This is My Thing

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Michael Young about his love of ceramics. That relationship started over 40 years ago, when Michael needed to find a non-science course as an undergrad and took a ceramics class. After a 35 year hiatus, he rediscovered his love of clay and now has a ceramics studio in what used to be his dining room.

We'll talk about how his interest in ceramics got restarted after that long break, how he shares the hobby with his wife, how he struggles with perfection and much much more!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

The 2026 Winter Olympics may be over, but that doesn't mean we have to stop talking about winter sports! This week we're chatting with Heather Cooke about her love of figure skating. She skated a bit as a kid, but never really fell in love with the sport until she discovered team synchronized skating decades later. In this type of figure skating (not an Olympic sport yet but one can hope), between eight and twenty skaters perform together on the ice.

We'll talk about how she discovered the sport and fell in love with it, the community shew's found in the skating world, why she loves skating in a Cookie Monster costume, and what it all means to her.

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

If you're a keen-eared This Is My Thing listener, you might notice that you've heard this episode about curling before. It was originally released in April of 2025, but we're putting it into your feed again for a couple of reasons. One is that we're in the middle of the 2026 Winter Olympics, so curling is a little more top-of-mind at the moment. And another is that, if you're reading this before (or early in the morning on) February 15, 2026, you're invited to come out The Pond in north Austin for an open house hosted by the Lone Star Curling Club. KUT and This Is My Thing is sponsoring the event, where you can see some curling and step out on the ice a bit and just generally get a vibe for the sport. Maybe it'll become your new thing! More information right here.

On this episode of the show, you'll hear from Dave Danenfelzer about his love for curling – ‘the kind you do on ice,’ as he puts it. Dave’s been curling all his life; he was taught by his grandfather as a kid and has been playing the sport ever since. When he moved from his native Wisconsin to Texas in the 1990s (‘I did it for love,’ Dave says), he thought his curling days were in the past. But he was wrong! It turns out other folks in the Lone Star State love this winter sport too, and Dave eventually found a curling club right here in Austin that lets him continue to do his thing.

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org