Host Ira Glass asks fifth-grade kids to explain what adults do wrong when talking to children. (5 minutes)

Act One. So, Kids: A Priest, a Rabbi, and a Hooker Walk into a Bar...

Sean O'Connor and Nick Maritato are professional comedians, and their job usually involves saying things that kids aren't supposed to hear. But last summer they got booked on a tour of kids' summer camps. TAL producer Jane Feltes tells us what happened. (18 minutes)

Song: "Kids Don't Follow," The Replacements


Act Two. Age of Consent.

Ira talks to the teen editors of Sex, Etc., a national magazine for teenagers, about the mistakes parents make when talking—or not talking—to their kids about sex.

Sex, Etc. is published by Answer, a sex education organization based at Rutgers University. (8 minutes)

Then, the story of what happened when one anonymous mother learned that her daughter was having sex. All the names in this essay have been changed, and it's read on the air by TAL senior producer Julie Snyder. (11 minutes)

Song: "Trust Your Child," Patrizia & Jimmy


Act Three. Use Your Words.

TAL contributor Dan Savage makes the case for yelling at children. He also reflects on how his views on how to talk to kids have changed over the years.

Dan is the host of the "Savage Love" Podcast. (10 minutes)

Song: "Teach Me Tonight," Stevie Wonder with Levi Stubbs