Programs

This episode was recorded on September 13th, 2026 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes Tony Trischka's EarlJam feat. Michael Daves, Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle, Sarah Borges, and Jack Barksdale. https://bit.ly/4hZ8aXH

First aired back in 2020, this episode follows the story of an octopus living one mile under the ocean as she performs a heroic act of heart and determination.In 2007, Bruce Robison’s robot submarine stumbled across an octopus settling in to brood her eggs. It seemed like a small moment, but as he went back to visit her month after month, what began as a simple act of motherhood became a heroic feat that has never been equaled by any known species on Earth. This episode was reported and produced by Annie McEwen. If you need more ocean in your life, check out the incredible Monterey Bay Aquarium live cams (especially the jellies!): www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-camsHere’s a pic of Octomom sitting on her eggs (© 2007 MBARI), Nov. 1, 2007.If you need more ocean in your life, check out the incredible Monterey Bay Aquarium live cams (especially the jellies!): Live Cams of Monterey Bay Aquarium!!Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sound Opinions senior producer Alex Claiborne has a conversation with drag queen, DJ and singer-songwriter Trixie Mattel. They discuss the process of making her Halloween-inspired EP, 'Til Death Do Us Part. They also talk about Trixie's YouTube special, Trixie's Halloween Mattelathon, which expertly combines her comedic chops, musical acumen and love for the spooky season.Join our Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3sivr9TBecome a member on Patreon: https://bit.ly/3slWZvcSign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/4frcVZoMake a donation via PayPal: https://bit.ly/3dmt9lUSend us a Voice Memo: Desktop: bit.ly/2RyD5Ah  Mobile: sayhi.chat/soundopsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you overlook the fact that you’d be instantly vaporized, there’d be one small advantage to standing at the surface of the Sun: You’d age more slowly than your friends and family back on Earth. The effect is called time dilation. It comes from Relativity – Albert Einstein’s theories of motion and gravity. They tell us that clocks at different locations tick at different rates. Keep in mind, though, that they tick at different rates as seen by observers moving at different speeds and in different gravitational fields. According to Special Relativity, as you go faster your clock slows down. General Relativity says your clock slows down as the pull of gravity gets stronger. On Earth, the effect has been confirmed by placing atomic clocks in high-flying jet aircraft. And GPS satellites are programmed to compensate for the effect. If they weren’t, the whole system would fail within days. Time dilation is more pronounced at the surface of the Sun because of the Sun’s great mass. A clock there would slow down by about 67 seconds per year compared to one on Earth. And when the Sun expires, its “corpse” will have even stronger gravity, slowing a clock by more than an hour per year. Time dilation is strongest just outside a black hole. An outside observer would see a clock at the cusp move almost infinitely slowly – never ticking off the final second before plunging into the black hole. Script by Damond Benningfield

It's a spotlight on our favorite Cuban music!  Featured artists include Orishas, Los Van Van, Los Zafiros and more.  

A bank robber on an undercover mission. A teenage girl with the powers of a tiger. A vigilante seeking vengeance in Ciudad Juárez. All have secret identities — but not all of them chose those identities for themselves. Start a Life Partners free trial to watch our new video, A Night of Stories and Improv.(00:00:00) Prologue: Ira attempts to solve perhaps the most unsolvable mystery at the Trees of Mystery in California: Who is the voice of Paul Bunyan? (7 minutes)(00:07:23) Act One: If you ever think about assuming a secret identity, you may want to take a little time to consider the possible consequences. Jon Ronson tells the tale of a bank robber who absolutely does not take that advice. (22 minutes)(00:31:33) Act Two: Elna Baker shares a story about her teenage cousin, Navey Baker, who maintains a secret identity while being a public figure: she's the school mascot, a tiger, at her high school. (11 minutes)(00:41:28) Act Three: While we were putting together this week's show, we heard about a real-life Avenger with a secret identity in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Writer Yuri Herrera lived on the border for several years and spent a lot of time in Juarez. He went back there to see what effect this secret Avenger has had on the city. (13 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org / This American Life privacy policy. / Learn more about sponsor message choices.