This week’s Good Stuff highlight? Calling All Cupids Podcast and Sue Port (on the right with co-host Tamar London)

Sue Port is a natural connector. She calls herself a “yenta” — a Yiddish word for meddler or busybody. Sue teamed up with her best friend, Tamar London, to create the Calling All Cupids Podcast, where the two interview “love seekers” and then turn to their listeners, or “Cupids,” to reach out with potential matches or “catches.”

Sue and Tamar connected through the Jewish community when they were living and working in Altoona. Sue owned an art gallery at the time, and Tamar had a photography studio in town. The matchmaking magic began back in 2009 when Sue was single and dating. Tamar matched Sue up with her friend, Michael.

Sue and Michael have been together ever since. While Sue and her “Catch” Michael live in State College, Tamar has since moved to Ashville, North Carolina. Sue and Tamar’s long distance conversations and efforts to find love for all their single friends evolved over time into a bold experiment in community-driven matchmaking.

Crowdsourcing Love, One Episode at a Time

At its heart, Calling All Cupids is about crowdsourcing love. The process is simple but radical: Sue and Tamar bring a Love Seeker on the air. They get to know them and ask about their goals in love, their values, even quirks. They also interview 2-3 references (friends, adult children, even past partners). Then they present the Love Seeker’s story to the world — or at least to their audience of Cupids — and invite people to suggest “Catches”: people who might be a match.

Prospective “Catches” are vetted: Sue and Tamar interview them (and their references) just as they did with the Love Seeker, and only then do they present possible matches to the Love Seeker. In other words, it’s part broadcast, part social experiment, part matchmaking service.

So far, there are five recorded episodes with Love Seekers from all across the country. The first episode dropped this summer in July with Love Seeker MJ, who lives in both Ashville and Key West. Cupids were quick to call in with catches and in a more recent episode, we learn that MJ went on some dates!

Finding Joy in the Midst of Hardship

In October 2024, Sue was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. While Sue and Tamar have wanted to start the podcast for a couple years, this news derailed the podcast project for a while. Over the winter she underwent chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and radiation. In the spring she learned she would need another round of chemotherapy.

Rather than keeping this private, Sue shares her journey on the podcast. Listeners have followed along as she speaks candidly about treatment, setbacks, and recovery. Sue says that working on the podcast has helped her to keep going — that she finds joy in helping others find joy (or love in this case). She views Calling All Cupids as a kind of Mitzvah — a Yiddish word for a good deed. Someone once asked her, “If a mitzvah feels good, is it still a mitzvah?” Her answer: Yes.

Why It Resonates Locally

There’s a homemade, neighborly feel to this project, and it’s exactly the kind of thing that thrives in a place like State College. People who accuse a “yenta” of meddling often forget that the best communities are woven by relationships. It’s a gift to have someone who listens, asks the questions, and connects the dots. That’s Sue’s role, willingly embraced.

What’s more, the show invites listener participation in a deep way. Listeners don’t just consume content, they become active Cupids, spotting possible matches, sharing leads, even submitting referrals. In an era when so much of connection is mediated through screens, Calling All Cupids reintroduces the human elements of listening, questioning, and bridge-building. It feels like many of us want to believe that love still happens in community, not just in algorithms.

Sue and Tamar are currently brainstorming ways to bring some matchmaking events to the State College community where Love Seekers can meet and mingle with others in person.

How to Tune In

You can find Calling All Cupids wherever you get your podcasts — Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and more. New episodes are released regularly and are always free.

Visit www.callingallcupids.com