Paul Tough’s father was a mild-mannered professor—until he suddenly left the family to pursue a lifelong quest: making contact with extraterrestrial life. For the first time, Paul joins him and asks the questions he’s long kept to himself about his father’s alien pursuits.

Julie Hill explains how she's going to remake all the ideas her son has about his father, using a very simple tactic.

As a kid, Aric Knuth sent cassette tapes to his dad, a merchant marine gone for months at a time. He’d leave one side blank and ask for a reply—but none ever came. Aric talks to Ira Glass about what it was like to finally ask his dad why.

Jonathan Goldstein decides to find out—once and for all—if his dad Buzz thinks he's manly enough.