This American Life and
Reply All, a show in which host Jonathan Goldstein resolves the conflicts of regular people, reuniting them with long-lost friends or answering minor mysteries that have bugged them for years. The show just debuted a new season, and Goldstein s new cases include a woman searching for the man who took care of her uncle as he died of AIDS, a brother and sister uncovering the dark ulterior motives of their late psychiatrist father, and a musician haunted by his performance in a terrible fast food commercial. It s one of my favorite podcasts, one that takes a fleeting encounter or minor injustice and weaves it into a story that s narratively involving and emotionally satisfying. (NATHAN WEINBENDER)