Producer Elna Baker meets Todd Sklar, a man who can’t quit rats. (22 minutes)

One woman needs to find shelter for 27 young men in a matter of hours. (15 minutes)

Jessie, who took the call, explains how she discovered the hotline. She keeps in touch with Kimber.

Scharlette Holdman's story continues, in which she and the rest of a legal defense team try to save a man on death row by finding a star witness — a chicken with a specific skill.

Producer Alix Spiegel talks to one of her closest friends, Sarah Blust, about the time Sarah met a stranger who, unbeknownst to her, had already spent years thinking about her. (29 minutes)

How much can you trust whether somebody who you think is close to you really is close to you? Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr.’s been thinking about that question since a recent visit with some of his childhood friends in Sierra Leone. (37 minutes)

Producer Diane Wu talks to an asylum seeker trying to hustle his way through bureaucratic limbo. (11 minutes)

We do the thing the people in town would rather die than do – spill the crush to the legendary Dr. Artz himself.

Often bypassing logic, the women go to great lengths to construct elaborate stories to make sense of their inexplicable pain. And then, a letter arrives.

Megan Tan never felt close to her father. For years they’ve been distant.

American criminals who flee to Mexico to evade law enforcement discover it's not so simple as crossing the border.

We learn what happened to Kimber after she called the line.

How Etgar's parents met.

The musicians in the orchestra for Phantom of the Opera tell reporter Jay Caspian Kang about what it’s like to play the exact same music every single night—for decades.

Ira explains the premise of this week’s show, where most of the stories were first broadcast in 2004.

Host Ira Glass tells a story he’s never told anyone before, about something someone said to him. (4 minutes)

Ian Brown explains the lengths a normal dad will go to give his daughter a memorable birthday party, including a birthday stunt so crass that he and his wife shocked all of their friends.

Kristina Karamo and her camp defend themselves against Warren’s attacks that they’re bad at fundraising and bad at leading the party. (13 minutes)

Host Ira Glass has fallen off his bike a number of times at this point. He reflects on what goes through his head as he’s going down.

Alex Blumberg tells the true story of Jerry Springer's life before he was a talk show host.

One of our producers, Nadia Reiman, talked to officials who work in the asylum and refugee branches at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Chaunte Vaughn’s mother recently died of Parkinsons. Even though Chaunte doesn't believe in ghosts, she is visited by her mom's ghost multiple times.

Nine months ago, these people wanted abortions. But then, the laws changed. They had to wait to get an appointment, figure out how to get out of state or order abortion pills.  In that waiting, other things happened. (5 minutes)Today’s show was inspired by the excellent reporting of Caroline Kitchener.

Florida is now the fastest growing state, and DeSantis says people are moving there from all over because of him.