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This episode was recorded on December 1st, 2024 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes Stephen Kellogg, Jill Sobule, Mindy Smith, Caleb Caudle & The Sweet Critters, and The David Mayfield Parade, with guest host Conor Knighton. http://bit.ly/3FLIixD

We all think we know the story of pregnancy. Sperm meets egg, followed by nine months of nurturing, nesting, and quiet incubation. this story isn’t the nursery rhyme we think it is. In a way, it’s a struggle, almost like a tiny war. And right on the front lines of that battle is another major player on the stage of pregnancy that not a single person on the planet would be here without. An entirely new organ: the placenta.In this episode, which we originally released in 2021, we take you on a journey through the 270-day life of this weird, squishy, gelatinous orb, and discover that it is so much more than an organ. It’s a foreign invader. A piece of meat. A friend and parent. And it’s perhaps the most essential piece in the survival of our kind.Special thanks to Diana Bianchi, Julia Katz, Sam Behjati, Celia Bardwell-Jones, Mathilde Cohen, Hannah Ingraham, Pip Lipkin, and Molly Fassler.EPISODE CREDITS: Reported by – Heather Radke and Becca Bresslerwith help from – Molly WebsterProduced by – Becca Bresslerwith help from – Pat Walters, Maria Paz GutierrezEPISODE CITATIONS:Articles:Check out Harvey’s latest paper published with Julia Katz.Sam Behjati's latest paper on the placenta as a "genetic dumping ground". 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 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.

Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot speak with author David Rowell about his new book, The Endless Refrain: Memory, Nostalgia, and the Threat to New Music. The hosts also review the new albums by Bartees Strange and Sasami.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:The Beatles, "With A Little Help From My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967Bartees Strange, "Sober," Horror, 4AD, 2025Bartees Strange, "Wants Needs," Horror, 4AD, 2025Bartees Strange, "Baltimore," Horror, 4AD, 2025Bartees Strange, "17," Horror, 4AD, 2025Bartees Strange, "Doomsday Buttercup," Horror, 4AD, 2025Sasami, "Slugger," Blood On the Silver Screen, Domino, 2025Sasami, "Love Makes You Do Crazy Things," Blood On the Silver Screen, Domino, 2025Sasami, "The Seed," Blood On the Silver Screen, Domino, 2025Sasami, "I'll Be Gone," Blood On the Silver Screen, Domino, 2025Tom Petty, "You Don't Know How it Feels," Wildflowers, Warner, 1994Kajagoogoo, "Too Shy," White Feathers, EMI, 1983Journey, "Lights," Infinity, Columbia, 1978The Rolling Stones, "Jumpin' Jack Flash," Single, Decca, 1968Neil Young, "Tonight's the Night," Tonight's the Night, Reprise, 1975Hüsker Dü, "Sorry Somehow," Candy Apple Grey, Warner, 1986Men at Work, "Down Under," Business as Usual, Columbia, 1981The Selecter, "On My Radio," On My Radio (Single), 2 Tone, 1979See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, belongs to a small cluster of galaxies – the Local Group. It has fewer than a hundred known members. But most galaxies reside in much more impressive clusters. And the closest of these is centered in the constellation Virgo, which steps up the eastern sky this evening. The Virgo Cluster contains roughly 2,000 galaxies. They move through space together, bound by their mutual gravitational pull. The cluster’s most impressive member is Messier 87. It marks the center of the cluster, more than 50 million light-years away. M87 may span a million light-years and contain trillions of stars – many times the corresponding values for the Milky Way. And its total mass is more than twice the Milky Way’s. M87 is a different type of galaxy. The Milky Way is a spiral – a flat disk highlighted by “arms” of bright stars that make it look like a pinwheel. M87, on the other hand, is elliptical – it resembles a fat, fuzzy football. It may have grown so large through the mergers of several big galaxies. That scrambled the stars, so they orbit the center of M87 in all directions. The heart of the galaxy harbors a black hole more than a thousand times the mass of the central black hole in the Milky Way. It was the first black hole to have its picture taken – a dark shadow at the heart of a giant galaxy. More darkness in Virgo tomorrow. Script by Damond Benningfield

It's a special MEXICO episode! We highlight our favorite Mexican rock, hip-hop and indie music from artists including Mexican Institute of Sound, C-Kan, The Warning, Caloncho, Marco Mares, Marissa Mur, Sara Valenzuela, Technicolor Fabrics, Jaguares, Bratty and more.

The radio version of an episode we did live on stage and beamed to movie theaters. David Sedaris, Tig Notaro, Ryan Knighton, and the late David Rakoff in his final performance on the show. The other half of this two-hour show was visual, including dancers, animation, and more. You can watch it on YouTube. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Ira interviews Ryan Knighton, a blind guy who had a very peculiar experience with a hotel room telephone. (7 minutes)Act One: Ryan Knighton tells a story about trying to get his daughter to understand his blindness. (7 minutes)Act Two: Famous people are supposed to be somewhere else, invisible to us. Comedian Tig Notaro tells this story about repeatedly running into Taylor Dayne, who was a pop star in the late 80s and early 90s. At the end of the story, we have a little surprise for Tig. (16 minutes)Act Three: David Rakoff tells this story, about the invisible processes that can happen inside our bodies and the visible effects they eventually have. (15 minutes)Act Four: Ira Glass's sister once met David Sedaris, and commented that he was much nicer than she thought he would be, given his writing. David replied, "I'm not nice, just two-faced." In this story, David shares the thoughts running through his head as he attempts to buy a cup of coffee. (8 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.