By Proxy

#327 - 9 March 2007

Stories of proxy fights, proxy arguments, and proxy situations of all kinds.

Quiz Show

#326 - 16 February 2007

A man with social anxiety goes through a transformation on a TV game show, a young woman with high ideals has them dashed by a TV game show, and teams compete to solve some of the hardest puzzles in the world, for fun.

Houses of Ill Repute

#325 - 2 February 2007

An old man in Brooklyn invites some homeless prostitutes into his house on a cold winter night. They never leave. Plus other stories about houses, such as the United States Congress, where the inhabitants don't always act as they should.

My Brilliant Plan

#324 - 26 January 2007

An American reporter in Iraq decides to rent a house in a residential Baghdad neighborhood rather than live in a hotel and be an easy target for insurgents. And an eleven-year-old boy figures out an ingenious way to see his dead father again. Big ideas gone amok.

The Super

#323 - 5 January 2007

In 1980's New York City, rent is rising: it seems out of control, and residents struggle to keep up. So Jack Hitt helps organize tenants, and threatens a rent strike. This does not go over so well with his building super, who, as it turns out, is a very dangerous man.

Shouting Across the Divide

#322 - 15 December 2006

A Muslim woman persuades her husband that their family would be happier if they left the West Bank and moved to America. They do, and things are good...until September 11. After that, the elementary school their daughter goes to begins using a textbook that says Muslims want to kill Christians.

Sink or Swim

#321 - 1 December 2006

Stories of people who are in over their heads and trying to stay afloat.

What's In A Number? — 2006 Edition

#320 - 3 November 2006

Recently, the British medical journal The Lancet published an study which updated their estimate of the number of Iraqis who've died since the U.S. invasion.

And the Call Was Coming from the Basement

#319 - 27 October 2006

For Halloween, scary stories that are all true. Kidnappings, zombie raccoons, haunted houses—real haunted houses!—and things that go "EEEEK!!!" in the night. Plus, a new story by David Sedaris, in which he walks among the dead.

With Great Power

#318 - 6 October 2006

A family wishes for years that they could do something to stop their neighbor's shocking behavior. Suddenly they get the power to decisively change things forever...and they have to decide whether they will. This, and other stories of everyday people who get saddled with great power—and the great sense of responsibility that goes with it.