This is Love

Latest Episodes:

The Other Phoebe Judge Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

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 making these bonus episodes.

When you sign up for Criminal Plus, you’ll also get ad-free listening on all of the shows we make, access to an exclusive merch store, and more. If you sign up as a Premium member, you’ll also get to attend virtual live events—like our first one, coming up on Thursday, August 24. We’ll be playing Criminal trivia.

Learn more and sign up at thisiscriminal.com/plus. Thanks for your support!

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Telling the Bees Aug 09, 2023

Show notes

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.

Sometimes, like after Queen Elizabeth II died, beekeepers draped hives in black ribbon. Sometimes they’d shift their hives slightly to the right. “This movement would signal to the bees that the universe had changed, ever so slightly.”

Helen Jukes’ book is A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings: A Year of Keeping Bees, and Tammy Horn Potter’s is Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5

Want to listen to This is Love ad-free? Sign up for Criminal Plus – you’ll get This is Love, Criminal, and Phoebe Reads a Mystery ad-free. Plus, behind-the-scenes bonus episodes and other exclusive benefits. Learn more and sign up here.

We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.

Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.

Episode transcripts are posted on our website.

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Sun-Man Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

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 a Black action figure for him. When she couldn’t find one anywhere, she decided to make one herself.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5

Want to listen to This is Love ad-free? Sign up for Criminal Plus – you’ll get This is Love, Criminal, and Phoebe Reads a Mystery ad-free. Plus, behind-the-scenes bonus episodes of Criminal and other exclusive benefits. Learn more and sign up here.

We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.

Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.

Episode transcripts are posted on our website.

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Wimbledon in a Cornfield Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

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.’”

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5

We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.

Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.

Episode transcripts are posted on our website.

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At Brown’s Barbershop Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

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.”

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5

We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.

Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.

Episode transcripts are posted on our website.

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Fajita, Tamale, Clarence, and Blague Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

“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, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5

We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.

Artwork by Julienne Alexander.

Episode transcripts are posted on our website.

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Museum of Broken Relationships May 24, 2023

Show notes

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 either of them 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.”

If you’d like to send something to the Museum of Broken Relationships, you can find out how on their website.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5

We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.

Artwork by Julienne Alexander.

Episode transcripts are posted on our website.

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The Weatherman May 10, 2023

Show notes

“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 past 45 years, and has been called the “undisputed king of Chicago weather.”

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5

We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.

Artwork by Julienne Alexander.

Episode transcripts are posted on our website.

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Punch the Moon Apr 26, 2023

Show notes

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 in the 1970s. But it wasn’t until Albert was an adult that he realized how famous Spanky really was.

Albert Samaha’s book is Concepcion and you can find more photos of VST here.

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5

We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.

Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.

Episode transcripts are posted on our website.

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Sampson and Baylor Apr 12, 2023

Show notes

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 on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2BmMZr5

We also make Criminal and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.