Producer Sean Cole tells the story of a brand of war propaganda developed in Colombia that was so ambitious and ornate, it's almost hard to believe. You can watch Jose Miguel Sokoloff's TED talk, which is featured in the story, here.

It's not just that deciding to change your life completely can be momentous. Telling people about the decision can be a big deal too.

It turns out that one of the members of the This American Life staff, Elna Baker, has a kind of anti-game face. She's what's called a chronic blusher.

FBI Director James Comey gave a speech this week calling for law enforcement to redouble itsefforts to serve the black community, and calling for a conversation about race in policing. Producer Robyn Semien has noticed that local big city police chiefs do not think race is a factorin the newsmaking incidents where white officers kill unarmed black men.