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October 4, 2013

Secret Identity

A bank robber on an undercover mission. A teenage girl with the powers of a tiger. A vigilante seeking vengeance in Ciudad Juarez. All have secret identities. But not all of them chose those identities for themselves.

Courtesy Hulu

EXTRA: A drawing by Alice Leora Briggs accompanies the text of "Diana, Hunter of Bus Drivers."

Prologue

Ira attempts to solve perhaps the most unsolvable mystery at the Trees of Mystery, in California: Exactly who is the voice of Paul Bunyan? (7 minutes)

Act One

You Can't Handle The Truth

If you ever think about assuming a secret identity, you may want to take a little time to consider the possible consequences. Jon Ronson tells the tale of a bank robber who absolutely does not take that advice. (22 minutes)

Jon Ronson's most recent book is Frank. It's also a movie. You can read Tom Schoenberg's epic tale about Herson Torres and the attempted bank robberies in Bloomberg Businessweek.

Act Two

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

Elna Baker has a story about her teenage cousin, Navey Baker, who manages to have a secret identity while being a public figure at the same time: She's the school mascot — a tiger — at her high school. (11 minutes)

Act Three

The Blonde Avenger

While we were putting together this week's show, we heard about a real life avenger with a secret identity in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Writer Yuri Herrera lived on the border for several years and spent a lot of time in Juarez. He went back there to see the what effect this secret avenger has had on the city. (13 minutes)

Yuri Herrera's books are available in Spanish. His latest is “A Silent Fury: The El Bordo Mine Fire.”

We commissioned this artwork of Diana the Hunter on the bus to go with his story from this artist named Alice Leora Briggs, who does incredible drawings of scenes from Juarez.