Producer Nadia Reiman tells the story of one mom and her son stuck someplace with no choice.

Host Ira Glass talks to Jay Van Bavel, who recently found himself trapped in an elevator (in a very 2020 predicament).

Ira talks to producer Elna Baker about the time she and her siblings found themselves trapped in a hotel room with an unexpected visitor.

Sarah Vowell and her twin sister, Amy, retrace the Trail of Tears. They visit the town in Georgia that was the capital of the Cherokee Nation before the Cherokee were expelled. They enjoy a tourist trap hotel in Chattanooga. They go to Ross's Landing, the embarkment point for the water route of the Trail of Tears. (27 minutes)

During an election in which it feels like the very existence of our democracy hangs in the balance, producer Sean Cole and someone very close to him have been dealing with their own immediate existential questions.

FBI agents question NSA contractor Reality Winner, who was later charged with leaking evidence of Russian interference in U.S. elections. Even the most casual small talk takes on an air of menace. (18 minutes)This is an excerpt from Is This A Room, a play based on the real FBI interrogation transcript.

The first day on the job inevitably means mistakes, mishaps, and sometimes, fiascos. A true story, told by a former rookie cop.

Guest host Bim Adewunmi sits in for Ira Glass and talks to retired NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao about how a space mission compares with living alone in a one-bed apartment on earth.

It turns out winning the lottery is only the first step in trying to come to America. More than half of the people who win each year never make it.

A protestor who thinks the Hong Kong police are terrible has a chat with his dad — a police officer.

Writer Danielle Evans has been almost completely alone all quarantine — and she’s had time to think about grief, and loneliness and what might come after this pandemic is over. (17 minutes)A version of this essay first appeared in the Corona Correspondences series at The Sewanee Review.

Two teachers find themselves thrown into a heated and ugly fight with parents right before school opens back up. Producer Miki Meek has this story from Utah.

Khristen, a single mom, decides to secretly record her home inspector to catch him sexually harassing her. Eight years later, reporter Jessica Lussenhop checks in with Khristen to talk about what the recording meant back then versus now.

Ira watches videos of police behavior at protests. The videos were pulled from a Twitter thread (and corresponding spreadsheet) created by T.

Stephanie Foo talks to a father trying to go about his day while his daughter comes to him over and over, with some things on her mind.

Jaime Amor does yoga storytelling for kids. We ask her to try taking on a film for grownups.

Carmen Maria Machado tells the story of being stuck in an abusive relationship as a “Choose Your Own Adventure” tale. This chapter of Carmen’s memoir, “In The Dream House,” was read for us by actor Zoë Winters.

The musicians in the orchestra for Phantom of the Opera tell reporter Jay Caspian Kang about what it’s like to play the exact same music every single night—for decades—and how they’ve learned to make their peace with it. (22 minutes)

Jack Hitt's Peter Pan story continues. (18 minutes)Jack is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and Harper’s.

A nurse giving instructions to her partner in case she dies from COVID-19; a brother and sister talking every day, all of a sudden. (9 minutes)We first heard about nurse Elise Barrett in a story by Eric Boodman for STAT.

Kim Jong-Il loved movies, but hated all the movies made in North Korea. So he kidnapped a famous South Korean director and his ex-wife—a South Korean film star—locked them up in a villa in North Korea, and forced them to make movies for him. Nancy Updike tells the story.

What happens when a dealer of delight gets depressed? Podcast host Tracy Clayton talks to Bim Adewunmi about the road back. (17 minutes)

Ira talks to his dad about a job he had before Ira was born.

Political documentaries aren’t for everyone. Especially when they’re over five hours long.