Sara Cunningham struggled when her son told her he was gay. Now she volunteers as a stand-in mom at same-sex weddings when the biological parents refuse to attend.

Stand-In Mom

Kind World is a show about how a single act of kindness can change someone's life. In each episode, hosts and reporters Yasmin Amer and Andrea Asuaje search the world for good news stories that will restore your faith in humanity. A production of WBUR.

Personal Journals

Society & Culture

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Introducing Beyond All Repair, a new WBUR podcast hosted by Amory Sivertson. This series tells the story of a murder, but also the woman who was accused of that murder, Sophia.

Sophia was newly married and six months pregnant when she was charged with murdering her mother-in-law in 2002. She gave birth to a son in jail that she hasn’t seen since, and for the last three years, she’s been telling me her story in hopes of getting justice for her mother-in-law, of having a chance of meeting her son, and of finally being believed.

This is the first chapter of Beyond All Repair. Episode 2 is already waiting for you. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Kind World presents: "Beyond All Repair," a new podcast about an unsolved murder and a woman who wasn’t believed

Produced by WBUR, Boston’s NPR, in partnership with The Trace, The Gun Machine looks into the past to bring you a story that most Americans never learned in history class: how early partnerships between mad scientist gunsmiths and a fledgling U.S. government created the gun industry in the Northeast, and how that industry has been partners with the government ever since.  

Host Alain Stephens examines how this 250-year relationship underpins all Americans’ interactions with guns — including our failures in dealing with the fallout of gun violence.

The Gun Machine episodes drop every Wednesday, starting Oct. 4, 2023. Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

https://link.chtbl.com/thegunmachine

Introducing ‘The Gun Machine’, a podcast about how America was forged by the gun industry

We want to share a first listen of a new podcast we're working on at WBUR.

Violation tells the story of two families bound together by an unthinkable crime. It explores America's opaque parole system and asks: How much time in prison is enough? Who gets to decide? And, when someone commits a terrible crime, what does redemption look like? 

Listen to the trailer and if you like what you hear, head over to the Violation feed wherever you get your podcasts and hit subscribe so you'll get new episodes when they drop, beginning March 22.

Kind World introduces Violation, a new podcast about who pulls the levers of power in the justice system

Kind World presents Endless Thread's deep dive into Reddit's Auntie Network, an online community "dedicated to providing information and resources to those in need of abortion services." It has been inundated with new members since the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked in early May. Community members can offer rides, lodging, and emotional support for anyone seeking an abortion — especially when crossing state lines.

Kind World Presents: Endless Thread's look into "Aunties:" abortion access advocates of Reddit

Remember those OxiClean commercials with the in-your-face pitchman? That was Billy Mays. Mays died years ago, but he’s lived on in meme form. Why? We ask his son Billy Mays III, his biggest frenemy, and a host of others to explain why someone who was squarely in the age of television continues to appear online in strange and provocative ways. It’s the story of an American staple whose consumerist existence belies a personality that, in the end, was surprisingly wholesome.

Stand-In Mom

Download our free app to listen on your phone