At the age of 17, competitive swimmer Lynne Cox had already accomplished a lot in the open ocean. She’d set two world records crossing the English Channel.

Host Ira Glass talks to sportswriters Jason Kirk and Spencer Hall about life in a sportsless world. Read Jason and Spencer’s essay about this.

Producer Emanuele Berry and her dad only talked about basketball. But they never talked about a game that her dad had botched.

Host Ira talks with comedian Gary Gulman about his transformation from high school nobody to football star.

Ira follows Yankee Stadium cameraman Eric Capstick as he puts fans on the Jumbotron. (5 minutes)

Writer Michael Lewis takes us inside the world of NBA refereeing. He explains how protests about unfair calls have increased in recent years.

Cyclist Mike Friedman said something to cyclist Ian Dille in the middle of a race that ate at both of them for years. Jared Marcelle tells the story.

One of Jared’s oldest friends is about to embark on a trip he may not be able to return home from.

Sometimes criminals return to the scene of their misdeeds — to try to make things right, to try to undo the past. Katie Davis reports on her neighbor Bobby, who returned to the scene where he robbed people and conned people. This time, he came to coach little league.

Daniel Alarcón’s dad was obsessed with soccer when he was growing up, but he was only average at soccer. But those who can’t do...find something else to do.

A private basketball coach teaches a young student some things his parents don't agree with. David Kestenbaum has the story.

Wilt Chamberlain - easily one of the best basketball players of all time - was a terrible free throw shooter. Except for one season when he changed technique and scored more free throws in one game than anyone ever has.

Earlier this year, a cheerleader named Lacy T filed a lawsuit against the Oakland Raiders for failing to pay her minimum wage. NFL cheerleaders did the same right after... cheerleaders generally make about $1,500 for the entire season.

For a generation of baseball fans, when a pitcher suddenly stops being able to perform, it's known as "Steve Blass Disease" — after an all-star pitcher who inexplicably stopped being able to throw strikes. Ira Glass speaks with Steve Blass and others about this phenomenon.

Host Ira Glass revisits some interviews done with Penn State students in 2009, long before the sex abuse scandal that's engulfed the football team and led to the resignation of its legendary coach, as well as the university's President. Back in 2009, students said that the best thing about Penn State football is the high moral standard upheld by the team and its coaches.

Some adventures you seek out on purpose, and others hunt you down. Producer Alex Blumberg tells this story, about the experience a guy had in China...which started out as first kind of adventure, then quickly turned into the second kind.

Ira with former baseball player Bobby Morris, on leaving baseball.

Ira with This American Life producer Alex Blumberg, about a kind of institutionalized crybabying in pro basketball called "the flop." Alex started to wonder if the story basketball fans tell themselves about the origins of the flop is true, and turned to Tommy Craggs at the sports blog Deadspin.com.

Host Ira Glass talks to Leo Paur, coach of a high school football team in Utah that hasn't won a game in two and ahalf seasons, about how he motivates his team to keep going after so many crushing defeats. Namely: You decide that you're about to turn things around.

This past Christmas a story swept the internet about a football coach at a Christian high school in Texas who inspired his team's fans to root for the opposition: A team from the local juvenile correctional facility. Among the thousands of emails that the coach received in response to his actions, one stood out to him.