Story 1: Bob and Matt have a friendship ritual. For the past 24 years, they’ve been writing each other threatening letters. Until one of them suddenly stops.

Story 2: Linda discovers that the preschool she went to at the university her parents worked at was cheaper “because of the experiments." It turns out that the psychology department was studying Linda and her four-year-old classmates from behind two-way mirrors, examining their social behaviours as they played, like a little toddler Truman show. Linda needs to know: What secrets did those psychologists observe about her all those years ago?

Featuring Bob Kotyk, Matt Phelps, and Linda Besner.

Not long after Peter’s mother Mara dies, a stranger messages him on Facebook. His name is Francesco and he says that before she met Peter’s dad, Mara was the love of his life.

Francesco starts sending Peter poetry and links to love songs, describing his romance with Peter’s mom in more and more detail. And the woman in his stories is nothing like the mother Peter knew.

So Peter reaches out to Francesco for a phone call. A reflection on life’s sliding doors and how we can never truly know all the versions of the people we love. 

Featuring Peter Lang-Stanton. Original Music by David Drury.

Xander gets facial feminization surgery (FFS). As she searches for a face that will finally make her feel safer and prettier, she wrestles with cis and trans beauty standards, insecurities and self-hate. 

Episode Credits: Produced by Xander Adams, Cristal Duhaime and Mira Burt-Wintonick. Sound design by Cristal Duhaime, mix engineered by Xander Adams. 

Original Music by David Drury.

A new season of Love Me is coming. Real stories of real, complicated relationships. How does it feel when your dead mom’s Italian ex-lover won’t stop writing you? Or when you try to connect with your queer identity by.... doing drag as your grandpa? Or when people try to silence the one thing that makes you calm?

Join host Lu Olkowski for brand new episodes starting October 6.

Personal Best is a podcast that celebrates small ambitions, half-wins and the quiet satisfaction of getting less bad at things. Each week they help ordinary people work through the little things they’d never bring to a life coach — like having the courage to dine alone at a fancy restaurant or getting less awkward at handshakes. Let them be your self-improvement sidekicks! More episodes from the brand new season of Personal Best are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/LiOW9E00

A special episode of Love Me.

In 2019, Julie Piñero lost her boyfriend Jose. It was sudden. He was 26 years old. A virtual reality video-game designer.

When he died, Julie and Jose were still in that honeymoon phase of their relationship. They hadn’t had their first real fight. Julie’s dad—who has been helping her cope with her grief—never even got to meet Jose. The future was ripped away, leaving Julie with no path to follow…Until she remembers Jose’s idea for a video game called “Delejos”, or From Afar—a fantasy world where players can reunite with what they’ve lost. And Julie becomes obsessed with making it real.

“Delejos” is a meditation on grief and the power of creation. It's also the winner of the 2024 Tribeca Audio Nonfiction Award.

Do you have a story that could be a good fit for Love Me? Read our Call for Pitches to find out!