Dear Sugars

Whether you’re 5, 15, or 50 years old, it can be difficult to usher a stepparent in and out of the family unit. In today’s episode, the Sugars answer letters from stepchildren who have fraught relationships with their stepparents. This episode was originally released on April 28th, 2018.

In this first episode of "You Could Make This Beautiful," actor Henry Winkler tells hosts Maggie Smith and Faith Salie about the poetry he's found in everything from fly fishing, to music, to acting. Poet Saeed Jones talks about the chemical reaction that poems set off in our brains and bodies, and he reads us one of his original poems.

In this second episode of "You Could Make This Beautiful," hosts Maggie Smith and Faith Salie talk to Peter Sagal, host of the NPR news quiz show "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" about a poem that's haunted him for decades. They also talk to poet and Harvard professor Stephanie Burt about finding poetry in science fiction, Taylor Swift, and politics.

Our miniseries finale features comedian Mike Birbiglia and his wife, the poet J. Hope Stein, talking about the poetry in comedy and the comedy in poetry. Also, a masterclass in metaphor from teacher and poet Peter Kessler, who argues that human beings need metaphor and imagery to fully understand each other.

Something sweet is coming to the Dear Sugars feed: a new series called "You Could Make This Beautiful," co-hosted by poet Maggie Smith and journalist Faith Salie. The show is about making life more beautiful with poetry in all its forms — music, art, nature, you name it. All 3 episodes will be available on August 7th.