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813
November 3, 2023

Is That What I Look Like?

You've been seeing yourself, getting to know what you look like, your whole life. So why does it often take an outsider to see things about you that are obvious, and set you straight?

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Baby looking at itself in the mirror with a surprised expression

iStock/Bogdan Stanojevic

This is an updated version of an episode from 2014.

Prologue

Prologue

Guest host Nancy Updike talks about learning something new, and unpleasant, about herself in, where else, a makeup store. She also talks with other people about moments where someone made an observation about them that was shocking. (8 minutes)

By Nancy Updike
Act One

Blunt Force

Writer Domingo Martinez tells a story from his memoir, "The Boy Kings of Texas," about when he was forced to face how he might look in 20 years if he kept doing what he was doing. (12 minutes)

By Domingo Martinez

Song:

“Wrong Crowd” by Prince George (radio only)
Act Two

Not My First Time at the Rodeo

A man has a very clear vision of how he always stood up to his father, protected his mother and fought hard for the truth. Until one day he discovers actual raw data — secretly recorded conversations — that threaten to change his picture of everything. (12 minutes)

By Nancy Updike

Song:

“Get the Message” by Sagitarius (radio only)
Act Three

The Blunder Years

Ira Glass interviews actress Molly Ringwald about what happened when she watched one of her own movies, "The Breakfast Club" with her daughter. Ringwald talks about how for the first time, she saw the movie from the parents' point of view, not the kids'. (19 minutes)

By Nancy Updike, Ben Calhoun, and Ira Glass

Song:

“How Do You See Me” by Matrimony

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