Radio Archive by Contributor

Nancy Updike

Nancy's one of the original producers of our show and has done some amazing stories for the show, most notably in episodes 46, 164, and 266. Her writing in the third episode of our TV show is mindblowingly good.

  • Photo Op.

    493: Picture Show 04.19.2013

    Producer Nancy Updike goes to the West Bank to investigate why Israeli soldiers routinely wake ...Children • Military

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  • Cairo, Egypt.

    481: This Week 12.07.2012

    It's been a tumultuous week of protests and demonstrations in Egypt. Nancy Updike talks to two ...Politics

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  • Worst Mixtape Ever.

    475: Send a Message 09.28.2012

    A man has a very clear vision of how he always stood up to his father, protected his mother and ...Family • Fathers • Mothers

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  • Thug Me? No. Thug You.

    442: Thugs 07.29.2011

    "Thug" is a very imprecise word. And as producer Nancy Updike explains, the subjectivity of its ...Crime • Politics

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  • Monday, Cairo Egypt.

    434: This Week 05.06.2011

    Nancy Updike reports from Cairo, Egypt about what people were doing there this week, namely: ...Politics

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  • Side Effects May Include...

    433: Fine Print 2011 04.15.2011

    In Tehran in 2004, Omid Memarian confessed to doing things he'd never done, meeting people he'd ...Government • Police • Politics

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  • Kings Do Not Fold.

    432: Know When To Fold 'Em 04.08.2011

    Producer Nancy Updike shares a pattern that she's noticed recently: eleven steps that Middle ...Government • Politics

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  • Prologue.

    429: Will They Know Me Back Home? 03.11.2011

    Show host Nancy Updike also hosts a radio movie night. Her pick? The 1946 classic The Best Years ...Film/Film Making • Military

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  • Act Two.

    429: Will They Know Me Back Home? 03.11.2011

    Last summer when Nancy Updike was reporting in Iraq, Sarah, an Iraqi woman in her 40s, was her ...Iraq • Jobs/Employment • Military

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  • Prologue.

    428: Oh You Shouldn't Have 03.04.2011

    Ira Glass hands off the show to guest host Nancy Updike, via a quick cell phone call, as he ...Funny • Telephone

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  • Act Two.

    428: Oh You Shouldn't Have 03.04.2011

    Nancy Updike follows up on a Haaretz newspaper story about a sting operation against a medical ...Drugs • Health Care/Medicine • Police

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  • Act Three.

    428: Oh You Shouldn't Have 03.04.2011

    Nancy speaks with Nazanin Rafsanjani about the Iranian custom Tarof, which leads people to ...Neighbors/Neighborhoods

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  • Prologue.

    416: Iraq After Us 10.15.2010

    Host Ira Glass speaks with reporter Larry Kaplow and producer Nancy Updike, who spent a month in ...Iraq • Politics • War

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  • What Just Happened?

    416: Iraq After Us 10.15.2010

    To understand where we are today in Iraq, we tell the story of one Iraqi, Saad Oraibi Ghaffouri ...Iraq • War

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  • Politics as Usual.

    416: Iraq After Us 10.15.2010

    Larry and Nancy head to Diyala Province north of Baghdad, and meet with a mayor and a member of ...Iraq • Politics

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  • Today in Babylon.

    416: Iraq After Us 10.15.2010

    The worst violence ended two years ago. Iraq is stable. Larry and Nancy go to an amusement park ...Iraq

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  • Bridge and Tunnel.

    407: The Bridge 05.07.2010

    In the Middle East, hundreds and hundreds of tunnels connect the Gaza strip and Egypt, allowing ...Death • Retail/Commerce

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  • Nancy's Dad's Story.

    400: Stories Pitched by Our Parents 02.12.2010

    The Erie Canal. (6 minutes.) Web bonus: Click here to download the song that Nancy and Dave sing.Fathers • History • Music

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  • If God Isn't A Penn State Fan, Then Why Is The Sky Blue And White?

    396: #1 Party School 12.18.2009

    Because of the University, State College is in the only county in Pennsylvania where GDP grew in ...Alcohol • Business • Retail/Commerce

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  • Midnight Run.

    395: Middle of the Night 11.27.2009

    Producer Nancy Updike speaks with Specialist Lindsay Freeland of the Oregon National Guard about ...Iraq • Military • War

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  • Act Two.

    388: Rest Stop 09.04.2009

    More stories of travelers and workers at highway rest stop. The competition between Plattekill ...Jobs/Employment • Travel

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  • Side Effects May Include...

    386: Fine Print 07.24.2009

    In Tehran in 2004, Omid Memarian confessed to doing things he'd never done, meeting people he'd ...Journalism • Terrorism

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  • All Your Base Are Belong To Him.

    372: The Inauguration Show 01.16.2009

    The newspaper Military Times did a survey of 2000 active duty servicemen and women, asking them ...Government • Military • Politics

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  • Disturbing The Peace Train.

    370: Ruining It for the Rest of Us 12.19.2008

    There's this haven on the U.S. railroad—the Amtrak Quiet Car. You can't yammer on your cell ...Funny • Travel

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  • Scranton.

    367: Ground Game 10.24.2008

    In Scranton, there's a "Citizens for McCain" office. But really, it's a "Democrats for McCain" ...Politics

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  • Scranton, Part Two.

    367: Ground Game 10.24.2008

    Nancy Updike's story about Democrats for McCain continues. (10 minutes) Politics

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  • Yes, No Or Baby.

    362: Got You Pegged 08.22.2008

    There are some situations where making judgments about people based on limited amounts of ...Adoption

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  • Sleep's Tiniest Enemies.

    361: Fear of Sleep 08.08.2008

    This American Life producers Nancy Updike and Robyn Semien report on critters that can kill ...Animals • Health Care/Medicine

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  • Vox Diaboli.

    340: The Devil in Me 09.07.2007

    Sometimes the inner voice telling us to do the wrong thing actually sounds like a voice. TAL ...Mental Health

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  • Cassandra.

    333: The Center for Lessons Learned 05.25.2007

    This American Life producer Nancy Updike tells the story of Conrad Crane, the head of the U.S. ...Education • Government • Iraq

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  • Prologue.

    327: By Proxy 03.09.2007

    This American Life producer Nancy Updike talks with a man, Eric Molinsky, about a weirdly heated ...Friendship

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  • Mr. Adam's Neighborhood.

    324: My Brilliant Plan 01.26.2007

    Radio reporter Adam Davidson went to Iraq to report on the war. He decided that rather than ...Housing • Iraq • Journalism

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  • Prologue.

    293: A Little Bit of Knowledge 07.22.2005

    Host Ira Glass describes the thing that we all do at some point: Talk expertly about something ...Health Care/Medicine • Journalism

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  • Prologue.

    268: My Experimental Phase 06.25.2004

    How does a person who's not gay convince herself that she is for two years? Host Ira Glass talks ...Sexuality

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  • Airport.

    266: I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help 06.04.2004

    The private security guys (from a company called Custer Battles) who guard Baghdad International ...Business • Iraq • Military

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  • Hank.

    266: I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help 06.04.2004

    A former military man, Hank was hired by Custer Battles to clean up one of its other Iraq ...Business • Iraq • Jobs/Employment

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  • Green Zone.

    266: I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help 06.04.2004

    The Green Zone is where the Coalition Provisional Authority has set up its headquarters, and the ...Business • Iraq

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  • Electricity.

    266: I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help 06.04.2004

    On their way out to a power plant, Nancy and Lee, a supervisor for Fluor in Iraq, get shot at by ...Business • Iraq

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  • Karen.

    266: I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help 06.04.2004

    Karen Hahn, who works for Custer Battles at the airport, started out there screening women ...Business • Iraq • Jobs/Employment

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  • Cops.

    266: I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help 06.04.2004

    Hundred of Iraqi police officers have been killed since the United States invaded Iraq. One ...Iraq • Jobs/Employment • Police

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  • Hank Redux.

    266: I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help 06.04.2004

    Nancy finally gets Hank, the Custer Battles employee, to answer the question of whether he ever ...Business • Iraq • Jobs/Employment

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  • This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land. Or Maybe Not.

    251: Brother's Keeper 11.21.2003

    We hear the story of someone trying to help all sorts of people who absolutely do not want his ...Activism • Politics

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  • Star Of Bethlehem.

    238: Lost in Translation 05.30.2003

    Very few Palestinians speak Hebrew, and very few Israelis speak Arabic, even though most ...Journalism • Television

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  • Life Indoors.

    217: Give It to Them 08.02.2002

    Nancy Updike reports that life under curfew in Ramallah can be, among other things, intensely ...Housing • Politics

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  • What's A Moderate?

    217: Give It to Them 08.02.2002

    What if a new Palestinian leader came on the scene who was neither part of the corrupt autocracy ...Health Care/Medicine • Politics

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  • Don't Believe Anything You Hear On The Radio.

    200: Hearts and Minds 11.30.2001

    The story of a clandestine radio station the CIA set up back in the good old, bad old days of ...Government • Military • Politics

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  • What We Cringe About When We Cringe About Love.

    182: Cringe 04.13.2001

    Cringing means literally "to shrink from something dangerous or painful." So what could be more ...Religion • Romance

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  • Day.

    172: 24 Hours at the Golden Apple 11.17.2000

    In this act we hear several stories that happened during the daylight hours of the diner's ...Family • Food/Drinks/Cooking • Friendship

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  • Grime Scene.

    164: Crime Scene 07.07.2000

    Reporter Nancy Updike spends two days with Neal Smither, who cleans up crime scenes for a ...Crime • Jobs/Employment

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  • Conning The Con Men.

    155: Hoaxing Yourself 03.17.2000

    The story of a con man, one of the most successful salesmen in a long-running ...Business • Crime • Legal System

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  • The Other Nursing Staff.

    149: Bedside Diplomacy 01.14.2000

    No radio program about caregivers in a hospital would be complete without a few words about the ...Health Care/Medicine • Television

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  • A Night In Drug Court.

    143: Sentencing 10.22.1999

    Before this show ended we wanted to know—how typical are the horror stories? What happens in a ...Crime • Criminal Justice • Drugs

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  • Act Four.

    141: Invisible Worlds 10.01.1999

    Producer Nancy Updike tells the story of scientists who simply made up an invisible, weightless ...Science

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  • How To Avoid The Difficulty Of Living With Someone.

    123: High Cost of Living 02.26.1999

    When adults talk babytalk to each other, it is precisely to avoid having real conversations and ...Romance

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  • Smell.

    110: Mapping 09.04.1998

    A story about a device that charts the world through smell — and only smell. TAL producer Nancy ...Technology

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  • Saint Nick.

    86: How to Take Money from Strangers 12.12.1997

    A con man named Nick Ward who's so good he's thanked. (24 minutes)City • Crime

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  • Reverb.

    73: Blame It on Art 08.22.1997

    Ellery Eskelin never met his father but always heard he was a musical genius. Years after his ...Death • Family • Fathers

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  • Firewalk.

    59: Fire 04.11.1997

    Producer Nancy Updike with Ki Kim, who's not afraid of walking on coals. But maybe he should ...Health Care/Medicine • Religion

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  • Check Out the Package on That Guy.

    57: Delivery 03.14.1997

    Nancy Updike and UPS Men. (6 minutes)Jobs/Employment • Sexuality

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  • Anti-oedipus.

    46: Sissies 12.13.1996

    This American Life producer Nancy Updike on a family where the father was one kind of sissy and ...Childhood • Divorce • Family

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  • The Meaning of Basketball

    25: Basketball 06.07.1996

    Chicago playwright David Isaacson, on hating the Bulls. Then, Nancy Updike presents a sound ...Sports

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  • The Economy.

    16: Economy 03.14.1996

    Temporary employment agencies' business has exploded in the last few years as corporations lay ...Business • Economics • Jobs/Employment

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