This American Life 881: I Want What I Want
42 snips
Feb 22, 2026 
Nehemiah Ray, a Georgia beekeeper and dad who lets his son face a bee sting for curiosity's sake. Zoe Chace, a courtroom reporter who narrates a surprising mistrial in a heated Texas Antifa trial. John Tothill, a British comedian who spins a comic tale about Edward Dando and defends joyful excess. Short, quirky stories about bold choices, awkward reconnections, and courtroom drama.
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Boy Chooses To Be Stung
- Nehemiah Ray lets his six-year-old son Carver choose to get stung by a bee and guides him through the fear and aftermath.
- Carver hesitates, gets the sting on his forearm, then beams, treating it as a rite of becoming a beekeeper.
Doing What Others Avoid Feels Big
- Choosing to do what others avoid can make you feel larger than life and proud of yourself.
- The episode frames risky or unusual choices as identity-defining acts that create meaning.
Perilous Fringe Run From Indulgence
- John Tothill describes going on a clinical trial where he contracted malaria, then later getting appendicitis after indulgent eating at Edinburgh Fringe.
- He ignored worsening pain to perform shows and nearly died from intra-abdominal sepsis before emergency surgery saved him.