57: Delivery

57: Delivery

Mar 14, 1997

Stories about the delivery business and the people in it. UPS men, bike messengers, FedEx dispatchers.

NOTE: This American Life has removed the audio for this episode because of questions about the truthfulness of the story by reporter Stephen Glass (who’s no relation to Ira Glass). We have removed the audio from our site, and have left the transcript up only for reference.

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Prologue
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Host Ira Glass goes to the Federal Express hub at Memphis to watch 1.2 million pieces of overnight mail get sorted in one night and to talk to the adrenaline junkies in the FedEx Command Center. (5 minutes)Travel
- Ira Glass
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Act One

Speed.
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Tony Starbucks, interviewed by Dierdre Dolan and Paul Tough. (7 minutes)Jobs/Employment
- Dierdre Dolan
- Paul Tough
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Act Two

Who You Meet.
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"Edison, New Jersey," a story about delivering pool tables from Junot Diaz's book Drown. (18 minutes)Fiction • Jobs/Employment
- Junot Diaz
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Act Three

World Premiere.
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David Sedaris play, with Toby Wherry and Penelope Boyer. (13 minutes)Funny • Radio • Theater
- David Sedaris
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Act Four

Check Out the Package on That Guy.
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Nancy Updike and UPS Men. (6 minutes)Jobs/Employment • Sexuality
- Nancy Updike
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Act Five

Faith Shattered.
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An unhappy customer gets a phone call from the CEO of FedEx and still keeps his personal boycott going of the company. (7 minutes)Business • Jobs/Employment • Retail/Commerce • Telephone
- Stephen Glass
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