This American Life

What is it about them, our mean friends? They treat us poorly, they don't call us back, they cancel plans at the last minute, and yet we keep coming back for more. Popular bullies exist in business, politics — everywhere. How do they stay so popular? Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners [https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_id=lifepartners] to sign up for our premium subscription. * Prologue: We hear kids recorded at Chicago's Navy Pier and at a public swimming pool discussing their mean friends. And Ira Glass interviews Lillie Allison, 15, about the pretty, popular girls who were her best friends—until they cast her out. (5 minutes) * Act One: Jonathan Goldstein interrogates the girls, now grown up, who terrorized him and his classmates years ago in school—and finds they can be just as scary as ever. (18 minutes) * Act Two: We conduct an experiment to test whether being nice actually pays by equipping two waitresses with hidden microphones to record their interactions. Each waitress is instructed to be super friendly with half of their tables while remaining aloof with the other half. We then compare the tips to see which approach was more profitable. (10 minutes) * Act Three: A case study in every word from a friend meaning its opposite. (4 minutes) * Act Four: An excerpt of Bernard Cooper's story about the bill he got from his own father, for the entire cost of his childhood. Actor Josh Hamilton reads. (19 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/245/transcript] This American Life privacy policy. [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy] Learn more about sponsor message choices. [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The story of the most commonly performed surgery, and what goes wrong with it – terribly wrong – 100,000 times a year in the United States. We’re excited to bring you the first episode of The Retrievals, Season 2, the new show from longtime This American Life producer and editor Susan Burton. It’s from Serial Productions and The New York Times. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners [https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_id=lifepartners] to sign up for our premium subscription. * Prologue: Ira Glass introduces the first episode of an inventive new podcast from longtime This American Life producer and editor Susan Burton. * Act One: Susan Burton introduces Mindy, a labor and delivery nurse at UI Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. (5 minutes) * Act Two: Another labor and delivery nurse at UI Health, Clara, gets ready to deliver twins at her own hospital and receives an epidural. (19 minutes) * Act Three: Clara’s anesthesia is not working. She is now in the middle of major abdominal surgery, and she can feel that surgery. (21 minutes) * Act Four: Heather, the head of obstetric anesthesia at UI Health, gets up onstage and asks a ballroom full of hundreds of anesthesiologists to wrestle with the question of why patients are feeling pain during C-sections, and what they can do to solve it. (8 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/864/transcript] This American Life privacy policy. [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy] Learn more about sponsor message choices. [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Ira Glass talks with longtime producer Nancy Updike about the most personal stories they have put on the radio. This is a sample of the bonus episodes we regularly release to our This American Life Partners. To gain access to all the bonus episodes AND help us keep making This American Life, join at thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners [https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=bonus-content-promo&utm_id=lifepartners&utm_content=20250718-nancydeepcuts].

When you’re the only one who can see something, sometimes it feels like you’re in on a special secret. The hard part is getting anyone to believe your secret is real. This week, people trying to show others what they see—including a woman with muscular dystrophy who believes she has the same condition as an Olympic athlete. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners [https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_id=lifepartners] to sign up for our premium subscription. * Prologue: Ira asks Jeff Emtman to do the impossible—describe the indescribable color he sees in his left eye. (5 minutes) * Act One: Journalist David Epstein tells the story of Jill Viles, who has muscular dystrophy and can’t walk. But she believes that she somehow has the same condition as one of the best hurdlers in the world, Priscilla Lopes-Schliep. (36 minutes) * Act Two: Producer Nancy Updike speaks with comedian Tig Notaro about her mother-in-law, Carol. Carol came up with a joke that is only funny to one person—herself. But she loved it so much, Tig had to have her perform it onstage. (9 minutes) * Act Three: Actor Alex Karpovsky reads a short story by Etgar Keret, from his book, “The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God." (4 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/577/transcript] This American Life privacy policy. [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy] Learn more about sponsor message choices. [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Summer is a time when change seems more possible than ever. But is that really how it happens? Can people actually reinvent themselves in the warmer months? This week, we present stories — and some comedy — about people and their summer selves. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners [https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_id=lifepartners] to sign up for our premium subscription. * Prologue: Host Ira Glass reflects on his feelings about going to the beach. (3 minutes) * Act One: Producer Dana Chivvis explores the case of a 66-year-old working lifeguard who is suing New York State for age discrimination after refusing to wear a Speedo on the job. (16 minutes) * Act Two: A troupe of comedians tells personal stories about summer experiences and improvises scenes based on them. (23 minutes) * Act Three: Producer Neil Drumming tells the story of his dad and his family’s timeshare in Orlando, Florida. (14 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/594/transcript] This American Life privacy policy. [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy] Learn more about sponsor message choices. [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]