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Full episode
339: Break-Up
Act One

Dr. Phil

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In the wake of a break-up, writer Starlee Kine finds so much comfort in break-up songs that she decides to try and write one herself—even though she has no musical ability whatsoever. For some help, she goes to a rather surprising expert on the subject: Phil Collins. (29 minutes)

Starlee was assisted in her efforts by musicians Joe McGinty and Julia Greenberg, who co-wrote the song featured in this story. Joe's album Kiss Me, Stupid with his band Baby Steps includes "This Song Is Three Days Old," also heard in Starlee's story. He is the co-author with Hally McGehean of the musical “Upping My Numbers.” Julia writes songs and composes musical theater in Brooklyn. For more stories by Starlee, check out her podcast Mystery Show. 

By

Starlee Kine

Song:

“If You Ever Need a Stranger (To Sing at Your Wedding)” by Jens Lekman (radio only)
Photos

Recording "The Three of Us"

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787: Baby's First Christmas
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Act Four: Single Bells 

Scaachi Koul is commemorating a Christmas first of her own – and ON her own – this year.
526: Is That What I Look Like? (2014)
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Act Two: One Life To Live

A woman, who got in a car accident and was in a coma for 52 days, woke up having forgotten the last two years of her life — during which she'd divorced her husband. Producer Miki Meek spent a week with this family, in the midst of their difficult situation.  (14 minutes)
516: Stuck In The Middle (2014)
Jan. 17, 2014

Act Two: Sunrise, Sun-Get

Mark Oppenheimer reports on agunah in the Orthodox Jewish community.

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741: The Weight of Words
July 9, 2021

Act Three: The Rundown

The story of one woman’s mission to bring people together everywhere by eliminating small talk forever.
514: Thought That Counts
Dec. 20, 2013

Act Two: Your Junk In a Box

Starlee Kine tells the story of hundreds of boxes left behind by the late Andy Warhol.
424: Kid Politics
Jan. 14, 2011

Act One: Trickle Down History

Reporter Starlee Kine observes what would have happened if the U.S.-led invasion of Grenada in 1983 had been decided not by Ronald Reagan, but by a bunch of middle schoolers...and she remembers a class trip to the Nixon library, where Nixon aide HR Haldeman spoke.
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