January 16, 2004

What I Should’ve Said

People return to the scene of the crime where they should have spoken clearly, plainly, forcefully...to review what the hell went wrong, and in a few cases, to fix it. Jonathan Goldstein tries to stop time. Charles Monroe tries to figure out how to teach a lesson to the President of the United States.

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Transcript

Prologue

Host Ira Glass talks about trying to figure out what to say to his dying mom. He's sure that someday he'll wish he said something different than what he actually said. (5 minutes)

By

Ira Glass

Act One

Freeze Frame

Jonathan Goldstein, for once in his life, gets to suspend time itself. He gets to freeze the hands of time, and finally come up with the right thing to say in all sorts of situations. Jonathan's a contributing editor and author of the novel Lenny Bruce is Dead. (16 minutes)

By

Jonathan Goldstein

Song:

“Fly Like an Eagle” by The Steve Miller Band

Act Two

In The Bush Leagues

The true story of a young activist, Charles Monroe-Kane (now a producer at WPR's To the Best of Our Knowledge), who, in his very first political action, heckled the leader of the free world...and failed horribly...leaving him mulling it over late at night, for years. (16 minutes)

By

Charles Monroe-Kane

Act Three

A Can Of Worms

David Sedaris wishes he could take back a wish. He's the author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and other books. (9 minutes)

By

David Sedaris

Song:

“The Glow Worm” by The Mills Brothers

Act Four

Life Sentence

The President of the Maryland State Senate, Mike Miller, a veteran political operator, talks about the off-the-cuff remark in 1989 that many people say changed his life forever. (7 minutes)

By

Ira Glass

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