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Full episode
216: Give the People What They Want
Act Two

God Shed His Grace On Thee

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A fable of how America got its name, and how it was named after someone who was a fraud, but the kind of fraud people love, the kind of fraud who knows how to please a crowd. Jack Hitt tells the racy and little-known story of how Amerigo Vespucci got his name all over the map of the western hemisphere by telling lies about what he found there—the type of lies which can be found today in the pages of Penthouse magazine. (13 minutes)

By

Jack Hitt

Song:

“In America” by Fastbacks

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Act Three: Seance Fiction

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More by Jack Hitt

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699: Fiasco!
Apr. 3, 2020

Act One: Opening Night

Jack Hitt's Peter Pan story continues. (18 minutes)Jack is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and Harper’s.
549: Amateur Hour
Feb. 27, 2015

Act One: Theater of War

Fort Bragg Army base was suffering a number of unnecessary deaths — so they decided to attempt to save soldiers’ lives through the art of musical theater.
510: Fiasco! (2013)
Nov. 1, 2013

Act One: Opening Night

Jack Hitt's Peter Pan story continues.
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