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Act Two: Judgment Day

Writer Kiese Laymon tells Elna Baker his most embarrassing story, involving one of the most important people in his life. Kiese Laymon is the author of Heavy and Long Division.

Prologue

In families with sisters, every sister has their role to play. And whatever your role is, it sort of becomes your identity: the sweet one, the diva, the rebel.

Act One: Cindy and Dayana

Cindy and Dayana Carcamo are close. But recently, they’ve been struggling with this thing that happened when they were very young.

Act Two: Megan and Sybil

The first act of our show was about someone who has spent decades trying to close the gap with her sister because they were apart until she was eight years old. This next story is the reverse.

Act One: Christmas in 3-D

Maya Gurantz tells the story of Glenn and Laurie Mutchler, who go further than most parents to create a magical Christmas for their kids, Colin, Erica and Adam. Theirs included a family mythology of Santas that had its own logic, with many Santas and a family elf named Jeko, who were never jolly and often thrillingly scary.

Act Six: Massachusetts

During an election in which it feels like the very existence of our democracy hangs in the balance, producer Sean Cole and someone very close to him have been dealing with their own immediate existential questions.

Act Four: Now We Are Five

David Sedaris comes from a big family, who for many years growing up, took annual vacations to the same beach house. In this story, David tells us about losing a sister, and how her death prompted a family reunion back at the beach.

Act Four: Applied Bob Studies

When Sandy Allen fled the people-heavy city back in 2017, they were looking for green space and a chance to learn how to cope with being alone. They had a sort of guide book, though — their Uncle Bob, who’d made a radical decision decades before.

Act One: How Do I Say This?

Scaachi Koul is trying to learn a language native to her parents, and heads back to Calgary to ask why they never taught it to her in the first place.  (21 minutes)

Act Three: Pigeons on a Plane

Reporter Kevin Sieff travels from Mexico to Chicago with a group of seniors reuiniting with their undocumented kids in the U.S., some for the first time in decades. (18 minutes)

Act Two: Next of Kindle

After his mother passes, a man unearths her book collection… and is surprised. (6 1/2 minutes)