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Act Two: Megan and Sybil

The first act of our show was about someone who has spent decades trying to close the gap with her sister because they were apart until she was eight years old. This next story is the reverse.

Act One: Christmas in 3-D

Maya Gurantz tells the story of Glenn and Laurie Mutchler, who go further than most parents to create a magical Christmas for their kids, Colin, Erica and Adam. Theirs included a family mythology of Santas that had its own logic, with many Santas and a family elf named Jeko, who were never jolly and often thrillingly scary.

Act Six: Massachusetts

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.

Act Four: Now We Are Five

David Sedaris comes from a big family, who for many years growing up, took annual vacations to the same beach house. In this story, David tells us about losing a sister, and how her death prompted a family reunion back at the beach.

Act Four: Applied Bob Studies

When Sandy Allen fled the people-heavy city back in 2017, they were looking for green space and a chance to learn how to cope with being alone. They had a sort of guide book, though — their Uncle Bob, who’d made a radical decision decades before.

Act One: How Do I Say This?

Scaachi Koul is trying to learn a language native to her parents, and heads back to Calgary to ask why they never taught it to her in the first place.  (21 minutes)

Act Three: Pigeons on a Plane

Reporter Kevin Sieff travels from Mexico to Chicago with a group of seniors reuiniting with their undocumented kids in the U.S., some for the first time in decades. (18 minutes)

Act Two: Next of Kindle

After his mother passes, a man unearths her book collection… and is surprised. (6 1/2 minutes)

Act Two: Daddy Lessons

Parents try to shape who we are in their own image. Producer Neil Drumming spoke to Adam Mansbach, who tried to make his daughter fall in love with hip-hop.

Act Three: Where I Came From

Producer Ben Calhoun recalls a weighty moment from childhood and thinks about how the words from that encounter have come up again.

Act One: The Sudden Departure

When a small town loses 100 people in just a few hours, kids come home to find their parents missing. Producer Lilly Sullivan talks to people trying to make sense of where they went and if they’ll come back.