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December 25, 2020

Lights, Camera, Christmas!

People going to great lengths to throw a special Christmas for their families.

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Matt Cardy / Stringer, via Getty Images

This is an updated version of an episode from 2012.

Prologue

Prologue

Linda Lutton and her eleven year old daughter Pirecua explain what happened the year Pirecua begged for a gift that she turned out to be allergic to. Linda is a reporter at our home station, WBEZ Chicago. (6 minutes)

By

Ira Glass
Act One

Christmas in 3-D

Maya Gurantz tells the story of Glenn and Laurie Mutchler, who go further than most parents to create a magical Christmas for their kids, Colin, Erica and Adam. Theirs included a family mythology of Santas that had its own logic, with many Santas and a family elf named Jeko, who were never jolly and often thrillingly scary. (20 minutes)

Maya is the co-host for the podcast, The Sauce. 

By

Maya Gurantz
Act Two

Deer in the Footlights

Ira talks with Connie Rex about the deer she and her sisters kidnapped and ended up putting into their school’s Christmas pageant in Woodruff, Utah, in a starring role. (11 minutes)

By

Ira Glass
Act Three

Replacement Claus

Jonathan Goldstein tells the story of Santa Claus, who, after losing his wife, Martha Claus, sets out to find love once again.  Jonathan is the host of the podcast, Heavyweight. (17 minutes)

By

Jonathan Goldstein

Song:

“Run, Rudolph, Run” by Chuck Berry

Related

If you enjoyed this episode, you may like these
47: Christmas and Commerce
Dec. 20, 1996

Act Two: Santaland Diaries

Writer David Sedaris's true account of two Christmas seasons he spent working as an elf at Macy's department store in New York.  When a shorter version of this story first aired on NPR's Morning Edition, it generated more tape requests than any story in the show's history to that point.
43: Faustian Bargains
Nov. 22, 1996

Act Five: First Contact

Daniel Pinkwater reads his children's picture book Devil in the Drain. (4 minutes)
90: Telephone
Jan. 16, 1998

Act One: When The Wall Came Tumbling Down

The story of a teenager, illegal drug use, lying, stealing, and a kid's life changed completely when he heard how he sounded on the phone.

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504
Sept. 6, 2013

How I Got Into College

How a stolen library book got one man into his dream school and changed his life forever. Or at least that's the story he tells himself.

192
Aug. 31, 2001

Meet the Pros

The story of one man's journey from obscurity to international professional celebrity.

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This American Life is produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago and delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange.

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