Actor Peter Gallagher (Sex, Lies, & Videotape and The O.C.) met his wife, Paula Harwood, over forty years ago in college in a stairwell meet-cute. Since then, they’ve maintained a loving marriage and managed to raise a family while navigating the world of show business.

We talked to Peter on his 41st wedding anniversary, and he read us the Modern Love essay “Failing in Marriage Does Not Mean Failing at Marriage” by Joe Blair. Despite the essayist being kicked out of the house by his wife five times, the couple managed to remain married and learn that a relationship can mean trying together and failing together. Reflecting on the essay, Peter gave us his advice for staying the course.

Peter Gallagher will be performing on Broadway this fall in Delia Ephron’s play ‘Left on Tenth.’

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On the Emmy- and Peabody-winning series “The Bear,” Liza Colón-Zayas plays Tina Marrero, a cook at the Chicago restaurant at the center of the story. Tina and her fellow workers are in a constant struggle for the survival of their restaurant, and they fight just as fiercely with one another. Only at rare moments do we see them drop the tough exterior and show one another love or respect.

Today, Colón-Zayas reads “A Web Between Her Body and Mine,” by Karen Paul. It’s a Modern Love essay about two friends who also met at work, but have a different kind of bond: Karen has no problem showing affection to her best friend, Miriam. But after Miriam has a terrible accident, Karen finds herself in uncharted territory, not certain when, or how, to support her. It’s a story Colón-Zayas says she relates to personally, and her reaction to it takes her by surprise.

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Brittany Howard, the five-time Grammy Award-winning singer, makes vibrant, dynamic music about love.

As the frontwoman of the band Alabama Shakes, she was celebrated for the power and emotionality of her voice. When she began her solo career in 2019 with “Jaime,” an album named after and dedicated to her older sister, who died at 13, Howard revealed new dimensions of her songwriting and herself.

Her latest album, “What Now,” captures the intensity of processing the past and starting anew. Today, Howard reads a Modern Love essay about the courage it takes to fall back in love: “Was She Just Another Nicely Packaged Pain Delivery System?” by Judith Fetterley.

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When Laura and her husband divorced after two decades of marriage, their “little Colorado mountain town” could barely tell. It was quiet compared to the dramatic natural disasters that were afflicting the area — like flooding and wildfires. There were no raised voices, no feelings of fury.

So why did they split? In the lead-up to their divorce, Laura had a revelation about what good love — the kind that will “survive life” — is supposed to sound like.

Featured stories:

• “No Sound, No Fury, No Marriage," by Laura Pritchett
• “Silence Is Its Own Answer," by Jennifer Byrne

Laura's story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

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This holiday season, it’s OK to want more. Paula grew up in foster care, and year after year she would find herself “clobbered by desire” when the holidays rolled around. She longed for a mother and father to rescue her and “make everything better”; she wished for the hip-huggers and games she saw on TV.

When she was 21, she met a man named Jeff who ruptured this annual cycle of desire. He became the inspiration for a hard-earned Christmas lesson.

Featured stories:

• “The Holiday of My Dreams Was Just That,” by Paula McLain
• “A Sweet Reminder,” by Meg Christman

Paula's story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

You can find more information on today's episode here.

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This episode contains descriptions of domestic violence.

In 2013, Courtney Queeney published an essay about surviving domestic violence and the legal proceedings that followed. She described going to a courthouse every two weeks to renew her emergency protection order against her ex. It was during this period that she found “scattered bright spots” — things to laugh about when everything seemed unfunny. She found comfort in the woman who shared her court schedule; her lawyer, whom she revered; and the judge who made her crack up.

Today, we hear about how Courtney has worked through the experience and aftermath of her abuse — and where is she now.

Featured stories:

• “The View From the Victim Room,” by Courtney Queeney
• “Held by String,” by Eliza Rudalevige

Courtney's story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

You can find more information on today's episode here.

New York Times subscribers are invited to join the hosts of Modern Love on Dec. 15 for an evening celebrating the new “Tiny Love Stories” book. RSVP here.

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When Bette met her husband, he was leaning against a wall at a party. He had, as she put it, “smoldering looks and banked fires.” He was from Brooklyn; she was from the Bronx. She assumed his silent “bad boy” vibe meant “dangerous love and dramatic heartbreak.”

They got married, and she realized that she’d misread his quiet demeanor: “His eyes were simply beautiful, and his silence wasn’t fierce; he just didn’t have anything to say at the moment.”

After 56 years together, Bette’s husband passed away on the eve of the pandemic. Bette, now alone, shares what had kept them together all these years, and what their long love means to her now.

Featured stories:

• “Widow Walks Into Wall, Finds Hope,” Bette Ann Moskowitz
• “Seeing Her in Me,” Alicia Gabe

Bette's story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

You can find more information on today's episode here.

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Andrew and Sarah met on a dating app. Their first date was just supposed to be coffee, but it lasted nine glorious hours. They talked nonstop across four San Francisco neighborhoods.

But by 2 a.m., Sarah had an admission to make. She told Andrew, who is Asian-American, that his “race might be an issue.” Andrew was shocked. The kicker? Sarah is also Asian-American.

Today, we hear both sides of this story — and find out where Sarah and Andrew are now.

Featured stories:

• “When a Dating Dare Leads to Months of Soul Searching,” Andrew Lee
• “Manic Pixie Real Girl,” Jerico Mandybur

Andrew’s story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

Sarah and Liz met on a blind date in New York City. Sarah ordered a club soda with a splash of cranberry juice. Liz ordered wine — twice.

A few weeks into dating, while taking a walk together through Chelsea Market, a feeling crystallized for Liz: “I knew in the way seasons change that I would love her before this one ended.”

In order to make this work, Liz knew she could no longer hide from Sarah that she had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.

But six weeks after they got married, Liz hit a wall. She found herself in an airport, en route to Milan, tempted by a cold escape.

Featured stories:

• “Flying Close to Temptation," Liz Parker
• “What Love Feels Like," E.J. Schwartz

Liz's story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

You can find more information on today's episode here.

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Feeling election stress? Today's stories about a man and his dog may help.

Timothy Braun was on a run through the Texas heat. When he stopped at a local animal shelter for a drink of water, he was taken by a dog who stared at him with pointy ears and mismatched eyes — one brown, one blue. He had no intention of adopting a dog, but “out of curiosity, or God knows what” he looked into the dog’s folder. It said that he'd been abandoned by an old woman. Her reason? “Dusty keeps following me around the house.”

On today’s episode, we follow Dusty and Timothy’s relationship through two stories, seven years apart.

Featured stories:

• “Four-Legged Reason to Keep It Together" and "She Wanted a Man With a Good Job Who Was Nice to Animals" by Timothy Braun

Timothy's stories story were recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

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In college, Malcolm Conner penned a rambling email intended for his crush. “You have cow eyes,” he wrote. “I know that sounds like a bad thing but have you ever looked into a cow’s eyes? They are so deep and brown and beautiful.”

What he hadn’t disclosed — to his crush or to anyone at school — was that he was transgender and had transitioned at age 15. But he knew he had to tell this “charismatic acquaintance,” for what they had was flirtatious and unstoppable; it was, as Malcolm put it, physics.

As it turned out, his crush had something to share too. They dated anyway — quietly, both knowing that each day of sweetness together was drawing them closer toward the last.

Featured stories:

• “The Physics of Forbidden Love," Malcolm Conner
• “Strangers on a Train," Cecilia Pesao

Malcolm’s story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

You can find more information on today's episode here.

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They disagreed on a lot of things: She was a “bleeding-heart liberal”; he was a “conservative libertarian.” He “came from good Irish Catholic stock”; she called herself a “hopeful agnostic.”

When the firefighter chased her down the street to ask her out, she pinned him as “a bald, white, middle-aged New York City cliché.”

On their first date, no topic was off-limits. Not racism, not abortion, not substance abuse. With each date, another debate.

Today’s episode is about the space they found in each other — and the unexpected aftermath of their breakup.

Featured stories:

• “‘Old Never Happened for Him,’” Kathryn Jarvis
• “Firefighter Chases Woman Down Street,” Marlena Brown

Marlena's story was narrated by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

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Before Celeste Ng became a best-selling author, she had a side hustle selling miniatures on eBay — dollhouse-size recreations of food were her specialty. Even after the publication of “Little Fires Everywhere,” “Everything I Never Told You,” and, most recently, “Our Missing Hearts,” Celeste still makes tiny things — now, as a hobby. She’s come to realize the parallels between making small things and writing: Both give her a chance to look closely at the world.

Today, Celeste kicks off our special podcast series, which celebrates 20 years of the Modern Love column, by reading Betsy MacWhinney’s essay “Bringing a Daughter Back From the Brink With Poems.” She discusses her own deep-rooted relationship to poetry — and the lessons, large and small, that poems can offer parents and children in uncertain times.

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This episode contains strong language.

On the first episode of the new Modern Love podcast, we hear from two women who examine their lives through the contents of their homes — the car in the driveway, the stained teacups, the razor and shaving cream by the sink. Though easy to ignore, these everyday objects often tell a larger story.

Featured stories:

• “Bye Bye ‘Family’ Minivan," Kyrie Robinson
• “Tracking the Demise of My Marriage on Google Maps,” Maggie Smith

Maggie’s story was narrated by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

You can find more information on today's episode here.

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.

Love is going to sound a little different this season. Tune into the first episode on Oct. 14, with new episodes every Wednesday.

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In this week’s essay, Lilian Oben writes about how essential it is to be seen in relationships — to be able to take up space, without being asked to change who we are. Her essay is read by Zawe Ashton ("Betrayal").

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Do you tell your friends you love them? And do you say it like that, using those words? Is it easy for you to say? Is it fraught?
Ricardo Jaramillo takes those questions on in this week’s essay. It’s read by Ncuti Gatwa, who stars in “Sex Education” on Netflix.

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Lorraine Toussaint ("The Glorias") reads an essay by Kim McLarin. Then, we catch up with Kim to hear how she is doing in this moment.

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Hasan Minhaj ("Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj") reads Brian Goedde's essay about a man investigating his own breakup.

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Saoirse Ronan ("Little Women") reads an essay about how a language barrier impacts the relationship between a young woman and an Iraqi doctor. This is an encore presentation.

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"Lolita," Vladimir Nabokov’s novel about a man’s sexual obsession with a young girl, is famously controversial. But when Bindu Bansinath started to read it, it unexpectedly became a kind of road map for her, showing her a way out of the situation she was in.
Jameela Jamil ("I Weigh") reads her piece.

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Living alone can be liberating, maddening, joyful ... lonely.  It also might feel very different today than it did several months ago.
This episode features stories from people who live alone, telling us how they are doing right now.

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If you're running out of things to do at home — or if you just need a break from stress and worry — we have a suggestion. Listen to this week's episode featuring Gillian Jacobs and Mandy Len Catron, and then try the 36 questions that (may) lead to love.
You can find the 36 questions here: https://nyti.ms/2SFbICi

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When Daniel Jones started the Modern Love column in 2004, he opened the call for submissions and hoped the idea would catch on. Twenty years later, over a thousand Modern Love essays have been published in The New York Times, and the column is a trove of real-life love stories.

Dan has put so much of himself into editing the column over the years, but as he tells our host, Anna Martin, the column has influenced him, too. Today, Dan shares three Modern Love essays that have changed the way he thinks about love and relationships in his own life.

Also, Anna announces the beginning of a special series of episodes celebrating Modern Love’s 20th anniversary.

The Modern Love essays mentioned in this episode are:
One Bouquet of Fleeting Beauty, Please
Nursing a Wound in an Appropriate Setting
My First Lesson in Motherhood

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Daisy Edgar-Jones (Hulu's "Normal People") reads Kyleigh Leddy's essay, about the online presence people leave behind.

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What if all the conventional wisdom about why you are single is wrong? Laura Prepon ("You And I, As Mothers") reads Sara Eckel's essay.

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We hear more of your stories about how the COVID-19 outbreak has changed your relationships with one another.

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Modern Love presents an excerpt of the first episode of “Sugar Calling." Hear Cheryl Strayed in conversation with the author George Saunders, her old friend and mentor from graduate school.

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When you’re in a new relationship, you’re always trying to present your best self. But anyone who’s been in a relationship for awhile knows that you can’t keep the act up forever. 
David Finch writes about that in his essay, which is read by Daniel Radcliffe. Daniel stars in the upcoming "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" interactive special on Netflix. 

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Listeners share stories of how their relationships have changed during the coronavirus outbreak.

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There's something wonderful about sharing your favorite books with the person you're falling in love with. And Karla Derus was a longtime book lover, dating a man who was also a big reader. But Karla also had a secret.
Emmy-winning actress Uzo Aduba ("Mrs. America") reads Karla's essay.

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Ali Fazal ("Victoria and Abul") tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a man and his elderly neighbor. This is an encore presentation.

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Could you use a little extra comfort and love from afar right now? We thought so. We're sharing an episode of another WBUR podcast, "Endless Thread." This is a story about processing grief, and where we turn when the people closest to us don't seem to know what to do or say to help us move forward.
If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to "Endless Thread" wherever you get your podcasts. More info here: https://smarturl.it/endlessthread

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Gugu Mbatha-Raw ("The Morning Show," "Misbehaviour") reads an essay about a friendship between two people who meet in a pub in Notting Hill.

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The New York Times’s film critic Alissa Wilkinson has a theory about movies: They’re all about relationships. No matter how big the action, the suspense and tension we experience when watching a film is often really about the feelings between the characters.

But romantic relationships often fall back on old tropes, like the long-suffering wife of an ex-cop who can’t resist that one last, risky case. (We all know her; she leaves teary voice messages urging him to be safe.) Some of this year’s Oscar-nominated films give us fresher portraits of love. Alissa and our host, Anna Martin, discuss the relationships that defy convention or easy definition, and push us to reconsider how we think about human connection, in three of those movies: “Poor Things,” “Maestro” and “Past Lives.”

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Lesley Manville ("Ordinary Love") reads an essay by Sally Hoskins about finding an unexpected support group in a hospital waiting room.

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Brian Cox (HBO's "Succession") reads an essay about a father grappling with how to protect his child, but also let her live her life.

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What if you had to pretend your partner was a stranger for a day? Would you fall in love again? Nick Kroll ("Olympic Dreams") reads Tim Kreider's essay.

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This Valentine's Day, we're bringing you an episode made up of Tiny Love Stories — stories told in no more than 100 words.

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Susan Kelechi Watson (NBC's "This Is Us," "A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood") reads Deborah Copaken's essay about how a lost love leads to an unexpected connection years later.

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Terry Crews ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine") reads an essay by Brendan Halpin, about trying to find love again after loss.

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Tan France ("Queer Eye," "Next in Fashion") reads an essay by Evan James, about a man finding his role within his family.

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Love is about trust. But have you ever been tempted to breach that trust? To read someone's diary, check their text messages, or read their emails? Jessalyn Gilsig reads an essay by Joyce Maynard about facing that temptation.

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Rebecca Hall who stars in the upcoming movie "The Night House," reads a story about dating -- while manic. This is an encore presentation.

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Jenny Slate ("Stage Fright," "Little Weirds") reads an essay by Catherine Down about the family you find when living far from home.

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The New York Times political reporter Astead Herndon went speed dating in a swing state to ask daters fun questions like: How early do you tell a prospective date whether you lean red or blue? When do you talk about your stances on issues like abortion or gender equality? It’s hard enough to find someone you click with. Then add election-year tensions into the mix, and things get even more complicated.

Today: Our host Anna Martin speaks with Astead Herndon, host of the weekly politics podcast “The Run-Up" about the not-so-distant worlds of politics and dating.

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Director Judd Apatow reads an essay about a date that goes very wrong. This is an encore presentation.

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Singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter reads a story by Eve Pell, about finding new love later in life. This is an encore presentation.

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Jake Gyllenhaal ("Stronger") tells the story of a man recovering from heartbreak in a pediatrics wing.

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Renée Elise Goldsberry ("Waves") reads an essay about a woman and her husband navigating the aftermath of his traumatic brain injury.

Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts.