This American Life

Banias is an 8-year-old kid living in Gaza. And she has a story to tell — many stories, in fact. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

One call to a very unusual hotline and everything that followed. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Things our dads taught us, whether they intended to or not. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

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. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

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. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

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. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

A wee flame, flickering in the dark. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Thirteen parole board members decide whether or not one man should be released from prison. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

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. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

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. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Boen Wang has a theory that a lot of the misery in his life can be traced to a single moment that happened years before he was born. So he makes a pilgrimage to see if he’s right. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

In Rafah, Yousef is out of options and faces his toughest move yet. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.