The Heart

By Kaitlin Prest

Society & Culture

What's The Heart about?

Since 2014 this longstanding podcast favourite has been creating hard-hitting cinematic stories about love, bodies and all of the things between humans that we don’t know how to name. Creator Kaitlin Prest works with her friends, idols and all kinds of loved ones to bring you into an expansive sonic universe that challenges what we think we know about relationships.

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2,031 ratings

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LAST EPISODE

Realist

11.14.2023

A window into the set-up from which an audio heartthrob emerged: Charlie Park. A neurotic and immensely talented puppeteer conceived of by artist Phoebe Wang and performed by sound artist Mitchell Akiyama. This is episode 2 of The Shadows from ...

The Heart episodes:

11.14.2023 Realist A window into the set-up from which an audio heartthrob emerged: Charlie Park. A neurotic and immensely talented puppeteer conceived of by artist Phoebe Wang and performed by sound artist Mitchell Akiyama. This is episode 2 of The Shadows from ...
11.05.2023 Processing Palestine As people all over the world grieve and struggle, KP invites you to take a moment to reflect, meditate, pray, manifest and grapple with the question of what those of us who are not there can do. Links and Resources ...
10.17.2023 Romantic The story underneath the story: what happened after we made “Movies In Your Head”. In a clawfoot bathtub moaning in agony, “The Shadows” was conceived. KP’s first serialized fiction show: the story of having to choose between romanticism and realism. ...
10.03.2023 Don't Make Movies In Your Head Have you ever fallen a little too hard a little too fast in love with someone you’ve just met? Have you ever caught yourself imagining the beautiful house in the country the two of you would grow old together in? ...
07.18.2023 DAD: Take the Bull by the Horns In the final episode of the series Kaitlin isn't sure whether or not she truly wants to get into it with her father. Kaitlin is conflicted. Is having one last conversation with her Dad on tape a good idea? Does ...
07.04.2023 DAD: What Goes Around Comes Around Episode 3: At age 33, Kaitlin is stranded living with her parents in Ottawa, living in their basement just like she did when she was a teenager. It's the first time she and her dad have lived together since the ...
06.27.2023 DAD: It Takes Two to Tango Episode 2: Kaitlin's father, Greg, proudly claims the title of mister mom in 1986. He's always wanted to be a dad. When the apple of his eye enters her tween years and starts hating him he struggles to be the ...
06.18.2023 DAD: Forgive and Forget Episode 1: Kaitlin and her Dad fought so much when she was a teenager that the family calls those years '“World War III”. She tells the story of what happened after she left home and decided to love him anyway. ...
06.12.2023 SISTERS: Debreif-isode Kaitlin and Natalie Prest do a post-game analysis after creating the 5 episode series: SISTERS. The two sisters unpack all the things that didn’t get said in the narrative series, discuss topics that were raised and answer a couple of ...
03.14.2023 SISTERS: But Beautiful Kaitlin and Natalie try to create boundaries for the first time in their lifelong relationship. They work to navigate their relationship together and separately. As they embark on creating the final episode of this series, they realize they are having ...
03.07.2023 SISTERS: What's Wrong-isode We go back in time to before Kaitlin hired Natalie. She brings us inside of her uncertain world, and her journey to figure out what is wrong. TRIGGER WARNING: suicidal ideation, reference to childhood and sexual trauma (no depictions), borderline ...
02.28.2023 SISTERS: Work-isode It’s the pandemic, and KP hires her younger sister to work at her company. As an assistant producer. Natalie is having flashbacks to their youth, when she performed as the butler at Kaitlin’s dinner parties. Is this the new version ...
02.21.2023 SISTERS: Jem-isode Natalie and Kaitlin go into their 20s living separate and faraway lives. Kaitlin comes home from New York for christmas every year, and they hug and talk into the night, falling asleep spooning like they did when they were little ...
02.14.2023 SISTERS: Chapter One-isode Kaitlin was Daddy’s little girl. And then: Natalie was born. The older and the younger sister: competing for attention, being bossed around, borrowing clothes, getting in petty fights and loving each other anyway. As little girls Kaitlin and Natalie fought ...
02.01.2023 SISTERS: A Preview She’s the talented one. She’s the hard worker. She’s the pretty one. She’s the one that Dad likes more….SISTERS. A preview into our newest series coming to you February 14th: on the day the world celebrates love, we celebrate Sisterhood. ...
02.23.2022 Welcome to The Heart Welcome to The Heart. We’ve been in operation for 14 years! What’s next? An overview for those new to the feed. And a window into what double double toil and radio we’ve been cooking up for 2022. Support The Heart ...
12.24.2021 Sandy Claus Surprise, it’s a holiday special! Join us for a little queer holiday cheer as journalist America Stevens tracks down Santa’s older, gayer, drunker, sister… Sandy Claus. This piece is an adaptation of a live show written and performed by comedian, ...
06.24.2021 Axel: How to Remember “You don’t know what it means to be Black because you don’t know what it means to be one thing. Who is when you know you are a brother and a son, a lover and a friend. Sometimes you say ...
05.27.2021 Axel: A Sound Poem Axel Kacoutié brings you into his mind and his heart through rich sonic universe building. In this audio journey, he conjures sensations: warmth, light, and the feeling of waking up after having a disturbing dream. Originally produced on the Constellations ...
12.30.2020 Hurricane Boyfriend Love found in an unlikely place: a natural disaster. As we cozy down and prepare to say goodbye to 2020, The Heart is here to wish you all some pandemic love for 2021.
12.02.2020 e4e: stop living on video start searching for transformative pleasure. In conversations with trans viewers and makers of porn, Mara investigates porn as a healing portal for trans people seeking embodiment. Part 2 of e4e, a mini mini series where two artists seek experiences where ...
11.18.2020 e4e: chasing purple Ari's fumbles with homemade dildos as a teen dyke riot grrrl leave a lasting impression that doesn’t evolve until years later, with an experience of embodied sex she’s never forgotten. This episode was written, sound designed & produced by Ari(el) ...
11.04.2020 One: not if, how Tarot cards, The Musician vs The Scientist and a crossroads at 39. Alone: A Love Story is an award-winning memoir podcast by Michelle Parise. Listen to the whole series, from CBC Radio. This episode was produced by Michelle Parise and ...
11.04.2020 One: not if, how Tarot cards, The Musician vs The Scientist and a crossroads at 39. Alone: A Love Story is an award-winning memoir podcast by Michelle Parise. Listen to the whole series, from CBC Radio. This episode was produced by Michelle Parise and ...
10.21.2020 One: do travel romances ever really work out? In the years after coming out, Vinh-Paul Ha searches for good sex, real love, and an elusive feeling of belonging as a queer Asian man on a series of solo travels. This episode was produced by Nicole Kelly and hosted ...
09.30.2020 Appearances Melanie, her family (the voices in her head), and her ill-fated lover discuss potentially having a baby, and her first pregnancy 9 years ago. Appearances is an audio mindtrip by Sharon Mashihi and Mermaid Palace. Subscribe to the series where ...
09.30.2020 Voices Melanie, her family (the voices in her head), and her ill-fated lover discuss potentially having a baby, and her first pregnancy 9 years ago. Appearances is an audio mindtrip by Sharon Mashihi and Mermaid Palace. Subscribe to the series where ...
09.16.2020 Appearances Welcome to… Appearances, an audio mind trip into the fantasies and nightmares of Melanie Barzadeh and her quest for family connection, love and inner strength. It’s a new series written and directed by Sharon Mashihi. In this episode, host Kaitlin ...
09.07.2020 Sometimes It's Lonelier in Relationships Kamala wants to fill the empty spaces of her loneliness. This episode was written by Kamala Puligandla, produced by Phoebe Unter, edited by Nicole Kelly and hosted by Kaitlin Prest. Kamala is the Editor-In-Chief at Autostraddle.com and her first novel, ...
09.02.2020 Rite of Passage An episode from Spark, a show about daring attempts to create masterpieces and the mysterious process of transforming trauma into art. Chiquita Paschal returns to the beginning — and end — of her dream to become an artist to find ...
08.12.2020 Neon Touch At an erotic play party called Neon Touch, two friends — Meesh & Mercury — feel sparks. This episode was produced by Nicole Kelly and hosted by Kaitlin Prest. Neon Touch is hosted by Meghan Gordon & Angela Penaredondo, who ...
08.05.2020 Coming This Fall A trailer for our Fall season. Beginning August 12 and airing every other Wednesday for the rest of the year. Featuring the work of Sharon Mashihi, Kamala Puligandla, Vinh-Paul Ha, Ari Mejia and Mara Lazer. Produced by Nicole Kelly & ...
07.29.2020 Swelter: A Steam When I have sex, I think of radio... Part 3 of a 3-part summer series. ⚠️ You won’t find these sweaty Audio Smut stories anywhere else on the internet or airwaves ⚠️ Part one was written & produced by Meg ...
07.15.2020 Swelter: A Scheme Gina Gold goes west in search of fame, freedom, and her first good lay. Part 2 of a 3-part summer series. This episode was produced by Ana Adlerstein in 2015, edited by Kaitlin Prest, and hosted by Phoebe Unter and ...
07.01.2020 Swelter: A Dream What would you sound like if no one ever told you that’s all a woman could be? Part 1 of a 3-part summer series. “The reallotment of material resources is going to be the only thing that will save us.” ...
06.17.2020 Race Traitor: betray white fathers Phoebe has an idea of a white race traitor: someone who makes personal sacrifices for the betterment of humanity. Someone whose actions halt the patterns of white supremacy. She goes looking for one and meets Stephanie Hofeller. Part 4 of ...
06.03.2020 Race Traitor: what makes a mom a white mom? All parents shape our identities. Phoebe’s affluent white parents made a particular set of choices to raise her in an all-white neighborhood with a sordid history. Phoebe investigates what she inherited as a result. Part 3 of a 3 part ...
05.20.2020 Race Traitor: can we be friends? In a community with a strict “no new white friends” policy, Phoebe asks: how does my being white affect our relationship? Part 2 of a 3 part series. Produced by Phoebe Unter, edited by Sharon Mashihi and hosted by Kaitlin ...
05.06.2020 Race Traitor: who taught you to be white? Phoebe is surprised to learn that even she, an angry Jewish dyke, still participates in upholding white supremacy culture. Part 1 of a 3 part series. Produced by Phoebe Unter, edited by Sharon Mashihi and hosted by Kaitlin Prest.
04.22.2020 Every Happy Ending Is Normative So what’s the point of a crush? This episode was produced by Nicole Kelly, with anise cinquepalmi. anise is a poet teaching in Los Angeles. Find her writing workshop info on Instagram by following @bashfulhole.
04.08.2020 Mardi Gras Is a State of Mind What can a body do? This episode was produced by Mara Lazer.
04.08.2020 Mardi Gras Is a State of Mind What can a body do? This episode was produced by Mara Lazer & hosted by Kaitlin Prest.
03.25.2020 Asking For It Meet Goldie. The cycle begins, in episode 1 of Asking For It, a new fictional series from Mermaid Palace.
03.11.2020 Asking For It Meet Goldie. The cycle begins, in episode 1 of Asking For It, a new fictional series from Mermaid Palace.
02.26.2020 Divesting From People Pleasing: Memory When trauma is held in the individual and collective body, shame, grief, and rage are passed down for generations. Part 3 of a 3 part series. Divesting From People Pleasing is a mini series produced by Nicole Kelly, edited by ...
02.12.2020 Divesting From People Pleasing: Power The body has information. Part 2 of a 3 part series. Divesting From People Pleasing is a mini series produced by Nicole Kelly, edited by Chiquita Paschal.
01.29.2020 Divesting From People Pleasing: Threat As NK gets older, she gets smaller, she gets more and more quiet. But the self loathing voice in her head just gets louder. Part 1 of a 3 part series. Divesting From People Pleasing is a mini series produced ...
01.15.2020 Lesbian Separatism Is Inevitable How NK & Phoebe fell in art love.
01.06.2020 A New Season After a long break, The Heart is starting up again. Since we left, the world has changed. And we’ve changed too. Artists Nicole Kelly and Phoebe Unter are taking the helm of the show for a new season of ...
10.29.2019 Mermaid Palace Named after the very bedroom within which many of the episodes of The Heart were made. In this ep you heard the singing of Sharon Mashihi and phone answering of Mooj Zadie. The manifesto writing of Nicole Kelly and Phoebe ...

Older episodes

The Heart

What's The Heart about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Heart episodes:

Realist

Processing Palestine

Romantic

Don't Make Movies In Your Head

DAD: Take the Bull by the Horns

DAD: What Goes Around Comes Around

DAD: It Takes Two to Tango

DAD: Forgive and Forget

SISTERS: Debreif-isode

SISTERS: But Beautiful

SISTERS: What's Wrong-isode

SISTERS: Work-isode

SISTERS: Jem-isode

SISTERS: Chapter One-isode

SISTERS: A Preview

Welcome to The Heart

Sandy Claus

Axel: How to Remember

Axel: A Sound Poem

Hurricane Boyfriend

e4e: stop living on video

e4e: chasing purple

One: not if, how

One: not if, how

One: do travel romances ever really work out?

Appearances

Voices

Appearances

Sometimes It's Lonelier in Relationships

Rite of Passage

Neon Touch

Coming This Fall

Swelter: A Steam

Swelter: A Scheme

Swelter: A Dream

Race Traitor: betray white fathers

Race Traitor: what makes a mom a white mom?

Race Traitor: can we be friends?

Race Traitor: who taught you to be white?

Every Happy Ending Is Normative

Mardi Gras Is a State of Mind

Mardi Gras Is a State of Mind

Asking For It

Asking For It

Divesting From People Pleasing: Memory

Divesting From People Pleasing: Power

Divesting From People Pleasing: Threat

Lesbian Separatism Is Inevitable

A New Season

Mermaid Palace

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