First Love Mixtape: Side B (Encore)

First Love Mixtape: Side B (Encore)

Author: The New York Times June 4, 2025 Duration: 22:01
In last week’s episode, the Modern Love team shared the songs that taught us about love when we were young. But in this week’s episode, we hear from you, our listeners, about the songs that helped shape your ideas about love. We heard from present-day teens streaming their anthems on repeat, and we heard from listeners who have been with their partners for over 50 years. There were stories of jazz and rap; adrenaline rushes and loneliness; and many hard-won lessons in matters of the heart. (“Don’t let your friends choose your boyfriends,” Amy from St. Louis said.) We share a compilation of some of your songs and stories in the first half of our episode. And we finish our episode with an essay about the end of love. After more than 50 years of marriage, Tina Welling decided that she wanted a divorce — a decision that turned out to be liberating. Thank you to all of the listeners who sent us their teenage anthems. We’ve compiled them into one glorious Spotify playlist. [You can listen to this episode above, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.] Here’s how to submit a Modern Love essay to The New York Times. Here’s how to submit a Tiny Love Story.

For two decades, the Modern Love column in The New York Times has offered a uniquely intimate window into how people navigate relationships, heartbreak, and connection. That same spirit of honest, personal storytelling finds its voice in this weekly podcast, hosted by Anna Martin. Here, the written essays are brought to life, often by notable actors, and expanded upon through Martin’s thoughtful conversations with the authors and other guests. They delve into the aftermath of the published story, exploring what was learned and how lives have unfolded since. You’ll hear about love in its many forms-romantic, familial, platonic, and self-love-across a spectrum of experiences that are by turns heartbreaking, awkward, humorous, and profoundly uplifting. This isn’t about fairytales, but the real, messy, and transformative moments that define us. The Modern Love podcast, from The New York Times, continues that essential tradition of sharing our most vulnerable stories to see our own lives more clearly. New episodes arrive every Wednesday.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 445

Modern Love
Podcast Episodes
First Love Mixtape: Side A (Encore) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:06
This episode of “Modern Love” features Lisa Selin Davis’s essay “What Lou Reed Taught Me About Love.” She writes about how the song “I’ll Be Your Mirror” became the soundtrack to her summer romance with a floppy-haired “…
Friends for 16 Years. Lovers for One Night. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:43
Elizabeth and Jeff were best friends. They did everything together, from early-morning runs to late-night karaoke sessions. They came up with secret code names for each other and went on undercover missions in their neig…
Miranda July Knew Exactly What She Was Doing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:17
It’s been almost a year since Miranda July released her hit novel, “All Fours.” The novel features a woman in her mid-40s who heads out on a solo road trip across the country, only to stop at a roadside motel 30 minutes…
You’re Probably Thinking About Boundaries All Wrong [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:29
KC Davis is a therapist and author known for her practical, empathetic advice on dealing with clutter, even when you are feeling like too much of a mess yourself to take care of the mess in your home. Her TikTok videos o…
Gen X? More Like Gen Sex. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:29
Mireille Silcoff recently wrote an article for The New York Times Magazine titled “Why Gen X Women Are Having the Best Sex.” At a time of life when many women describe feeling less visible and less desirable, Silcoff sai…
Let Yourself Rage With Poet Laureate Ada Limón [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:35
As U.S. poet laureate, Ada Limón has had a far-reaching impact. She has visited readers and writers across the country, installed poems at majestic sites in national parks, and she even wrote a poem that’s engraved insid…
My Brother Has Schizophrenia. This Is How I Love Him. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:57
Growing up, Jamie Shandro was interested in science, while her younger brother, Tim, liked art. When they were in their twenties, they both landed in Seattle: Jamie for medical school and Tim for art school. They were cl…