Strangers. With 8 billion people in the world, most folks in the world are strangers to us. The podcast, Strangers, hosted by Leah Thau, operates on the premise that we can eliminate a few people from being strangers in the world by listening to their stories.
Leah Thau helped produce another legend in storytelling podcasting, The Moth, and now is the host and producer of this podcast. She goes beyond what many hosts do, and shares her own life and stories within the series, as well. Like the time she talked about how painful dating and single life can be in a three-part series called Love Hurts. This series was cringe worthy in a good way- in that she put to words what I myself had oftentimes felt and know many others have also experienced.
On Strangers I’ve heard some of the most poignant and heart touching stories that have stuck with me. Here are a few I love.
Andrew and Akina Cox: Meet the Moonies : An all-American couple who happens to have an arranged marriage through the religious group, the Moonies. A sweet story to open your mind.
Falling Slowly : A woman reluctant to open herself to love finds it through an unexpected loss, and is unable to close off her heart as she is most comfortable doing. A story of love that can grow in vulnerability. Always makes me cry!
Alaska Bingo : A man goes to Alaska to recover from heartbreak. And friendship and encouragement comes from an unexpected group of strangers.
Originally published October 1, 2015