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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

Several years ago, in 2016, we told a story about Amy Pearl. For as long as she could remember, Amy loved meat in all its glorious cuts and marbled flavors. And then one day, for seemingly no reason, her body wouldn’t tolerate it.  No steaks. No brisket. No weenies. It made no sense: why couldn’t she eat something that she had routinely enjoyed for decades?  It turned out Amy was not alone. And the answer to her mysterious allergy involved maps, a dancing lone star tick, and a very particular sugar called Alpha Gal.  In this update, we discover that our troubles with Alpha Gal go way beyond food. We go to NYU Langone Health hospital to see the second ever transplant of a kidney from a pig into a human, talk to some people at Revivicor, the company that bred the pig in question, and go back to Amy to find out what she thinks about this brave new world. The original episode was reported by Latif Nasser, and produced by Annie McEwen and Matt Kielty. Sound design and scoring from Dylan Keefe, Annie McEwen, and Matt Kielty. Mix by Dylan Keefe with Arianne Wack. The update was reported and produced by Sarah Qari. It was sound designed, scored, and mixed by Jeremy Bloom.  Support Radiolab by becoming a member today at Radiolab.org/donate.    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 talk with author Yi Ling Liu about Chinese hip hop and how the music breaks through the infamous "fire wall" to connect to listeners. They’ll highlight some key artists and tracks, as well as put the music into the larger context.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:Kafe.Hu, "Be Free," Kafreeman, Modern Sky, 2017The Beatles, "With a Little Help from My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967Higher Brothers and Famous Dex, "Made In China (Prod. Richie Souf)," Black Cab, 88rising, 2017Skai Isyourgod, "Stacks from All Sides," Stacks from All Sides, Showstart Release, 2024In3, "Beijing Evening News," Unknown Artist, In3 Family, 2008Bohan Phoenix, "3 DAYS IN CHENGDU," JALA, loveloveNYC, 2017VAVA, "My New Swag (feat. Ty. & Nina Wang)," Crazy Rich Asians (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Warner Bros., 2017Bohan Phoenix, "NO HOOK (feat. Higher Brothers)," JALA, loveloveNYC, 2017Kafe.Hu, "Fire," Kafreeman, Modern Sky, 2017Jack White, "G.O.D. And The Broken Ribs," Frozen Charlotte, Third Man, 2026See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stars follow a life-long weight-loss program. They blow hot gas off their surfaces. Over time, the amount of material in these “winds” can add up. Heavier stars, in fact, can expel enough gas to make several stars as massive as the Sun. An example is Antares, the leading light of Scorpius. It’s in good view tonight, to the left of the Moon as night falls. Antares is a supergiant – one of the biggest and brightest stars in the galaxy. It’s more than a dozen times the Sun’s mass. And it’s so big that if you placed it at the center of the solar system, it would extend past the orbit of Mars. But when Antares was born, about 11 million years ago, it was even heavier. Studies in recent years have placed its initial mass at about 15 to 17 times the Sun’s mass. Most of the difference has been blown into space on the star’s winds. Antares has lost so much of its original weight because it was heavy to begin with. A massive star “burns” through its nuclear fuel quickly, making its core extremely hot. Radiation from the core causes the star’s outer layers to puff outward. That far from the core, the surface gravity is fairly low, so it’s easy for radiation to push gas out into space. Antares is fated to expel even more of its mass. At the end of its life, its core will collapse, causing its outer layers to explode as a supernova – blasting most of its remaining gas out into the galaxy. 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.

People on journeys they did not intend — or agree to. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: A woman on a nighttime bus ride wakes up to discover the bus driver is taking the passengers somewhere none of them want to go. (8  minutes)Act One: Ayman Oghanna was reporting in Syria when he got a surprising call from home: one of his neighbors had been arrested for spying. (13 minutes)Act Two: Eileen Sosin Martínez describes life in Havana right now, where blackouts have become so constant that it’s nearly impossible to make ice and garbage trucks don’t collect the trash regularly. (11 minutes)Act Three: A beloved tree in England, more than 100 years old, is mysteriously cut down overnight, leaving the country bereft and enraged and out for justice. (15 minutes)Act Four: When she was 16, Leticia flew from Sao Paolo, where she lived, to Germany. She was seated next to an older woman who did something so surprising during the flight that Leticia still tells people about it today. (9 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.