Strangers

Four years ago, we met Becca, a virgin in her 30s who waxed genitals for a living. On this episode we play her original story, along with an update about what Becca has been up to since then…

Two of our favorite Strangers stories of all time in one radio hour. Featuring the stories 'Henry & Jane' (with Henry & Jane Evans) and 'Falling Slowly' with Lyena Strelkoff.  

A stereotypical, Whole-Foods-shopping, NPR-listening liberal finds herself in an alliance of Republicans.

Sometimes you get in a rut as a creative professional, wondering if you’ll ever be a professional, creatively, or if you’ll be forever stuck in some dead-end day job that’s designed to pay the bills but barely does. And then you might fantasize that some big change, or chance encounter, or fabulous coincidence is going … Continue reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman →

One day when Susan was five, her father came home and nailed her bunk bed shut. That was the beginning of a long strange journey.

In the Strangers community, we’ve lost one of our own: Jenni Rowell, 33, has passed away. In this episode, with the help of her family and friends, we rejoice in her life and everything she gave us, and we mourn what we have lost. We also reveal some happy news that she got to enjoy … Continue reading Jenni, Remembered →

What exactly does a sex surrogate do? Meet Kendra Holliday to find out. Warning: This episode contains explicit sexual refrences and is not suitable for children.  

John Corcoran graduated from high school and college and then spent 17 years as a high school teacher without knowing how to read or write. How on earth did he pull that off? And why? This is his story. A different version of this story was originally presented on Strangers in early 2012. Get the … Continue reading The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read →

A new – and improved! – version of an old Strangers story: A Mormon boy grows up to become “International Mr. Leather,” which is the “Miss Universe” equivalent of the leather fetish world, and he’s forced to acknowledge some surprising parallels between his childhood church and the kinky gay, male leather world… Get the full … Continue reading American Mormon — International Mr. Leather →

In 2014 Patrick and Steve received a surprise delivery…and it was a newborn, whaa! A story ensued, which became the episode Two Men and a Baby. Now, a year later we check in to see how things are going. 

This is the second installment in our series about Adrian Wagner, who at 25 is losing his eyesight, and who is in a race to try to locate his birth parents in time to qualify for upcoming clinical trials, which might cure his condition but require genetic testing of both parents. And that is just … Continue reading Adrian’s Race 2 →

This is a story of mothers, love, regrets and redemption, and of secrets from many years passed that cast long shadows in our lives. It’s about how Deborah Jiang-Stein came to be pulled over by two highway patrolmen at 19 years-old, with a trunk load of dope, a .38 revolver and a 10” switch blade…and … Continue reading Unconditional →

April is the cruellest month. At least it can be. If you are depressed or heartbroken, there is nothing worse than the thaw and the blossoms and the girls in short dresses and the lovers on park benches licking melting ice cream off each other’s faces and fingers. It makes your heart ache more because … Continue reading The Cruellest Month? →

Adrian is 25 and losing his eyesight. He’s in a race against time. He’s also in a battle between humility and pride. When is it stubborn, perhaps even foolhardy, not to make concessions to one’s disability? When is it the only way out? And where do you find wisdom to know the difference? Get the … Continue reading Adrian’s Race →

We revisit Jenni Rowell from the episode “Life, Interrupted” to see where things stand, and learn some sh*t about life.

A booker for TV court shows shares highs and lows from the merry-go-round of daytime justice, from a triumphant moment with a little person male stripper called Cornpop to the days when she just has to take off her headset and cry under her desk. With Sharon Houston. 

For Valentine’s Day we return to the theme of love, with a story about someone else’s heartbreak for a change. As for Lea’s heart, well, you’ll see… 

To mark the three-year anniversary of Strangers we share with you the very first story ever featured on the show, about Stephen Rochelle and his son Matthew, and we return to Stephen to see how they’re doing now, three years later. In July 2011, Matthew Rochelle stood trial for murder. This is the story of … Continue reading A Father’s Story – Then and Now →

Greg O’Brien was in his late 50s when strange things started happening… 

Sam Feirstein takes a broken heart to Alaska and finds surprising kindness in “enemy territory.” Also, producer Lea Thau takes a broken heart to India and has a “stranger” experience that inspires her to create this show.