Iowa has three million people and a million come to their State Fair, each with their own goals and dreams for the fair. We hang out with some of them, to see if they get what they hoped for.
-
Download Control-click (or right-click) Tap and hold to download
- Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe in Apple Podcasts Subscribe
- Transcript
This American Life
Note: The internet version of this episode contains un-beeped curse words. BEEPED VERSION.
Prologue
A big bull, a giant slide, and cowboys on horseback shooting balloons are just a few sights you can take in at the Iowa State Fair. Some people come for the spectacle, and some are the spectacle. (8 minutes)
Carny Confidential
Bailey Leavitt comes from a family of carnies. For her, one of the most thrilling things she looks for at the fair is someone who is really good at luring people into spending money at their stand. She takes Ira on an insider’s search for “an agent.” (16 minutes)
Grandstand Chicken (Podcast Only)
Motley Crue pledged never to play the fairgrounds. Then they did. We wondered what that had been like for them. They agreed to an interview, but then they flinched. (1 minute)
How Bad is Your Bunny?
What life lessons can kids learn at the 4-H rabbit competition? A lot. (11 minutes)
Limp Biscuit
The Iowa State Fair awarded coveted slots to just nine new food vendors this year. All of them are run by people who already own restaurants or who’ve done other big fairs. All except for an unlikely newcomer: Biscuit Bar. (19 minutes)
Last Stand (Podcast Only)
As the ferris wheel goes dark and the fair is closing down, one game is racing to meet their quota. Ira watches until the end.
Related
Act Four: Underling Gets An Underling
Act Three: The Geography Of Childhood
Act Twelve: Evading Wacky And Serious
Staff Recommendations
No Coincidence, No Story!
We asked listeners to send us their best coincidence stories, and we got more than 1,300 submissions!
Petty Tyrant
The rise and fall of a school maintenance man in Schenectady, New York who terrorized his staff and got away with it for decades.