Stories about how easy it is for communication to go awry, and what the consequences can be after it does.
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Prologue
Host Ira Glass talks to film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader about an anonymous love letter that turned out to be very different than it seemed. (5 minutes)
Froggy Goes A-courtin'
Cat Got Your Tongue
A fable about gossip and the service industry involving a cat and a baboon, by David Sedaris. David's story was recorded live at UCLA's Royce Hall, as part of UCLA's Performing Arts series. He's the author of several books, including Dress Your Family in Cordoroy and Denim, and a collection of short stories by other authors that he edited, titled Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules. (5 minutes)
Romance Languages
Ben Karlin talks about how a foreign language can come in handy when it comes to smoothing over potentially ugly misunderstandings. When he was a student in Italy, he signed up to coach basketball in hopes of making friends with some Italians. But when he gets to practice, he discovers the team wants something very different from him. And then there was the time he accidentally insulted his Italian girlfriend in a Christmas card. Ben Karlin is executive producer of The Daily Show and a co-author of the book America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. (11 minutes)
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