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316
August 18, 2006

The Cat Came Back

True stories that follow the plotline of the old kid's song "The Cat Came Back." It's the simplest plot in the world: Something you thought was gone forever keeps returning, against all odds.
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  • Transcript
Tatiana Demcenco–Boucher

Prologue

Host Ira Glass talks with producer Alex Blumberg and his parents about a bad dog they once had, and how nothing—not getting hit by cars, attacked by bigger dogs, or being shipped off to live on a farm—could stop this dog from coming home. "The Cat Came Back" is sung by Nedelle Torrisi. (11 minutes)

By

Alex Blumberg
Ira Glass
Act One

Promise Keeper Cat

Dan Savage made a pledge over a decade ago that he hoped would just vanish. But it somehow returns from oblivion. Dan's latest book is The Commitment. (13 minutes)

By

Dan Savage

Song:

“The Cat Came Back” by Headache City
Act Two

Political Cat

Ira talks about a specter who haunts the floor of the United States Senate and won't go away, who keeps showing up on TV and making speeches. That ghostly figure? John Kerry. Ira says seeing him on these days is kind of like bumping into someone you used to date. It's over; it didn't work out, and you don't want to see them anymore. (8 minutes)

By

Ira Glass
Act Three

Baby Cat

Michael Beaumier tells a story about a family member who keeps vanishing and returning. This is an excerpt from Michael's book I Know You're Out There. (17 minutes)

By

Michael Beaumier

Song:

“The Cat Came Back” by Mike Treese and DJ Rude One
Act Four

Refugee Cat

We end this show about people and animals who return against all odds with a story about some people who fear they may not be able to return: New Orleans public housing residents whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Katrina and now are slated for demolition by HUD. New Orleans resident Cheryl Wagner asks who should be more ashamed of themselves: The people who think that the public housing complexes in New Orleans should be torn down, or the ones who think they should stay. (7 minutes)

By

Cheryl Wagner

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Act Two

Brent Runyon tells the story of the day in eighth grade that he set himself on fire...and what led to that.

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