A show about rules and what happens when they’re vague and randomly enforced.
-
Download Control-click (or right-click) Tap and hold to download
- Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe in Apple Podcasts Subscribe
- Transcript
The Hawaiian island of Niihau
Sean Cole/This American Life
Prologue
The Department of Homeland Security’s new policies on deportation have
sown fear and confusion among undocumented immigrants. Ira Glass and
Lilly Sullivan go to Chicago and meet a family trying to navigate the situation.
No one knows what to expect. (12 minutes)
Act One
That’s Just How I Rule
A family that owns a private island in Hawaii sets rules for the people who live there. But when the rules are administered in an unpredictable way, the islanders get upset. Sean Cole and Adia White tell the story. (22 minutes)
Act Two
A Dave in Court
A judge in a suburban New Jersey courtroom wants the people who come before him to see the rules as fair. Including our reporter, David Kestenbaum. (19 minutes)
Related
If you enjoyed this episode, you may like these
Act One: War of Northern Aggression
Producer Ben Calhoun heads to his home state of Wisconsin, a place currently turned against itself in the form of Senate recall elections.
Act One: D-u-why?!
Mike Birbiglia recalls being in a car accident with a hit and run drunk driver.
Act One: Family Plot
Producer Lina Misitzis travels to Greece with her family to exhume the bones of her dead grandmother. (20 minutes)
Staff Recommendations
A Mess to Be Reckoned With
Lissa Yellow Bird searches for missing people. She's great at it. But then, her niece goes missing.
Harold
The story of Harold Washington and the white backlash that was set off when he became Chicago's first black mayor.