This is Love

Vox Media Podcast Network

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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151 episodes
Updated July 15

Episodes151

Newest first

Dec 4, 2024 · 28 min
The King of Fruit
One night in 2018, Ahmed Ali Akbar rented a car and drove two hours to the Detroit airport. He was picking up a package for his cousin – over a dozen boxes of a very special fruit.
Nov 20, 2024 · 40 min
The Manuscript
“After more than a hundred years of hard work from some of the greatest cryptological and linguistic minds on the planet, we still don’t quite know what this object is. There’s really nothing like it in the world.”
Nov 6, 2024 · 38 min
What Happens Next
Recently, Phoebe told a personal story about her mother, who died this year. In this episode, she talks to journalist Sebastian Junger, who was rushed to the hospital one day after feeling sick – and then, he saw something strange.
Oct 16, 2024 · 41 min
Valentine
For our 100th episode, a story from Phoebe about her mother, Valentine, who died this spring.
Oct 2, 2024 · 41 min
Prairie Warbler
“Every spring it's one of the first birds that I look for. When I hear my first Prairie Warbler, it resets things for me. It gives me these memories of the past, but it also just reminds me of why I love birds so much.”
Sep 18, 2024 · 42 min
At the End of Sight
Writer Andrew Leland talks with Phoebe about slowly losing his eyesight. He was diagnosed with the degenerative eye disease Retinitis pigmentosa when he was in high school. "It was like, 'I'm going out in the woods with my friends at night. And oddly enough, I'm bad at it.'"
Sep 4, 2024 · 35 min
Octavia and Miguel
When Miguel Esteban was 14 years old, he picked up the phone and called Octavia Butler.
Aug 21, 2024 · 34 min
Hula with Teeth
One Saturday night in the 90s, Patrick Makuakāne and about 15 other hula dancers showed up to a club in San Francisco they called Old Dreamland. "It didn’t feel like taking risks. Because no one was there to tell me ’what the hell are you doing?’"
Aug 7, 2024 · 28 min
Nurse BokHee
Nurse BokHee is in the background of every season of "Grey’s Anatomy." She’s become one of the show’s most beloved characters – but she's only had a few lines.
Jul 24, 2024 · 36 min
A Day at the Crematory
Gabrielle Gatto works in the crematorium at one of the most famous cemeteries in the country. Thanks to our friends at Finally! A Show for sharing her story with us.
Jul 10, 2024 · 37 min
Switched-On
In 1954, a German musicologist said that the synthesizer sounded like “barking hell-hounds....from a world in which there are no humans.”
Jun 19, 2024 · 34 min
To Know the Dark
The night sky is getting brighter almost everywhere in the world. We visit a place that is trying to stay dark.
Jun 5, 2024 · 43 min
You Can't Promise to Love Forever
There’s a famous love song – called “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – about folk singer Peggy Seeger. Peggy told us: “If you’ve never been in love before – uncontrollably in love – I advise you, for an easy life, stay away from it.”
May 15, 2024 · 28 min
The Most Romantic Place in Philadelphia
McGillin’s Olde Ale House is the oldest bar in Philadelphia, and it also claims to be the most romantic place in the city. The Philadelphia Inquirer says: “McGillin’s has matchmaking magic.”
May 1, 2024 · 37 min
At the Drawing Board
Curtis was one of the first nationally-syndicated comic strips with a mostly-Black cast of characters. Ray Billingsley has been drawing it for newspapers every day for the past 35 years.
Apr 17, 2024 · 41 min
I'm Alright
When comic Maria Bamford made her OkCupid profile with the username Hogbook, she says Scott Marvel Cassidy was one of the only people who contacted her. His username was Lazer Eyes.
Apr 3, 2024 · 35 min
A Family Secret
Kyo Maclear remembers when she took a DNA test, the kit came with a piece of paper with terms and conditions that read, “You may discover unanticipated facts about yourself or your family when using our services that you may not have the ability to change.”
Mar 20, 2024 · 36 min
Charlotte as Romeo
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: Romeo.
Mar 6, 2024 · 29 min
One in a Million
A story about moving at your own pace.
Feb 21, 2024 · 31 min
The Nicholas Effect
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 Nicholas Green. This is the reason why.

This is Love

The King of Fruit

The Manuscript

What Happens Next

Valentine

Prairie Warbler

At the End of Sight

Octavia and Miguel

Hula with Teeth

Nurse BokHee

A Day at the Crematory

Switched-On

To Know the Dark

You Can't Promise to Love Forever

The Most Romantic Place in Philadelphia

At the Drawing Board

I'm Alright

A Family Secret

Charlotte as Romeo

One in a Million

The Nicholas Effect