Ira and music contributor John Conners on Sinatra's worst songs. And a brief history of what makes that 1950s Sinatra sound so great, with Will Friedwald, author of the definitive book on Sinatra's music, Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer's Art.

Sara Corbett's father-in-law Dick is 81. And he's become obsessed with a limbo most of us hate – the music he hears whenever he's on hold. (14 minutes)Sara is co-author of the book A House in the Sky.The hold music, Opus No. 1, was composed by Tim Carleton and Darrick Deel.

An odd occurrence at 124 East Fourth Street in Manhattan's East Village. For the last five weeks, a singer named Nick Drakides has stood on the stoop singing Sinatra songs late at night to the delight of his neighbors.

As we were putting together this week's show, we came across a talk that changed the way we seeall the stories in it. Ira explains.

Ira talks about the fact that he never much liked William Burroughs or his writing, just never got why Burroughs was this revered figure for some people. Then Ira heard a recent BBC documentary about Burroughs and finally understood.

Chana Joffe-Walt tells what happened when a group of public school students in the Bronx went to visit an elite private school three miles away.

Ira tells the story of Lisa Mahone, who was pulled over by a police officer who she says was acting really weird. When he pulled a gun on her, Lisa decided to call 911 — on the cop.

Producer Ben Calhoun tells Ira about a secret move his friend uses all the time — the "good guy discount" — that gets Ben's friend money off all sorts of items when he's shopping.

Robyn Semien talks to St. Claude Internet Café owner Kirk Washington about what’s changed the most in his life, post-Katrina.

One of the show's producers, Zoe Chace, tells Ira about a joke she made pretty soon after something terrible had happened.And then Ira talks to Amy Silverman about something else being too soon, and how she finally figured out the right moment for it. Amy's blog about her daughter is at girlinapartyhat.com.

Producer Stephanie Foo speaks to Nasubi, a Japanese comedian who, in the 90s, just wanted a little bit of fame. So he was thrilled when he won an opportunity to have his own segment on a Japanese reality TV show.

FBI Director James Comey gave a speech this week calling for law enforcement to redouble itsefforts to serve the black community, and calling for a conversation about race in policing. Producer Robyn Semien has noticed that local big city police chiefs do not think race is a factorin the newsmaking incidents where white officers kill unarmed black men.

In 2008, the Milwaukee Police Department, which has a long history of tension with black residents, got a new chief named Ed Flynn. One of his big goals when he came to the city was to try and improve the relationship between cops and black Milwaukeeans.

Jeffrey Brodeur worked at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and was put in charge of an Osprey Cam — a live web feed of an osprey nest near his office. Which he thought was just charming — until the mother osprey in the nest began acting strangely.

Jane, Julia and Ella continue describing the complex social map that is constantly changing in their phones.

Producer Brian Reed tells the story of a city that years ago was given a title and is now saying, "not it!" They want to shed that title once and for all.

Radio producer Scott Carrier quit his job at a low moment in his life. His wife left him and took the kids.

Ira talks to a man in his 70s who’s about to travel across the country to tell a woman he loves how he really feels, despite some very real signs that doing so might be a bad idea.

We bring you this very matter-of-fact article from 1853, about something profoundly troubling: a slave auction in Virginia.

Stephanie Foo tells us the story of amateurs who for one night get thrown into a very, very big job — perhaps the biggest: President of the United States of America.

Producer Stephanie Foo fell hard for a new holiday tradition this year – Turkey Fryer PSAs created by fire departments across the country.

Michael Leviton was raised in a family who encouraged him and his siblings to tell the truth all the time. They believed it was better to be honest and work things out.

Bob Carlson and his 10-year-old daughter, Tess, were driving by Six Flags Magic Mountain when she told him about one of her biggest fears: roller coasters. So they decided to try and take one on.

Ira finds a ridiculous comment thread on the Internet about an optical illusion.