Words can seem so puny and ineffective sometimes. On this show, we have stories in which ordinary people make last ditch efforts to get through to their loved ones, using a combination of small talk and not-so-small talk.
-
Download Control-click (or right-click) Tap and hold to download
- Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe in Apple Podcasts Subscribe
- Transcript
Act One
Really Long Distance
Producer Miki Meek tells the story of a phone booth in Japan that attracts thousands of people who lost loved ones in the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. A Japanese TV crew from NHK Sendai filmed people inside the phone booth, whose phone is not connected to anything at all. (22 minutes)
Act Two
Uncle's Keeper
Jonathan Goldstein tries to convince his uncle and his father to get into the same room and have a conversation for the first time in decades, before it’s too late and one of them dies. This story comes from Jonathan’s podcast Heavyweight, from Gimlet Media. (33 minutes)
Related
If you enjoyed this episode, you may like these
Act Three: Fireman
Actor Michael Stumm reads from fireman and fiction writer Larry Brown's book On Fire.
Act One: The Sun Never Sets—On The Moosewood Restaurant
The story of two young people who, in their search to figure out who they were, pretended to be people they weren't.
Act Two: Stay In Touch
After the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, U.S. diplomats had to start working the phones to assemble a coalition of nations to combat this new threat.
Staff Recommendations
Lower 9 + 10
We go to the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans to talk to residents about what matters most to them ten years after the hurricane.
Arms Trader (2009)
The U.S. government spent two years on a sting operation trapping an Indian man suspected of being an illegal arms dealer.