Meg Wolitzer presents three works about squabbles between people who love one another most.  Jenny Allen’s “In the Car” chronicles the European road trip of a long married couple—and he won’t ask for directions. The reader is Alysia Reiner.  In Jade Jones’ “Your Aunt Thinks She Ramona Africa,” a close family doesn’t know what to do with a nonconformist.  Crystal Dickinson reads.  And in “CobRa,” by Katherine Heiny, the methods of uncluttering guru Marie Kondo almost tidy away a marriage.  Peter Grosz reads.

Fall Out Boy is a band from Chicago that formed in 2001. Their first album, Take This To Your Grave, was a hit, especially in the punk rock world. When they put out their second album, though, in 2005, that was on a whole other scale. That album is called From Under the Cork Tree, and it went double platinum, and they were nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist. For this episode, I talked to the band’s singer, Patrick Stump, about how they made their breakout hit from that album, the song “Sugar, We’re Goin Down.” 

For more info, visit songexploder.net/fall-out-boy.

Visual artist Maris Jones talks about her campy, retro-fantasy “mini-movies,” her collaborations with major brands and pop star Chappell Roan, and her book, Unlock Your Aesthetic: A Visual Guide To Find Your Vibe. 

This story was read as a part of a live show hosted by the great Judy Blume, on the subject of banned books, something she personally knows about. This story hasn't been banned on its own, but many of Roxane Gay's works have, including Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture and Hunger: A Memoir of My Body. Because these bans are so prevalent, and so pernicious, we wanted to talk about that cultural argument, too. Surprising to absolutely no one, we at Too Hot are free speech boosters; so after the reading, we feature a fascinating talk with Amanda Jones, the author of That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America, who is on the frontline of this culture war in Louisiana. The story was read by actress Jessica Hecht. Our host is Aparna Nancherla.

[REBROADCAST FROM June 2, 2025] The latest novel from author Katie Kitamura follows an accomplished actor and the mysterious young man who suddenly enters her life. We picked Audition as our May Get Lit with All Of It book club selection. Kitamura discusses the novel with Alison in front of a sold out crowd. 

This week: the story of astrophysicist Charity Woodrum. Charity is an extragalactic astronomer who studies the life and death of galaxies, why some galaxies burn bright and others dim and sputter out. And in the midst of an unthinkable grief in her personal life, she discovers something in the sky—a new kind of light that would guide her path forward.Special thanks to Megan Stielstra, Jad Abumrad, Michael Woodrum, Gina Vivona and Clair Reilly-Roe.

EPISODE CREDITS: Reported by Lulu MillerProduced by Jessica YungFact-checking by Diane Kelly

Radiolab | Lateral Cuts:Our episode The Darkest Dark (https://radiolab.org/podcast/the-darkest-dark) could be of interest to those seeking the deepest unknowns. 

EPISODE CITATIONS:Music -Clair Reilly-Roe’s song “Sky Full of Ghosts” (https://zpr.io/JgauhRnj7qpX)

Articles -A new documentary on Charity Woodrum’s story: Space, Hope and Charity (https://www.spacehopecharityfilm.com/)

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The indie-folk band Lord Huron joins for a live performance of songs from their new album The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1.

The new novel Lonely Crowds follows two best friends who find their relationship challenged as they both pursue artistic success in New York City in the 1990s. Author Stephanie Wambugu joins to discuss her debut novel.