[+]    303: David and Goliath

[–]    303: David and Goliath

Variations on an old tale, with very modern consequences. Cambodia is competing with other nations for the business of big clothing companies all over the world...but they've vowed to follow fair labor practices. Other countries end up with the contracts, and the profits. So an official Cambodian committee sets out on a mission to convince the U.S. Congress to give them a special trade agreement. Also, a story as old as David and Goliath themselves: the tale of big sister vs. little sister.

[+]    346: Home Alone

[–]    346: Home Alone

A 79-year-old woman, Mary Ann, dies in Los Angeles. She's lived alone for decades. No one knows her—or her next of kin. There's a body to be buried, a house full of stuff to get rid of. It so happens there's a county bureaucracy for just this type of problem. In this show, we follow around the person charged with figuring out what to do with the remains of Mary Ann's life. This and other stories about what happens when people are left alone.

[+]    345: Ties That Bind

[–]    345: Ties That Bind

A young girl named Sarah receives a heart transplant from a boy her age, and her mother sets off to find out more about the kid who saved her daughter's life. But years later, Sarah's not sure she wants to know. Plus, a story by Jonathan Goldstein about a friendship gone awry in the town of Bedrock; it's unclear whether Fred and Barney will work it out.

[+]    253: The Middle of Nowhere

[–]    253: The Middle of Nowhere

Stories from faraway, hard-to-get-to places, where all rules are off, nefarious things happen because no one's looking, and there's no one to appeal to.

[+]    344: The Competition

[–]    344: The Competition

Stories about the unintended consequences of market forces, including the story of a Tulsa businessman who tried to cut costs—not by outsourcing his operations to India, but by bringing workers from India to Tulsa. With decidedly mixed results. Also, a story about two competing TV news teams in Boise, Idaho, who begin with the exact same set of facts about a local sex offender, and end up with totally opposite conclusions.

[+]    343: Poultry Slam 07

[–]    343: Poultry Slam 07

For Thanksgiving, the time of year when poultry consumption is highest, we investigate turkeys, chickens, ducks—fowl of all types...and their mysterious hold over us.

[+]    174: Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Milestones

[–]    174: Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Milestones

Birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones of all sorts...and how they mean something whether we want them to or not. A live show taped for our fifth anniversary, back in 2000, when we went on the road to Boston, New York, Chicago, and L.A. A co-production with public radio stations WBUR, WNYC, WBEZ, and KCRW.

[+]    84: Harold

[–]    84: Harold

A parable of politics and race in America. The story of Chicago's first black mayor, Harold Washington (pictured), told two decades after his death. Washington died 20 years ago this month—on November 25, 1987.

[+]    342: How to Rest in Peace

[–]    342: How to Rest in Peace

There are umpteen TV shows about solving murders, endless whodunits in bookstores. But what happens to the people left behind after the detectives close the case? This week, three stories about children trying to figure out how to live normally after their parents have died. Pictured: Rachel Howard and her dad, Stan Howard, who was murdered in his house in 1986. His killer was never found.

[+]    154: In Dog We Trust

[–]    154: In Dog We Trust

We try to define the peculiar relationship between humans and animals. One story about a love triangle among two people and a cat. David Sedaris with a retrospective on his family's pets through the ages. And Brady Udall with a tale of love, redemption, and armadillos. They have more in common than you might think.

[+]    110: Mapping

[–]    110: Mapping

Five ways of mapping the world. One story about people who make maps the traditional way—by drawing things we can see. And other stories about people who map the world using smell, sound, touch, and taste. The world redrawn by the five senses.

[+]    218: Act V

[–]    218: Act V

For six months, Jack Hitt followed a group of inmates at a high-security prison as they rehearsed and staged a production of the last act—Act V—of Hamlet. Shakespeare may seem like an odd match for a group of hardened criminals, but Jack found that they understand the Bard on a level that most of us might not. It's a play about murder and its consequences, performed by murderers living out the consequences.

[+]    341: How to Talk to Kids

[–]    341: How to Talk to Kids

A raunchy comedian gets booked on a tour...of kids' sleep-away camps. A middle-aged woman grapples with right and wrong in talking to her teenage daughter about her sexuality. Plus, other stories of adults trying to learn the language of children.

[+]    314: It's Never Over

[–]    314: It's Never Over

A grown man tries to get to the bottom of why his schoolmates threw him in a lake 20 years earlier. And a woman buys a house on the cheap, with the understanding that the seller will soon vacate. Ten years later, she's still waiting. These and other stories of things that never seem to come to an end.

[+]    121: Twentieth Century Man

[–]    121: Twentieth Century Man

One thing that makes our country different from most others is this idea that you can recreate yourself as someone you'd prefer to be. But what if you're too good at it? We devote this entire episode to the story of Keith Aldrich, whose life is a history of most of the major cultural shifts in the second half of the Twentieth Century.

[+]    192: Meet the Pros

[–]    192: Meet the Pros

The story of one man's journey from obscurity to international professional celebrity—aided only by his own hard work, a sneaker commercial, and mad handles. And other stories of amateurs hurtling themselves at the pros whose jobs they covet.

[+]    340: The Devil in Me

[–]    340: The Devil in Me

We all have that thing in us: a voice telling us to do or think something we shouldn't. In this episode, stories of people trying to exorcize that voice. An Iraq War veteran comes home with an aversion to all Muslims and decides to systematically defeat his own bigotry. And a fundamentalist Christian takes on an actual demon who happens to visit his college classroom.

[+]    317: Unconditional Love

[–]    317: Unconditional Love

Stories of unconditional love between parents and children, and how hard love can sometimes be in daily practice.

[+]    339: Break-Up

[–]    339: Break-Up

The world is not divided into two types of people—unless you've just been through a horrible break-up, in which case it's divided between people who understand and people who don't. Stories of people trying to comprehend their own break-ups and those of others, including writer Starlee Kine on what makes the perfect post-break-up song.

[+]    28: Detectives

[–]    28: Detectives

Writer David Sedaris recalls the days when his mother and sister played armchair detective—until a very odd crime wave hit within their own home. Plus, host Ira Glass goes out on surveillance with a real-life private eye.

[+]    338: The Spokesman

[–]    338: The Spokesman

Attention listeners. In the Internet version of Act One of this show, we have left one curse word un-bleeped at a critical moment.

An 18-year-old in foster care—Anthony Pico, pictured with San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom—gives speeches to the big and powerful all over California. Public speaking changed his life. But being a spokeskid, he's found, is complicated. And when David Iserson was a teenager, he starred in this commercial (Quicktime, 2.4 MB), which basically ruined his life. Plus, other stories of what happens when you go from private person to public face.

[+]    73: Blame It on Art

[–]    73: Blame It on Art

The darker side of the art world: petty jealousies, competitiveness, failure. And also what's great about art. David Sedaris with the story of his short-lived career as a performance artist. A master of balloon animals declares that artistic jealousies have ruined his life. The King of "Song Poems" and how his jazz snob son learned to love his music. Plus, tales from a locksmith.

[+]    337: Man vs. History

[–]    337: Man vs. History

Dal LaMagna, aka Tweezerman (pictured left), made a fortune selling high-quality grooming products. And after retiring, he wanted to do some good in the world. His plan: curb the violence in Iraq. So he hooked up with a member of the Iraqi parliament named Mohammed Al-Dynee (right) and headed to Baghdad. This week, Dal's audio diary of his remarkable journey through the Middle East as a would-be citizen-diplomat. And other stories of people single-handedly trying to alter the course of world events.

[+]    207: Special Ed

[–]    207: Special Ed

Stories about people who were told that they're different. Some of them were comfortable with it. Some didn't understand it. And some understood, but didn't like it.

[+]    14: Accidental Documentaries

[–]    14: Accidental Documentaries

Stories made from old tapes found in various places, including a "letter on tape" found in a Salvation Army thrift store. Host Ira Glass with tapes of his father on the radio, circa 1956. And radio producer Nora Moreno with tapes of her father, a Spanish broadcasting pioneer in America. Her mother fell in love with him over the radio, with tragic results.

[+]    336: Who Can You Save?

[–]    336: Who Can You Save?

When the U.S. government sent out the call for everyday civilians to go to Iraq and help rebuild the country, Randy Frescoln volunteered, believing he was just the man for the job. But after three months abroad, he changes his mind. Plus, a study on how our brains make moral decisions. And, when a shady stranger asks for his help, Brady Udall can't say no—even though he's pretty sure it's a terrible idea.

[+]    69: Dreamhouse

[–]    69: Dreamhouse

What could be more American than wanting to build your dreamhouse? Meema Spadola's dad moved the family to Maine to chase his dream. Four years later, the house wasn't built, and the family fell apart. Plus, David Beers about growing up in another kind of dreamhouse—in Northern California during the '60s aerospace boom.

[+]    173: Three Kinds of Deception

[–]    173: Three Kinds of Deception

Some people are born to deceive, some achieve deception, and some have deception thrust upon them. This week, an example of each scenario—including one from David Sedaris.

[+]    335: Big Wide World

[–]    335: Big Wide World

Haider was a teenager living in Iraq when the war broke out. All of a sudden, the whole world was watching what was happening in his country. And he decided to do one of the least safe things possible: work for foreign media covering the war. Plus, other stories of what happens when you strike out into the world.

[+]    109: Notes on Camp

[–]    109: Notes on Camp

Stories of summer camp. People who love camp say that non-camp people simply don't understand what's so amazing about camp. In this program, we attempt to bridge the gap of misunderstanding between camp people and non-camp people.

[+]    334: Duty Calls

[–]    334: Duty Calls

Josh's mother and younger brother (pictured) were a mess. His mother drank too much. His brother got arrested a lot. And they'd somehow ended up living in a retirement community in South Florida, even though his brother was 23. Josh hadn't lived with them since he was nine, and they didn't play much of a role in his daily life—until they took over his life. Duty calls.

[+]    333: The Center for Lessons Learned

[–]    333: The Center for Lessons Learned

Four years into the Iraq War, what have we learned? Soldiers, civilians, Iraqis, and Americans talk—and sometimes yell—about what they've learned in the last few years...including how to stay alive and why the aftermath of a war can be the trickiest time of all.

[+]    102: Roadtrip!

[–]    102: Roadtrip!

Stories about hitting the open road. Dishwasher Pete takes the bus with strangers, and Margy Rochlin explains her days on the road with George Burns. Plus, a roadtrip to save a marriage.

[+]    204: 81 Words

[–]    204: 81 Words

For decades, the entry on "Sexual Deviations" in the official manual of the American Psychiatric Association contained 81 words. And for decades, homosexuality was included. We devote this entire episode to the story of the behind-the-scenes campaign to change the definition.

[+]    332: The Ten Commandments

[–]    332: The Ten Commandments

Sure, you know the big ones: don't murder, steal...something about graven images? We help you with the others through stories and interviews, each dealing with a different commandment. Military chaplains discuss "Thou Shalt Not Kill." Middle school students explain what they've been coveting. Plus, adultery, lying, and more. (Image courtesy of The Brick Testament.)

[+]    331: Habeas Schmabeas 2007

[–]    331: Habeas Schmabeas 2007

The right of habeas corpus has been a part of our country's legal tradition longer than we've actually been a country. But the War on Terror has nixed many of the rules we used to think of as fundamental. At Guantanamo Bay, our government initially claimed that prisoners should not be covered by habeas—or even by the Geneva Conventions—because they're the most fearsome enemies we have. But is that true? Is it a camp full of terrorists, or a camp full of our mistakes? An updated version of our Peabody Award-winning episode.

[+]    183: The Missing Parents Bureau

[–]    183: The Missing Parents Bureau

[+]    330: My Reputation

[–]    330: My Reputation

Stories about people who discover that what others think of them is not at all what they think of themselves. Gabe Delahaye, for instance, just thought he made a bad first impression. But it turned out that the second, third, and fourth impressions weren't much better. Pictured: an early indication of Gabe's well-earned reputation.

[+]    329: Nice Work If You Can Get It

[–]    329: Nice Work If You Can Get It

A man makes his living convincing lottery winners to sign their jackpots over to him—and discovers why the vast majority of them wish they'd never won. Plus, Sarah Vowell on the downside of the dream job and John Hodgman on what happens when celebrity hunts you down and finds you...on your living room couch, pushing 40, and a couple sizes larger than you want to be.

[+]    172: 24 Hours at the Golden Apple

[–]    172: 24 Hours at the Golden Apple

Starting at 5 am and going until 5 am the next morning, we document a day in a Chicago diner called The Golden Apple. We hear from the waitress who has worked the graveyard shift for over two decades, the regular customers who come every day, the couples working out their problems, assorted drunks, and—of course—cops.

[+]    245: Allure of the Mean Friend

[–]    245: Allure of the Mean Friend

What is it about them, our mean friends? They treat us badly, they don't call us back, they cancel plans at the last minute; and yet we come back for more. We offer an inquiry into the phenomenon—and perhaps some helpful hints on breaking the cycle.

[+]    328: What I Learned from Television

[–]    328: What I Learned from Television

A show assembled from our 2007 live tour. Sarah Vowell, David Rakoff, and Dan Savage went on the road with us and performed brand-new stories in front of sold-out audiences. Stories about what TV can teach us...and how TV lies to us. With music by Mates of State.

[+]    327: By Proxy

[–]    327: By Proxy

Robert (pictured) had a bad reputation as a kid who didn't do his schoolwork and had little respect for adults. But his best friend, Lilly (holding picture), thought he was misunderstood. After Robert died, Lilly decided to step in and do for him what he could never do for himself: tell people how great he was. This and other stories of what happens when one person becomes a proxy for another, either by choice or by accident—including one by Davy Rothbart about the time he made a life-changing decision that wasn't really his to make.

[+]    188: Kid Logic

[–]    188: Kid Logic

Stories of kids using perfectly logical arguments, and arriving at perfectly wrong conclusions. Plus, a story by Michael Chabon from his book Werewolves in Their Youth, about the opposite: an act of kid logic that succeeds where adult logic fails.

[+]    307: In the Shadow of the City

[–]    307: In the Shadow of the City

Stories that take place on the edge of civilization, just out of sight.

[+]    326: Quiz Show

[–]    326: Quiz Show

A man with social anxiety goes through a transformation on a TV game show, a young woman with high ideals has them dashed by a TV game show, and teams compete to solve some of the hardest puzzles in the world, for fun. The secret life of quiz shows, the life behind the questions and answers.

[+]    308: Star-Crossed Love

[–]    308: Star-Crossed Love

In honor of Valentine's Day, This American Life brings you stories of how love blossoms, even when (perhaps) it shouldn't.

[+]    325: Houses of Ill Repute

[–]    325: Houses of Ill Repute

An old man in Brooklyn invites some homeless prostitutes into his house on a cold winter night. They never leave. Plus other stories about houses, such as the United States Congress, where the inhabitants don't always act as they should.

[+]    324: My Brilliant Plan

[–]    324: My Brilliant Plan

An American reporter in Iraq decides to rent a house in a residential Baghdad neighborhood rather than live in a hotel and be an easy target for insurgents. And an eleven-year-old boy figures out an ingenious way to see his dead father again. Big ideas gone amok.

[+]    309: Cat and Mouse

[–]    309: Cat and Mouse

Stories about the kinds of chase games that just never end. From the high California desert to a high-end furniture showroom.

[+]    301: Settling the Score

[–]    301: Settling the Score

Erin Einhorn grew up begging her mother to tell her all about the remarkable story of how she survived World War Two, thanks to a Polish woman named Honorata Skowronski, who risked her life. But her mother didn't like to talk about it. And somehow, her family didn't consider Honorata a hero. So Erin went to Poland, hoping to find the Skowronski family and reintroduce them to her mom, and figure out what happened. Erin elaborates on this story in her book, The Pages In Between. 

[+]    323: The Super

[–]    323: The Super

In 1980's New York City, rent is rising: it seems out of control, and residents struggle to keep up. So Jack Hitt help organize tenants, and threatens a rent strike. This does not go over so well with his building super, who, as it turns out, is a very dangerous man. This and other stories of the mysterious hold supers have on their buildings, or their buildings have on them.