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This is Love

95 EpisodesProduced by Vox Media Podcast NetworkWebsite

Love is more than you think.From the creators of Criminal. New episodes twice a month.Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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This Is Love

January 23rd, 2018

5:30

Some spiders eat their young, and some eat their parents. Love is never simple. From the makers of the award-winning podcast Criminal, This is Love investigates life’s most persistent mystery. Stories of sacrifice, …

The Run

February 14th, 2018

32:45

In 1971, David Alexander went for a run in Central Park and started talking to a stranger. For our first episode of This Is Love, a story about what's possible when we bet everything on each other.

Say hello on Twitter,

Something Large and Wild

February 21st, 2018

26:37

An unconventional love story about a teenager, the Pacific Ocean, and an encounter with something wild. 

Grayson, by Lynne Cox

Lynne's latest is Swimming in the Sink.

You can find more about Lynne at her website:

Always Tomorrow

February 28th, 2018

28:19

A woman becomes a best-selling novelist by writing 120 books about her first romance.

This episode contains adult material.

Selected books by Brenda …

Eight Thousand Miles

March 7th, 2018

28:03

This episode was released in March of 2018.

In June of 2020, Van Nolintha stepped down from his roles at Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana, following …

A Private Life

March 14th, 2018

26:20

Nino and Drew kept their relationship a secret for more than 40 years. And then, they decided to do something that forced them into the spotlight.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional …

What Are We Going To Do

March 21st, 2018

23:24

"People wanted to put him up for sainthood because he married me, like he'd made the ultimate sacrifice."

Special thanks to Pop Up Magazine.

Say hello …

We're Back

October 17th, 2018

1:10

We're very excited to announce that Season Two is coming November 14th! Here’s a sneak peek.

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How to Live Forever

November 14th, 2018

26:34

An experiment in living together, forever.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Follow …

Message in a Bottle

November 21st, 2018

27:04

A woman finds a mysterious message in a bottle, and becomes consumed with finding out who wrote it and why.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and

One in a Million

November 28th, 2018

23:11

A story about moving at your own pace.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Follow the …

Blue

December 5th, 2018

25:00

The story of a color marked by effort and desire.

For more, check out Carol Mavor's book, Blue Mythologies.

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Nothing Compares to You

December 12th, 2018

30:19

In 1983, Susan Rogers moved thousands of miles from home to work with her favorite artist in the world: Prince. "He was unlike any human I'd ever known,” she says. A story about making remarkable things, together.

Say …

How to Be Alone

December 19th, 2018

28:55

More than 40 years ago, a man moved to an abandoned mining town 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."

Say hello on Twitter,

Andiamo!

April 17th, 2019

1:01

We have news.

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Ugly Club

May 1st, 2019

30:48

We visit a place where it's good to be ugly. With Club dei Brutti's permission, we've created an Ugly Club pin for This is Love listeners. Get yours here (https://cottonbureau.com/products/ugly-club-pin) or pick one up …

The Town That Stayed Quiet

May 15th, 2019

25:56

We visit a city in Northern Italy where everyone decided to stay quiet to save something beautiful.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign …

Silvia and the Cats

May 29th, 2019

26:09

We visit an ancient place where cats have taken over.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The …

Everything Floats

June 12th, 2019

25:57

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

Francine Prose’s book is Peggy Guggenheim: The Shock of the Modern.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our …

Anna and Massimo

June 26th, 2019

29:21

At 43, Anna Bonavita had given up on finding love. But sometimes it’s worth the wait.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our …

The Memory Artist

July 10th, 2019

32:05

One day Franco Magnani picked up a paintbrush.

You can see some of Franco’s paintings on his website.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. …

Looking for Wolves

March 25th, 2020

1:22

All new stories, starting April 1. Stories about animals and the wild, and what happens when we take time to look around us.

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The Wolves

April 1st, 2020

41:28

We go searching for wolves in Yellowstone, and learn about the dramatic and surprisingly relatable relationship between a powerful young wolf and the …

Roselle and Michael

April 15th, 2020

35:23

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 …

Antelope Island

April 29th, 2020

36:49

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 …

Prairie Warbler

May 13th, 2020

40:44

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 …

Into the Ice

May 27th, 2020

36:36

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, …

Gobi

June 10th, 2020

25:29

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 …

City Birds

June 24th, 2020

28:32

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.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional …

The Most Persistent Mystery

October 7th, 2020

1:49

We're thrilled to announce that This is Love is coming back with our 5th season on October 14th!

Tell a friend to subscribe today! Thank you for …

The Kinseys

October 14th, 2020

35:28

Bernard Kinsey met Shirley Pooler in 1963, when they were both students at Florida A&M University, after a protest to integrate the movie …

He Left in a Storm, He’ll Return in a Storm

October 28th, 2020

30:34

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 …

The Clearwater Monster

November 11th, 2020

32:53

Early one morning in 1948, a phone call woke up the police chief in the small town of Clearwater, Florida. The caller said he’d seen something …

The Dancer

November 25th, 2020

26:32

When Carlos Acosta was a kid, he wanted to be the next Michael Jackson. He spent all his time break-dancing in the streets of Havana. Until one day, when his father decided to put Carlos in a ballet class.

Say hello on

Cheers

December 9th, 2020

28:41

In June of 2020, a 72-year-old man in the UK named Gerald Stratford posted a photograph of himself in his garden on Twitter. He wrote, “Just giving …

Something Large and Wild

December 23rd, 2020

26:49

Our favorite story, for anyone who might be feeling a little lost.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter,

Among the Oak Trees

March 31st, 2021

31:03

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 …

On the Way to Dinner

April 28th, 2021

40:20

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, …

Lost and Found

May 26th, 2021

48:58

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 …

My Penny

June 30th, 2021

36:06

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 …

The Magpie of Heart Mountain

July 28th, 2021

38:17

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 …

What Gets Told

August 25th, 2021

29:46

"History was dependent upon people like me remembering." A conversation with Betty Reid Soskin, shortly before her 100th birthday.

Betty Reid Soskin’s book is Sign My Name to Freedom.

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Tami & Ed, Sharpie

September 29th, 2021

30:40

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. …

Can I Speak to David?

October 27th, 2021

32:23

"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 …

Grandfather of the Forest

November 17th, 2021

32:53

“On the last day of the world, I would want to plant a tree.”

A story about people coming together, willing to try something.

Say hello on Twitter,

Finding Joy

December 15th, 2021

32:42

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 …

The Brain in Love

January 26th, 2022

32:21

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 …

The Adventures of Dillon Helbig

February 23rd, 2022

24:43

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.

Say …

Cain's Jawbone

March 30th, 2022

31:57

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 …

Seeing and Being Seen

April 13th, 2022

28:55

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 …

The Visitor

April 27th, 2022

25:08

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 …

Frank Goes to the Spelling Bee

May 30th, 2022

26:20

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 …

The Freelons

June 29th, 2022

46:01

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 …

Beneath the City

July 27th, 2022

32:45

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:

A Crush

August 31st, 2022

33:56

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. 

The Pizza Maker

September 14th, 2022

35:54

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. …

In the Mouth of the Whale

September 28th, 2022

28:26

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 …

Desperate In Rockland

October 12th, 2022

39:34

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 …

Grace and Julia

October 26th, 2022

40:13

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 …

The Rescue

November 9th, 2022

34:11

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. …

You've Got Mail

November 23rd, 2022

46:55

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 …

Nelson’s Camera

December 7th, 2022

32:52

In 1983, Nelson Sullivan picked up a video camera and started filming everything – going to nightclubs in New York City, shopping at the grocery …

Always Tomorrow

December 21st, 2022

30:43

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 …

Bill Russell, King of the Court

February 8th, 2023

36:29

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 …

How Have You Been?

February 22nd, 2023

49:23

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 …

"The show is coming back!"

March 8th, 2023

40:42

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 …

The Shelter

March 22nd, 2023

36:47

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 …

Sampson and Baylor

April 12th, 2023

33:55

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 …

Punch the Moon

April 26th, 2023

41:21

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 …

The Weatherman

May 10th, 2023

36:24

“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 …

Museum of Broken Relationships

May 24th, 2023

45:05

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 …

Fajita, Tamale, Clarence, and Blague

June 7th, 2023

39:51

“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,

At Brown’s Barbershop

June 21st, 2023

36:21

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 …

Wimbledon in a Cornfield

July 5th, 2023

33:32

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 …

Sun-Man

July 19th, 2023

42:59

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 …

Telling the Bees

August 9th, 2023

36:53

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 …

The Other Phoebe Judge

August 21st, 2023

12:05

A preview of what we’re making over on Criminal Plus! Hear me and Criminal co-creator Lauren Spohrer taking your questions, telling stories, and talking with other producers and special guests. We’re having a lot of fun …

The Wolves

August 23rd, 2023

41:31

We go searching for wolves in Yellowstone National Park, and learn about the dramatic and surprisingly relatable relationship between a powerful …

A Really Terrible Orchestra

September 6th, 2023

35:03

In the Really Terrible Orchestra of the Triangle, it's perfectly good to sound bad.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and …

Beatrix Potter and Her Sheep

September 20th, 2023

35:34

“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 …

Phoebe vs. Oyster

September 28th, 2023

2:14

We’re coming up on 10 years of our other show, Criminal. In the past decade, we've loved taking the show all over the country - including the time I ate a bad oyster in San Francisco and almost didn't make it on stage. …

Here I Am

October 4th, 2023

34:57

Jules Hirsh had his first bar mitzvah when he was 13 years old, in 1946. Seventy years later, he celebrated a second one, at 83 - and then his wife, …

Jiminy Crickets

October 11th, 2023

11:41

Here's a little preview of what we’re making over on Criminal Plus! We’re having a lot of fun making these bonus episodes. In each one, Criminal co-creator Lauren Spohrer and I take your questions and talk about what’s …

The Contestant

October 18th, 2023

34:26

After Jean Westcott's first "Jeopardy!" audition, she waited 18 months to find out if she'd be on the show. She didn't get called, so she auditioned again. And again. She kept auditioning for over 20 years.

Say hello on

The Barbizon Hotel

November 1st, 2023

40:54

In its early days, the magazine Mademoiselle positioned itself as “the magazine for smart young women.” It published work by Truman Capote, Albert Camus, and Flannery O’Connor. Each summer, the magazine selected 20 …

The Pointe Shoes

November 15th, 2023

33:15

Growing up, Ashton Edwards spent hours watching videos of famous ballerinas. Ashton loved the ballet “Swan Lake” – especially the role of the Swan …

Let’s Give It a Whirl

December 6th, 2023

34:35

In 2015, Brad Ryan called up his 85-year-old grandmother to see if she wanted to join him on a road trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “She …

How to Live Forever

December 20th, 2023

27:26

An experiment in living together, forever.

This episode was originally released in 2018.

We're going back on tour in February! We’ll be telling brand new stories, live on stage. You can even get meet and greet tickets to …

Tau = 10.8

January 10th, 2024

47:38

When twin rovers named Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars twenty years ago, they were only supposed to last 90 Martian days. But years passed, they were still alive, and engineers kept taking care of them. “I …

The Care and Keeping of You

January 24th, 2024

32:37

When Valorie Lee Schaefer was asked to write a book about puberty for kids, her first thought was, “Why me?” But as she got to work on it, she realized, “Every girl thinks that they're a freak of nature.” 

A new, updated …

Albert and Alberta

February 7th, 2024

36:33

One day, as a student at the University of Florida, Kourtney LaPlant was reading the student newspaper. “And there was this little tiny ad in the paper about, hey, we’re looking for new mascots. And I was like, why not?”

The Nicholas Effect

February 21st, 2024

31:25

If you visit Italy, you might come across a street, or a park, or a school, or even a chain of coffee shops named after a 7-year-old American named …

Farewell

February 22nd, 2024

0:39

An important message from RadioPublic

One in a Million

March 6th, 2024

29:20

In 2016, scientist Angus Davison got an email about a rare, left-coiling snail. He began a quest to find it a mate.

This episode was first released in …

Charlotte as Romeo

March 20th, 2024

36:42

When Charlotte Cushman arrived in England, she was heartbroken. But she began looking for work as an actor. There was one part she really wanted: …

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