276: What if you left your kids held hos...

After surviving a stranger’s shove into the path of a subway train, a man confronts his mortality and viral fame, and finds himself transformed by community, clarity, and the everyday poignancy of being alive. Today’s episode featured Joe Lynskey. You can email Joe at upfromthetr ... Show More

Growing up Black and queer in the South, a man finds an identity for himself through the arts and establishes a wonderful marriage with children, until one day, when his husband is late coming home, there’s a ring at the door and his entire life unravels. Today’s storyteller chos ... Show More

From an idyllic childhood in communist Yugoslavia, as a teenager, Mirsad’s world becomes a living nightmare as the Bosnian War brings shelling, torture, murder and ethnic cleansing to his village, leaving deep scars that haunt and transform his life. Today's episode featured Mirs ... Show More

After Laura Ackerson lost full custody of her sons, she was heartbroken, but she sprang into action. Within 2 weeks, she got another hearing but she still only got weekends. She had to completely overhaul her life. Within a year, Laura found a great apartment and opened her own a ... Show More

<p>It was Christmastime 2009 and eleven year old Sarah Haley Foxwell was getting ready to celebrate with her family. She and her little sister skipped off to bed together, but that would be the last time Sarah’s family got to see her. Sarah was kidnapped, assaulted and brutally m ... Show More

<p>This week we will hear Ashley Hall’s story -- told by her Mother Lucia, and her sister Jessa. </p> <p>Please note, due to the public nature of this story, real names will be used for this episode. </p> <p>*Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of psychological an ... Show More

<p>The story of the Purrington murders is so horrific it sounds like something out of a movie. James Purrington seemed to have plans of killing himself after suffering from what was likely undiagnosed mental illness. When one of his children brought this to the attention of their ... Show More

On July 9th, 1993, at 1:40 a 911 call was placed by Russell Bennett Peterson. He told the operator that he and his girlfriend had a fight and that she had been shot, but he claimed to not know who shot her. Stephanie Wasilishin was the mother of two young children who tragically ... Show More

<p>Today's episode is a tough one, but it is one that we think is important to share. Kelly Anne Bates was a 14 year old child when she met a much older Dave Smith. While her parents helplessly looked on, she slipped further and further into his grasp until finally, he snuffed he ... Show More

<p>Nancy Rentz was a woman who was loved and cared about by so many people; her parents, her twin sister, her younger sister, her brother and her children. She undeniably touched the lives of everyone around her and truly just seemed like one of the most beautiful people inside a ... Show More

<p>Laura, Jim and Lisa are joined by special guest Jenny Popplewell, the Director of the #1&nbsp;Netflix show American Murder: The Family Next Door.</p><p><br></p><p>Jenny takes us behind the scenes and explains why this case spoke to her as well as the gender bias in the media o ... Show More

<p>Stacey Castor is most often referred to as a Black Widow, but that name barely does justice when it comes to all of the pain Stacey inflicted on those around her. Both of her husbands turned up dead, one of a heart attack and the other of suicide and then years later her daugh ... Show More