On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Chuck Loesch about his longtime love of the barbershop quartet. Chuck was introduced to the singing style years ago, as a student at New Braunfels High School (which, we discovered during our conversation, we attended at the same time, though we never knew each other back then). After taking a break from barbershop for a quarter century or so, he rediscovered his love for the genre in 2016 and hasn’t looked back since.

We'll talk about Chuck's barbershop journey, why he loves this style of music and heavy metal, what competing means to him and what this is all doing for his heart and soul. And we'll get to hear Chuck performing with his quartet in the KUT live music studio!

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Fran Rush about her nearly lifelong love of choral singing. Her connection to the art form began in 1950s Chicago, where she started singing in her school's choral group. She continued singing through college, then took a break for a couple of decades while raising a family. Then, in Austin, she re-embraced her love of group singing and never looked back again.

We'll talk about her early fascination with choral singing, what it does for her body and spirit, why she never plans to stop. We'll also hear a bits of an actual recording of her 1950s high school group, and take a listen to one of Fran's rehearsals for Chorus Austin.

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

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Beth Rowan about her love of dragon boat racing. She took up the sport several years ago as a sort of physical therapy; dragon boat racing has been done in China for millennia but it's only in the past few decades that it's been realized to be excellent exercise for breast cancer survivors.

Beth is a member of Paddlers With a Purpose, Austin's first dragon boat team made up entirely of breast cancer survivors. She joined the team for the exercise but was surprised to discover how much she fell in love with the sport and her teammates.

We'll talk about what the sport means to her, what it's like to compete with other survivors, what she does with all her medals, and 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