This week, Arns unpacks “Sunflowers” by Harry Baker and spirals through grief, funerals, and the terrifying urgency of being alive right now.

Meanwhile, Nins dives headfirst into Heated Rivalry, the wildly beloved hockey romance series full of yearning, emotional repression, devastating tension, and men gazing heavily at each other instead of going to therapy.

Basically: two stories about loving people so much it hurts.

In this episode:

• Harry Baker’s poetry and performance work
• “Sunflowers,” Wonderful, and Tender
• Why grief makes ordinary moments feel sacred
• Heated Rivalry and the rise of hockey romance
• Emotional repression in sports stories
• The agony of yearning
• Why being alive is both beautiful and horrifying

Chapters:

• 0:00 - Preview
• 0:33 - Intro
• 5:13 - Arns: "Sunflowers" by Harry Baker
• 32:05 - Nins: Heated Rivalry
• 1:08:56 - Sob story: Justin from Chicago
• 1:11:22 - Outro

Referenced in this episode:

• Harry Baker performing "59" on TEDx Talks
• Something Borrowed podcast hosted by Harry Baker on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
• Harry Baker performing "crying over spilt milk"
• Harry Baker performing "Wonderful"
• Harry Baker performing "Sunflowers"
• Wonderful, a collection of poems by Harry Baker
• Tender, a collection of poems by Harry Baker
• Heated Rivalry
• “Hockey romance novels are in the news. Here’s why they’re so popular” by Rachel Kurzius for The Washington Post
• "Week-to-Week: The MM Hockey Romance Revolution will be Televised (in Canada)" by Myles McNutt for Episodic Medium

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brb crying—hosted by longtime best friends Nins & Arns—is a podcast where we explore the songs, books, TV shows, films, pop culture moments, and personal stories that help us laugh, cry, heal, and feel a little less alone. Crying is our superpower, and by sharing what makes us cry in a way that makes us laugh, we show how crying helps us connect with ourselves and each other.