Jon Ronson On... Crushed Egos

Jon Ronson continues his sideways look at the world.

This edition features an Italian waiter who offered up his action film script to comedy writer Graham Linehan over the pasta, an American real estate entrepreneur who owns unsaleable houses all over America and owes millions, and the architects of a new town which proved a spectacular failure.

Jon Ronson On... Uncontrollable Responses

Jon Ronson continues his look at human behaviour by finding the moments where we respond in an uncontrollable way.

Comedian Robert Popper couldn't stop his drunken friend from putting their lives at risk while at a wedding in Israel. Another interviewee who survived the 7/7 terrorist attacks found herself uncontrollably joining in with message boards accusing her of being a government plant on one of the bombed trains.

Jon Ronson On... Waking up from a Dream

Jon talks to John Downes, director of the Centre of Fortean Zoology who spent his life searching for mythical creatures. When he woke up and realised they didn't exist, he turned his attention to something much more real, a giant eel spotted in Lake Windermere. Jon follows him on his underwater adventure.

Jon Ronson On... The Internet Date from Hell

The extraordinary story of Mary Turner Thompson, who met and married a man who told her he was a CIA agent. He carried a gun and often had to go away at a moment's notice. Mary was left holding the baby, unable to contact him and never knowing when he would come back. She even feared a targeted terrorist attack on her home. But the most bizarre twist was still to come.

Jon Ronson On... Building Bridges

Jon asks why and how we learn to build bridges. He talks to Tom Hart Dyke who was kidnapped by Colombian rebels when out orchid hunting. He spent nine months trying to build bridges with his captors.
Jon also hears how writer Jesse Armstrong remembers failing to build bridges while working in politics.

Jon Ronson On... Waiting

Jon asks what happens in the space while we wait. He talks to Richard Thomas who has spent his professional career waiting to record events such as his stomach on Christmas Day and eggs frying.
He also talks to comedian Janey Godley on why she pretended to be ill in order to avoid waiting in queues at a theme park, and he meets the world's leading 'waiting' scientist.

Jon Ronson On... Friendship

Jon asks whether friendship is over if the power balance becomes skewed. Lawrence Howarth recounts how a relationship ended because his girlfriend wouldn't reveal her date of birth for two years, Caitlin Moran discusses a moment when friendship was challenged over the bird flu vaccine, and Jon visits a party held by a woman who has 25,000 'friends' in her contacts book.