Lifestyle
How a Little Humor Led to a Serious Relationship
Peter Nathan Hess had admired Sara Danielle David long before they actually met.
In 2019, Mr. Hess, 37, then a staff reporter at Spectrum, an autism research publication, had liked some tweets by Ms. David, 36, the astrology editor at Vice, about her work with the Writers Guild of America East union. But what really drew his attention, he said, was her sense of humor, including her profile picture of Gollum from “Lord of the Rings” wearing makeup and diamond earrings.
By 2021, the two were following each other on Twitter, now known as X. Mr. Hess happened to check out Ms. David’s Instagram account and sent her a message. They chatted for a couple of weeks, and then Mr. Hess asked Ms. David out.
“At first, I thought he wanted to meet to talk about union stuff,” Ms. David said, “but he made it clear that he was interested in me.”
Mr. Hess, now a writer at IBM Research in New York, invited Ms. David on a picnic in the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn for their first date in May 2021.
“I didn’t realize that it was a thing to hang out at the cemetery,” Ms. David said. “It’s an arboretum and I learned a lot about the trees, plants and bugs from Peter that day.”
The two also talked for hours about writing, films and their families, then decided to have dinner together. They picked up Chinese dumplings and went to Mr. Hess’s apartment in Brooklyn to watch a movie.
“I felt open and comfortable talking to Peter, I really liked him,” Ms. David said. “I’m usually skeptical of people, but the fact that I wanted to see him again said a lot.”
Two weeks later, they returned to Green-Wood Cemetery for a second date. This time at night, for a guided tour that included the catacombs.
Ms. David has a bachelor’s degree in gender studies from Brown and is currently attending City University of New York School of Law. She was born in the Philippines and moved to Jamaica, Queens, with her family when she was 5.
Mr. Hess has a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master’s degree in science journalism from N.Y.U. He moved to Brooklyn from Durham, N.C., in 2015.
After a few months of dinner dates and making each other laugh with jokes and made-up, funny songs about things in their lives, the pair declared their love for each other.
Inspired by her fondness for the dating show “Love Island” and the grand gestures made by the contestants, Ms. David wrote a love letter to Mr. Hess to tell him of her feelings. “I told her I loved her, too,” Mr. Hess said. “I still have her letter.”
By September 2022, both of their apartment leases were up, and they decided to move in together in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. “We each had lived with partners before, but I knew if I moved in with him, it would be forever,” said Ms. David, who currently serves as the vice president of online media at the Writers Guild of America East.
[Click here to binge read this week’s featured couples.]
Marriage had come up a few times during their two years together, Ms. David said. “We kind of knew we were going to get engaged, but it was still exciting to be talking about it, so I made an effort to be chill about it,” she said.
On May 7, 2023, Ms. David and Mr. Hess proposed to each other under the same redbud tree where they had their first picnic. They exchanged engagement rings they picked out for themselves and read love letters to each other.
My letter to Sara told her how much I loved our lives together and wanted to take the next step together,” Mr. Hess said.
On April 19, 2025, Ms. David and Mr. Hess wed at the Prospect Park Boathouse in Brooklyn.
“When we met, Peter lived blocks away from Prospect Park and we fell in love over picnics and walks there,” Ms. David said.
Ms. David walked down the aisle to “Sara Smile” by Daryl Hall & John Oates, the song she was named after, and exchanged vows they wrote together. Their friend Ben Groh, who was ordained by the Universal Life Church for this event, officiated the ceremony before 120 guests.
To honor Ms. David’s Filipino heritage, the bride and groom wore traditional attire purchased in the Philippines. Ms. David wore a “terno” top with a secondhand dress. Mr. Hess donned a floral-embellished “barong” shirt over a cotton shirt.
At the reception, the couple included the traditional Filipino “money dance,” where the bride and groom danced down the line as loved ones pinned money to their clothes and gave their blessings.
Figures from the entertainment industry — including the late Fred Rogers, Tupac Shakur, and Robin Williams — have been digitally recreated using OpenAI’s Sora technology. The app’s ability to do so with ease left many in the industry deeply concerned.
Sora/Open AI/Annotation by NPR
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Sora/Open AI/Annotation by NPR
OpenAI says it has released new policies for an artificial intelligence tool called Sora 2, in response to concerns from Hollywood studios, unions and talent agencies.
The tool allows users to create realistic, high-quality audio and video, using text prompts and images.
“It’s about creating new possibilities,” OpenAI promised in a promotional video for Sora 2. “You can view the power to step into any world or scene, and letting your friends cast you in theirs.”
But with Sora 2, some creators have also made fake AI-generated videos of historical figures doing things they never did. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr. changing his “I Have a Dream” speech, Michael Jackson, rapping and stealing someone’s chicken nuggets, or Mr. Rogers greeting rapper Tupac Shakur to his neighborhood.
Some videos reimagined the late Robin Williams talking on a park bench and in other locations. His daughter Zelda begged fans to stop sending her such AI-generated content, calling it “horrible slop.”
“You’re not making art,” she wrote on Instagram, “You’re making disgusting, over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings.”
Actress Chaley Rose is one of many in the entertainment industry worried about OpenAI’s video-generating technology.
Karolina Turek/Chaley Rose
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Karolina Turek/Chaley Rose
“It’s kind of cool, it’s kind of scary,” says actress Chaley Rose, who’s best known for her role in the TV series Nashville. “People can borrow from actors, our vulnerability and our art to teach the characters they create how to do what we do. I would hate to have my image out there and not have given permission or to actually be the one doing the acting and having control over the performance.”
Hollywood’s top talent agencies first sounded the alarm.
“There is no substitute for human talent in our business, and we will continue to fight tirelessly for our clients to ensure that they are protected,” United Talent Agency wrote in a statement last week. “When it comes to OpenAI’s Sora or any other platform that seeks to profit from our clients’ intellectual property and likeness, we stand with artists. The future of industries based on creative expression and artistry relies on controls, protections, and rightful compensation. The use of such property without consent, credit or compensation is exploitation, not innovation.”
Creative Artists Agency issued a similar warning last week.
Last year, California’s governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill requiring the consent of actors and performers to use their digital replicas.
Now, the talent agencies and SAG-AFTRA (which also represents many NPR employees) announced they and OpenAI are supporting similar federal legislation, called the “NO FAKES” Act.
Until now, some of the videos created using Sora 2 have relied on copyrighted material. For instance, there’s a video that shows the animated character SpongeBob Squarepants cooking up illicit drugs.
An unauthorized AI-generated video depicts SpongeBob SquarePants preparing illicit drugs.
Sora/Open AI/Annotation by NPR
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Sora/Open AI/Annotation by NPR
The Motion Picture Association, which represents major Hollywood studios, said in a statement that since Sora 2’s release, “videos that infringe our members’ films, shows, and characters have proliferated on OpenAI’s service and across social media.”
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the national executive director of the union SAG-AFTRA told NPR last week that it wasn’t feasible for rightsholders to find every possible use of their material.
“It’s a moment of real concern and danger for everyone in the entertainment industry. And it should be for all Americans, all of us, really,” says Crabtree-Ireland.
SAG-AFTRA says actor Bryan Cranston alerted the union to possible abuses. Now, the union and talent agencies say they’re grateful OpenAI listened to such concerns.
The company has announced an “opt-in” policy allowing all artists, performers, and individuals the right to determine how and whether they can be simulated. OpenAI says it will block the generation of well-known characters on its public feed and will take down any existing material not in compliance.
Last week, OpenAI agreed to take down phony videos of Martin Luther King, Jr., after his estate complained about the “disrespectful depictions” of the late civil rights leader.
Lawyer Suing Fat Joe
Indicted After Allegedly Mowing Down Process Server
Published
Tyrone Blackburn — the lawyer suing Fat Joe — has been indicted for allegedly running over a process server with a car … TMZ has learned.
Law enforcement sources confirmed to us Blackburn has been officially indicted over the alleged May incident … though we’re told the indictment will remain sealed until his arraignment.
ICYMI … Blackburn was arrested in June after cops say he got into his vehicle while a 66-year-old process server was giving him papers connected to the Fat Joe case.
Blackburn then allegedly put the car in reverse and hit the process server in the leg … causing a somewhat major knee injury that the server claims he needed surgery to fix.
TMZ.com
Blackburn represents Terrance “T.A.” Dixon, who sued Fat Joe for millions, alleging he helped Joe write music. Later on, Dixon and Blackburn filed another lawsuit accusing Joe of engaging in sexual relations with minors in a lawsuit Joe’s attorney Joe Tacopina said was full of “lies intended to damage his reputation and force a settlement through public pressure.”
Tyrone was booked on assault about six weeks after the alleged incident is said to have taken place.
Is the internet getting worse?
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Getty Images
Do you ever feel like the internet just doesn’t work as well as it used to?
Or maybe you wish you could go back to the old internet? Where your search queries actually served you what you wanted, and your feeds weren’t overrun by ads? Well, it’s not just you – the internet IS getting worse, and platforms are getting harder to leave. But how did we get here? Journalist and tech activist Cory Doctorow joins Brittany to lay out why in his new book, Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It.
Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluse
For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.
This episode was produced by Liam McBain. It was edited by Neena Pathak. Our supervising producer is Barton Girdwood. Our executive producer is Veralyn Williams. Our VP of programming is Yolanda Sangweni.
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