Producer Miki Meek tells the story of a phone booth in Japan that attracts thousands of people who lost loved ones in the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. A Japanese TV crew from NHK Sendai filmed people inside the phone booth, whose phone is not connected to anything at all.

We tell the story of that patient, Alan Pean, and how his delusions lead him to a situation that's just as strange as the worst thoughts his mind is cooking up. This story is a collaboration with the New York Times.

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.

Jonathan Goldstein tries to convince his uncle and his father to get into the same room and have a conversation for the first time in decades, before it’s too late and one of them dies. This story comes from Jonathan’s podcast Heavyweight, from Gimlet Media.


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.

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

Nema and Neda Semnani have extraordinarily similar first names – and completely opposite ways of dealing with what happened to their dad when they were little.

There’s a camp trying to set the gold standard for what refugee camps are to be. It’s in an actual beach vacation resort. Joanna Kakissis went there.

Sigrid Fry-Revere was fed up with the kidney donation system in this country. So, she went somewhere that seemed to be doing a better job with its transplant patients— possibly one of the last places you’d expect.

The first step for refugees trying to get out of limbo in Greece has been calling (and calling) the asylum office… on Skype.

Producer Neil Drumming tells the story of his dad and his family’s timeshare in Orlando, Florida.

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.

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.

One night at L-M Village, a panic-struck man walked up to Robyn Semien from our staff. He said his wife had a medical problem.

Producer Jonathan Menjivar listens in on parent-teacher conferences the day after the election at a bilingual school in Los Angeles.

Producer Nancy Updike speaks with comedian Tig Notaro about her mother-in-law, Carol. Carol came up with a joke that is only funny to one person—herself.

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

Producer Zoe Chace checks in on Tony, a diehard, conservative Republican and Ted Cruz supporter, to see how he’s holding up this week. Not great.

One way to understand the split inside the Republican party is to look at immigration. It’s this urgent, emotional issue for so much of the party these days.

Doug Deason is a political donor trying to make the biggest decision people like him make every four years – which presidential candidate to back. Producer Zoe Chace follows Deason through the unpredictable primaries of the 2016 election.


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

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.

Producer Stephanie Foo talks to veteran Michael Pitre, who had to change the way he talked about his experiences in the military after he realized the effect it was having on people.

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.