This American Life has been available as a podcast through iTunes for the past few weeks, and it really has become a highlight of my week when the new episode comes down the pipe. In short summary, every week they present 3 or 4 true stories based around a theme: kid logic, game shows, star-crossed love.
The stories can be funny, quirky, heartbreaking, empowering: the tale of a Russian teen shipwrecked within sight of Manhattan, the strange story of a boy who wanted to see his dead father again so badly that he grew up and made profound discoveries on time-travel and quantum physics, or a moving piece on the most unlikely game show contestant in the world.
This last week's episode, "What I Learned From TV", had me stifling laughs in the office: host Ira Glass confessing how he shed a tear when The O.C. ended, Sarah Vowell enlightening me that we have The Fonz to thank for Thanksgiving, David Rakoff screamingly funny attempt to force himself to watch 29 hours of TV for the first time in years, and Dan Savage talks about saving his son from something on TV that offends even him.
It is like watching paint dry: stupid, shallow, fake breasted, Republican paint.- David Rakoff on watching "The Real Housewives of Orange County"
Anyway, I've rambled on. Just do yourself a favor and go check out This American Life. If you don't believe me, then trust The O.C.'s Summer, who replied when Seth said he was listening to This American Life:
Links:
This American Life
'American Life's' Glass, Throwing His Voice in Public, an article on Ira Glass, host of This American Life
"Oh, is that that show where all those hipster know-it-alls talk about how fascinating ordinary people are?"Yeah, it is. They like it too.
Links:
This American Life
'American Life's' Glass, Throwing His Voice in Public, an article on Ira Glass, host of This American Life
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3 comments:
This American Life the tv show is now on in the US, on Showtime (Showcase? Showsomething). Please check it out American friends.
So glad it's podcasting now. I no longer spend idle moments trying to get an NPR frequency on my radio.
I think that some of the NPR clips are up on YouTube. There are links on the T.A.L. site.
A radio show that shares the same sense of humour is CBC's Wiretap with Jonathan Goldstein
I catch it after "Vinyl Cafe" on Sunday afternoons. Jonathan also contributes to T.A.L., but I really wished that CBC added Wiretap to its podcasting list. Same with "Vinyl Cafe". I don't know why they haven't, but I imagine it must be a contract thing that they don't want to payout to all the different contributers.
Jonathan Goldstein is one of Ira Glass' peeps. He is a contributing editor to This American Life. The other crossover is Heather McNeill.
The lack of podcast is due to the fact the contracts with their contributers do not include podcasting rights. The Wiretap website says they are trying to fix that.
I'll save my talk about the legalese about creator's rights for another day.
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