A staffer at St Joseph Medical Center in Houston finds a patient shot on the floor of his room. He is unarmed, and has been shot by the cops in the hospital.

Jonathan Goldstein tries to convince his uncle and his father to get into the same room and have a conversation for the first time in decades, before it’s too late and one of them dies. This story comes from Jonathan’s podcast Heavyweight, from Gimlet Media.

A bomb disposal robot is assigned a new and even more complicated task. Fiction by Scott Brown, read by actor Jeremy Shamos.

Kids are everywhere in the camps, they’re a third of the refugees. You see them around, improvising stuff to play with.

A fictional story written and read by Maile Meloy about a family that encounters two peculiar strangers in the snow on Christmas Day.

We tell the story of that patient, Alan Pean, and how his delusions lead him to a situation that's just as strange as the worst thoughts his mind is cooking up. This story is a collaboration with the New York Times.

Donald Trump has promised to get rid of Obamacare. Producer David Kestenbaum talks with someone who’d lose their insurance.

Comedian Kurt Braunohler makes a wrong choice, for his own amusement.

We close the show with one more excerpt from Lindy West’s book, Shrill.

Producer Neil Drumming tells the story of his dad and his family’s timeshare in Orlando, Florida.

Elna Baker talks to a Republican woman who voted for Hillary Clinton this year, and has suffered consequences in the Mormon community she lives in.

The first day on the job inevitably means mistakes, mishaps, and, sometimes, fiascos. A true story, about a rookie cop, told by the cop.

The first step for refugees trying to get out of limbo in Greece has been calling (and calling) the asylum office… on Skype.

Producer Karen Duffin visits someone who actually knows the man who’s going to be President: Donald Trump’s neighbor.

Kids do not like getting told it’ll make sense when they’re older. They’re pretty sure the grown-ups are wrong, and whatever the conversation is, they’re up for it.

Actor Alex Karpovsky reads a short story by Etgar Keret, from his book, “The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God." (4 minutes)

We’ve been wondering about some of the things President Obama thinks about the current election, but can’t say publicly. But since he hasn’t told us his thoughts explicitly, we asked singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles – who did the Broadway musical “Waitress” – to imagine those thoughts for us.

Producer Zoe Chace checks in on Tony, a diehard, conservative Republican and Ted Cruz supporter, to see how he’s holding up this week. Not great.

One way to understand the split inside the Republican party is to look at immigration. It’s this urgent, emotional issue for so much of the party these days.


When Mariya Karimjee was little, members of her family made a decision that would affect her entire life. Years later, she wants to know why.

Musician David Berkeley has gotten a lot of requests in his life, but none quite like the offer his agent got last year. A fan wanted Berkeley to come to his house and help save his relationship by serenading the troubled couple with a personal concert.

French comedian Gad Elmaleh is known as the Jerry Seinfeld of France. He sells out arenas.

Doug Deason is a political donor trying to make the biggest decision people like him make every four years – which presidential candidate to back. Producer Zoe Chace follows Deason through the unpredictable primaries of the 2016 election.

Obesity in America affects a higher percentage of black people than white people. Roxane Gay talks about being black and being fat with host Ira Glass.