Strangers

For Valentine’s Day we return to the theme of love, with a story about someone else’s heartbreak for a change. As for Lea’s heart, well, you’ll see… 

To mark the three-year anniversary of Strangers we share with you the very first story ever featured on the show, about Stephen Rochelle and his son Matthew, and we return to Stephen to see how they’re doing now, three years later. In July 2011, Matthew Rochelle stood trial for murder. This is the story of … Continue reading A Father’s Story – Then and Now →

Lea received hundreds of messages in response to her raw, personal four-part series, “Love Hurts.” In this follow-up episode, she strings together the funny, poignant and moving voice mails she received from listeners in response to the series and tries to make sense of this thing called love, finally. She also gives an update on … Continue reading Love Hurts — The Follow-Up →

Greg O’Brien was in his late 50s when strange things started happening… 

Sam Feirstein takes a broken heart to Alaska and finds surprising kindness in “enemy territory.” Also, producer Lea Thau takes a broken heart to India and has a “stranger” experience that inspires her to create this show.

For Halloween, we give you a ghost story of sorts. Not in the traditional sense, but we think you’ll know what we mean when you hear it. As a little boy, Bill Ratner experienced a series of tragedies. Then he learned to scream…

Strangers, at its core, is about the beauty and the struggle of human connection and what happens in those moments when we get closer to someone else, or, say, further removed from ourselves. Often that change is subtle and slow, but sometimes it is sudden and monumental. Here is Lyena Strelkoff. A version of this … Continue reading Falling Slowly → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A waitress, a former bomber pilot and a retired railroad engineer embark on the adventure of a lifetime. A version of this story was previously featured on Season 1 of Strangers. Get the full story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lea continues her quest to discover why she’s been single for nearly four years. She interviews yet another guy who turned her down to find out why he didn’t want to date her, and tells stories of her past loves and present dates.  The original Love Hurts series had four epsiodes, which were dowloaded millions of times and  was the most popular series Lea has ever created. Only Love Hirts 1 & 2 (and some later updates) are available here, the others are for paying subscribers only (who also get access to the entire Strangers archive, ad-free).  Join for $5 at Leasplace.substack.com or Leasplace.supercast.com to gain full access  and support my work! 

While doing a story about online dating, Lea gets her heart broken (yet again). Get the full story here. The original Love Hurts series had four epsiodes, which were dowloaded millions of times and  was the most popular series Lea has ever created. Only the first two of those episodes are available here (this one and the next one), the others are for paying subscribers only (who also get access to the entire Strangers archive, ad-free).  Join for $5 at Leasplace.substack.com or Leasplace.supercast.com to gain full access  and support my work! 

Kenna, formerly known as Ken, came out 5 years ago. This her story. 

Two young men receive a surprise delivery.  And it’s a newborn. Whaaa! Get the full story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Murder, music, mystery. A controversial event in 1997 changed the fate of two band mates. Get the full story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A stripper and a tattoo artist have a fateful encounter. 

Imagine waking up every morning and seeing a stranger in the mirror… Get the full story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A tale of true love spanning four decades, two countries, and classic racial divides. 

Just how fabulous is it to be fabulously rich? Four stories of wealth–inherited and earned. 

An online dater finds love after 16 years, and an exonerated prisoner goes to see the former District Attorney. 

An immigrant boy receives an offer he can’t refuse. 

A hip young artist couple find themselves in an arranged marriage.