Two college baseball teams with horrible losing streaks — a combined 141 games — are scheduled to play each other.

Ira Glass introduces the first episode of an inventive new podcast from longtime This American Life producer and editor Susan Burton.

Comedian Mike Birbiglia talks about the questions his daughter asks him and how trying to answer them showed him surprising reflections of himself.  (15 minutes) This is an excerpt from Mike Birbiglia’s special, “The Good Life.”

Carissa and Kevin take matters into their own hands. (20 minutes)

Aviva DeKornfeld has the story of Leisha Hailey, who was certain she had the next million-dollar idea. (11 minutes)

Zoe Chace gives an eyewitness account of what has been happening at 26 Federal Plaza, an immigration courthouse in New York City.

USAID was founded in 1961. Since then, it has spent hundreds of billions of dollars all over the world.

Connie Wang tells the story of a championship window she didn't realize she was in — until it was too late. (14 minutes)Connie is the author of the book Oh My Mother! We got the idea to do this story from Aaron Reiss.

We go to orientation at Arizona State University and meet international students who are trying to make friends. (6 minutes)

Producer Aviva DeKornfeld talks to Ranjani Srinivasan, who tells the story of how her life was transformed over five days via a series of events that started out confusing and escalated to frightening. (25 minutes)

Susan Burton introduces Mindy, a labor and delivery nurse at UI Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Producer Aviva DeKornfeld speaks with a father and daughter who have been playing the same game for 25 years.

When USAID suddenly stopped all foreign assistance without warning or a transition plan, it sent people all over the world scrambling. Especially those relying on daily medicine provided by USAID.

A woman watches her partner get taken in handcuffs with no explanation. Days later, she spots him in the most unexpected place.

A young couple, excited to start a new chapter in their lives, is suddenly put on a very different trajectory. (30 minutes)

The county prosecutor explains why he let Mika’s killer out of jail.

Kirk Johnson tells Ira about a strange choice he made during his family’s evacuation from the Sunset Fire in Los Angeles. (5 minutes)

With the year coming to an end, someone is going to have to say, “You were right, and I was wrong.” Will it change anything? (16 minutes)This story is a collaboration with NPR's Embedded podcast, which released a three-part series about Zach and his father.

Settler violence has worsened significantly in the West Bank since October 7, 2023.

The president of the Black Student Union at the University of Utah fights to keep the B in BSU. (30 minutes)

Two Americans moved to Eswatini when that country was the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic. With support from USAID, they built a clinic and started serving HIV+ patients.

Producer Diane Wu talks to Juna, a young woman who is getting advice from someone uniquely equipped to guide her to the love life she wants.

In the wake of the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, producer Miki Meek talks to a woman on a very particular mission. (6 minutes)We first heard about Vanessa's story in the Associated Press.