7:

Quitting

Originally aired 12.29.1995
Stories of people who quit everything in their lives that they hated—and what happened to them afterwards.

Prologue.

Evan Harris was entrenched in her life, stalled and going nowhere both personally and professionally. A silly conversation with a co-worker about the letter "Q" led her to start a magazine called Quitter Quarterly. That one conversation changed her life completely. (22 minutes)

Song: "Don't Fence Me In", Ella Fitzgerald

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Act One.

A story about quitting by Sandra Tsing Loh. (10 minutes)

Song: "Do Something Different (Disappear)", Brave Combo

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Act Two.

Ira explores the question of when it's time to quit a relationship through rare recordings of bickering between roommates—recorded by the next-door neighbors. (9 minutes)

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Act Three.

Lisa Buscani reads a two-part story about not being able to quit something or someone. The piece was written for This American Life. (13 minutes)

Song: "The Calendar Song", Robert Metrick

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Act Four

Dwight Okita reads the poem "Farewell Samba" from his book Crossing with the Light.

Ira Glass reads Philip Larkin's poem "Poetry of Departures." (3 minutes)

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Photo: Bread Mouth

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