Mike Birbiglia got used to strange things happening to him when he slept—until something happened that almost killed him. This and other reasons to fear sleep, including bedbugs, "The Shining," and mild-mannered husbands who turn into maniacs while asleep.
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Prologue
Host Ira Glass talks about his fear of sleep, and reports on other people who have very strong reasons of their own to fear bedtime. (8 minutes)
We also hear the sounds of troubled sleepers from a video put together by Doctors Carlos Schenck and Mark Mahowald of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center. Dr. Schenck's books include Sleep and Paradox Lost.
Stranger in the Night
Mike Birbiglia talks about the sleepwalking that nearly killed him. (13 minutes)
This story is an excerpt of Mike's one-man show, "Sleepwalk with Me," which also became feature film, produced and co-written by Ira Glass. Mike's story was recorded at The Moth.
The poem Ira reads is called "The Scratch," it's in Raymond Carver's collection All Of Us.
Sleep's Tiniest Enemies
Producers Nancy Updike and Robyn Semien report on critters that can kill sleep: cockroaches and bedbugs. (11 minutes)
The Bitter Fruits Of Wakefulness
Joel Lovell explains why, as an 11-year-old, he trained himself not to fall asleep, and how that had some unintended consequences. (10 minutes)
Hollywood-Induced Nightmare
Seth Lind explains how he ended up watching Stanley Kubrick's The Shining when he was six years old, and how it led to two years where every night he had trouble falling asleep and nightmares. (7 minutes)
Seth is our director of operations and a creator of the sci-fi comedy podcast Mission to Zyxx.
A Small Taste Of The Big Sleep
For some people, the fear of sleep is linked to the fear of death. We hear from some of them. (5 minutes)
In the radio version of this act, Ira Glass also read from the poem "Aubade" by Philip Larkin.
Related
Act Two: And If That Diamond Ring Don't Shine
Act One: Witness for the Barbecue-tion
Act One: Mother Of Invention
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