Gang Girl, on a body they thought was fake that turned out to be real.

The secret games delegates play to amuse themselves, differences between Republican and Democratic convention delegates, and more.

Radio producer Dan Gediman's story about his older brother, "Alex Jones," who he idolized when they were kids. After many unsuccessful attempts to become a rock star, he finally made it in music, as a Tom Jones impersonator.

Eighteen-year-old correspondent Claudia Perez goes to an audition where a thousand Mexican women and girls dress up to play the slain Mexican pop star Selena in an upcoming film about her life. Feelings about Selena run so high that when her fans talk about her, they often cry.

Kara instructs some of her male friends on the proper ways to treat a girl.

Ira talks about one of the purest expressions of ordinary folks' desire to be detectives: a child's detective notebook — full of information, secret codes, cases, and an application to become an FBI agent.

Poet/performer Lisa Buscani tells a story about her father.

Claudia Perez returns to talk about her year from a more personal perspective.

Writer Quincy Troupe talks about how, as a boy, he idolized Miles Davis, and how, as a man, he actually became one of Davis's closest friends. And how his picture of the man changed.

Who among us has not wanted amnesia to help get over someone or something? But the problem with amnesia is that it happens a lot more in TV shows and movies and novels than it does in real life. We send reporter Scott Carrier to find someone who really has had amnesia.

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

Chickenman was a short daily radio show airing from 1966 to 1969, and it was incredibly popular. It started locally on WCFL in Chicago, then proceeded to spread to over 1,500 radio stations.

Radical right wing Mexican-American activist Daniel D.

Reporter Shirley Jahad investigates the politics of the Chicago hot dog on Navy Pier.

More campaign diaries from The New Republic's Michael Lewis.

Ira went out on surveillance with a real private eye in Chicago expecting it to be drudge work with none of the glamour of movie detectives. He was wrong.

We invited Dick Orkin to create a new Chickenman episode for our Poultry Slam.

Carmen Delzell on a deal she made with the devil when she turned 30.

Ira with Sam Franco, a 72-year-old Chicagoan who spent his life playing and teaching accordion. He never became famous.

A Bulls dream from Chicagoan Brett Grossman, and an acoustic guitar cover of Bulls theme music from Chicago musician Rick Karr.

Nora Moreno with tapes of her father, a pioneer in Spanish-language broadcasting in America. Her mother fell in love with her father because of his poetic character on the radio, but in real life, the very things that attracted her to him over the radio drove them apart.

Temporary employment agencies' business has exploded in the last few years as corporations lay off their full-time employees, especially technical workers. This American Life "hired" two temp workers, Lee and Tito, to document their experiences as temps. Ira invites Tito and Lee into the studio to spin some music "appropriate" for temp employees.

Jo Carol Pierce released a CD, "Bad Girls Upset by the Truth," which documents in part her teenage years. Host Ira Glass shares a couple of songs from the CD and some of the stories behind them.

Michael Lewis, on McCain and Ifshin.