Poultry Slam 2008

#369 - 28 November 2008

A man in Pakistan wants to break his friend out of prison. He buys him an amulet that supposedly has the power to protect anyone from harm. But just to be on the safe side, he decides to test the amulet by trying it out first. On a chicken.

Who Do You Think You Are?

#368 - 7 November 2008

This week we bring you stories of privilege and the lengths some will go to to maintain it. In one story, a woman fights—on tape!—with her city's parking enforcer about playing favorites.

Ground Game

#367 - 24 October 2008

This American Life goes to Pennsylvania, a battleground within a battleground, to figure out why, and how, John McCain and Barack Obama both think they can win there. And we get to know the ordinary people who've become the candidates' most forceful foot soldiers.

A Better Mousetrap 2008

#366 - 10 October 2008

Stories about people trying to find new solutions to age-old problems—solutions that sometimes cause problems of their own. Alex Blumberg returns (in collaboration with the Planet Money podcast) with the latest in the financial crisis.

Another Frightening Show About the Economy

#365 - 3 October 2008

Alex Blumberg and NPR's Adam Davidson—the two guys who reported our Giant Pool of Money episode—are back, in collaboration with the Planet Money podcast.

Going Big

#364 - 26 September 2008

Stories about people who take grand, sweeping approaches to solving problems of all sorts.

Enforcers

#363 - 12 September 2008

Stories about people who take the law into their own hands, even when the line between enforcing the rules and breaking them gets kind of hazy.

Got You Pegged

#362 - 22 August 2008

Shalom Auslander goes on vacation with his family, and suspects the beloved, chatty old man in the room next door is an imposter—and sets out to prove it. This and other stories about the pitfalls of making snap judgments about others.

Fear of Sleep

#361 - 8 August 2008

Mike Birbiglia got used to strange things happening to him when he slept—until something happened that almost killed him (Mike's story is now a feature film, Sleepwalk With Me). This and other reasons to fear sleep, including bedbugs, "The Shining," and mild-mannered husbands who turn into maniacs while asleep.

Switched At Birth

#360 - 25 July 2008

On a summer day in 1951, two baby girls were born in a hospital in small-town Wisconsin. The infants were accidentally switched, and went home with the wrong families.