Jackson Landers tells the story of a very strange decision he made one summer day. (6 minutes)The name of today’s show is from a quote by climate futurist Alex Steffen, in an article about wildfires by Elizabeth Weil.

For one kibbutz-dwelling family in Israel, the decision of where to land after the October 7th attacks goes back and forth… and back… and forth.

We talk to high school seniors in Salt Lake City who are trying to have the perfect year.

When senior editor David Kestenbaum was still a rookie reporter, he wrote an email to a legend.

Reporter Alix Spiegel talks to two people with good reason to fear a second Trump administration. Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham spent six years with the Trumps but resigned after January 6th and wrote a scathing tell-all book about her experience.

On this week’s show, we’re airing excerpts of interviews with former hostages produced by an Israeli podcast, Echad Bayom. In these interviews they describe, in a remarkably detailed and complicated way, what happened to them a year ago. We start with Chen Almog-Goldstein.

Zoe Chace and Ben Terris follow Abbas Alawieh as he fights to broker a deal at the DNC – a way to potentially satisfy the people who voted “Uncommitted” in the primaries as a protest vote against Biden’s handling of the war in Israel and Gaza.

The parole board members puzzle through the pros and cons of releasing Henry Dee from prison and cast their votes. (26 minutes)

Zoe Chace reports on a surprising guest at the Republican National Convention: Teamsters president Sean O’Brien. (18 minutes)

What life lessons can kids learn at the 4-H rabbit competition? A lot. (11 minutes)

Donald Trump has talked about taking revenge on his enemies since the early days of his 2024 presidential campaign.

Who’s trying to bridge the gap between Blue America and Red America? Ira gets a glimpse of one guy who might be able to do just that.

Chen describes hearing the Israeli news while in captivity, including one night when her own father was interviewed.

Editor Bethel Habte examines video evidence of two parents trying to get to the bottom of a minor crime committed in their own home. (7 minutes)

A big bull, a giant slide, and cowboys on horseback shooting balloons are just a few sights you can take in at the Iowa State Fair.

Sarah Polley has always been reluctant to jump into challenging situations.

Chen talks about what it was like to walk around the streets of Gaza in disguise and their eventual release, 51 days after they were taken from their home. (13 minutes)Excerpts from interviews conducted by Lee Naim and produced by Echad Bayom.

Ira talks to Chris Benderev, whose high school years were completely upended by an impromptu thing his teacher said. (8 minutes)

Banias talks about the war.

Host Ira Glass introduces the new series that Serial is doing about Guantánamo Bay. This is the second of two episodes of theirs that we’re airing.

Yousef is managing a camp of 60 people in Rafah, including his youngest sister, who is 8 months pregnant. Every day there’s talk that Israel will launch a ground assault in Rafah. Yousef and his sister make a plan for her to give birth safely, but it doesn’t go according to plan. And all 60 people in the family are looking to Yousef to tell them where they should go next and how to stay safe.

Host Ira Glass bikes around Manhattan with Gersh Kuntzman, in search of illegal license plates.

For years there was a word that Val’s mother did not want to use.

Writing a letter decades after an event that shaped her life was the only way that Nicole Piasecki could make some sense of it.