This Is Love

An empty beach with steep reddish-brown dunes on the left and the ocean to the right, with a slightly overcast sky

Episode 27: He Left in a Storm, He’ll Return in a Storm

Episode #27

2020-10-28 12:38:32

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There’s an old story on Cape Cod about a woman named Maria Hallett who fell in love with a pirate. According to legend, when he died at sea, she became so heartbroken that she started walking along the cliffs in storms and cursing other ships. The story goes that she believed that if she had lost the person she loved to the sea, everyone else should too. She became known as “The Sea Witch of Billingsgate,” and her story has haunted Cape Cod for the last 300 years.
A photograph from the 1960s of a Black couple smiling happily.

Episode 26: The Kinseys

Episode #26

2020-10-14 12:49:32

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Bernard Kinsey met Shirley Pooler in 1963, when they were both students at Florida A&M University, after a protest to integrate the movie theaters in Tallahassee. Years later, when their son Khalil was born, Bernard and Shirley made a plan — they wanted him to understand where he came from, and where his ancestors came from. So they decided to become detectives, uncovering the history of the Black experience in America.

Episode 25: City Birds

Episode #25

2020-06-24 12:02:18

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Meet a woman who decided to devote her life to the wild birds of New York City, and a Los Angeles man who formed a once-in-a-lifetime friendship.

Episode 24: Gobi

Episode #24

2020-06-10 12:08:17

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In June of 2016, Dion Leonard attempted one of the toughest races in the world—155 miles through the Gobi Desert. At the start of day two, he looked down and saw a little brown dog chewing on his shoes. Dion and the little dog were about to embark on an adventure that would change both of their lives.

Episode 23: Into the Ice

Episode #23

2020-05-27 11:47:56

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The B-15 iceberg in Antarctica was the largest iceberg in recorded history. Explorer Jill Heinerth wanted to see what it looked like from the inside. She assembled a team of the most accomplished divers in the world, and they traveled for 12 days through the rough waters of the Southern Ocean. Attempting to dive into cracks in the iceberg, her life was in very real danger three times. And the third time, she would be saved by an animal so small, so transparent, that you can see its heart beating right through its skin.
A photograph of a Prairie Warbler bird on a tree branch. It is yellow on its front with brown on its back and tail.

Episode 22: Prairie Warbler

Episode #22

2020-05-13 13:05:26

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When Drew Lanham was a child, he used to lie down in a field and play dead, just so he could get a glimpse of vultures flying over him. He made binoculars out of toilet paper rolls, and wings out of cardboard. He loved birds. But when he went to college, he says "I was trying to live up to the expectations of others who said, ‘you're a black kid who's good at math and science.’” So he studied engineering, and was miserable. And then, one day he heard the call of a Prairie Warbler.

Episode 21: Antelope Island

Episode #21

2020-04-29 12:42:11

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When Kayleigh Davis saw Kyler Bourgeous’ profile on a dating app, she liked that he loved the outdoors as much as she did. But what really stood out is that he said he’d survived a bison attack. So, Kayleigh messaged him, and asked to hear the story. And then, something...

Episode 20: Roselle and Michael

Episode #20

2020-04-15 12:58:55

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Michael Hingson was on the 78th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He says the first indication that something was wrong was the sound of a muffled explosion. Then the building began to tilt, and he felt the floor drop like an elevator. But Michael Hingson didn’t panic because his guide dog, Roselle, was calm.

Episode 19: The Wolves

Episode #19

2020-04-01 12:22:38

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We go searching for wolves in Yellowstone, and learn about the dramatic and surprisingly relatable relationship between a powerful young wolf and the small, elderly wolf who had raised him.

Love 18: The Memory Artist

Episode #18

2019-07-10 14:45:46

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One day Franco Magnani picked up a paintbrush.

Episode 17: Anna and Massimo

Episode #17

2019-06-26 14:22:39

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At 43, Anna Bonavita had given up on finding love. But then she traveled to Cesena, Italy, and met Massimo. She says it was worth the wait. We also speak with Anna about Pennabilli—the town that helped her recover.  

Episode 16: Everything Floats

Episode #16

2019-06-12 13:22:59

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We visit a place where the “black sheep” of the Guggenheim family went to be free.

Episode 15: Silvia and the Cats

Episode #15

2019-05-29 11:33:32

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We visit ancient ruins in Rome where cats have taken over. We speak with Silvia Viviani, who co-founded the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary in 1994.

Episode 14: The Town That Stayed Quiet

Episode #14

2019-05-15 12:21:06

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We visit a city in Northern Italy where everyone decided to stay quiet to save something beautiful. We speak with Paolo Bodini, Leonardo Tedeschi, Virginia Villa, and others about the Cremona Violin Museum’s “Stradivarius Sound Bank.”

Episode 13: Ugly Club

Episode #13

2019-05-01 12:52:13

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We visit a place where it's good to be ugly.

Episode 12: How to be Alone

Episode #12

2018-12-19 16:06:43

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More than 40 years ago, Billy Barr moved to an abandoned mining town in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains to be alone. He says that there are days in the winter “when it’s so quiet that the noisiest thing is the snow hitting your jacket.”