Stories from acclaimed storyteller Spalding Gray and others.
Ski Lesson
An excerpt from Spalding Gray's monologue It's a Slippery Slope. Gray has been called "America's premiere storyteller." His monologue Swimming To Cambodia was made into a feature film. This story is about finding the zen of skiing. Note that this piece is not included in the streaming audio version of this show. (16 minutes)
Swimming Lesson
Scott Carrier's wife and mother-in-law insist that Scott's three-and-a-half year old daughter enroll in swimming classes. This story was produced by Jay Allison. (10 minutes)
Shooting Lesson
Kitty Felde explores the mystic link between boys and guns when her cousin's husband, a liberal in Berkeley, gives her lessons in his newest toy: a gun that shoots potatoes 450 feet in the air. The "spud gun" has a special property: Any man who sees it instantly wants one. (10 minutes)
Found Tape
Excerpts from lessons found on old record, especially a Helen Gurley Brown disc called How to Love a Man, which instructs men on how to have an affair. (8 minutes)
Related
If you enjoyed this episode, you may like these
Act One: Kiss
So what if you held onto a high-school crush? Under what conditions would it never go away? Tobias Wolff reads a short story called "Kiss." (38 minutes)
Act Two: Are You My Mommy?
When Jessica Robinson was sent to adult prison at the age of 14, the state did such a terrible job taking care of her that several women—an embezzler, a convicted murderer, and some thieves—stepped in to mother her.
Act Two: Lonely Hearts Club Band...Of One.
Musician David Berkeley has gotten a lot of requests in his life, but none quite like the offer his agent got last year.
Staff Recommendations
One Last Thing Before I Go (2016)
Ordinary people make last ditch efforts to get through to their loved ones.
The Giant Pool of Money
The surprisingly entertaining story of how the U.S. got itself into a housing crisis.