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100
April 24, 1998

Radio

For the 100th episode of This American Life, a radio show about the pleasures of radio. About what makes radio so great, and what makes it so terrible.

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  • Transcript
Britt-Marie Sohlström

Prologue

Ira talks about those ephemeral, thrilling radio moments that you happen to catch in passing on stations far away that you never find again. Flipping through the channels. (7 minutes)

By

Ira Glass
Act One

Brigadoon

Iggy Scam describes how he searched for an illegal radio station that keeps appearing and disappearing and appearing again in the mist. (11 minutes)

By

Iggy Scam
Act Two

The Invisible Leading The Blind

Jack Hitt talks about a radio station he chanced upon while on a long drive. The station seems to ignore the last six decades of broadcasting history and convention. Jack is the author of Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim's Route into Spain. (10 minutes)

By

Jack Hitt
Act Three

The Radio Most People Listen To

How the science of radio enabled V103 to become tied for number one in the Chicago market. And how it cost DJ Ida Hackele her job. (18 minutes)

By

Ira Glass
Act Four

Noble Calling

Now in exile, Jose Ramos Horta spent two decades as the leading international spokesman against the invasion of his country by Indonesia. He won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. And one day when peace finally comes to his country, East Timor, he will move on to his next dream: to be a radio talk host, just like Howard Stern. (10 minutes)

By

Ira Glass

Related

If you enjoyed this episode, you may like these
622: Who You Gonna Call?
Aug. 4, 2017

Act Three: Ode to Joy

Ira Glass' friend Lucy used to love listening to the radio psychologist Joy Browne, who she thought always had the best advice.
237: Regime Change
Apr. 18, 2003

Act One: Unconquerable

Katie Davis tells the story of one storefront in her bustling commercial neighborhood that resists all occupation.
328: What I Learned from Television
Mar. 16, 2007

Act Three: Radio On The Tv

Ira says a few words about what he learned from working on a television show himself and about what it's like to hear your name mentioned casually by a fictional character on a prime time drama.

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