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.
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)
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)
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)
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Act Two: Winged Warrior
In the 1960s, the adventures of "The Greatest Crimefighter the World Has Ever Known"—Chickenman—were heard on hundreds of radio stations.
Act One: The Undertaking
Thomas Lynch reads from his book The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade.
Act Two: Julia Gets Cancer
In the second half of the show, she talks about her own cancer — cervical cancer that was diagnosed six months after her brother got sick.
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Amusement Park
We head to some of the happiest places on earth: amusement parks!