USAID was founded in 1961. Since then, it has spent hundreds of billions of dollars all over the world.

Kirk Johnson tells Ira about a strange choice he made during his family’s evacuation from the Sunset Fire in Los Angeles. (5 minutes)

Short fiction from Bess Kalb about a groundhog named Susan, who has her own opinions about the holiday named after her species. (7 minutes)You can find more work from Bess at The Grudge Report on Substack.

Zach and his father enter into an agreement that could change their entire relationship. (9 minutes)

Angela's dad, an accountant, made a spreadsheet to prepare for their family trip to a national park.

There are situations where making judgments about people based on limited information is not only accepted but required. One of those situations is open adoption, where birth mothers actually choose the adoptive parents for their child.

7-year-old Miles has lots of questions. More specifically, he has questions about the famous car chase from “The Blues Brothers” movie.

A scientist who is used to organizing data starts tracking scientific meetings that seem to exist only on paper—meetings that might decide the fate of years of research. The NIH website shows one reality; the empty conference rooms tell another story.

A history of the brief mayoral career of Harold Washington and its lessons for Black and white America, as told by people close to him. (39 minutes)Harold Washington died on November 25, 1987.  This show was first broadcast ten years later, in 1997.

Ted was six when he first picked up a rock from the Petrified Forest National Park. Nearly 50 years later, he really wishes he hadn’t.

Shalom Auslander tells the story of the time he went on vacation, pegged the guest in the room next door as an imposter, and devoted his holiday to trying to prove it.