Radio Archive by Tag

Television

  • Prologue.

    467: Americans in China 06.22.2012

    Months ago, in preparing for this show, we started reaching out to Americans living in China and ...Television

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  • Prologue.

    458: Play the Part 02.17.2012

    Ira speaks with a reality TV producer named Bill Langworthy, who has noticed that people do ...Television

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  • His Partner Drops a Dime.

    447: The Incredible Case of the P.I. Moms 09.23.2011

    Joshuah Bearman's story continues. Chris Butler makes a transition into true criminal ...Crime • Drugs • Police

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  • Act Two.

    444: Gossip 08.26.2011

    Chicago writer Rebecca Makkai bring us the story of a reality television producer attempting to ...Fiction • Romance • Television

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  • Act One.

    428: Oh You Shouldn't Have 03.04.2011

    Allison Silverman reports on This Is Your Life, a show from the 1950s ...History • Television

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  • Last Man Stand-Up.

    421: Last Man Standing 12.03.2010

    Producer Sarah Koenig tells the story of Duke Fightmaster, who refused to give up his simple ...Jobs/Employment • Television

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  • Don't Hate The Player.

    412: Million Dollar Idea 07.16.2010

    Shawn Allee tells a story of the oldest kind of million dollar idea, the scam. Or was it an ...Personal Finance • Television

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  • Taking a Big Pink Eraser to the Thin Blue Line

    405: Inside Job 04.09.2010

    Michael May tells the story of Barry Cooper, a former crooked narcotics cop who has turned his ...Crime • Drugs • Police

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  • I Am Here To Make Frenemies.

    389: Frenemies 09.11.2009

    We head to deep inside the natural habitat of frenemies: Reality TV. Rich Juzwiak is a full-time ...Friendship • Television

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  • Underling Gets An Underling.

    385: Pro Se 07.10.2009

    Stef Willen tells Ira about a time that she took matters into her own hands, even though she was ...Film/Film Making • Jobs/Employment • Television

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  • The Race For Second Place.

    344: The Competition 11.30.2007

    Thanh Tan was a TV reporter in Boise, Idaho, when her boss passed along what seemed like a hot ...Economics • Television

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  • Prologue.

    338: The Spokesman 08.10.2007

    David Iserson tried to lay low in junior high, staying out of sight to keep from getting teased ...Teenagers • Television

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  • I'm Not A Tv Star, But I Play One On Tv.

    329: Nice Work If You Can Get It 04.06.2007

    This American Life contributor John Hodgman was unexpectedly chosen to be in a series of ...Jobs/Employment • Live Performance • Television

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  • Prologue.

    328: What I Learned from Television 03.16.2007

    Host Ira Glass talks with Jane Espenson—who's written for the TV shows Battlestar Galactica and ...Television • Writing

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  • 29.

    328: What I Learned from Television 03.16.2007

    This American Life contributor David Rakoff, who swore off TV in college, returns to it in ...Funny • Live Performance • Television

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  • Turkeys In Pilgrim Clothing.

    328: What I Learned from Television 03.16.2007

    Sarah Vowell examines what happens when TV takes on a subject it really has no business ...Funny • Live Performance • Music

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  • Radio On The Tv.

    328: What I Learned from Television 03.16.2007

    Ira says a few words about what he learned from working on a television show himself and about ...Education • Funny • Live Performance

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  • My Other Dog's A German Shepherd.

    328: What I Learned from Television 03.16.2007

    Regular This American Life contributor Dan Savage, a syndicated sex columnist with possibly the ...Fathers • Parenting • Police

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  • Prologue.

    326: Quiz Show 02.16.2007

    Ira talks with Bob Harris, a former Jeopardy champion, about how he prepared to go on the ...Television

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  • Round I. Gamester Of Ireland Is Fine.

    326: Quiz Show 02.16.2007

    Roger Dowds won several hundred thousand pounds on the Irish version of Who Wants to be a ...Education • Television

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  • Round III. Girls In Need Of A Safer Time.

    326: Quiz Show 02.16.2007

    Robin Epstein talks about her old job, as producer and chief question writer on a game show for ...Childhood • Education • Television

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  • Social Studies Lesson.

    296: After the Flood 09.09.2005

    We compare Fox TV talk show host Bill O'Reilly's ideas about the hurricane's aftermath with ...Economics • Natural Disasters • Television

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  • The Double Whammy.

    295: Not What I Signed Up For 08.26.2005

    Marian Fontana's husband was a Brooklyn firefighter who was killed on September 11, 2001. ...9/11 • Activism • Television

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  • Thinking Inside The Box.

    283: Remember Me 02.25.2005

    David Wilcox tells the story of how his mother, who was dying of lung cancer, made a short ...Mothers • Television

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  • Take My Break, Please.

    281: My Big Break 01.21.2005

    Charlie Brill and Mitzi McCall were a comedy duo back in the mid-1960s, playing clubs around Los ...Live Performance • Television

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  • The Lobbyist.

    278: Spies Like Us 11.19.2004

    When Burt Covit was programming his VCR one day, he accidentally tuned in to a channel showing ...Fiction • Television

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  • I've Got A Secret I've Been Hiding From You.

    258: Leaving the Fold 01.30.2004

    This American Life producer Alex Blumberg tells the true story of Jerry Springer's life before ...Politics • Television

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  • If It Drives, Go Live.

    248: Like It or Not 10.24.2003

    For four hours in August 2001, KCAL-9, an all-news channel in Los Angeles, broadcast a very ...Automobiles • Crime • Television

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  • Prologue.

    244: MacGyver 08.15.2003

    Host Ira Glass reminds the audience about the old TV series MacGyver, about the guy who stops ...Science • Television

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  • Star Of Bethlehem.

    238: Lost in Translation 05.30.2003

    Very few Palestinians speak Hebrew, and very few Israelis speak Arabic, even though most ...Journalism • Television

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  • Prologue.

    235: The Balloon Goes Up 03.21.2003

    Host Ira Glass talks to Anthony Swofford, a former marine sniper and author of the Gulf War ...Iraq • Television • War

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  • Prologue.

    233: Starting from Scratch 03.07.2003

    Host Ira Glass talks to Jorge Just, who thought he'd started over successfully. He'd moved to ...Television

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  • Puppy Love.

    233: Starting from Scratch 03.07.2003

    Molly FitzSimons tells the story of her father starting over. After 25 years in the same zip ...Jobs/Employment • Television

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  • Prologue.

    228: You Are So Beautiful…To Me 01.03.2003

    Host Ira Glass explains how you can get away with anything if you claim you did it for love. (3 ...Romance • Television

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  • Prologue.

    226: Reruns 12.06.2002

    Host Ira Glass talks with Starlee Kine, who loves TV reruns more than first-run shows. She ...Television

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  • Action! Action! Action!

    226: Reruns 12.06.2002

    Starlee Kine tells the story of a man more obsessed with reruns than even she is. Director Trent ...Film/Film Making • Television

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  • A Half-million Home Videos Can't Be Wrong.

    225: Home Movies 11.08.2002

    The TV show America's Funniest Home Videos has an archive of over half-a-million video clips. ...Funny • Television

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  • Crispy With The Rock.

    192: Meet the Pros 08.31.2001

    The story of two amateurs meeting the pros. One is a teenager in New Jersey; the other, our ...Sports • Teenagers • Television

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  • Mr. Rothbart's Neighborhood.

    184: Neighbors 05.11.2001

    When he was just a kid, Davy Rothbart and his family visited the most famous neighbor in ...Childhood • Television • Travel

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  • M*a*s*h Notes.

    182: Cringe 04.13.2001

    Ira reports on a week he spent on the set of the TV show M*A*S*H in 1979, supposedly to do a ...Jobs/Employment • Journalism • Television

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  • Ariel Sharon, Shimon Peres, David Ben-Gurion, and Me.

    182: Cringe 04.13.2001

    Adam Davidson reads from his high school diaries.Jobs/Employment • Journalism • Television

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  • Prologue.

    171: Election 11.03.2000

    Host Ira Glass talks with Bennett Miller and Matt Futterman about a campaign for student ...Education • Government • Politics

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  • Those Who Ignore History Are Condemned To Repeat It—But Those Who Pay Attention To History Are Also Condemned To Repeat It.

    160: Character Assassination 05.19.2000

    Dirty political attacks go back to the very beginning of the American Republic. What's different ...History • Politics • Presidents

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  • Prologue.

    158: Mob Mentality 05.05.2000

    There's a TV ad so popular in Canada right now that people chant it in bars, stand and cheer it ...Retail/Commerce • Television

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  • The Hissing Of Winter Lawns.

    158: Mob Mentality 05.05.2000

    What happens when a crowd converges over something they strongly believe in, for weeks, and ...Activism • Journalism • Television

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  • In A World Full Of Soybeans, The Men Turn To Love.

    157: Secret Life of Daytime 04.14.2000

    At one grain elevator on the outskirts of Lincoln, Nebraska, during the slow months, the five ...Jobs/Employment • Television

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  • Prologue.

    155: Hoaxing Yourself 03.17.2000

    Sean Cole explains why he decided that he would speak with a British accent—morning, noon and ...Childhood • Television

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  • If Cats Ran Hollywood.

    154: In Dog We Trust 03.10.2000

    What do cats want to see on television? Steve Malarky, creator of the world's best-selling home ...Animals • Retail/Commerce • Television

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  • The Other Nursing Staff.

    149: Bedside Diplomacy 01.14.2000

    No radio program about caregivers in a hospital would be complete without a few words about the ...Health Care/Medicine • Television

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  • Exodus.

    147: A Teenager's Guide to God 12.17.1999

    These teenagers are the children the Christian right has in mind when it holds conferences on ...Music • Religion • Teenagers

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  • How To Do The Funky Chicken.

    145: Poultry Slam 1999 11.26.1999

    The true story of how a multinational chicken company turned a white man into a black man. The ...Animals • Food/Drinks/Cooking • Race

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  • Drawl.

    138: The Real Thing 08.27.1999

    What does it mean to talk like a real Southerner—and why a multimillion industry can't seem to ...Film/Film Making • Marriage • Television

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  • How To Talk Your Way Into A Half Million Dollars ... In 45 Minutes.

    133: Sales 06.25.1999

    A story that takes place at the crossroads where art meets commerce—a place where we can ask the ...Art • Business • Film/Film Making

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  • I, Danny.

    108: Truth and Lies at Age Ten 08.07.1998

    In this special half-hour story produced by Jay Allison as part of his Life Stories series, Dan ...Childhood • Television

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  • Evading Wacky And Serious.

    97: Death to Wacky 03.20.1998

    Robert Krulwich's stories, on NPR, CBS and ABC, are neither wacky nor pompously serious. He ...Race • Television

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  • Based On A True Story.

    87: A Very Special Sedaris Christmas 12.19.1997

    A Hollywood TV producer tries to convince a church of evangelical Christians to sell out a ...Funny • Holidays • Literature

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  • Natural Disaster.

    80: Running After Antelope 10.17.1997

    How an audience of children derailed Late Night with Conan O'Brien. (7 minutes)Children • Funny • Television

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  • The Wedding Game.

    79: Stuck in the Wrong Decade 10.10.1997

    Karl T. Wright's and Wendy Miller's game show wedding. (18 minutes)Funny • Television • Weddings

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  • Dark Shadows.

    74: Conventions 08.29.1997

    John Connors has very mixed emotions about attending a convention for viewers of the TV program ...Television

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  • Outing.

    65: Who's Canadian? 05.30.1997

    Or is that "Ooting?" 90210 expert Danny Drennan on the pro-Canadian bias in the hit TV show ...Television

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  • As Seen On Tv.

    56: Name Change 03.07.1997

    Dishwasher Pete on Letterman. (17 minutes)Friendship • Literature • Television

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  • How Sinatra Affects Us.

    54: Sinatra 02.21.1997

    New York writer Camden Joy tells what happened when in a greasy spoon restaurant filled with ...Film/Film Making • Food/Drinks/Cooking • Television

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  • Dangerous Minds.

    43: Faustian Bargains 11.22.1996

    LuAnne Johnson is a teacher who sold her story to Hollywood and saw it made into the film and TV ...Education • Film/Film Making • Jobs/Employment

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  • Television Man.

    41: Politics 11.08.1996

    Campaign diarist Michael Lewis, on his transformation into a television reporter, and on an ...Journalism • Politics • Television

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  • Prologue.

    39: Halloween 10.25.1996

    Host Ira Glass talks to people who gather every week to watch the TV show Dark Shadows. (1 minute)Television

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  • Dark Shadows

    39: Halloween 10.25.1996

    Ira continues his story. (10 minutes)Friendship • Funny • Television

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  • TV Show.

    34: Democratic Convention 08.30.1996

    Webmaster and Beverly Hills 90210 expert Danny Drennan on the convention. Danny runs the site ...Government • Politics • Television

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  • Instructions on How You Can Become Bob Dole.

    29: Bob Dole 07.19.1996

    Former Saturday Night Live writer Robert Smigel — who impersonates Dole on Late Night with Conan ...Funny • Politics • Presidents

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  • TV Politics.

    29: Bob Dole 07.19.1996

    We give Danny Drennan, the writer behind the website Inquisitor Mediarama, a little assignment. ...Funny • Politics • Presidents

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  • Snuggles.

    20: From A Distance 04.19.1996

    A man in New York runs an apology line.Television

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  • Fan Dance.

    17: Name Change / No Theme 03.21.1996

    Barbara Adams, a former member of the Whitewater trial jury, showed up for jury duty wearing a ...Childhood • Legal System • Parents

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  • Prologue.

    8: New Year 01.03.1996

    Host Ira Glass talks about recently released archival television interviews with the Beatles, ...Music • Television

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  • Prologue.

    1: New Beginnings 11.17.1995

    Ira talks with Joe Franklin, host of the longest running talk show in television history, to get ...Milestones • Television

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