Programs

This episode was recorded on October 12th, 2025 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes Craig Finn & The Band of Forgiveness, East Nash Grass, Deb Talan, Nicki Bluhm, and Two Runner. https://bit.ly/3XJq7hP

Today on the show, we’re bringing you an episode from Our Common Nature (https://link.podtrac.com/v7mx144d), a new podcast series where cellist Yo-Yo Ma and host Ana González travel around the United States to meet people, make music and better understand how culture binds us to nature. The series features a few familiar voices, including Ana González (host) and Alan Goffinski (producer), from our kids podcast, Terrestrials (https://link.podtrac.com/vysacqn1). About the episode: West Virginia is defined by its beauty and its coal, two things that can work against each other. Yo-Yo Ma felt this as soon as stepped foot in its hills.This episode explores how music and poetry help process the emotions of a community besieged with disaster and held together by pride and duty. We travel down the Coal River with third-generation coal miner Chris Saunders, who tells us how coal has saved and threatened his life. Poet Crystal Good shares her poetry, which channels her rage and love. And musician and granddaughter of West Virginia coal miners, Kathy Mattea, explains the beauty of belting out your home state in a chorus. The end of the episode finds host Ana floating down the New River with help from a group of high schoolers and Yo-Yo Ma. Listen to the full series Our Common Nature (https://link.podtrac.com/v7mx144d). Featuring music by Yo-Yo Ma, Dom Flemons, and Kathy Mattea and poetry by Crystal Good.EPISODE CREDITS: Radiolab Bits Produced – Anisa Vietze (Radiolab bits)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.

Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot revisit a Sound Opinions classic— Songs About Giving Thanks. The hosts will share some of their favorite songs in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday, and they'll hear selections from the production staff.Join our Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3sivr9TBecome a member on Patreon: https://bit.ly/3slWZvcSign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3eEvRnGMake a donation via PayPal: https://bit.ly/3dmt9lUSend us a Voice Memo: Desktop: bit.ly/2RyD5Ah  Mobile: sayhi.chat/soundops Featured Songs:Natalie Merchant, "Kind and Generous," Ophelia, Elektra, 1998The Beatles, "With A Little Help From My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967Big Star, "Thank You Friends," Third, PVC, 1977Sister Sledge, "We Are Family," We Are Family, Atlantic, 1979Earth, Wind & Fire, "Gratitude," Gratitude, Columbia, 1975Tyler, The Creator, "GONE, GONE / THANK YOU," IGOR, Columbia, 2019Bonnie Raitt, "Thank You," Bonnie Raitt, Warner Bros., 1971Lucinda Williams, "Stowaway in Your Heart," Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, Highway 20, 2014Led Zeppelin, "Thank You," Led Zeppelin II, Atlantic, 1969Fall Out Boy, "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs," Infinity On High, Island, 2007Chance The Rapper, "Blessing (feat. Jamila Woods)," Coloring Book, Self-Released, 2016 Andrew Gold, "Thank You For Being A Friend," All This and Heaven Too, Asylum, 1978The Kinks, "Days," Days (Single), Pye 7N 17573, 1968Dido, "Thank You," No Angel, Cheeky, 1999Descendants, "Thank You," Everything Sucks, Epitaph, 1996Third Eye Blind, "Thanks a Lot," Third Eye Blind, Elektra, 1997Alanis Morissette, "Thank U," Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, Maverick, Reprise, 1998The Flaming Lips, "Do You Realize??," Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Warner, 2002The Intruders, "Be Thankful For What You Got," Energy of Love, TSOP, Philadelphia International, 1974Yes, "Going for the One," Going for the One, Atlantic, 1977See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you’ve ever left a can of soda in the freezer for too long, you can appreciate what happened to the largest moon of the planet Uranus: It cracked. Titania is almost a thousand miles in diameter – less than half the size of our moon. But it orbits Uranus at about the same distance as the Moon does from Earth. And like the Moon, it’s locked in such a way that the same hemisphere always faces its planet. When Titania was born, its interior was warm. But it quickly froze. As it did so, the surface cracked, creating some impressive canyons. The largest is a network known as Messina Chasma. Like Titania itself, it’s named for a character from Shakespeare – in this case, from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream`.” The canyons are more than 900 miles long, wrapping from the equator to near the south pole. They’re up to 60 miles wide, and miles deep. Few impact craters have scarred Messina, indicating that it’s fairly young. In fact, Titania’s entire surface appears to be younger than those of Uranus’s other big moons. That doesn’t mean the moon itself is younger. Instead, it probably was repaved by ice flowing from inside – resetting the clock for this fractured moon. Uranus is in view all night, in Taurus. And it’s closest to Earth for the year – 1.7 billion miles away. Despite the distance, it’s big enough that it’s an easy target for binoculars. But you need a decent telescope to see Titania. Script by Damond Benningfield

This week we visit SPAIN and spotlight the country's vibrant rock, pop and EDM scenes. Featured artists include The Pinker Tones, Adiós Amores, Manu Chao, Arde Bogotá, ambre, Rigoberta Bandini, Jeanette, Vete Vete, Polock, Pecker, Ana Laan and more. 

What’s great about living in a family is that everyone sees everything differently. Also, that’s what’s awful about living in a family. We go behind closed doors with two families.   Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: When Heather Gay started taking steps away from Mormonism, she thought it was her secret. That her daughters had no idea. Until she talked to them about their mismatched memories. (17 minutes)Act One: In every house, behind every closed door, a private drama is unfolding. In the Rivera house, the drama comes in the form of a question: should they stay or should they go? This question winds its way around the house until someone finally answers it. (44 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.