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802
June 16, 2023

Father's Day

Ira's own father, Barry Glass, co-hosts this special Father's Day show.

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  • Transcript

Chris Ware

This is an updated version of an episode from 1996.

Prologue

Prologue

Ira talks with his father and co-host for this show, Barry Glass, about his own early days working in radio. (3 minutes)

By

Ira Glass
Act One

How the World Sees Your Father

LA writer/performer Sandra Tsing Loh discovers that a local rock band has recorded a song about her own father, wildly misinterpreting who he is. They think he’s a free spirit; she believes he’s a worried, miserly grump. She invites the band and her father into the studio to discuss it. (10 minutes)

By

Sandra Loh
Act Two

And If That Diamond Ring Don’t Shine

Ian Brown explains the lengths a normal dad will go to give his daughter a memorable birthday party, including a birthday stunt so crass that he and his wife shocked all of their friends. (12 minutes) 

Ian is the author of The Boy in the Moon: A Father’s Journey to Understand his Extraordinary Son, and Sixty: A Diary: My Year of Aging Semi-Gracefully. 

By

Ian Brown
Act Three

The Moment Dad Left

Audio artist Jay Allison and writer Dan Robb present an audio montage on the moment Robb’s parents divorced. (11 minutes)

By

Jay Allison
Dan Robb
Act Four

Reconciling With Dad

Chicago playwright Beau O’Reilly talks about how he reconciled with his estranged father years ago by becoming an alcoholic just like him. (14 minutes)

By

Beau O'Reilly

Song:

“Papa, Can You Hear Me?” by Barbra Steisand

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A Guatemalan immigrant living near Boston gets a phone call with some very strange news about his past.

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This American Life is produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago and delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange.

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