12.24.99
148: The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Suit
A special Christmas edition of our show, with stories about Santa Claus—the many many different versions of Santa Claus. It was in America...
12.17.99
147: A Teenager's Guide to God
Oh faithless and perverse generation? How long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?—Matthew 17.
12.10.99
146: Urban Nature
Stories of nature creeping into man-made environments. Of nature sneaking in places where its very presence is a rebuke to the notion that...
11.26.99
145: Poultry Slam '99
For Thanksgiving, the time of year when poultry consumption is highest, it's our annual program about turkeys, chickens, fowl of all types...
11.5.99
144: Where Words Fail
One reason we tell stories is to explain things to ourselves that cannot, in the end, always be explained. When someone we're close to dies...
10.22.99
143: Sentencing
We've all heard occasional news stories about how some of the drug laws enacted in the last 15 years may have gone too far. First time...
10.15.99
142: Barbara
We hear the story of one African-American single mother. Barbara Clinkscales recorded her family's life over the course of seven months for...
10.1.99
141: Invisible Worlds
Stories of people who are trying to make invisible worlds visible, and what happens when you make them visible.
9.23.99
140: Family Business
Stories of family businesses, and what happens when the tension of family dynamics collides with the pressure of capitalist market forces.
9.3.99
139: Ghosts of Elections Past
Stories of political idealists, stories designed to provide some small sense of hope about American politics. Most of these were first...
8.27.99
138: The Real Thing
Stories of people drawn to some idea, some picture, some "thing" that they just want to be. How some people imitate this "thing" innocently...
8.20.99
137: The Book That Changed Your Life
Stories of people who believe a book changed their life. It's a romantic notion, and one reason we believe it is because we want to believe...
8.6.99
136: You Are Here
Three stories, three people, and three sets of maps. Stories of people trying to figure out where they are in the world in the most literal...
7.23.99
135: Allure of Crime
We think of crime as a kind of monolithic, menacing presence. But there are many kinds of crimes and many kinds of criminals. Through our...
7.12.99
134: We Didn't
Stories about what happens when we don't do something. It turns out that not falling in love, not doing our jobs, not spending time with...
6.25.99
133: Sales
Consider for a moment all the art forms that began in America: jazz, the blues, musical theater, rock n' roll, phonograph recordings,...
6.18.99
132: Father's Day '99
For Father's Day, stories about fathers going out of their way to protect their kids, and kids going out of their way to protect their...
6.4.99
131: The Kids Are Alright
Stories in which young people take matters into their own hands: Students who become political activists, students who pull pranks, violent...
5.21.99
130: Away From Home
Stories of people going home to places they've never been before.
5.14.99
129: Advice
A program taped before live audiences in Seattle (thanks to public radio station KUOW) and at HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. A...
4.30.99
128: Four Corners
There's a tourist monument called Four Corners, where Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico meet. In this episode, we try to tell the...
4.16.99
127: Pimp Anthropology
This entire show is devoted to just one story. A former pimp tells how he and three childhood friends became pimps in the 1970s in Oakland...
4.9.99
126: Do-Gooders
Stories of people trying to do good: Why they often fail and why they occasionally succeed.
4.2.99
125: Apocalypse
Stories of the end of the world. More people believe it's more imminent than you probably realize.
3.19.99
124: Welcome to America
Stories of people moving to this country: what they see and hear about America that those of us who were born here don't necessarily see.
2.26.99
123: High Cost of Living
Stories of people who choose not to live every moment to the fullest or smell the roses, and instead choose to withdraw from life, to make...
2.12.99
122: Valentine's Day '99
For Valentine's Day, stories of impossible love and heartbreak.
1.29.99
121: Twentieth Century Man
One thing that makes our country different from most others is this idea that you can re-create yourself as someone you'd prefer...
1.22.99
120: Be Careful Who You Pretend to Be
Three stories of people pretending to be something they're not, and what happens to them.
1.8.99
119: Lockup
With the number of prisoners in the United States rising rapidly, we present stories of their lives and the lives of their families and...