Embiggening

Sometimes a sketch of a thing needs filling in for its true significance to be known. Prologue: A nurse giving instructions to her partner in case she dies from COVID-19; a brother and sister talking every day, all of a sudden. (9 minutes) We first heard about nurse Elise Barrett in a story by Eric Boodman for STAT. I Can’t Be Your Hero, Baby: The stories of undocumented people so often sound cliche. Writer Karla Cornejo Villavicencio has heard all of them, and thought she could do better. (23 minutes) Popular Vote: The discovery of new information casts a new light on a high school competition. Producer Sean Cole talks to some of the people involved, more than a decade later. (16 minutes) Tunnel Vision: A mysterious tunnel in Toronto leads to wild public speculation. Nick Kohler tells Ira the story behind the tunnel, which he wrote about for MacLean’s. (10 minutes)