Ira visits an 83-year-old man named Dick Paterniti who’s been waging a long and lonely war against a woodpecker. (5 minutes)
More in Animals
Act Two: A Notion Apart
Producer Lilly Sullivan used to feel such a strong kinship with “the loneliest creature on earth” that one of her first radio pieces seven years ago was about him. (9 minutes) You can read Lilly's 2013 report about this whale.
Act Four: The Elephant In The Bedroom
Producer Dana Chivvis follows the night zookeeper at the Denver Zoo as she doles out snacks and tucks the animals in.
Act Two: Because You’re Spine, I Walk the Line
We turn to those who are truly spineless, and I mean literally, they are creatures that have no spines.
More by Ira Glass
Act One
Reporter Paul Tough and Host Ira Glass look at the biggest change in admissions this year: colleges no longer requiring the SATs.
Act Four: Boiling Under
Lots of things go unspoken between family members, sometimes for years.
Act Three: There’s a German Word for That
Ira Glass talks to journalist Jochen Bittner about a political lie from 1920s Germany and the lessons it holds for 2020s America.