Browse our archive by

There are 107 results

Prologue

Carin Gilfry explains how she once accidentally locked herself in a hotel closet, and because today’s show is being broadcast from an opera house stage, Ira is able to take the story to a place he never usually can.

Act One: 21 Chump Street: The Musical

Lin-Manuel Miranda turns a piece of reporting we broadcast in 2012, into a 14-minute Broadway mini-musical, created by people who normally work on Broadway.

Act Two: Of Mice and Men

Comedian Mike Birbiglia, his wife, and his cat take a trip together and meet some parasitic zombie mice.

Act Three: How Do You Slow This Thing Down

Joshuah Bearman tells a story that’s a sequel to his memorable episode about his mother and half-brother David. It’s done onstage as a play that’s structured like a radio documentary, with Josh Hamilton playing Joshuah, and James Ransone playing his brother.

Act Four: Bus! Stop!

Comedian Sasheer Zamata stages a radio play, complete with sound effects and comedians Nicole Byer, Chris Gethard, and Frank Garcia Hejl. It’s a true story about a recent bus accident.

Act Two: Car Pool

Sierra Teller Ornelas tells a story about the time as a 10 year old she went on a very short, but memorable adventure in a car with the coolest girl she knew. Sierra's story was recorded live at the L.A. storytelling series Public School and aired on the CBC radio show WireTap with Jonathan Goldstein.

Prologue

Ira interviews Ryan Knighton, a blind guy who had a very peculiar experience with a hotel room telephone. Then Ira introduces the rest of the show, which was recorded live on stage in New York City and beamed to movie theaters in the US, Canada and Australia.

Act One: Does a Bear Hit in the Woods?

Ryan Knighton, who was interviewed in the prologue, tells this story about trying to get his daughter to understand his blindness. Ryan is the author of the memoir Cockeyed.

Act Three: Stiff as a Board, Light as a Feather

David Rakoff tells this story, about the invisible processes that can happen inside our bodies...and the visible effects they eventually have. David died three months after this performance, in August 2012.

Act Four: Turn Around Bright Eyes

Ira Glass's sister once met David Sedaris, and commented that he was much nicer than she thought he would be, given his writing. David replied, "I'm not nice, just two-faced." In this story, David shares the thoughts running through his head as he attempts to buy a cup of coffee.

Act Two: Groundhog Dayne

Famous people are supposed to be somewhere else, invisible to us. Comedian Tig Notaro tells this story about repeatedly running into Taylor Dayne, who was a pop star in the late 80s and early 90s.

Act Three: Little Altar Boy

Despite our nation's attempts to make Christmas all about toys and shopping, it is still a religious holiday. Mike Birbiglia tells this story about Catholicism and his mother. Mike is author of the memoir Sleepwalk With Me.

Act Four: One Lord A-Leaping

Comedy duo Gabe Liedman and Jenny Slate disagree about the awesomeness of Hanukkah... and about the nature of their relationship. Gabe contributes to videogum.com.

Act Five: The Fight Before Christmas

Stand-up comedian Julian McCullough tells this story about heading to someone else's home for the holidays. You can watch Julian's Comedy Central Presents special at his website, julianmccullough.com.