Programs

This episode was recorded on May 17th, 2026 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes Paul Thorn, Ray Benson, Sunny Sweeney, Andy Friedman. https://bit.ly/4afWiMG⁠

We’re coming up on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and it had us thinking about an episode we produced in 2014. It’s the story of one sentence, written in the hours after September 11th, 2001, that has led to the longest war in U.S. history. We examine how just 60 words of legal language have blurred the line between war and peace. In the hours after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a lawyer sat down in front of a computer and started writing a legal justification for taking action against those responsible. The language that he drafted and that President George W. Bush signed into law—called the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)—has at its heart one single sentence, 60 words long. Over the last decade, those 60 words have become the legal foundation for the "war on terror." In this collaboration with BuzzFeed, reporter Gregory Johnsen tells us the story of how this has come to be one of the most important, confusing, troubling sentences of the last two decades. We go into the meetings that took place in the chaotic days just after 9/11, speak with Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former Congressman Ron Dellums about the vote on the AUMF. We hear from former White House and State Department lawyers John Bellinger & Harold Koh. We learn how this legal language unleashed Guantanamo, Navy Seal raids and drone strikes. And we speak with journalist Daniel Klaidman, legal expert Benjamin Wittes and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine about how these words came to be interpreted, and what they mean for the future of war and peace. LATERAL CUTS -Really anything from our sister show, More PerfectEPISODE CREDITS: Reported by – Kelsey Padgettwith help from – Matt KieltyProduced by – Matt Kieltywith help from – Kelsey PadgettSign 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.

This week, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot talk with musician and author Melissa Auf der Maur. In 1994, Melissa was suddenly thrust into the spotlight when she joined Hole as a bassist for the “Live Through This” world tour. They talk about Melissa’s memoir, Even the Good Girls Will Cry, and about Courtney Love, Billy Corgan and the power of music. Jim and Greg also review the new album from Steve Lacy.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/soundops Featured Songs:Melissa Auf der Maur, "Followed the Waves," Auf der Maur, Capitol, 2004The Beatles, "With a Little Help from My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967Steve Lacy, "is it cool? (feat. SZA)," Oh yeah?, RCA, 2026Steve Lacy, "oh yeah?," Oh yeah?, RCA, 2026Steve Lacy, "pure colour (feat. Erykah Badu)," Oh yeah?, RCA, 2026Hole, "Reasons to Be Beautiful," Celebrity Skin, Geffen and DGC, 1998Hole, "Miss World," Live Through This, DGC, 1994Hole, "I Think That I Would Die," Live Through This, DGC, 1994Hole, "Violet," Live Through This, DGC, 1994Hole, "Celebrity Skin," Celebrity Skin, Geffen and DGC, 1998Hole, "Malibu," Celebrity Skin, Geffen and DGC, 1998Hole, "Awful," Celebrity Skin, Geffen and DGC, 1998Hole, "Doll Parts," Live Through This, DGC, 1994Portraits of Tracy, "Caught In A Jam," Q: From Where Do Our Primal Instincts Originate? A: MTV!, self-released, 2026See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Little Red Dots might be like Tootsie Roll Pops: colorful on the outside, dark on the inside. They may consist of a glowing cloud of gas and dust encircling a supermassive black hole. And they could be telling us about the birth of the first big black holes in the universe. Little Red Dots were first seen in 2022, by Webb Space Telescope. Since then, it’s discovered hundreds of them. They’re compact but extremely bright. And they’re so far away that we see them when the universe was no more than about one-tenth of its current age. Astronomers have proposed several explanations for them. One is the idea of a black hole surrounded by gas and dust. A recent study looked at a dot that was behind a huge cluster of galaxies. The cluster’s gravity magnified the view of the dot, making it easier to suss out its details. Its heart is a black hole about 50 million times the mass of the Sun. The surrounding cloud is no more than half that mass. As material in the cloud funnels inward, it gets hot, lighting up the rest of the cloud. The gas and dust absorb blue light, so we see only red. Astronomers have pondered the formation of early galaxies for decades. They’ve wondered whether the giant black holes in their hearts formed first, or if the galaxy came first and the black hole formed later. The new finding suggests that, in at least some cases, the black hole came first – born at the heart of a Little Red Dot. Script by Damond Benningfield

It's an episode dedicated exclusively to Panamanian music of all genres, from dancehall reggae and salsa, to rock and jazz. Featured artists include Ruben Blades, Los Rabanes, El General, Danilo Perez, The Exciters and more.

Moments when it seems obvious what to do for someone else, so of course you jump in and try to help — and what happens after that.  Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.(00:00:00) Prologue: Devon Taylor tells host Ira Glass about a time she confronted people who stole $100 from her. (12 minutes)(00:12:01) Act One: We get to an age when we find ourselves taking care of our parents, whether they want us to or not. Writer Kristen Roupenian wrote this piece of fiction based on something real that happened to a family she knows. (20 minutes)(00:33:37) Act Two: Two chatbots, stuck in a loop, each trying to help the other. Will they ever break free? (20 minutes)(00:55:48) Act Three: In Utah, some communities have been fighting measles outbreaks for 14 months. These are some of the longest-running outbreaks in the country. But one of our producers, Miki Meek, heard about how school nurses in a town called Vernal helped end its outbreak in just six weeks. Miki finds out how they did it. (9 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org / This American Life privacy policy. / Learn more about sponsor message choices.