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Full episode
596: Becoming a Badger
Act Two

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

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Terriers have been bred for hundreds of years to kill rats. Ray Ray is a terrier, but he lives in a comfy apartment in New York City. His owner, Judy, isn’t sure about whether he still has his rat hunting instincts. So producers Zoe Chace and Emmanuel Dzotsi follow along as Ray goes on his first NYC rat hunt with the Ryders Alley Trencher-fed Society. (16 1/2 minutes)

By

Zoe Chace
Emmanuel Dzotsi

Song:

“I Smell A Rat” by Big Mama Thornton & “Badger Song” by The Dead Milkmen

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860: Suddenly: A Mirror!
May 23, 2025

Act Two: BWE: Big Wig Energy

Aviva DeKornfeld has the story of Leisha Hailey, who was certain she had the next million-dollar idea. (11 minutes)
853: Groundhog Day
Jan. 31, 2025

Act Three: Raiders of the Lost Chard

Editor David Kestenbaum speaks with Jeff Permar, who is trapped in a Groundhog Day situation — with an actual groundhog! (9 minutes)See more videos of the groundhog Chunk on Jeff’s YouTube channel.
851: Try a Little Tenderness
Jan. 10, 2025

Act Two: The Gladiator Starring Ruffled Crow

Producer Aviva DeKornfeld talks to a man who finds himself the target of vengeful crows.

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774: The Pink House at the Center of the World
July 1, 2022

Act Two: Welcome to Illinois—Abortion Oasis

Our producer Zoe Chace goes to Fairview Heights, Illinois, where Planned Parenthood has opened a massive new abortion clinic just across the river from Missouri.
774: The Pink House at the Center of the World
July 1, 2022

Act Three: The Abortion Desert Across the River

Zoe Chace spends time with a lawmaker in Missouri on the day Roe fell who’d worked her whole life for this moment and can’t believe it’s really here.
767: Do Not Go Gentle
Apr. 8, 2022

Act One: The Brothers Harangazo

Producer Zoe Chace spends time with two brothers in Hungary, trying to win an election that’s basically impossible for them to win.
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This American Life is produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago and delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange.

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