This is Love

Latest Episodes:

The Long Walk Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

When Emma Gatewood was 67, she told her children she was going on a walk. “The next they would hear from her would be via postcard… And it said, ‘By ‘walk’ I mean I'm thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.’”

Ben Montgomery’s book is Grandma Gatewood’s Walk.

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How's Your Life? Dec 03, 2025

Show notes

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.

For more, check out Jordan P. Hickey’s article for D Magazine.

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Cry Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

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.’”

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Ava and the Pickpocket Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

“He stole my watch. He stole my jewelry. I stopped wearing jewelry – just to see what else he would steal.” In 2004, Ava Do met a professional pickpocket at a bachelorette party in Las Vegas. And they fell in love.

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One More Time Oct 22, 2025

Show notes

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.

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A Sky of Kites Oct 08, 2025

Show notes

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.

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The Throne Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

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.

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My Penny Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

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.

This episode was originally released in 2021.

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The World According to Rick Steves Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

Never check a bag, always bring a journal, and consider duct tape: a conversation with Rick Steves.

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Alone Together Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

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?’”

Sophie Elmhirst's book is A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck.

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