We hear a series of letters that originally appeared on the brief-lived, little-known, but well-loved webzine Open Letters. They're written by a woman who signs her name as "X" and are addressed to the father of her adolescent son.

Eighteen-year-old Claudia Perez takes Ira on a tour of her Chicago neighborhood and looks at what 1995 was like for her community.

Producer Nancy Updike tells the story of the people of Venezuela trying to prove who won their recent presidential election beyond a shadow of a doubt. (22 minutes)

For years, Jorge Salcedo was chief of security for the Cali drug cartel in Colombia. He was in charge of protecting some of the most powerful criminals in the world...until he decided to take them down.

Starlee Kine rents a room at a Ramada hotel in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where a ghost supposedly plays pranks on the guests and staff. The ghost's name is Walter, for Walter Schroeder, the guy who originally built the hotel in the 1920s.

Dishwasher Pete, author of the book Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States, went to the National Restaurant Association convention on assignment from This American Life.

Ira talks to a waiter named Hassan at Liebman's Deli in the Bronx about some audacious thefts he's witnessed in his years in the restaurant business.

Jane Doe walks into a public ethics hearing at the Idaho state capitol and navigates the aftermath. (23 minutes)Song: “Here We Have Idaho”  Fiona Apple (vocals) Amy Wood (drums and percussion) David Garza (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, vocals) Sabastian Steinberg (bass, electric autoharp, vocals) John Would (tremolo guitar) Engineered by John Would, Amy Wood, Fiona Apple Mixed and mastered by John Would

Susie and John Drury moved to their farm just two years ago. But when John got sick for awhile, people who were no more than friendly acquaintances started helping out in ways that completely surprised them.

LaDonna Powell starts her new job out on the tarmac at the airport.

After hearing about the heist, Kirk Wallace Johnson gets sucked into the feather underground. He ends up discovering things that the people in charge of the theft investigation didn’t.

Reporter Laura Beil tells the story of a kid named Kenneth Williams and an adult named Ton'Nea Williams (who share a last name but are not related).

A teenager runs away from home to move in with someone he's never met, his idol, the person he respects most of all — a fantasy writer named Piers Anthony. Logan Hill reports.

 

Ben Calhoun's story on the East Ramapo school district feud continues. We hear from a former member of the board.

Hamza and Brian visit Tahir Alam, the alleged mastermind of a plot to ‘Islamize’ Birmingham’s schools.

A woman befriends her neighbor, only to find herself dragged into a world of make-believe we almost never get to see inside. Producer Jonathan Menjivar tells what happened.

Reporter Jeremy Goldstein tells the story of a man who had many books change his life, even though he'd never read them.

The secret games delegates play to amuse themselves, differences between Republican and Democratic convention delegates, and more.

Cassandra Smith has temptation in Kyoto.

The bizarre experience of being a guest in museum dedicated to the worst day of your life.

A story of wartime, of altruism and self-interest, of believing one's own publicity, and of a 50-year campaign for hearts and minds that was better known as the Bob Hope USO tour. Reporter Margy Rochlin saw one of the tours with her own eyes, in Tahiti in the 1980s, and has audio tapes to prove it.

Comedian Casey Wilson’s mom was a stabilizing force in her family. So after her unexpected death, both Casey and her father felt devastated and unmoored.

A teenage whiz kid invents a new toy for Milton Bradley. Then the trouble starts.