People tossing words out into the world impulsively, to ignite and burn over decades.

The Timleck family
Toronto Star via Getty Images
Prologue
Host Ira Glass plays a strange voicemail left by a 96-year-old surgeon about a letter that was written five decades ago. (6 minutes)
Humor Is Not The Best Medicine
Producer Lilly Sullivan reports out that voicemail. (13 minutes)
Babies Got Bank
On his deathbed, a wealthy man in Toronto decides to make some trouble. Hundreds of babies are involved. Stephanie Foo tells the story. (25 minutes)
Meatball and Chain
Cyclist Mike Friedman said something to cyclist Ian Dille in the middle of a race that ate at both of them for years. Jared Marcelle tells the story. (12 minutes)
Song:
“How Long Do I Have to Wait For You” by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings