After Huma Abedin’s emails were discovered on her husband’s computer by the FBI, and after FBI Director James Comey publicly declared the agency would be investigating those emails, Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers dropped. What was the conversation Huma Abedin then had with her boss, Hillary Clinton? Actors Tami Sagher and Cady Huffman tried to imagine it.

A year ago, we did a story about a study that found that a simple 20-minute conversation could change someone’s mind about controversial issues like gay marriage and abortion. But a few weeks after we aired the story, the study was discredited.

Ira's quest continues. He calls his Uncle Lenny, who gets his news from Fox and the Wall Street Journal, and lives with an entirely different set of facts, and Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration expert at the CATO Institute, who explains that the central issue in Donald Trump’s candidacy is based on something that isn’t true.


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.

Terriers have been bred for hundreds of years to kill rats. Ray Ray is a terrier, but he lives in a comfy apartment in New York City.

Reporter Sara Corbett looks into what happens when a company makes this promise: if you’re not 100% satisfied by our product, bring it back. Any time, for any reason; no questions asked.

In this election year we look at the story of one small ballot initiative, in one state. We heard this referendum would gut Georgia's Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC), an independent organization that investigates ethics complaints about judges.

Ira relays advice from a staffer’s family on what to do if you’re thinking about something you don’t want to think about.

Producer Zoe Chace goes to Greenville, South Carolina to talk with Tony Beam – host of the radio show Christian Worldview Today. Tony and his listeners are evangelical Christians, and usually, Tony backs a candidate for office and his listeners tend to agree with him.

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

Robert had a bad reputation as a kid who didn't do his schoolwork and had little respect for adults. But his best friend, Lilly thought he was misunderstood.

Elna Baker lost a lot of weight, 110 pounds. When she was fat, she wasn’t able to get a job or a boyfriend and sometimes thought, “I wonder if it’s my weight.” She figured no, that’s a bad attitude, paranoia.

Producer Stephanie Foo describes a subset of the population who will never enjoy the benefits of ignorance — because they’re destined never to experience it in the first place.

Samantha Broun interviews her mom about surviving a brutal attack by Reginald McFadden 20 years ago, and sets out to interview friends, family and policymakers about how that attack changed Pennsylvania law regarding life sentences at the time. Additional information and outtakes are available on the Transom website.

Most stories of customer satisfaction are told by the customers. In this act, we ask: is the product satisfied by life with you? We get answers, from a product itself. Simon Rich reads his short story, “Unprotected.” Please note: this story does vaguely acknowledge the existence of sex.

A troupe of comedians tell personal stories about summer experiences and improvise scenes based on them. Featuring Mike Birbiglia, John Lutz, Kate Micucci, Shannon O'Neill, Connor Ratliff, Gary Richardson and Tami Sagher - Several of whom appear in Mike's new movie "Don't Think Twice," produced by Ira.

Comedian Sasheer Zamata does this joke about her mom in her standup act. About how her mom hates white people.

Our story continues two years later in Colorado where detectives in four neighboring towns combine resources to run down a serial rapist.

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


Lulu Wang tells the story of an elaborate attempt to keep someone ignorant — her grandmother — and how her family pulled it off.

Producer Zoe Chace hangs out with an unlikely Trump supporter in order to get to the bottom of his unusual motivation.

Ira talks to Biba Struja – a Serbian man who says that when he was in high school, he discovered that he seemed to have a high resistance to electricity. It’s a power that he’s utilized, but is mostly a curse.

Lindy West tells us how she went from being ashamed of her fatness to embracing it, and reads from her book, Shrill. The book has been adapted into a TV show on Hulu, starring Aidy Bryant.

Ira hears from a woman named Shannon about a phone call she got in 2008 that cast doubt on whether an 18 year old named Marie was telling the truth about being sexually assaulted. This idea leads to one of two investigations—one small and bad, and the other stunningly big and good.