episode #70

2023-07-19 05:00:19

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After Yla Eason’s three-year-old son told her he couldn’t be a superhero because he wasn’t white like his He-Man toys, she looked for a Black action figure for him. When she couldn’t find one anywhere, she decided to make one herself.
A grass tennis court surrounded by a white and green picket fence. In the foreground is a sign that reads “4,090 miles, Wimbledon.” Behind the tennis court is a British flag, tall white wind turbines, and corn fields.

Episode 69: Wimbledon in a Cornfield

Episode #69

2023-07-05 05:00:02

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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.’”
A photo of two men smiling while looking at the camera. They are standing, slightly facing each other, holding hands. One man is wearing a white suit and the other man is wearing black pants and a red, white and black floral suit jacket. Both men are wearing bowties and have facial hair.

Episode 68: At Brown’s Barbershop

Episode #68

2023-06-21 05:00:37

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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.”
Dozens and dozens of gravestones, spread out in every direction, at the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery. Some of the graves are made out of gray stone and some have a red tint. They’re all different shapes and sizes. One of the graves in the foreground has an engraving of a dog’s face, with the inscription: “Ellis, 2004-2014.” Another gravestone reads, “Skipper, 1968-1981. Our baby, faithful loving.”

Episode 67: Fajita, Tamale, Clarence, and Blague

Episode #67

2023-06-07 05:00:49

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“Our Sydney. Died Sept 4, 1902. Born a dog. Lived like a gentleman.” A story about the oldest pet cemetery in the country.
A photograph of a small white wind-up bunny toy, next to a photograph of a photograph of that same bunny pictured in the desert in Iran.

Episode 66: Museum of Broken Relationships

Episode #66

2023-05-24 05:00:13

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When Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić broke up, some of their shared possessions felt too painful 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.”
A black and white old photo of TV meteorologist Tom Skilling gesturing to a weather map behind him, with weather fronts and the word "cool" drawn on it. He is wearing a light colored suit with "WGN" and a "9" on a patch.

Episode 65: The Weatherman

Episode #65

2023-05-10 05:00:50

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“He loves the clouds, the wind, the sky. He wants you to love them too.”
In an old photo, two young Filipino men stand in front of microphones, singing. Spanky Rigor is on the left, grinning at the audience while he sings. His bandmate is also singing while playing a guitar. The men have shoulder length hair and mustaches and wear button down shirts.

Episode 64: Punch the Moon

Episode #64

2023-04-26 05:00:53

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Growing up, Albert Samaha knew his uncle Spanky Rigor had been a musician in the Philippines, but it wasn’t until Albert was an adult that he realized how famous his uncle really was.
Two golden retrievers, Sampson and Baylor lay on a rock mountain top, under a cloudy blue sky.

Episode 63: Sampson and Baylor

Episode #63

2023-04-12 05:00:54

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A story about two golden retrievers.
Color photograph of two people. A woman is sitting in front of a man. They are both wearing black shirts. The woman has her eyes closed.

Episode 62: The Shelter

Episode #62

2023-03-22 05:00:51

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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 coming and coming and coming.”
Color still of Josh Dela Cruz on the TV Show, Blue's Clues. He's wearing a striped blue shirt and holding a notebook with a picture of a cartoon dog.

Episode 61: “The show is coming back!”

Episode #61

2023-03-08 05:00:05

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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.
Six small illustrations set against a black background: a bumble bee with red wings, a radish in the shape of a heart, a brain with a red heart embedded in the back, a ranger hat with a heart on it, a VHS tape, and a snail with a heart in the middle of the shell.

Episode 60: How Have You Been?

Episode #60

2023-02-22 05:00:50

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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.
Color illustration of basketball player Bill Russell. He's wearing a green Boston uniform. He's kneeling and holding a basketball.

Episode 59: Bill Russell, King of the Court

Episode #59

2023-02-08 05:00:13

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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.
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