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In this hour, stories about truth—family secrets, trap questions, and a confession 60 years in the making. This episode is hosted by Moth Senior Director Jenifer Hixson. The Moth Radio Hour is produced by The Moth and Jay Allison of Atlantic Public Media.

Storytellers:

Brad Ewell learns about his biological father. 

Gaby Fernandez accidentally divulges a family secret. 

Harold Cox "borrows" his father's car as a child.

Podcast # 961

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When John Dean found his conscience, America found its backbone and impeached a president. The Nixon Administration tried to undermine American democracy during the election of 1972 through now-legendary dirty tricks aimed at their Democrat opponents. They almost got away with it. Dean was Nixon’s White House Counsel, and participated in the cover-up of the Watergate break-in. Then he began cooperating with investigators, and blew the case wide-open. Dean is one of the most complicated and fascinating characters in modern American history. In a frank and funny conversation with Alec Baldwin in front of a live audience, John Dean opens up about how it all went down – and how it could go down now under Trump, who he says shares Nixon's paranoia and authoritarian instincts.

Originally aired December 11th, 2017.

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Veteran comic Tom Papa’s love of food began as a kid, when his dad recruited him for over-the-top food challenges — including eating a massive steak that won Tom a t-shirt. As an adult he became obsessed with bread baking after his daughter gave him a sourdough starter for Christmas. Tom explains how baking bread is like comedy, and what his fridge says about his current stage of life. Plus, he and Dan indulge in one of Tom’s favorite pairings: wine and potato chips.

Find Tom Papa's upcoming tour dates and check out his collection of bread baking tools. Also, Simply Wine in Manhattan is having a special tasting inspired by this episode! More info on their Instagram.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the new year, stories of people trying a radical approach to solving their problems.

Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.

• Prologue: Ira meets two sisters who got into a fight, and then learned a lesson in turning the other cheek. (8 minutes)
• Act One: A hardened PI works the toughest case of his very young life. (18 minutes)
• Act Two: Producer Aviva DeKornfeld talks to a man who finds himself the target of vengeful crows. (8 minutes)
• Act Three: Comedian Josh Johnson wonders if some people should’ve been spanked as kids. (10 minutes)
• Act Four: Writer Etgar Keret reads his story about a bus driver who refuses to open the doors for late passengers. (9 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

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Children as young as five have been detained by immigration agents in Minnesota. On this week’s On the Media, how I.C.E. uses technology to surveil the public and recruit more members. Plus, following Trump’s threats against Greenland, ties between the United States and its closest allies are fraying.

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Garrett M. Graff, journalist, historian, and author of the newsletter Doomsday Scenario, about Trump’s damage to the United States’ standing as a world power following his campaign for Greenland and his dismantling of core pillars of American policy. 

[19:14] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Joseph Cox, investigative reporter and co-founder at 404 Media, about his detailed reporting into ICE’s quietly widening arsenal of surveillance tools. 

[37:01] Micah sits down with Drew Harwell, technology reporter for The Washington Post, to discuss ICE’s elaborate “wartime recruitment” strategy, and what it means for immigration policy in the United States.

 Further reading / watching:

• “We Are Witnessing the Self-Immolation of a Superpower,” by Garrett M. Graff
• “‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid,” by Joseph Cox
• “ICE’s Facial Recognition App Misidentified a Woman. Twice,” by Joseph Cox
• “Inside ICE’s Tool to Monitor Phones in Entire Neighborhoods,” by Joseph Cox
• “New Legislation Would Rein In ICE’s Facial Recognition App,” by Joseph Cox
• “ICE plans $100 million ‘wartime recruitment’ push targeting gun shows, military fans for hires,” by Drew Harwell and Joyce Sohyun Lee

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

Elle Simone Scott recently died of ovarian cancer at the age of 49. This week's Reheat is our conversation with Elle from 2021.

Elle once said that a food stylist’s job is to tell the story of the food — and in her work on shows for Bravo, Food Network, and America’s Test Kitchen, she went to great lengths to do just that. Combing through boxes of cereal for the best-looking cornflakes? Check. Throwing ice cubes across the room to capture the perfect splash? No problem. Elle joined us to share some food styling secrets — and got real about her background in social work, why representation matters in food photography, and her battle with cancer.

Read Elle's obituary in The New York Times.

This episode originally aired on January 4, 2021, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Tomeka Weatherspoon, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O'Connell. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. This update was produced by Gianna Palmer.

Every Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at [email protected], and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Zeke Emanuel (a physician, medical ethicist, and policy wonk) has some different ideas for how to lead a healthy and meaningful life. It starts with ice cream. (Part three of “The Freakonomics Radio Guide to Getting Better.”)

• SOURCES:
  • Zeke Emanuel, oncologist, bioethicist, professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

• RESOURCES:
  • Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life, by Zeke Emanuel (2026).
  • "Nutrition Science’s Most Preposterous Result," by David Merritt Johns (The Atlantic, 2023).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Is Ozempic as Magical as It Sounds?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm Emanuel," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • "Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • "What’s the “Best” Exercise?" by Freakonomics Radio (2014).

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Most of us spend some part of our lives feeling bad about ourselves and wanting to feel better. But this preoccupation is a surprisingly new one in the history of the world, and can largely be traced back to one man: a rumpled, convertible-driving California state representative named John Vasconcellos who helped spark a movement that took over schools, board rooms, and social-service offices across America in the 1990s. This week, we look at the rise and fall of the self-esteem movement and ask: is it possible to raise your self-esteem? And is trying to do so even a good idea?

Special thanks to big thank you to the University of California, Santa Barbara Library for use of audio material from their Humanistic Psychology Archives and to their staff for helping located so many audio recordings. 

EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by - Heather Radke and Matt Kielty 
Produced by - Matt Kietly
Original music and sound design by - Jeremy S. Bloom and Matt Kielty
Flute performance and compositions by -  Ben Batchelder
Voiceover work by - Dann Fink and David Gebel
Mixing help by - Jeremy S. Bloom
Fact-checking by - Anna Pujol-Mazzini and  Angely Mercado
and Edited by  - Pat Walters

EPISODE CITATIONS:

Articles - 

• UCSB Humanistic Psychology Archive (https://zpr.io/HfVjUmvcVevE)

Books - 

• Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us (https://zpr.io/eGRyqz9zNQHu) by Will Storr. Counterpoint, 2018.
• A Liberating Vision (https://zpr.io/tJn7BR5m84fv) by Vasconcellos, John. Impact Publishers, Inc., 1979
• The Therapeutic State (https://zpr.io/tJn7BR5m84fv) by Nolan, James, Jr. NYU Press, 1998

Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

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Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

This week, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot talk with Phil Manzanera, the guitarist behind Roxy Music and a prolific record producer whose career spans more than five decades. The hosts also pay tribute to Bob Weir of Grateful Dead.

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Featured Songs:

Roxy Music, "If There Is Something," Roxy Music, Island and Reprise, 1972

The Grateful Dead, "Sugar Magnolia," American Beauty, Warner Bros., 1970

Bob Weir, "Cassidy," Ace, Warner Bros., 1972

Roxy Music, "Re-Make/Re-Model," Roxy Music, Island and Reprise, 1972

Roxy Music, "The Thrill of it All," Country Life, Island and ATCO, 1974

Roxy Music, "Amazona," Stranded, Island and ATCO, 1973

Roxy Music, "Do the Strand," For Your Pleasure, Island and Warner Bros., 1973

Phil Manzanera, "Big Day," Diamond Head, Island and ATCO, 1975

Roxy Music, "Both Ends Burning," Siren, Island and ATCO, 1975

Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackay, "Ambulante - Live," AM.PM Soho Live, Expression, 2025

Aterciopelados, "Baracunatana," La Pipa de la Paz, RCA, 1996

Jason P. Woodbury & The Night Bird Singing Quartet, "Get To Meet Them," (Single), Always Happening, 2025

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