Each week we choose a theme. Then anything can happen. This American Life is true stories that unfold like little movies for radio. Personal stories with funny moments, big feelings, and surprising plot twists. Newsy stories that try to capture what it’s like to be alive right now. It’s the most popular weekly podcast in the world, and winner of the first ever Pulitzer Prize for a radio show or podcast. Hosted by Ira Glass and produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org
815: How I Learned to Shave
Things our dads taught us, whether they intended to or not.
- Prologue: Ira talks about the time his dad taught him to shave, and how unusual that was. (5 minutes)
- Act One: When Jackie read the obits for the man who had invented the famous Trapper Keeper notebook, she was very surprised. As far as she knew, the inventor was very much alive. It was her dad. Not the guy in the obit. (15 minutes)
- Act Two: A father and son find themselves in a very traditional relationship. Until the end. (21 minutes)
- Act Three: Simon Rich reads his short story "History Report," in which a father explains the sex robots of the future. And other things as well. (14 minutes)
Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org