Today on my way home I got a chance to listen to This American Life on NPR. While I don’t get to listen to it as often I’d like, it almost always affects me in some way when I listen to it. For those of you who are not familiar with the show, here’s a brief description of it from their web page:
One of the problems with our show from the start has been that whenever we try to describe it in a sentence or two, it sounds awful. It’s a bunch of stories–some are documentaries, some are fiction, some are something else. Each week we choose a theme and invite different writers and performers to contribute items on the theme. This doesn’t sound like something we’d want to listen to on the radio–and it’s our show.In the early days of the show, in frustration, we’d sometimes tell public radio program directors that it’s basically just likeCar Talk. Except just one guy hosting. And no cars.
It’s a weekly show. It’s an hour. Its mission is to document everyday life in this country. We sometimes think of it as a documentary show for people who normally hate documentaries. A public radio show for people who don’t necessarily care for public radio. [This American Life]
A few years ago I was swinging by McDonalds early on a Saturday afternoon and had the show on. I’d just finished listening to a story about Dishwasher Pete, when the Ira Glass, the host, interviewed John Perry Barlow. At that time I really had no idea who he was, but as I listened to his story I found myself completely drawn in, and by the end of it I was in tears. I was a complete wreck. All this while sitting in line waiting for to get to the drive-thru window. I’m sure the girl working there must have wondered what the heck was wrong with me when I pulled up. I remember pulling into a parking spot and just taking a quiet moment to collect my thoughts (You can listen to it here). Other times the show has had me laughing so hard I thought I was going to drive off the road (two words: flaming squirrel).
Today I got to hear John Perry Barlow again on a repeat, and it affected me almost as much as it did the first time I heard it, which inspired me to write something about the show. Sometimes the power of radio still surprises me. If you haven’t listened to the show before you should give it a try. It’s one of the best things on the radio these days. And they have most of their shows available to listen to on their web site in realaudio (I recommend starting out listening to the show that has the squirrel story). Or, you can get a better copy from Audible.com.
