43:

Faustian Bargains

Originally aired 11.22.1996
Inspired by a spate of new Chicago stage adaptations of the Faust story, This American Life brings you stories of people who made a deal with the devil.

Act One. Dangerous Minds.

LuAnne Johnson is a teacher who sold her story to Hollywood and saw it made into the film and TV series Dangerous Minds, in which a character named LuAnne Johnson does things the real LuAnne believes are unethical and silly. (15 minutes)

Embed

Copy and paste the HTML below to embed this story into your web page or blog.

pixels

Act Two. The Undiscovered Country.

Found tape of a conversation about bringing back the dead. (11 minutes)

Embed

Copy and paste the HTML below to embed this story into your web page or blog.

pixels

Act Three. Voyager.

Alix Spiegel tells the story of her friend Jayna, who made a Faustian bargain at 11 years old. (12 minutes)

Embed

Copy and paste the HTML below to embed this story into your web page or blog.

pixels

Act Four. Carmen Becomes Faust.

Carmen Delzell on a deal she made with the devil when she turned 30. (14 minutes)

Embed

Copy and paste the HTML below to embed this story into your web page or blog.

pixels

Act Five. First Contact.

Daniel Pinkwater reads his children's picture book Devil in the Drain. (4 minutes)

Embed

Copy and paste the HTML below to embed this story into your web page or blog.

pixels

Embed

Copy and paste the HTML below to embed this episode into your web page or blog.

pixels