Tiny Victories

Before you listen to this episode, think of your friends. More specifically, think of those friends you genuinely like, but typically only cross paths with every so often. Can you picture some of those friends? Great! Now go ahead and listen to the show as Annabelle shares a tiny victory related to this type of friend group.

Why do we affix so much importance to young love? “Ooh, they’re high school sweethearts!” This week Laura House interrogates our fascination with young love, and makes a compelling case that we should also celebrate old love.

Plus, we get an email from a listener whose tiny victory is something she did that no one else will likely see, but gave her tremendous satisfaction.

Two of the activists who glued themselves to the painting Girl with a Pearl Earring at the Mauritshuis museum in the Hague have been sentenced to prison for their protest. Annabelle is surprised at her own reaction to the soup throwers who target high-profile paintings.

This week, House shares the secret on how to make someone’s day. No one told it to her, but she experienced it. And YOU can learn it too...by listening to this episode.

In this week’s episode, Annabelle has figured out THE reason the Internet exists. Unsurprisingly, she stumbled across Internet’s raison d'être on Goodreads. Plus, Kelly from Maine calls in with TWO wonderful victories.

House had a cluster of victories after her friend Chris invited her to attend a production of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe starring Cecily Strong in the one-woman show that won Lily Tomlin a Tony in 1986. Turns out Annabelle (of course!) saw the original production. This week, the duo celebrate the profound experience of live theater.

It’s not often Annabelle discovers a word she’s not familiar with, but she was taken in by an article in The Atlantic by the Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Ed Yong. Yong delved into the theory of umwelt, which is the world experienced by a particular organism. Annabelle’s umwelt shifted after reading his article, and she came away with a better appreciation for the yearnings of ticks, as well as other creatures.

This week, Annabelle reflects upon ‘The Man of the Hole’, the last member of an indigenous group in the Brazilian state of Rondônia. He passed away in August. Plus, a listener calls in about a recurring stress dream.

This week, Annabelle remembers her good friend and mentor Barbara Ehrenreich, the bestselling author known for her wit, activism, and generosity. She founded The Economic Hardship Reporting Project, and documented the hardships of the working class poor through her work. Ehrenreich was generous with her time and expertise, and Annabelle tells Laura about the impact to her life, and how she helped many other writers as well.

It’s our 100th episode, and we’re trying something new! Rather than share a tiny victory per se, Laura House is telling Annabelle about a recent week-long visit in which her future mother-in-law stayed with Laura and Brian. Annabelle’s job is to identify any tiny victories she hears. Turns out there are quite a few…including a new title: Grandma.

Plus, Adam calls in with terrible news with a positive spin.