This Is Love

A young boy is smiling, holding up a spelling bee medal.

Episode 47: Frank Goes to the Spelling Bee

Episode #47

2022-05-30 13:44:32

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A few months ago, Frank Dumas won his 4th grade class spelling bee. And then he just kept winning.
A fox in profile, sitting on gravel, with its ears back and eyes squinted nearly closed. It looks relaxed.

Episode 46: The Visitor

Episode #46

2022-04-27 12:12:36

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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. 
Photograph of a drawing pinned up on a wall. The drawing shows the head and face of a young man asleep in profile—the ears, nose, lips, and cheeks are accented with red and the eyelids and upper lip are accented with blue. The man has cropped dark hair, pale skin, and an earring.

Episode 45: Seeing and Being Seen

Episode #45

2022-04-13 12:08:21

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When artist Wilfrid Wood was looking for new people to draw, he got an idea - and put a call out for models on Grindr. When Theo Adamson saw Wilfrid's profile, he says “it just caught me in the right moment as being up for trying something new.”
A gray cat sitting on an unmade bed with a striped gray comforter, in front of a wall covered with papers organized In columns, with string drawing lines across the pages.

Episode 44: Cain’s Jawbone

Episode #44

2022-03-30 12:00:15

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There’s a strange book from 1934 called Cain’s Jawbone that's “not for the faint-hearted.” It’s part puzzle, part murder mystery. And it’s only been solved three times.
A red snakeskin journal with white sticker labels that read: The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis, by Dillon his self. There are small illustrations of Santa hats and a Christmas tree next to the writing. On the spine of the book there are stickers indicating it's a library book.

Episode 43: The Adventures of Dillon Helbig

Episode #43

2022-02-23 13:19:47

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Dillon Helbig is 8 years old. He’s been writing books since he was 5. One day, he decided he wanted to see his book on the shelf in a library.
Black and white fMRI scan of Dessa's brain, with her head in profile, and a tiny red dot at the base of the brain

Episode 42: The Brain in Love

Episode #42

2022-01-26 13:08:11

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Dessa spent the better part of two decades in love with the same person. They’d broken up and gotten back together over and over again. And even once they were broken up for good, she couldn’t give up hope that they still had a future. She says she felt kind of stuck. And so she started planning an experiment—part science project, part art project—to try to fall out of love.
Kate Bowler, and her young son, Zach, standing at the fork of a trail outdoors in the snow. They’re bundled up wearing jackets and gloves, both smiling, and Zach has his arms spread wide open.

Episode 41: Finding Joy

Episode #41

2021-12-15 13:02:40

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In 2015, Kate Bowler was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. She was 35. “The chronic nature of what I had really lent itself to people wanting to openly explain why I was suffering. Was it something I ate? Was it something I did spiritually? Like, who’s at fault here? You know, maybe everything doesn’t happen for a reason.”
Black and white photo of an old, large American Chestnut

Episode 40: Grandfather of the Forest

Episode #40

2021-11-17 13:42:50

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“On the last day of the world, I would want to plant a tree.” A story about people coming together, willing to try something.
A young white couple posing outside on a sunny day. The man is wearing sunglasses and a hat. The woman has her arm around the man's shoulders and they're both smiling.

Episode 39: Can I Speak to David?

Episode #39

2021-10-27 12:52:23

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"I began to think: ‘Oh, my gosh. Everyone was against me dropping out of college, marrying a complete stranger, and moving to New York. Perhaps they may have been on to something.’”
A still life showing a goblet of wine, a peeled clementine, and a loaf of sliced bread against a sepia backdrop, with the text: Everything is Alive.

Episode 38: Tami & Ed, Sharpie

Episode #38

2021-09-29 13:01:31

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Tami is a sharpie, and Ed is her cap. After all these years, marriage has left an indelible mark. Listeners of this show know that from the very beginning, we’ve wanted to highlight unconventional stories of love. Oftentimes, not romantic love. What we have for you today is one of the strangest and funniest conversations we’ve heard in a long time.
Black and White portrait photo of a young Betty Reid Soskin smiling, and wearing a hat and a suit. with

Episode 37: What Gets Told

Episode #37

2021-08-25 13:17:05

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"History was dependent upon people like me remembering." A conversation with Betty Reid Soskin, shortly before her 100th birthday.
Close-up portrait of Shigeru Yabu, smiling, resting his cheek in his hand.

Episode 36: The Magpie of Heart Mountain

Episode #36

2021-07-28 12:18:19

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When Shigeru Yabu was a little boy he made a new friend in an unexpected place. “That bird walked up my arm all the way to my shoulder, and we looked at each other, eye to eye.”
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 35: My Penny

Episode #35

2021-06-30 12:14:23

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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.
A black and white photograph of Patti Smith applying eye makeup with a pencil, all reflected in a mirror. In the corner of the photograph you can see a reflection of the photographer's arm holding the camera.

Episode 34: Lost and Found

Episode #34

2021-05-26 12:54:13

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On today's episode: Home recordings, people recording their friends, neighbors, and strangers — for a look at how we live, and who we are, by listening closely. Featuring a 5-year-old Sofia Coppola, and Patti Smith before she recorded her first album.
Two men holding a baby, gazing down at him and feeding him a bottle.

Episode 33: On the Way to Dinner

Episode #33

2021-04-28 12:13:51

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On August 28th, 2000, Danny Stewart got on the subway to meet his boyfriend Pete Mercurio for dinner in New York City. As he was exiting the station, he noticed something on the ground. It looked like a baby doll wrapped in a shirt. And then he saw the doll's legs move.
Trees against a blue sky

Episode 32: Among the Oak Trees

Episode #32

2021-03-31 12:10:01

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One day in the spring of 1986, a woman in Hot Springs, Arkansas named Ruth Coker Burks was visiting a friend in the hospital. She noticed a door down the hall that had a red tarp over it, and the nurses were avoiding the room. So she decided to sneak in.