A visitor to the islands of the Pacific Northwest once described seeing “a forest of totem poles.” But by the time Robert Davidson was born, there wasn't a single one left standing in his village.

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People in India have been flying kites for hundreds of years – using them to predict the weather, carry love letters, and compete in the air. But they share the sky and a name with hundreds of thousands of scavenging birds: black kites.

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In 1964, a landlord in Washington, DC, noticed that his tenant hadn’t paid rent and went to look for him. The tenant wasn’t in the building – but he’d left behind something strange – something that he’d been working on for 14 years.

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In October of 2006, a press conference was held at a hospital in Denver. During the press conference, a man asked if anyone watching could tell him who he was, or how he got there. Because he didn’t know.

This episode was originally released in 2021.

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Never check a bag, always bring a journal, and consider duct tape: a conversation with Rick Steves.

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In 1966, Maurice and Maralyn Bailey had been married for three years. They’d bought a house in the suburbs in the middle of England, and had jobs at the tax office and a printing press. “They're living a respectable day-to-day suburban existence — which is kind of driving them both crazy. And one rainy evening, Maralyn just says, ‘You know what? Why don't we sell this house and build a boat and go?’”

Sophie Elmhirst's book is A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck.

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When writer Rachel Carson built a house on Maine’s Southport Island, her new neighbor, Dorothy Freeman, sent her a note to welcome her. Rachel wrote back. And when the summer was over, they kept writing to each other.

Lida Maxwell’s book is Rachel Carson and the Power of Queer Love.

Martha Freeman's book is Always, Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952-1964

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An episode all about hot dogs and the people who love them.

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In 1910, a group of British men set off on an expedition – they wanted to be the first people to reach the South Pole. Over a hundred years later, in the journals and letters that survived, a writer discovered a love story.

For more, check out Allegra Rosenberg’s article, “From Antarctica with Love.”

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In 1963, Jeanne and Alan Abel traveled to Washington, DC to picket in front of the White House. They said they were part of a campaign that wanted to put clothes on animals — including the first lady’s horse.

Jenny Abel and her husband, Jeff Hockett, made a documentary about her parents called Abel Raises Cain.

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