In the movie Rashomon, one story is told from four different points of view. The story changes dramatically depending on who's telling it. This week, the events of September 11th, and how their meaning changes depending on who you talk to.
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Act One
1001 Arabian Nightly Newscasts
Producer Julie Snyder reports on a Palestinian teenager from Chicago who explains why everything you think you know about the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks is wrong. (17 minutes)
Act Two
Bombs Over Baghdad
We hear the story of the Persian Gulf war, as told by Issam Shukri, a family man from Bagdad who was drafted into Saddam's army against his will. He had to explain to his three-year-old son why those usually civilized Americans were bombing their city night after night. (14 minutes)
Act Three
Toto, I Don't Think We're In Vietnam Anymore
U.S. special operations forces will lead the first part of the coming war we're all bracing for. We hear how a simple half-hour mission turned into a bloody all-day battle in one of the last times special operations forces went out: in 1993, in Somalia. Alex Blumberg interviews Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down, an account of the battle. (17 minutes)
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Act Two: Stutter Step
We sent several correspondents straight to the epicenters of middle school awkwardness: School dances.
Act Four: Runaway Mom
In Seattle, Dan Savage and his boyfriend adopted a son, DJ.
Working In Another Decade [Retracted]
This episode originally included a story by reporter Stephen Glass (no relation to Ira) about an internship at George Washington's former plantation, which we have removed because of questions about its truthfulness.
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