Storytelling at its Finest
I went to hear Ira Glass speak last weekend. Do you listen to This American Life? You may, because it’s an insanely popular show. Every week it’s NPR’s most popular podcast download by a longshot. If Ira comes to your town, you should go hear him too -- it's a 90-minute NPR love-fest hosted by a funny guy with a keen eye on America and an unparalleled talent for putting together a compelling story. What more could you want?
He opened his talk in the dark. Unexpected and funny right off the bat. Who sits in a dark theater and listens to someone talk? It’s radio, he said, you can’t see people. Voices become more powerful and expressive when you’re not caught up in the way someone looks. Radio allows people to listen to those whom they might not otherwise pay attention to – as an example, he cited some high school girl gang members with colored hair, baggy clothes, and black lipstick whose stories he once told on the air.
His point made, the stage lights came up. Ira Glass is of course, a storyteller, and for an hour and a half that night he spun his storytelling magic. He led us from place to place seamlessly. He kept us entranced explaining his theory of most journalism today (fake, segmented, reliant on hyperbole, falsely grave) and what his show is trying to do (entertain, but still be objective, serious journalists). Serious stories that shoot to the root of the matter – you can laugh AND you can report on the larger meaning of an issue at the same time. Some have called This American Life, under Ira’s leadership, “the vanguard of a journalistic revolution.”
Ira went into some detail about how the show finds stories, and the music in each story. He recounted some recent spots that never aired; he played clips, and then explained why they fell apart. A This American Life blooper reel. As an aside, he mentioned that he is the composer Phillip Glass' cousin. A talent for pushing the envelope must be genetic.
Not familiar with This American Life? Here are two episodes to try (click on the icon that says “full episode.”) This one is about the financial crisis, and though it sounds boring, it's accessible and so well done that I kind of think everyone should listen to it. Or, go to this link and listen to a this episode that re-aired this summer. The bit by Mike Birbiglia (the first piece, it begins at about 7:53) had me buckled over in laughter. A friend from work and I look at each other whenever a crisis hits that we don't want to deal with and say, "Or, I could have dinner. Because that seems more convenient." Listen to it and be on the inside of the joke.
He opened his talk in the dark. Unexpected and funny right off the bat. Who sits in a dark theater and listens to someone talk? It’s radio, he said, you can’t see people. Voices become more powerful and expressive when you’re not caught up in the way someone looks. Radio allows people to listen to those whom they might not otherwise pay attention to – as an example, he cited some high school girl gang members with colored hair, baggy clothes, and black lipstick whose stories he once told on the air.
His point made, the stage lights came up. Ira Glass is of course, a storyteller, and for an hour and a half that night he spun his storytelling magic. He led us from place to place seamlessly. He kept us entranced explaining his theory of most journalism today (fake, segmented, reliant on hyperbole, falsely grave) and what his show is trying to do (entertain, but still be objective, serious journalists). Serious stories that shoot to the root of the matter – you can laugh AND you can report on the larger meaning of an issue at the same time. Some have called This American Life, under Ira’s leadership, “the vanguard of a journalistic revolution.”
Ira went into some detail about how the show finds stories, and the music in each story. He recounted some recent spots that never aired; he played clips, and then explained why they fell apart. A This American Life blooper reel. As an aside, he mentioned that he is the composer Phillip Glass' cousin. A talent for pushing the envelope must be genetic.
Not familiar with This American Life? Here are two episodes to try (click on the icon that says “full episode.”) This one is about the financial crisis, and though it sounds boring, it's accessible and so well done that I kind of think everyone should listen to it. Or, go to this link and listen to a this episode that re-aired this summer. The bit by Mike Birbiglia (the first piece, it begins at about 7:53) had me buckled over in laughter. A friend from work and I look at each other whenever a crisis hits that we don't want to deal with and say, "Or, I could have dinner. Because that seems more convenient." Listen to it and be on the inside of the joke.
Comments
miss you. we should have a call soon. love.