Ira Glass shares some news about This American Life

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Pam Houston is a novelist, memoirist and short story writer whose titles include Cowboys Are My Weakness, Waltzing the Cat, and her latest autobiographical volume, Without Exception. If you've not read her stories, she's got a very recognizable authorial voice. Bonnie Milligan is an actor who appeared on Broadway in Head Over Heels and recently wowed audiences as Aunt Debra in Kimberly Akimbo—a performance which earned her a Tony award. She's also appeared in series including And Just Like That… as well as Search Party. Following the story, our producer, Matthew Love, talks to Houston about the breadth of her work, and her enduring love of dogs. This episode is hosted by Aparna Nancherla.

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What happens when people create alternate versions of themselves and release them into the wild?

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Prologue: Host Ira Glass talks about a recent experience being interviewed and the realization that he was being asked about another version of himself. (4 minutes)Act One: Reporter Evan Ratliff creates an AI version of himself and then sets it loose on the world. This story was adapted from Evan's podcast, Shell Game. (43 minutes)Act Two: Emmanuel Dzotsi explores the phenomenon of people lying on first dates to project a better version of themselves. Plus, he gets into a very personal example from his own life. (8 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

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Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about our relationship with man’s best friend, from an evening of dog stories hosted by Saturday Night Live alum Ana Gasteyer.  Emma Brewer’s “Think You Deserve Companionship? Apply to Adopt a Dog Today,” pokes fun at the bureaucratic hurdles involved in getting a new friend.It’s performed by Gasteyer.  Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum offers a up a tale of romance, transformation and machinations, in “The Glass Dog,” performed by Jeremy Shamos.  And David Means’ “Clementine, Carmelita, Dog,” tells the tale of one dog with two names—and two families.  It’s performed by Javier Munoz. 

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When Zohran Mamdani won the primary race for New York mayor, the Democratic establishment's lukewarm response echoed the treatment of another charismatic, unconventional candidate decades earlier. This week, we bring you the story of Harold Washington, the greatest politician you've probably never heard of, and the backlash that ensued when he became Chicago's first Black mayor.

Prologue: As New York City’s Democratic establishment attempts to resist the candidacy of Zohran Mamdani, we look back at another mayoral candidate who upset the established political machine. (7 minutes)Act One: A history of the brief mayoral career of Harold Washington and its lessons for Black and white America, as told by people close to him. (39 minutes)Act Two: Ira revisits interviews with Chicago voters from the 1997 and 2007 rebroadcasts of this episode. In 1997, ten years after Harold Washington’s death, not much had changed in Chicago. By 2007, attitudes had begun to shift slowly, and another Black politician from Chicago was on the rise — Barack Obama. Ira also speaks to David Axelrod, an advisor to both Harold Washington and Barack Obama. (10 minutes)

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On this SELECTED SHORTS, host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about moving out of familiar territory into new spaces and new understanding.  In Meron Hadero’s “The Thief’s Tale,” read by Teagle F. Bougere, an émigré can’t leave some of his old ways behind.  “The Tallest Doll in New York City,” by Maria Dahvana Headley, imagines what happens when two iconic skyscrapers fall in love.It’s read by Becca Blackwell.  And summer trip yields unexpected treasures in Anne Tyler’s “The Feather Behind the Rock,” read by Jane Curtin.

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