Stories from acclaimed storyteller Spalding Gray and others.
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Act One
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)
Act Two
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)
Act Three
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)
Act Four
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)
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Act Two: Polly Wants More Than A Cracker
Veronica Chater explains the conflict in her house between her love for her pet macaw—a kind of parrot—and her love for her husband and three kids.
Act Three: Airel Sharon, Shimon Peres, David Ben Gurion, And Me!
Host Ira Glass talks with contributor Adam Davidson about how Adam's teenage diaries are filled with his dream of someday becoming the prime minister of a country where he does not even reside.
Act Two: Mack Daddies
In this part of the show, stories about fathers who haven't gotten quite so close with their children.
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