Wholehearted Hannah Rae Leach

In the bizarre in-between of the past year, Hannah has been especially grateful for and inspired by lifelong friendships. Over the next few episodes of Wholehearted, she is excited to share a series on friendship, starting with Hannah and her longest-lasting friend, Kameron.

What does it mean to truly be a romantic? Is it about potential human connection? Is it about loving attention? Is it about declaring to the world, hey, someone picked me? In this episode of Wholehearted, we explore what it’s all about.

Happy New Year from Hannah and the Wholehearted team. New episodes coming in the new year, we promise.

From the age-old gamer boy/attention-starved girlfriend trope, to relationships heavily rooted in shared nerd culture, and partnerships where nerdiness pays the bills— like in the case of Gibi ASMR and her husband— how important is it that the fantasy realms you wholeheartedly adore are taken seriously by your partner? And how important is it for them to experience those worlds with you?

For better or for worse, The Phantom of the Opera is a foundational text of Hannah’s very existence. In this episode, she investigates the psychological impact of Phantom on fans too young to love it with even an ounce of irony.

Mermaids, with their long, luscious hair, iridescent tails, and fabled siren song, have captured the imaginations of humankind for hundreds of years. And although they’re generally highly elusive and mysterious, today we are talking with a real life mermaid— Mermaid Aziza, also known as Danielle Houston.