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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

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75
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Kindness of Strangers

A locksmith tells the story of an act of kindness he committed, hoping for a small reward. That, and other stories of kindness in New York City.

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What Happened at Dos Erres

A Guatemalan immigrant living near Boston gets a phone call with some very strange news about his past.

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This American Life is produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago and delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange.

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