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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

When no one seems to be listening, how far do you go to be heard? In December 2008, George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad for a press conference. And at the very end of his remarks, a shoe came flying past his head.  It was “the shoe heard around the world,” and countless jokes and memes ensued.  But in the pandemonium, many missed the story of the man at the center: Muntadhar Al-Zaidi, a weary journalist trying to get the world to see the Iraq War in a different light. Even fewer people know what happened to him after.  Nearly two decades later, Radiolab reporter Sarah Qari tracked Al-Zaidi down to learn the story of his life. What she found was a story about grief, anger, and the line where journalism ends and protest begins. Special thanks to Azmat Khan and Mustafa Salim. EPISODE CREDITS: Reported by – Sarah Qari, with help from Mariam Dwedar Translation by – Mais Al-Bayaa and Mariam Dwedar Produced by – Sarah Qari Sound design contributed by – Sarah Qari  Mixed by – Jeremy Bloom Fact-checking by – Emily Krieger and Heba ElorbanyLATERAL CUTS: If you liked this episode and want to hear more fascinating deep dives we’ve done on The War on Terror, check out our episode: 60 Words (https://radiolab.org/podcast/60-words), or our series The Other Latif (https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/other-latif) EPISODE CITATIONS:Collaborator’s Work –  Mariam Dwedar  Made in Palestine (https://zpr.io/JBAuqi5zyZMT) – a documentary short @mariamdwedar – Instagram handle Mais Al-Bayaa Iraq Uncovered (https://zpr.io/ebuUcjSFcUJp) – documentary Iraq’s Secret Sex Trade (https://zpr.io/u9HnCWmnQggG) – documentary Go Back to Where You Came From (https://zpr.io/J8rxafGCCgUA) – documentary @maisalbayaa – Instagram Journal Articles _ The Art of Shoe-Throwing: Shoes as a Symbol of Protest and Popular Imagination (https://zpr.io/6gmuuavLWuHu),  by Yasmin Ibrahim Films –  The President’s Cake (https://zpr.io/bjFeNa2qFYvD) – The story of life in Iraq under sanctions during the 1990s. Inspired by the shoe throw –  Photos of shoe protests around the world (https://zpr.io/QsMGyWeK8MRR) This music video (https://zpr.io/Xi5XhHYmWFHv) This Halloween costume (https://zpr.io/fH97iB4fjL9U) This play (https://zpr.io/Naj7vWaYfzpv) If you want more fun facts that didn’t make it into the story, follow Sarah at @bysarahqari on Instagram, where she’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks. 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.

This week, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot dig into a record review roundup full of summertime releases. The hosts discuss new albums from Olivia Rodrigo, Jack White, Margo Price, Robyn Hitchcock, and Swamp Dogg.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:Robyn Hitchcock, "Yesterday's Rain," The Confuser, TINY GHOST, 2026The Beatles, "With a Little Help from My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967Olivia Rodrigo, "Drop Dead," You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, Geffen, 2026Olivia Rodrigo, "Purple," You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, Geffen, 2026Olivia Rodrigo, "What's Wrong with Me," You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, Geffen, 2026Jack White, "G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs," Frozen Charlotte, Third Man, 2026Jack White, "Neighbors Blues," Frozen Charlotte, Third Man, 2026Jack White, "Derecho Demonico," Frozen Charlotte, Third Man, 2026Jack White, "Dollar Bill," Frozen Charlotte, Third Man, 2026Margo Price, "San Marcos," Days of Unrest, Loma Vista, 2026Margo Price, "Oval Room," Days of Unrest, Loma Vista, 2026Margo Price, "Long Haired Country Girl (featuring Billy Swan)," Days of Unrest, Loma Vista, 2026Margo Price, "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) (featuring Joan Baez & Memphis Mariachi)," Days of Unrest, Loma Vista, 2026Robyn Hitchcock, "I Am This Thing," The Confuser, Tiny Ghost, 2026Robyn Hitchcock, "Building From The Ruins," The Confuser, Tiny Ghost, 2026Robyn Hitchcock, "My Dead Astronaut," The Confuser, Tiny Ghost, 2026Robyn Hitchcock, "Breathless," The Confuser, Tiny Ghost, 2026Swamp Dogg, "Waka Waka Waka (feat. Gary U.S. Bonds)," Swamp Dogg Contemplates the Afterlife, S-Curve, 2026Swamp Dogg, "Searching For Heaven," Swamp Dogg Contemplates the Afterlife, S-Curve, 2026Swamp Dogg, "Please Don't Bury Me," Swamp Dogg Contemplates the Afterlife, S-Curve, 2026The Feelies, "Slipping (Into Something)," The Good Earth, Rough Trade, 1986The Feelies, "Slipping (Into Something) (Live at 40 Watt Club, Athen, GA)," The Good Earth, Rough Trade, 1986Texas Tornados, "(Hey Baby) Que Pasó," Texas Tornados, Reprise, 1990Neil Young, "Old Man," Harvest, Reprise, 1972Tom Petty, "I Won't Back Down," Full Moon Fever, MCA, 1989See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Eta Aquilae is big, bright, and unsteady. Over a bit more than seven days, the star pulses in and out like a beating heart. That causes its brightness to change. How it changes makes the star a good “standard candle” – a type of object that astronomers use to measure the scale of the universe. Eta Aquilae is a Cepheid variable – the first one ever discovered. Such stars brighten and fade in a predictable way. By timing the cycle, astronomers can determine the star’s true brightness. Comparing that to how bright the star looks allows them to calculate the star’s distance. Cepheids are bright enough to see hundreds of millions of light-years away – in galaxies beyond the Milky Way. To go even farther, astronomers rely on another type of standard candle: the exploding stars known as Type Ia supernovas. Like the Cepheids, the way they brighten and fade reveals their true brightness. Some of them appear in galaxies with Cepheids, where we already know their distance. That provides a way to calibrate all of the supernovas, which can be seen from billions of light-years away. Of course, it’s all a little more complicated than that. There are different classes of Cepheids, for example. So astronomers have to understand all the details – making sure that a standard candle really is a good distance marker. Eta Aquilae is high above the Moon in early evening, near Altair, its constellation’s brightest star. Script by Damond Benningfield

It's a special rarities episode featuring deep cuts and unreleased gems. Featured artists include Julieta Venegas, Beastie Boys, Ana Tijoux, Kinky, Juana Molina, Mexican Institute of Sound and more.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered everyone over 30 in the military to have their testosterone tested. That inspired us to rerun this classic episode where everyone at This American Life tested their testosterone and compared results. It did not lead to workplace harmony. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Host Ira Glass talks with producer Alex Blumberg, who explains that he wanted to do this show because of his conflicted relationship with his own testosterone. He tells Ira that the reasons go back to a girl in his 8th-grade homeroom. We also hear from a man who stopped producing testosterone due to a medical treatment, and found his entire personality was altered. (10 minutes)Act One: What’s it like to get injected with testosterone? When Griffin Hansbury transitioned, he got massive shots of it and was surprised at the effect it had on him. (17 minutes)Act Two: The men and women on staff at This American Life decide to get their testosterone levels tested to see who has the most and least, and whether personality traits actually match hormone levels. (13 minutes)Act Three: What happens when a man suddenly loses all of his testosterone? We return to Alex Blumberg’s interview from the top of the show with a man who that happened to. He says life without testosterone is life without desire. By that he doesn’t mean sexual desire. He means any desire. (6 minutes)Act Four: Novelist Miriam Toews interviews her 15-year-old son, someone at an age when boys experience a jolt of ten or twenty times the testosterone they had as children, about all the things she doesn’t understand about what he’s going through. (11 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.