“I remember them finding the drugs and holding them up in the sky. And I was like, 'Oh man, I’m going to prison.'” This week’s guest, the writer Mitchell S. Jackson, started selling drugs when he was 14 years old, then went to prison for drug possession years later. When his mother tried to buy drugs from him, he knew he couldn’t run away from his bad decisi ... Show More
Aug 7
You Could Make This Beautiful: Henry Winkler & Saeed Jones
In this first episode of "You Could Make This Beautiful," actor Henry Winkler tells hosts Maggie Smith and Faith Salie about the poetry he's found in everything from fly fishing, to the music of Lin-Manuel Miranda, to the acting performances of the late Robin Williams. Poet and t ... Show More
45m 36s
Aug 7
You Could Make This Beautiful: Peter Sagal & Stephanie Burt
In this second episode of You Could Make This Beautiful, hosts Maggie Smith and Faith Salie talk to Peter Sagal, host of the NPR news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! about a prophetic reading at his first wedding, the poem that has haunted him throughout his life, and about ... Show More
48m 17s
Apr 2022
EP253: Reconciling Dad the Farmer and Dad the Veteran Pilot, How The Civil War Openly Became about Slavery and Why it Took One Man 7 Years to Get His Car Back
On this episode of Our American Stories, Iowa listener Joy Neal Kidney shares her father's story. Our regular contributors Jon Elfner and Dr. Kate Masur, author of "Until Justice Be Done," tell the rest of the story that begins with three runaway enslaved people. Tyson Timbs tell ... Show More
38m 13s
May 2020
E181 From Heroin to Hollywood: The Story of Mike Majlak - IMPAULSIVE EP. 181
In this emotional episode of IMPAULSIVE, we finally pick the brain of our boisterous co-host, Mike Majlak. After a decade of heroin addiction, Mike tells the story of his violent, illegal, and ill-fated past in honor of his book release, “The Fifth Vital,” available now on Amazon ... Show More
1h 45m
Apr 2022
Story Time: How Getting Arrested Changed My Life
In today’s episode, Rachel has just returned from the dealership after buying her first car in Sweden. Finally feeling like an adult in her home country, this sparks an epic story where Rachel shares a secret from her teenage years. It involves a scooter, a lot of alcohol, and tw ... Show More
1h 8m
Mar 2018
Episode 1: 'I Just Want You to Come Home'
Z had his first encounters with law enforcement when he was just 12 years old. Now, at 16, he’s sitting in detention on an armed robbery charge—his young life has been defined by cops and courts. Dwayne Betts is a poet and juvenile justice lawyer who, in his own youth, was deemed ... Show More
28m 57s
Jul 2019
Shaka Senghor Session: Things I Learned in Prison You Can Apply to Your Life
In a live appearance at UCLA’s Royce Hall, author, mentor and criminal justice activist Shaka Senghor uses his powerful story to share the surprising universal life lessons he learned in prison. At the age of 19, Shaka was sent to prison for second-degree murder. After being inca ... Show More
25m 33s