Pavan Bivigou writes about having sickle-cell anemia.

David Rakoff tells about his experience playing Sigmund Freud in the window of upscale Barney's department store in Manhattan. For Christmas. This was the first of dozens of appearances on our show by David Rakoff, who died in 2012.

Masha Gessen has fled their home country, Russia, twice. First as a teenager, then again as an adult.

Reporter Nancy Updike spends two days with Neal Smither, who cleans up crime scenes for a living, and comes away wanting to open his Los Angeles franchise, despite the gore — or maybe because of it.

Our producer Diane Wu spent most of her life thinking she doesn’t have a unique and personal take on The Sound of Music.

Our producer, Diane Wu, spent most of her life thinking she doesn’t have a unique and personal take on The Sound of Music. She is wrong.

Editor David Kestenbaum speaks with Jeff Permar, who is trapped in a Groundhog Day situation — with an actual groundhog! (9 minutes)See more videos of the groundhog Chunk on Jeff’s YouTube channel.

Connie Wang tells the story of a championship window she didn't realize she was in — until it was too late. (14 minutes)Connie is the author of the book Oh My Mother! We got the idea to do this story from Aaron Reiss.

A definition of antisemitism, canceled classes, and angry professors at Columbia University. (16 minutes)

Salesman Jason Mascia has the most sales of anyone this month, as usual. Sean Cole spent a week with him watching how he does it.

In Sean Lewis’ family, there is a legendarily romantic love story. It’s famous in his family partly because the story unfolded over decades and across continents, but also because no one can quite believe that out of everyone in their family, the one with the epic, swoon-inducing love story…is Mark.

Producer Nancy Updike takes some personal questions about death and dying to a place where they're happening all the time.

One day a successful cancer researcher named Jonathan Brody gave a talk at his alma mater, about how people in his field need to think outside the box if they're going to find a cure. Afterward Jonathan's old music teacher Anthony Holland shared an idea that was way out of the box: Killing cancer cells with electromagnetic waves. Gabriel Rhodes tells what happened next.

Brandon Darby was a radical activist and one of the founders of the incredibly effective relief organization Common Ground. Michael May reports on how Darby changed from a revolutionary who wanted the overthrow of the U.S. government into an informant working with the FBI against his former radical allies.

From the ages of 12 to 27, our producer Elna Baker was supposed to confess to male clergy anytime she did anything sexual. It was so routine for her that she barely thought to talk about it.

Jerry Nadler and other democrats in the House Judiciary Committee were anticipating their first major public appearance – and show of power – since winning back the house in November. As Nadler and his staff prepared to get some answers from then-acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker about his role and conduct as interim AG, producer Zoe Chace follows them behind the scenes for weeks in the run-up to the hearing, to see if their strategies work, or don’t.

Reporter Sarah Gibson tells the story of a huge political divide in the tiny town of Croydon, NH –  population 800. She follows local activists as they try to rally everyone to their side in time for a crucial town meeting.

Sean Cole attempts to kick his 35 year-long smoking habit, using a book that’s said to have helped millions of people to quit. (33 minutes)

Over the course of one week in December, Yousef tries to get his sisters to safety, in Rafah. (29 minutes)

Nikole Hannah-Jones reports on a school district that accidentally stumbled on an integration programin recent years. It's the Normandy School District in Normandy, Missouri.

Iggy Pop, the documentary's narrator, begins by listing some of the artists and artistic movements influenced by Burroughs: Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Steely Dan, Kurt Cobain, Lou Reed; punk, heavy metal. We hear from director John Waters on the impact on him of Burroughs' open homosexuality and frankness about sex.

Andrew Forsthoefel's story continues. (30 min)Andrew produced the radio story with Jay Allison.

Chana Joffe-Walt spent six months reporting on the rise in people on disability. She spends time in Hale County, Alabama, talking to the only general practitioner in town, the main person who okays so many of the county's residents for disability.