Stuck!

During a time when a lot of us feel like we are living in a holding pattern, stories of people feeling stuck. Prologue: Host Ira Glass talks to an Oregon ICU doctor about his desire to help fight COVID in the country’s biggest hot spots, and his frustration over the surprising reason why he can’t. (10 minutes) You Can Check Out Any Time You Like, But You Can Never Leave: Ira talks to producer Elna Baker about the time she and her siblings found themselves trapped in a hotel room with an unexpected visitor. (15 minutes) You Can’t Go Your Own Way: Carmen Maria Machado tells the story of being stuck in an abusive relationship as a “Choose Your Own Adventure” tale. This chapter of Carmen’s memoir, “In The Dream House,” was read for us by actor Zoë Winters. (12 minutes) Cold Case: Producer Nadia Reiman’s family has been stuck in diligent isolation for weeks—doing everything perfectly—and yet a cold still manages to creep in. How? Nadia tries to solve the mystery. (7 minutes) Unhappy Accident: The story of someone stuck in a difficult situation, from Etgar Keret. (8 minutes) This was read for us in English translation by actor Michael Chernus. Etgar’s most recent book is “Fly Already.”