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This episode was recorded on March 22nd, 2026 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes Patrick Watson, John Gorka, Anna Tivel, Shelby Means, and Liza Lo. https://bit.ly/4vsZEnH

A couple summers ago, Radiolab reporter Alex Neason got out of the shower and almost stepped on her worst nightmare: an American Cockroach. It was flipped onto its back, struggling, and for a split second, Alex swears she felt the spiny tickle of its legs on the underside of her bare foot. And, like every other time she has come into contact with a roach, this sent her into a debilitating spiral of fear, anger, and disgust.  This week, Alex tries to understand what might be behind her fear, in the hopes she can overcome it. And in doing so, Alex learns more about these so-called pests than she could have ever wanted to.Special thanks to Jessica Ware, Timothy Marzullo, Alexandra Bell, and Changlu WangEPISODE CREDITS:  Reported by – Alex Neason Produced by – Jessica Yung and Annie McEwen with mixing help from – Jeremy Bloom Fact-checking by – Sophie Samiee and Edited by  – Pat Walters EPISODE CITATIONS: Articles –  American Cockroaches, Racism, and the Ecology of the Slave Ship (https://zpr.io/UNKsMz7ZaLvb) by Lindsay Garcia, Arcadia Books –   Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains (https://zpr.io/6E5wJBM4Kvcv) by Bethany Brookshire The Cockroach Papers (https://zpr.io/CvKePYxEMEAW) by Richard Schweid Cockroach (https://zpr.io/UuEAjmfqKccQ)  by Marion Copeland Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Signup (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.

In this bonus trip to the Desert Island Jukebox, Jim highlights a singer who spent years in the orbit of some of post-punk's most celebrated and notorious figures before stepping into the spotlight herself. Join our Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3sivr9TBecome a member on Patreon: https://bit.ly/3slWZvcSign up for our newsletter: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2136865Make 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.

The goddess of the dawn has given millions of Americans a rare treat the past couple of years: brilliant displays of the northern lights in regions where they’re seldom seen. Today, we know that these colorful curtains of light are powered by storms on the Sun. Bigger storms expand the viewing area. But in centuries past, cultures around the globe created their own explanations. In Scandinavia, for example, the northern lights might have represented Bifrost, the “rainbow bridge” that connected Earth to Asgard, the home of the gods. In some of the islands of Scotland, the lights represented a pair of chieftains fighting for the hand of a “merry dancer.” In southern England, they were considered omens of misfortune. Some saw the lights as clashing swords; red lights were streamers of blood. During an intense outburst in March 1716, at the end of a civil war, people ran into the streets in their nightclothes, and some thought it was judgment day. One writer said that some “read in its glaring visage, the fate of nations and the fall of kingdoms.” The name for the northern lights – the aurora borealis – was bestowed in 1619 by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the dawn. Boreas was the Greek god of storms and the north wind – one of the namesakes of the always beautiful, sometimes frightening northern lights. More about the aurora tomorrow. Script by Damond Benningfield

This week is an exploration of Blues music, Latino style.  Featured artists include Santana, Los Lonely Boys, Diamante Electrico, Bunbury, Andres Calamaro and many more.

We want to believe our lives can be changed by the ideas contained in a book. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: When Alexa was seven, she started going through her grandfather's books. Her grandfather was a playwright and teacher, and through the books—and especially through his notes in the margins—she entered the world of 1930's American theater. And she found a book that changed her life: writer Moss Hart's autobiography Act One. (5 minutes)Act One: More of Alexa Junge and how Moss Hart's autobiography changed her life. She followed his path, learned specific lessons, and had a vision of him that was absolutely clear—until she met his widow. (10 minutes)Act Two: A book that changed a family's life—temporarily, and not for the better. David Sedaris on what happened when he found a dirty book in the woods and passed it along to his sisters. (9 minutes)Act Three: Reporter Jeremy Goldstein tells the story of a man who had many books change his life, even though he'd never read them. (14 minutes)Act Four: Writer Meghan Daum travels to De Smet, South Dakota—where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived and set most of her Little House books. What surprises her is how much it matches what she'd imagined. The people there seem to be genuinely living by the values Laura wrote about. (15 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.