To celebrate Valentine’s Day, SSW Radio produced a mini “Modern Love” inspired interview series. These short stories about unconventional love on the South Side of Chicago range from middle schoolers to couples in their 40th year of marriage, and discussion about love found in cafes and activist organizations.

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In Part I, “That Thing,” Bess Cohen interviews a group of middle schoolers about L-O-V-E: what does love mean to them? what are their crushes like? how do they know if they’ve been in love, if they have? This interview, inspired by the interviews on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, begins our Valentine’s Day playlist.

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In Part 2, “Control,” Gozie Nwachukwu interviews a high school senior about the challenge of having a controlling boyfriend at the tough age of 15. They discuss balancing friends, boyfriends, school, and the body policing of yoga pants.

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In Part 3, “Café Counsel,” Peggy Xu and Sammie Spector talk with baristas from around the South Side. Listen for love advice from some of our favorite employees at Z&H in Hyde Park and Greenline Coffee in Woodlawn.

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Our featured Valentine’s episode, “Working on Marriage,” Sindu Gnanasambandan talks with couples in the South Side who regularly get together in group therapy. The couples range from being married for 14 years to 50 years, and all believe that marriage takes constant, deliberate work. Listen to their story.

Music Credit: “Crazy in Love” cover by Dirt Red Brass Band @dirt-red-brass-band

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For the conclusion of our series, we looked beyond the love of couples: we wanted to learn about the ethos of love in activism and in building power. We talked with Fresco Steez of BYP100, a black youth activist organization dedicated to ending racial profiling, police brutality, and the prison industrial complex. She talks about what Black Love looks like, and how it fuels their organizing.

Music Credit: “The Sun Was Out Intro” and “How You Doing Outro” by Ric Wilson @ricwilsonisme

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