Writer Noé Álvarez traces his family lineage through the history of the accordion in his latest book Accordion Eulogies: A Memoir of Music, Migration, and Mexico; professor of engineering Naomi Fitter introduces us to Jon, a stand-up comedian robot she developed who riffs on the dating life of a bot; and singer-songwriter John Craigie explains the awkwardness of running into fans at the post office, before performing "Judas" from his latest album Pagan Church. Plus, host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello share what our listeners would like their hypothetical robots to do.

Has Luke just met his match? In a conversation with journalist Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, author of Hungover: The Morning After and One Man's Quest for a Cure, Luke discovers that Shaughnessy’s love of the drink – and his knack for getting shaken up and stirred in – mirrors his very own. The two discuss tragically drunk writers of notoriety, the tendency to lie to their doctors, and the worst hangovers they’ve ever had.

In a special episode of Live Wire, host Luke Burbank introduces our new limited series podcast Damp January. Over five episodes in January, Burbank explores his sometimes complicated relationship with alcohol through conversations with writers, podcasters, and others. In this selection from Episode 1, he chats with his mother, Susie, about her journey to sobriety. Then, The New Yorker's Adam Gopnik discusses his book The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery, in which he learns how to drive a car at age 55 and pee in public, before poet and singer Dessa performs her track "Crash."