Producer David Kestenbaum tells the story of an astronaut who returns with a very unexpected view of the great beyond.

There is a library that's on the border of Canada and the United States — literally on the border, with part of the library in each country. Producer Zoe Chace interviews journalist Yeganeh Torbati about how lately, it's become a critical space for a surprising set of visitors.

Romantic comedies usually don’t get much respect.  Producer Neil Drumming explains what’s so great about them. (5 minutes)

Producer Chana Joffe-Walt fills in for Ira Glass this week. We hear from a person you don’t normally hear from in these kinds of stories — the partner of a man who has been accused of sexual harassment.

Kirk wonders if Edwin has a sidekick who helped him the night of the Tring heist.

Veronica Chater explains the conflict in her house between her love for her pet macaw—a kind of parrot—and her love for her husband and three kids. The macaw wreaks a sort of low-level chaos in the house, because it wants Veronica all to itself.

Ira Glass talks with producer Lilly Sullivan about a story she heard growing up about men messing with a girl’s mind. Lilly can relate. (9 minutes)

A man tries something he’s never done before and discovers a new passion. A work of short fiction written by Neil Drumming and read by actor Dorian Missick.

Senator Jeff Flake goes to the White House and discovers a president who seems to be very open to doing whatever immigration deal the senate brings him. He spends an optimistic 24 hours writing a bill with his bipartisan partners.

Since losing their daughter in the Aurora, Colorado shooting, Sandy and Lonnie Phillips have gone to the locations of many mass shootings. They know lots about the challenges grieving families face, and have information only people who have lost someone to a shooting can know.

There are two tiny Spanish towns on the African continent protected by multiple layers of razor wire, cameras and guards.

A private basketball coach teaches a young student some things his parents don't agree with. David Kestenbaum has the story.

Kelefa Sanneh sits in on one of Starbucks’ anti-racial bias classes. There’s one thing that no one seems to want to talk about.

Anita was separated from her son at the border a month ago. Jeremy Raff and Nadia Reiman follow her as she tries to get him back.

Producer David Kestenbaum took issue with the entire premise of today’s show, and explains why.

There’s a lawsuit going on between Harvard and some Asian American students who say the admissions process discriminates against them.

As a teenager he saw himself as an historical figure, then that ended up becoming true. Producer Zoe Chace tells the story of Newt Gingrich, the man who either reinvented politics or broke it.

Host Ira Glass takes a tour to walls all around the world. (9 minutes)

Senator Jeff Flake breaks from the plan and speaks openly about the bipartisan DACA proposal to the media before the president has a chance to sell the deal himself. Turns out, that’s not what actually kills the deal.

LaDonna sets out to transform the way this place is run.

The story of a con man, one of the most successful salesmen in a long-running multimillion-dollar telemarketing scam, who finally got caught when he was conned himself. Producer Nancy Updike talks about the case with Dale Sekovich, Federal Trade Commission investigator.

The brawl on the mall of the University of Nebraska turns into a fiasco at the state capitol, as legislators try to step in and dictate what should happen at the university. (16 1/2 minutes)

When health care premiums went up in New York State, a bunch of people got mad and wrote letters to the state.