Ira talks to a Muslim woman who tweeted on election night that she was worried she would no longer feel safe wearing a hijab.

There’s a political parable about Hillary Clinton that’s made the rounds this year. Host Ira Glass interviews contributor Jack Hitt, who says that in this parable you can see almost every version of Hillary that exists in the popular imagination: the A student, the opportunist, the mastermind, the rat fink, the pragmatist, the truth-twister.

There’s a seismic, historic change going on in the Republican party this year. Producer Zoe Chace tells Ira about a place you can eavesdrop on a group of Republican friends as they fret and argue about that change week after week: a podcast called Ricochet.

Ira talks to Biba Struja – a Serbian man who says that when he was in high school, he discovered that he seemed to have a high resistance to electricity. It’s a power that he’s utilized, but is mostly a curse.

Ira explains how at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the men with their finger to the button called their loved ones for what was potentially the last time.

Charles Foster has always been obsessed with trying to figure out how animals see the world. So he decides to find out—by living life as a badger.

Host Ira Glass talks to Aaryn Zhou. When she was nine, her father threw her into the deep end of pool to teach her to swim.

Host Ira Glass reflects on his feelings about going to the beach. (3 minutes)

A couple guys show off a pretty creative invention.

We were interested in how the Greek government was dealing with the refugees, but we also wanted to know what it was like for all these people who thought they were heading elsewhere in Europe who are now stuck in these camps, where they’re just waiting for some country to let them in and restart their lives. Ira goes on a quick tour of camps around Greece.

Host Ira Glass interviews author Alain de Botton about why so many of us choose the wrong spouses. Botton is the author of the new novel The Course of Love.

Host Ira Glass interviews Lindy West about her experience “coming out” as fat.

Host Ira Glass interviews Lori Gottlieb about the time she sent a letter to a writer in a magazine, a letter packed with white lies.

Ira talks to Rachel Rosenthal, who spent years trying to figure out who had stolen her identity. She was closing bank account after bank account, getting more and more paranoid, until she realized she knew exactly who the thief was.

Ira relays advice from a staffer’s family on what to do if you’re thinking about something you don’t want to think about.