The Official Unofficial Record

#848 - 22 November 2024

How do you count almost 12 million votes if you’re not the government? This week, we bring you the extraordinary story of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who created the only verifiable public record of votes in their presidential election — and other stories of people trying to correct the official record with their own versions.

The Truly Incredible Story of Keiko the Killer Whale

#847 - 15 November 2024

Keiko was a hugely beloved adventure park attraction. He was also captured in the wild and taken away from his mother when he was just a calf. When Hollywood learned about him, a colossal effort began to un-tame him and send him back to the ocean.

This Is the Cake We Baked

#846 - 8 November 2024

With Donald Trump’s victory this week, many people looked at the election results and thought, yeah, this is the country I thought it was. For some people, that was a hopeful thing. For others, kind of the opposite. This week, we talked with people who helped make it happen and some who are looking to what’s next.

A Small Thing That Gives Me a Tiny Shred of Hope

#845 - 1 November 2024

A wee flame, flickering in the dark.

This Is the Case of Henry Dee

#844 - 18 October 2024

Thirteen parole board members decide whether or not one man should be released from prison.

A Little Bit of Power

#843 - 11 October 2024

So much of the fight for the presidency is coming down to battles for small slices of voters who can help throw swing states to one candidate or another. Abbas Alawieh, a leader in the Uncommitted movement, grapples with how to get his voters the thing they want.

51 Days

#842 - 4 October 2024

Chen Almog-Goldstein was kidnapped by Hamas along with her three youngest children on October 7, 2023. This week, she tells the story of their life as hostages in Gaza.

My Senior Year

#841 - 20 September 2024

One kid comes to America as an exchange student and commits herself to the senior year experience.

How Are You Not Seeing This?

#840 - 13 September 2024

People trying and struggling to see what another person sees.

Meet Me at the Fair

#839 - 6 September 2024

Iowa has three million people and a million come to their State Fair, each with their own goals and dreams for the fair. We hang out with some of them, to see if they get what they hoped for.