Something Old, Something New, Something Light, Something True [FREE]

In this episode, we wrap up The Hopeful Locals and preview our SUMMER of STRANGERS with a Strangers story that has been offline since 2014.

The SUMMER of STRANGERS officially kicks off July 15.

Comment on this post as to which Strangers stories you most want us to rerun or follow up on!

To whet your appetites and tide you over until then, we’re taking three episodes from the Strangers archive each week and making them available in the public feed, i.e. STORIES by Lea Thau (wherever you get your podcasts). We’re NOT reposting these at the top of the feed, so they will be under their original publication dates, and we’re not sharing them here on the FREE Substack, we’re just removing the paywall for one week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all the other podcast apps. Each set of episodes will only be available for ONE WEEK, so make sure you’re subscribed to STORIES by Lea Thau and listen to or download the episodes while they’re unlocked.

This week we’re featuring the series Two Men and a Baby, which ran from 2014 to 2017 and the episodes will be available until July 2nd. Start with the first episode, Two Men and a Baby, then Like a Pizza, Two Men and a Baby - The Follow Up, and finally, Two Men and a Baby - The Final Episode!

But hey, if you want access to the entire Strangers archive today and to help make my new work possible, become a paying subscriber today:

Big thanks to Holly Rothschild for sharing her story. She and her husband, Luke Rothschild, and cellist Joseph Harvey, co-founded the genre-bending super-group, String Theory. Based in Los Angeles, they’re a hybrid performance ensemble, consisting of musicians and dancers, and combining architectural harp installations, original music, dance, and projections. Holly is also a choreographer and dancer, and she’s the artistic director of the dance & performance installation company, Bipedal Herd, which she founded. Holly’s story was originally produced with support from KCRW’s Independent Producer Project. Here are a few photos to go with it:

Holly’s dad for Sheriff

Sheriff Tyrell

The sheriff on his horse

– and with a plush horse that says “Sheriff Tyrrell.”

Holly, the baby, on the right, with the whole family.

Luke & Holly Rothschild dancing in a field at the top of Mt. Pinos for a film they made with their group String Theory.

Some of the ancestors of Charlene Johnson at Plenty Doors, whom you heard about on the last episode. I saw this photo hanging in her office.

Thanks to my love, Paul Dreux Smith for making the music and mixing, and to his band, Dengue Fever, for letting me play the song you heard at the end. It’s called Tooth & Nail and it’s from the album Venus on Earth.

Deep gratitude to my Associate Producer, Vix Jensen, for her help kicking off the summer series and producing The Hopeful Locals, and to the newest member of the team, our summer intern, Crab Saylor Hochsprung-Cottrell.

Also thanks to my project editor, Christina Thyssen, and to Pernille Clifforth for illustrating The Hopeful Locals so beautifully. A special thanks to Heather Kitching and Sunny Jen Adrian for their help.

You can contact us at stories@leathau.com, or find us on Facebook and Instagram, where you can also vote as to which Strangers stories you most want to hear again!

Heading home from my Hopeful Locals reporting trip.