Seth Freed Wessler reports on people going the opposite direction over the US/Mexico border. Each year hundreds of thousands of people are deported from the US to Mexico — tens of thousands more choose to leave on their own — and lots of them make the journey after years and years living in the states.

Ira plays audio of a phone call recorded by Ryan Block, who became Internet-famous after he posted audio of himself trying to cancel his Comcast account. Then Ira talks with David Segal, writer of the Haggler column in the New York Times, about getting the backs of consumers who need a champion.

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

Al Drucker used to work for the IRS doing tax enforcement. One thing he found really helpful in the job was when someone from the public would give a tip on who he should look into.

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.

Ira finds out more about what Eric and Charlotte Kaufman’s sailing trip was meant to be, how prepared they were for such an extensive trip, and exactly what went wrong on their sailboat that led to the dramatic rescue for which they were so roundly criticized.

There’s been a big, messy, fascinating story unfolding in Los Angeles for awhile… involving two big law enforcement agencies: the LA county sheriff’s department, which is huge, and the FBI. A secret investigation got exposed.

Carin Gilfry explains how she once accidentally locked herself in a hotel closet, and because today’s show is being broadcast from an opera house stage, Ira is able to take the story to a place he never usually can.

In New York, like in lots of cities, you can call 3-1-1 for help with city services, but there's lots of things that people call in for that operators don't have answers for. And so they improvise.

Peter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me, tells Ira the origin story of one of the worst movie sequels ever made.

Susan Zalkind spent six months investigating all this for Boston Magazine and This American Life. And she has a personal connection to the 2011 triple murder.

Reporter Mary Wiltenburg tells the story of a little boy stymied by the question "Where do you come from?" (8 minutes)You can read more of the family’s stories on Mary’s website.

Comedian Wyatt Cenac tells the story of the first time he ever tried marijuana. He didn't smoke it.

Reporter Anna Sale tells the story of the high profile politician who came to her with an issue that had nothing to do with politics and nothing to do with him. Instead it had everything to do with Anna and the state of her love life.

Producer Sean Cole tells the story of a former foster kid who was finally adopted in his mid-30's,and the reason he was taken away from the foster family he loved more than 20 years ago.

There's this woman Hamida Gulistani who advocates for women's rights in Afghanistan. For a few years when the US presence in the country was at its greatest, she felt like someone had her back … she felt safer … she saw some progress.

Joshuah Bearman tells a story that’s a sequel to his memorable episode about his mother and half-brother David. It’s done onstage as a play that’s structured like a radio documentary, with Josh Hamilton playing Joshuah, and James Ransone playing his brother.

Ira talks to Grantland writer David Hill about the board game Diplomacy. He had a couple experiences that made him believe that maybe he didn't understand how to play properly.

This story, produced by the podcast Love+Radio, is the story of a woman throwing herself into a business plan that’s really an entire life plan. The piece is non-narrated—just a long interview with the young woman, named Taylor Rose Nations.

Chana Joffe-Walt tells the story of a teenager named Michael. Like a lot of teenagers Michael decides to follow his dreams — and that to follow his dreams, he’s going to need to make a total change.

Susan lays out her theory of what the truth is in this case. And she explains what we still don’t know.

Comedian Sam Mullins tells a story onstage about being in middle school, and throwing a party for his longtime childhood friend, who is also a girl. Sam sees the beach party as the perfect opportunity to impress a bunch of teenage girls in bathing suits.