America loves winners—now more than ever. But how do you get to a win in 2025 America? We get up close and follow someone trying to build a big win for herself and thousands of others like her.

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• Prologue: Ira talks to producer Diane Wu about an informal survey she’s done with the staff of This American Life about a phrase Ira says a lot that includes the word “winners.” (8 minutes)
• Act One: Two people see one of President Trump’s first executive orders and get excited, and then get to work. (30 minutes)
• Act Two: We follow the progress of one woman as she builds up, from scratch, a whole movement based on one of Trump’s executive orders. (19 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

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Three stories about the strange power inanimate objects can hold over us.

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• Prologue: Nunzio gets caught in a kind of servile relationship—with a scooter. (8 minutes)
• Act One: Ted was six when he first picked up a rock from the Petrified Forest National Park. Nearly 50 years later, he really wishes he hadn’t. Aviva DeKornfeld talked to him. (15 minutes)
• Act Two: Heavyweight host Jonathan Goldstein leaps in to help a family, who are not entirely sure they want or need his help, get rid of their stuff. (31 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

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Thirteen parole board members decide whether or not one man should be released from prison.

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• Prologue: Henry Dee has been locked up for most of his life, nearly 50 years. Now, he’s up for parole. Reporter Ben Austen tells the story. (19 minutes)
• Part 1: The parole board members puzzle through the pros and cons of releasing Henry Dee from prison and cast their votes. (26 minutes)
• Part 2: Reporter Ben Austen continues the story. (8 minutes)

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Ira Glass shares some news about This American Life

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What happens when people create alternate versions of themselves and release them into the wild?

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• Prologue: Host Ira Glass talks about a recent experience being interviewed and the realization that he was being asked about another version of himself. (4 minutes)
• Act One: Reporter Evan Ratliff creates an AI version of himself and then sets it loose on the world. This story was adapted from Evan's podcast, Shell Game. (43 minutes)
• Act Two: Emmanuel Dzotsi explores the phenomenon of people lying on first dates to project a better version of themselves. Plus, he gets into a very personal example from his own life. (8 minutes)

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A group of immigration judges, who almost never speak to the press, describes the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside.

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• Prologue: Zoe Chace gives an eyewitness account of what has been happening at 26 Federal Plaza, an immigration courthouse in New York City. (5 minutes)
• Act One: The judges walk us through how different their jobs have become in just the past few months, because of sweeping policy changes by Trump’s Department of Justice. (26 minutes)
• Act Two: It gets extremely personal for the judges. Also, the story of one person who got pushed through the new immigration court system this summer. (23 minutes)

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Things are different on college campuses this year. We see inside the drama, with students and staff.

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• Prologue: We go to orientation at Arizona State University and meet international students who are trying to make friends. (6 minutes)
• Act One: The president of the Black Student Union at the University of Utah fights to keep the B in BSU. (30 minutes)
• Act Two: A definition of antisemitism, canceled classes, and angry professors at Columbia University. (16 minutes)

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