This American Life receives an emergency transmission from a rooftop somewhere in New York City, where John Hodgman reports on the true-life origins of Christmas traditions. John Hodgman is the author of More Information Than You Require.

Aimee Bender reads her story "The Rememberer," about a woman whose lover is undergoing reverse evolution. One day he's a man, the next, a salamander.

What’s it like, being on that boat with the immortal ferryman, heading into the underworld? Writer Marie Phillips imagines one such trip. Actor Noma Dumezweni reads.

What divorce looks like from the dog's point of view. (5 minutes)This monologue was performed by Merrill Markoe and recorded at Un-Cabaret in Los Angeles.

Chicago writer Rebecca Makkai bring us the story of a reality television producer attempting to gossip love into existence—and just how complicated that gets. This fiction story originally appeared in the journal Crazyhorse.

Original fiction by Ira Sher about a group of children who find a man trapped in a well but decide not to get him any help.

Writer Mona Simpson reads from her forthcoming novel My Hollywood. This excerpt is about the daytime life of Filipino nannies, during the hours in which they run the lovely homes of certain Los Angeles neighborhoods.

Scott Carrier's Haiku stories. Scott is the author of Running After Antelope.

Writer Ben Loory has a short story about the 180 none of us can escape. It’s from his collection, Stories for the Nighttime and Some for the Day.

Etgar Keret describes the moment in the immediate aftermath of an affair. Actor Matt Malloy reads.

Writer Donald Antrim's The Hundred Brothers, and the question: What happens when we grow up? (24 minutes)

A government agent steals a suit that’s supposed to make her invisible. It does more than that.

A hardened PI works the toughest case of his very young life. (18 minutes)ALL IN: COMEDY ABOUT LOVE is written by Simon Rich and stars John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Fred Armisen, and Chloe Fineman.

David Sedaris reads a new story that explores the age-old question: Can a parrot and a pot-bellied pig find happiness in a world that only wants to pigeon-hole them? David's most recent book is Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.

Out with a man on a moonlit walk on Lake Geneva, an American woman does the proper thing. He does not.

Ron Carlson's short story.

Writer Brady Udall with another story about what animals can take the place of, in our lives and in our homes—this one involving an armadillo. This work of fiction originally appeared in the Autumn 1999 issue of Story magazine.

Actor Dermot Mulroney reads a new short story by Israeli writer Etgar Keret. Etgar Keret's most recent book is the short story collection, The Girl on the Fridge.

"Edison, New Jersey," a story about delivering pool tables from Junot Diaz's book Drown.

Yeah, Mary Magdalene knew Jesus. She knew him before anybody else had ever even heard of him.

A how-to by Junot Diaz, from his book Drown.

An excerpt from Nicholson Baker's novel The Everlasting Story of Nory, which is narrated, more or less, by a ten-year-old. In this excerpt, we return to what Kayla Hernandez talked about in the prologue to the show: The narrator discusses the difficulty of remembering what happens on any given day.

Tillie Olsen reads from her short story "I Stand Here Ironing," from her collection Tell Me A Riddle. In the story, a mother reviews all that's gone wrong in the raising of her oldest daughter...and makes a few conclusions about what she should think about her mistakes as a mother.

Even the most innocent office job can take over your life. A story by fiction writer Daniel Orozco about one such job.