On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with David Karp about his love of crocheting and knitting (as any crocheter or knitter will tell you, those are two separate but related yarn-based arts). David kind of stumbled into the hobby, deciding to work on a crochet kit after his kids lost interest in it. Much to his surprise, he fell in love with yarn hard and fast.

We'll talk about his origin stories, how he discovered that crafting with yarn quieted his mind and soothed his PTSD more than just about anything else, and so much more!

We're always looking for more interesting things to talk about so tell us about your thing and apply to be on the show here!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Yael Ouzillou about her love of doodling. It's a practice she took up several years ago; she draws colorful and intricate designs, patterns and pictures to process events in her life and the world around her.

We'll talk about why she started the practice, why she prefers to call it 'doodling' and not 'art,' how it's helped her to embrace imperfection while seeing beauty all around her and so much more.

You can see some photos of Yael and her doodles at our KUT show page.

Tell us about your thing and apply to be on the show here!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Matthew Bey about his love of loquats. For the unfamiliar, loquats are small, juicy, orange fruits; they're native to China but also grow in the wild in Central Texas. Matthew discovered loquat trees and their fruit when he moved to Austin around the turn of the century and quickly became a big fan.

We'll talk about how he discovered loquats, why he loves them, what recipes he makes with them, how he's become a bit of an amateur horticulturist in his efforts to raise hardier loquat trees, and why he decided to start Loquat Fest a few years ago!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Susan Hanson about her love of snorkeling. Every week, she puts on her gear and jumps into the San Marcos River to float a bit, take some photos, clean up any trash she sees, and occasionally recover a lost phone or wallet.

We'll talk about her first river plunge, which parts of the world she's snorkeled in in the two decades since, the friendships she's made (with humans, fish, and turtles), and what it's all doing for her. Oh, and we'll also talk about why she -- a person who doesn't even like to swim -- decided to take up snorkeling in the first place!

Check out some of Susan's underwater photos and see a short video of her in the river at our page on KUT.org

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Steve Jackobs about his nearly lifelong love of model railroading. He discovered the hobby at age 10, when his father (after trying the pastime for himself and finding it wasn't for him) gave young Steve an HO scale train set. Trains very much were for Steve, and he embarked on a journey that's been going on for fifty-plus years so far.

We'll talk about her childhood fondness for train sets, his teenage job at the local hobby shop, the home train layout he's built in the spare room in his house (which also doubles as his wife's home office), why he loves to create parts of his train world from scratch, and so much more.

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Niki Hansen about her love for kickball. She refers to it as a 'recess sport,' and though she loved it as a kid (and, she says, she was pretty good at it), she put it away for years before moving to Austin a few years ago. Here, she discovered a vibrant kickball scene and decided to jump back into the sport.

We'll talk about her childhood fondness for kickball, how she fell in love with it again, what it's doing for her heart and her soul, and some highlights of her kickball career (including getting out of an epic pickle)!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Michael Young about his love of ceramics. That relationship started over 40 years ago, when Michael needed to find a non-science course as an undergrad and took a ceramics class. After a 35 year hiatus, he rediscovered his love of clay and now has a ceramics studio in what used to be his dining room.

We'll talk about how his interest in ceramics got restarted after that long break, how he shares the hobby with his wife, how he struggles with perfection and much much more!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

The 2026 Winter Olympics may be over, but that doesn't mean we have to stop talking about winter sports! This week we're chatting with Heather Cooke about her love of figure skating. She skated a bit as a kid, but never really fell in love with the sport until she discovered team synchronized skating decades later. In this type of figure skating (not an Olympic sport yet but one can hope), between eight and twenty skaters perform together on the ice.

We'll talk about how she discovered the sport and fell in love with it, the community shew's found in the skating world, why she loves skating in a Cookie Monster costume, and what it all means to her. 

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

If you're a keen-eared This Is My Thing listener, you might notice that you've heard this episode about curling before. It was originally released in April of 2025, but we're putting it into your feed again for a couple of reasons. One is that we're in the middle of the 2026 Winter Olympics, so curling is a little more top-of-mind at the moment. And another is that, if you're reading this before (or early in the morning on) February 15, 2026, you're invited to come out The Pond in north Austin for an open house hosted by the Lone Star Curling Club. KUT and This Is My Thing is sponsoring the event, where you can see some curling and step out on the ice a bit and just generally get a vibe for the sport. Maybe it'll become your new thing! More information right here. 

On this episode of the show, you'll hear from Dave Danenfelzer about his love for curling – ‘the kind you do on ice,’ as he puts it. Dave’s been curling all his life; he was taught by his grandfather as a kid and has been playing the sport ever since. When he moved from his native Wisconsin to Texas in the 1990s (‘I did it for love,’ Dave says), he thought his curling days were in the past. But he was wrong! It turns out other folks in the Lone Star State love this winter sport too, and Dave eventually found a curling club right here in Austin that lets him continue to do his thing.

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Addie and Ben Ruth about their shared love of lightsabers and lightsaber choreography. We'll talk about all things Star Wars and lightsaber -- why they decided to start swinging pretend laser swords around, what sort of costumes they wear and what sort of characters they play. What does this hobby do for them and who are they doing it for? Also, did one of them grow up liking Star Trek more than Star Wars? You'll have to listen to find out!

This piece was produced by KUT producer and host Juan Garcia, an enormous Star Wars who probably would've done this for free but we went ahead and paid him anyway.

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org