This American LifeOctober 26th, 2005 @ 11:59 am
I love NPR. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is National Public Radio. It’s like Public Television, except on the radio. (Believe me, there are some people out there that don’t know what NPR is. My family has no idea!) I love to listen to it in the car. That way I can learn something and arrive at my destination. Yes, I am a big nerd.
A few years ago my BFF turned me onto the NPR show “This American Life” which is produced and hosted by my secret boyfriend Ira Glass.
The shows format is: “Each week we choose a theme and put together different kinds of stories on that theme.” They like to say their stories are like movies for radio. They tell amazing stories, for instance there is one about a Hasidic Jew who becomes an underground punk rocker, and one about a family who’s oldest child is part African American (they are Caucasian) and nobody has figured out that he just didn’t fit in-and what happens when it all comes out. There is also one about a French woman who’s two daughters are killed in a car crash, and she is writing a letter to her friend telling her about her daughters. I mean, really interesting and moving stuff.
I love this show. As in, I am a fanatic. It comes on every Saturday at 11:00. I listen religiously. You can also listen to them via their website, which is what I usually do at work when I have a boring task to do. I have heard all of the shows. Some of them more than once.
My BFF and I have been on a mission to convert others to the show. We figure if we can get you to listen to just one episode, you will be hooked forever (oh, it’s that good). Last year I (fully) converted my friend that lives back East in Boston. We used to e-mail each other about what shows we were listening to, or what to listen to next. We even started calling it TAL for short (which is extra nerdy).
Today I got to work and he had e-mailed this little program with hotlinks to each episode so you can download them directly to your iPod. Oh my goodness. This is like Christmas in October. (He said it will take something like 15 gigs, but still, so awesome).
I told The King that he’d better download some for our upcoming trip to Europe. I can just imagine riding through the small towns of Germany on the train with Ira’s voice in the background. Heaven I tell you, Heaven.
If you haven’t heard the show, check the listings on their website. I promise you that you won’t be disappointed. It may even change your life (that is a very strong statement).
Oh, and I have said it for years, if we have a boy I want to name him Ira. (I have not fully converted The King to this…yet!)
Addictions
Ashley
said,
October 26, 2005 at 12:13 pm
mmmmm, NPR. I have flashbacks to “All Things Considered” afternoons in the car with my grandmother.
Is that the program that did a piece of a man whose uncle told him that he was truly his real father and the man’s quest to discover the truth about his father? Does that make any sense? If it was, yay. If not, that was good, too. (o:
Isabel
said,
October 26, 2005 at 12:17 pm
That doesn’t sound like a TAL episode. Could have been on another NPR show…maybe “All Things Considered” (or “Car Talk”!)
Nap Queen
said,
October 26, 2005 at 12:48 pm
Must be an NPR kind of day! Can you believe I’ve never heard “TAL”? I’ve been listening to NPR for YEARS and never heard it. Probably because it’s on the weekend. I’m definitely going to check it out.
Sara
said,
October 26, 2005 at 2:03 pm
Oh I love finding kindred nerd/spirits on the net! (Thanks for posted a comment to my blog by the way.) I love this show (and am an NPR junkie in general)! I don’t get to listen to it every week, but I think I’m going to start downloading them to my iPod. Ira for a boy is so cute, really, I’d vote for that name. My daughter and I (when I’m home with her) listen to NPR all day long. She loves the theme music to all of the shows and especially the music they play on The World. Man, I really need to get out more, right?
Erika
said,
October 27, 2005 at 5:52 am
I have never been able to catch it, but I love Sarah Vowell and I think she contributes?
Mabel
said,
October 27, 2005 at 8:24 am
I’m a huge NPR fan too. I also love public tv, particularily that series of “1940’s house” “1880’s house stuff”
Corinne
said,
October 27, 2005 at 8:36 am
I love NPR… best thing since sliced bread.
Avorie
said,
October 27, 2005 at 9:20 am
I love NPR, but haven’t heard that show (or at least I don’t know it by the name). I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks!
Diana
said,
October 27, 2005 at 10:07 am
I love NPR. Aside from the interesting programs and educational value, it allows you to be snooty and say things like, “I heard the best thing on NPR yesterday …” What can I say? I’ll take my superiority opportunities where I can get them.
hola, isabel » NOT T&A
said,
September 18, 2006 at 5:15 pm
[…] Radio has everything you need. It has music, which we all love. And it has talk. Which I love. I’ve had an ongoing love affair with National Public Radio, more specifically certain weekend programs like Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me and This American Life. (This weekend’s This American Life was an extra fabulous one. One that I found myself laughing and crying to. It’s called “Unconditional Love” and you can listen to it FOR FREE on their website. I highly suggest it.) […]
hola, isabel » My Own American Life
said,
March 13, 2007 at 9:36 pm
[…] I admit to being slightly skeptical when recently paying close to $50 each for tickets to a live radio taping of the NPR show, This American Life. I’ve been in love with this specific radio program and the narrator Ira Glass for many years. My love grows deep and includes a spreadsheet. (Diana can vouch for this. It was sent to her along with a CD copy of my favorite episodes.) […]