Programs

This episode was recorded on March 8th, 2026 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes Cyril Neville, Deke Dickerson & Los Straitjackets, Sons of Town Hall, Amanda Pascali. https://bit.ly/3OyzFLX

In 2017, Wayne Hsiung and a crew of animal rights activists from Direct Action Everywhere broke into a Utah pig farm run by Smithfield Foods, one of the largest pork distributors in the world. They were there to capture video of what they say were thousands of mistreated and abused animals kept in tiny metal cages barely bigger than their bodies. As they were leaving, they took two sick piglets out with them. Prosecutors in Utah charged Wayne with burglary and theft. What came next was the court battle that he wanted all along. During his trial, Wayne made a truly bizarre argument that forced the jury, and all of us, to stare straight at our complicated, sometimes uncomfortable relationship with animals. This week on the show, we grapple with the impossible question at the center of it: What is the value of a piglet?  Special thanks to Kim Nederveen Pieterse, Nathan Peereboom, Jo Eidman, Sam Kozloff, Rachel Gross, Alex Allaux, and Joan Schaffner.  EPISODE CREDITS:  Reported by – Sindhu Gnanasambandan and Jae Minard Produced by – Sindhu Gnanasambandan with help from – Pat Walters with mixing help from – Jeremy Bloom Fact-checking by – Diane A. Kelly and Edited by  – Alex Neason and Pat Walters EPISODE CITATIONS: Articles –  A Rabbit, is a rabbit, is a rabbit… Not under the Law (https://zpr.io/ezUPRE36VZVk) by Schaffner, J. E. in The Global Journal of Animal Law Animal Rights Activists Are Acquitted in Smithfield Piglet Case (https://zpr.io/ayaV9gDneNsw) by Andrew Jacobs in The New York Times Meet the Activists Risking Prison to Film VR in Factory Farms (https://zpr.io/HEXdpf5Q7VAB)  by Andy Greenberg in Wired Audio –  VR Puts Viewers Inside the Grisly Reality of Factory Farms (https://zpr.io/pMHq5RVkzUM3) a 2-part podcast by Wired Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. 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.

This week, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot talk with biographer Will Hermes about his book on Lou Reed, as well as Lou’s music, persona, legacy and more.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:Lou Reed, "Walk on the Wild Side," Transformer, RCA, 1972The Beatles, "With A Little Help From My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967The Velvet Underground and Nico, "Sunday Morning," The Velvet Underground & Nico, Verve, 1967The Velvet Underground and Nico, "Heroin," The Velvet Underground & Nico, Verve, 1967The Velvet Underground, "Pale Blue Eyes," The Velvet Underground, MGM, 1969Lou Reed, "Coney Island Baby," Coney Island Baby, RCA, 1975The Velvet Underground, "Some Kinda Love," The Velvet Underground, MGM, 1969Lou Reed, "How Do You Think It Feels," Berlin, RCA, 1973Lou Reed, "Perfect Day," Transformer, RCA, 1972The Velvet Underground, "Sweet Jane," Loaded, Cotillion, 1970The Velvet Underground and Nico, "I'll Be Your Mirror," The Velvet Underground & Nico, Verve, 1967The Velvet Underground, "Candy Says," The Velvet Underground, MGM, 1969Pixies, "Here Comes Your Man," Doolittle, 4AD and Elektra, 1989See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Comet Halley’s loss is Earth’s gain. As the comet orbits the Sun, it sheds a bit of ice and dirt from its surface. That debris spreads out along the comet’s path. Earth passes close to that path twice a year. Some of the solid particles ram into our planet, adding a minuscule amount to Earth’s mass. For skywatchers, the intersection creates two meteor showers, as the comet dust vaporizes in the atmosphere. And one of them is under way now: the Eta Aquariids. The shower’s peak lasts for several nights, centered around tomorrow night. At its best, the shower can produce a few dozen meteors per hour. Halley is a chunk of rock and ice about seven miles in diameter. On average, it orbits the Sun once every 76 years, although that period varies by a few years. It’s been recorded in Earth’s night sky for more than 2,000 years. Edmond Halley linked some of those appearances in 1705, demonstrating that a comet can return to view multiple times. Halley also predicted the comet’s next appearance, in 1758. When it showed up at the time he forecast, the comet was named in Halley’s honor. Over the centuries, the comet’s orbit moves away from Earth a bit. Today, we’re several million miles from that path. As the orbit shifts away, we pick up less and less of the comet dust. That makes the meteor showers less impressive. So over time, the Eta Aquariids will slowly die out. Script by Damond Benningfield

We're joined for a special Uruguay episode co-hosted by Juan Campodonico, the artist and producer at the forefront of fusing electronic and rock music with traditional Uruguayan genres like tango and murga. Featured artists include Bajofondo, El Cuarteto de Nos, Campo and Peyote Asesino. 

Since the war began in Iran, we've heard very little from people inside the country — and there's a reason for that. The entire country has been under an internet blackout. We worked with reporters Roxana Saberi and Fatemeh Jamalpour to get voice memos out of the country. Even though it was dangerous and difficult, people wanted to be heard. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Shirin's parents suddenly disappear into the blackout. (5 minutes)Act One: It’s a war and a blackout. People want to talk about both. (17 minutes)Act Two: What happened before America and Israel went to war with Iran. (9 minutes)Act Three: Iranians have many opinions about the war, and about each other. (12 minutes)Act Four: What happened inside Iran the night President Trump threatened that "a whole civilization could die." And a clue about where the internet blackout is headed. (19 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.