70-591: Black Cat Orchestra was an American musical group formed in Seattle, Washington, active from 1991 to 2004. It consisted, in various forms over the years, of Lori Goldston (cello), Kyle Hanson (accordion), Don Crevie (horn), Scott Granlund (saxophone), Russ Meltzer (guitar), Jason Munger and Jeff Teitelbaum (bass), Matthew Sperry (double bass), Detonator Beth, Gina Sala and Jessika Kenney (vocals), Emily Marsh and Joseph Zajonc (drums), Jack Magai (percussion), and Friese Undine (harmonica). The band released two albums, as well as
140-651: A Foxconn factory in China. The episode was entitled "Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory" and became one of the show's most popular episodes at that time, with 888,000 downloads and 206,000 streams. WBEZ planned to host a live showing and a Q+A of "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs" in Chicago on April 7, 2012. On March 16, 2012, This American Life officially retracted the episode after learning that several events recounted both in
210-406: A Peabody Award in 1996 and again in 2006 for TAL , for a show which "captures contemporary culture in fresh and inventive ways that mirror the diversity and eccentricities of its subjects" and "weav[es] original monologues, mini-dramas, original fiction, traditional radio documentaries and original radio dramas into an instructional and entertaining tapestry". In 2020, This American Life became
280-532: A major motion picture . The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Matt Damon . Glass has stated that the radio show has no financial stake in the film, but noted that he appreciated how well the movie stuck to the original facts. This American Life ' s 361st episode's, "Fear of Sleep", section "Stranger in the Night" featured an excerpt from Mike Birbiglia 's one-man show, "Sleepwalk with Me". This inspired Glass to work with Birbiglia for two years on
350-419: A 2014 interview, Glass revealed the software and equipment used to make the show. The staff records interviews using Marantz PMD661 digital recorders and Audio Technica AT835b shotgun microphones . After each recording session (whether a single interview or day of recording) he uses a story structuring technique he learned from print journalist Paul Tough . He jots or types all the most memorable moments from
420-515: A Sunn Beta Lead, or a Soldano Astroverb. Pedals usually include a vintage Pro Co RAT and/or MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, often with various combinations of MXR Phase 90 , Boss TR2, Boss RV-6, Cry Baby, and/or Eau Claire Thunder, among others. Goldston also uses one of the first twenty manufactured Juggernautics Fuzz Fixx pedals. Goldston has received awards and grants from 4Culture, Meet The Composer , Artist Trust , Jack Straw, and Seattle Arts Commission, King County Arts Commission, Allied Arts (as
490-1343: A co-creator (with Stacey Levine and Goldston's partner Kyle Hanson) of the puppet opera The Wreck of the St. Nikolai (2003) for On the Boards and the radio play The Post Office . Goldston has worked on performances with composers including Eyvind Kang , Jherek Bischoff , Cynthia Hopkins , Malcolm Goldstein , Matana Roberts , Terry Riley , Eddie Prevost , Steve Moore , Bob Marsh, Olivia Block, Byron Au Yong, Erin Jorgensen, Bill Horist, Threnody Ensemble , Scott Fields , Christian Asplund, and Julio Lopezhiler. She has ongoing and/or long-term collaborations with Jessika Kenney , Robert Jenkins (a.k.a. Buzz Gundersen), Paul Hoskin, Ellen Fullman , Angelina Baldoz, Ed Pias, Vanessa Renwick, Greg Campbell, Stuart Dempster , Dan Sasaki, and Clyde Petersen . With an emphasis on improvisational work, Goldston has composed on-the-spot in performances with Lonnie Holley , Vratislav Brabenec , Ilan Volkov , Amy Denio , Thollem McDonnas , Mazen Kerbaj , Marika Anderson , Dan Peek , Balász Pándi , Kanako Pooknyw, Stuart Dempster , Dana Reason , Mary Oliver , and Jaap Blonk . From 2015 to 2017, Goldston traveled to Tel Aviv, Athens, and Glasgow for
560-656: A collaboration with Mirah , To All We Stretch the Open Arm , and appeared on the David Byrne album Feelings . Three members of the band, Kyle Hanson, Lori Goldston, and Don Crevie, had previously played together in a Seattle-area band called The Run/Remain Ensemble. John Helle Otto (baritone sax) was also a member of the original Run/Remain group and continued into the Black Cat configuration. They played their first show together at
630-622: A degree and would later describe herself as “rigorously detrained.” In 1986, Goldston moved to Seattle. Through the late eighties, Goldston performed with the Run/Remain Ensemble, a multimedia collaboration with Dayna Hanson, Kyle Hanson , Greg Lachow, and Megan Murphy. In 1989, Goldston co-founded the Black Cat Orchestra , with Don Crevie on horn, Scott Granlund on saxophone, Jessika Kenney on vocals, and Goldston's partner and fellow Run/Remain alum Kyle Hanson on accordion. In
700-462: A distribution partnership with the program, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting awarded the show a three-year grant for $ 350,000, double what Glass applied for. As time went on, the staff was drawn more to journalistic stories that were, as Glass puts it, "in a style where there were characters and scenes and plot and funny moments." The show is also carried on Sirius XM Satellite Radio over
770-492: A format where each segment of the show would be an "act," and at the beginning of each episode, would explain that show consisted of "documentaries, monologues, overheard conversations, found tapes, [and] anything we can think of." Glass also served as executive producer. The program's name was changed beginning with the March 21, 1996, episode, and was picked up nationally by PRI the following June. Chicago Public Media (then called
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#1732854839162840-456: A jazz musician, Goldston has studied and listened to jazz extensively, particularly Eric Dolphy , Wes Montgomery , John Coltrane , Charles Mingus , Thelonious Monk , Albert Ayler , and Pharoah Sanders . At the award ceremony for her 2012 Genius Award for Music, Goldston handed the orchestra written directions on how to follow her rather than sheet music, a move she traced back to Ornette Colman . The Stranger said that "listening to her
910-462: A member of the Run/Remain Ensemble), and was a 2010 City Artist for Seattle. Goldston was also the recipient of a Stranger Genius Award in 2012. Most recently, Goldston's work with Steve Fisk and Alexander Miranda was nominated for Best Score for Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust at the 2021 IDA Documentary Awards. This American Life This American Life ( TAL ) is
980-486: A mood in a story or make things sound pretty. Instead, it's there to help you make your point ... We're trying to point out what you should be listening for in the tape so you get the same joy or sorrow out of a story that we're feeling. And we use music the same way—it's a little flashlight that helps us get our ideas across. Jonathan Menjivar, in a guest post for Transom Episodes of TAL are accompanied by music. Some songs are used between acts and are credited in
1050-624: A movie based on this segment. The film version of Sleepwalk with Me screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2012, to favorable reviews, winning the "Best of NEXT Audience Award". In May 2011, Walt Disney Pictures announced it was adapting a movie from a 2009 episode titled "The Girlfriend Equation". The 2018 film Come Sunday was based on a 2005 TAL story called "Heretics," about controversial Tulsa preacher Carlton Pearson . In 2019, Lulu Wang adapted her autobiographical story called "What You Don't Know" from
1120-516: A number of albums, both for her own bands and as a session musician. Goldston plays a cello made in Seattle in 2013 by Jason Starkie, modeled after Giovanno Grantino. Prior to 2013 she played an instrument made in the 1950s in the shop of Anton Schroetter. Electrified, she uses a Schertler pickup through a variety of amplifiers, most often a Softscience modeled after Marshall Plexi, a 1970s Fender Deluxe Reverb modified by Kevin Hilbiber of Softscience,
1190-401: A piece included on the show. The program helped launch the literary careers of many, including contributing editor Sarah Vowell and essayists David Rakoff and David Sedaris . For live shows, which combine live and pre-recorded elements, Glass previously used a mixing console and CD players. With time, he switched to using an iPad Mini running TouchAble software, which in turn controls
1260-590: A production partner on the show and on Serial with future shows to be independent. In 2017, This American Life launched the podcast S-Town through the spinoff company Serial Productions. Serial Productions was bought by The New York Times Company in 2020. The Times and Serial jointly produced the podcasts Nice White Parents , hosted by Chana Joffe-Walt , which debuted in July 2020; and The Improvement Association , hosted by Zoe Chace, which debuted in April 2021. In
1330-513: A second theater event, titled This American Life – Live! Returning to the Scene of the Crime . Contributors included Mike Birbiglia, Starlee Kine , Dan Savage, David Rakoff, and Joss Whedon . On May 10, 2012, This American Life broadcast a third theater event, titled Invisible Made Visible . Contributors included David Sedaris, David Rakoff, Tig Notaro , Ryan Knighton , and Mike Birbiglia, who made
1400-477: A short film with Terry Gross . On June 7, 2014, This American Life recorded a fourth live event titled The Radio Drama Episode . Contributors included Carin Gilfry, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mike Birbiglia, Joshua Bearman, and Sasheer Zamata. The episode was broadcast on radio and the podcast on June 20, 2014. From 1998 to 2005, the program could be accessed online in two formats: a free RealAudio stream available from
1470-406: A single act. Each act is produced by a combination of staff and freelance contributors. Programs usually begin with a short program identification by host Ira Glass who then introduces a prologue related to the theme which precedes act one. This prologue will then lead into the presentation of the theme for that week's show. After the introduction of the theme, Glass then introduces the first act of
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#17328548391621540-409: A single theme or topic through the unique juxtaposition of first-person storytelling and whimsical narrative." For budgetary reasons, Glass and four of the radio show's producers left Chicago for New York City, where Showtime is headquartered. In January 2007, it was announced that Glass had completed production on the show's first season, with the first episode set to premiere on March 22. Originally
1610-518: A solo artist on Mirah's recent albums (a)spera (2009) and Changing Light (2014). In 2005, Goldston formed another ensemble, Instead Of, with Angelina Baldoz (trumpet, flute, and bass), Jaison Scott (drums), and Torben Ulrich (text and vocals). The group independently released the album Live on Sonarchy in 2007. By 2009, Goldston was also regularly touring and recording with Earth . She appeared on their two-part Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light ( 2011 , 2012 ), but by 2015, Goldston had left
1680-462: A website redesign. Though the segments were cut from podcast streams, the transcript of the contents have been kept accessible on the show's official website. In 2015, the show retracted a story about canvassers who tried to change people's political opinions. The story was based on an article in Science that was also retracted. In March 2014, the program announced that PRI would stop distributing
1750-531: A wedding in 1989, but would not officially form until 1991. Since then, they have released two albums, a self-released and self-titled debut in 1996 and Mysteries Explained from Irene Records in 2001. In the intervening time, they appeared on David Byrne 's 1997 album Feelings , performed for This American Life (a performance that would be featured on the 2006 compilation This American Life: Stories of Hope and Fear ), and appeared at numerous film festivals providing live scores for early silent films. In 2003,
1820-528: A weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass . It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is also available as a free weekly podcast . Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays , memoirs , field recordings , short fiction , and found footage . The first episode aired on November 17, 1995, under
1890-805: A wide variety of styles, including classical, world music, rock and free improvisation, she came to prominence as the touring cellist for Nirvana from 1993–1994 and appears on their live album MTV Unplugged in New York . She was a member of Earth , the Black Cat Orchestra , and Spectratone International, and also performs solo. Raised in the Long Island town of East Meadow , Goldston received training on cello, guitar, piano, and voice. She studied cello with Aaron Shapinsky, and guitar with Bob Suppan and Joe Monk. At Bennington College , Goldston trained with Maxine Neuman , Milford Graves , Arthur Brooks, Vivian Fine , and Frank Baker. Goldston dropped out before attaining
1960-435: Is "labor intensive," David Stewart with Current said it is "remarkable that while a few stories were fatuous or trite, most were successful and some really memorable." He added, "Whose American life is this? Clearly Ira's: it is kinky, clever, at once disingenuous and innocent, fanciful, rarely too serious...Above all, it is compelling." The program has received criticism as well. In 2020, author Andrew J Bottomley wrote that
2030-504: Is notable for a disorienting emphasis on pizzicato , which Goldston has said stemmed from attempts to play her cello like a guitar. Goldston has been heavily influenced by Western classical music and folk tunes, citing the Folkways folk and ethnographic records as childhood touchstones and Arnold Schoenberg , Toru Takemitsu , John Cage , George Crumb , Olivier Messiaen , and Carl Maria von Weber as influences later in her life. Though not
2100-522: The Chicago Reader , Michael Miner quoted Covino as saying, "The show [Glass] proposed was The Wild Room . He just didn't call it The Wild Room ." Glass, however, did not include his co-host in his plans and assured him that the deal was unlikely to happen. When the show went on without him, Covino says he felt "betrayed". While Glass admits he wasn't transparent about his plans, in that same article, he explained, "Every week on The Wild Room we came to
2170-848: The Ableton Live software on his MacBook Air . He can plug the MacBook into the house sound system using the device's headphone jack. The show offers two, six-month fellowship positions annually for persons who have worked in the field of journalism, but who would like training in how to tell stories in the style of This American Life . Former fellows include: Emmanuel Dzotsi , co-host of Serial season 3; BA Parker, host of NPR’s Code Switch ; Brian Reed, host of S-Town ; Ari Saperstein, host of Blind Landing ; Jessica Lussenhop , investigative reporter at ProPublica ; and current staff members Dana Chivvis, Phia Bennin, Aviva DeKornfeld and Safiyah Riddle. We don't use music at This American Life to create
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2240-462: The MacArthur Foundation approached Torey Malatia, general manager of Chicago Public Radio. They offered him US$ 150,000 to make a show featuring local Chicago writers and performance artists. Malatia approached Glass with the idea, who countered that he wanted to do a weekly program, but with a different premise, a budget of US$ 300,000 , and sights on taking it national. In a 1998 article in
2310-671: The Sub Rosa record label. In January 2017, Goldston was commissioned to compose and perform a solo acoustic cello score for Étude's Paris Fashion Week runway show. The score was recorded at the Paris Red Bull studio and released as a limited edition LP by Ed Banger. Goldston did a solo set at the Le Guess Who? musical festival in Utrecht, Netherlands in 2021. Goldston is known in large part for her improvisational work. Her work in cello
2380-539: The 2016 episode "In Defense of Ignorance" into The Farewell . The 2019 film Ode to Joy was adapted from a TAL story by Chris Higgins called "I've Fallen in Love and I Can't Get Up." This American Life has taken the radio show on the road three times since 2000; material recorded on each of the three tours has been edited into an episode which aired on the radio shortly after the tour. Other episodes include segments recorded live. On May 1, 2008, This American Life
2450-497: The Boards's Northwest New Works Festival and in 2009 scored Shelton's feature film Humpday . She has collaborated extensively with choreographer Peter Kyle composing for dance pieces. She has also contributed to numerous film scores, including the 2016 stop-motion film Torrey Pines and the documentaries Water Is Life and Where the House Was . In 2013, Goldston released a solo album of such work, entitled Film Scores , through
2520-969: The New Foundation, and the Henry Art Gallery . Numerous theaters, film organizations, and dance companies have commissioned Goldston to compose scores including the Olympia Film Society , the Rebecca Stenn Dance Company, 33 Fainting Spells, Seattle Jewish Film Festival, and the Regenbogen Kino in Germany. Numerous of these commissions, including those for Bumbershoot 's One Reel Film Festival, Northwest Film Forum, and Seattle International Film Festival , have included composing scores for early silent films. In 2001, Goldston collaborated with filmmaker Lynn Shelton on “Our Round Earth” for On
2590-573: The One Reel Film Festival (at that time under the aegis of Bumbershoot ), and NPR's This American Life . In 1996, the group recorded and independently released a self-titled debut album. They followed it in 2001 with Mysteries Explained , co-produced with Irene Records, and then and Long Shadows at Noon from Yoyo Recordings (2003). In 2003, Goldston and Hanson entered the first of many collaborations with then-Portland-based artist Mirah . The Black Cat Orchestra teamed up with Mirah for
2660-496: The Orchestra collaborated with then-Portland-based artist Mirah on a politically-themed album called To All We Stretch the Open Arm . The band dissolved in 2004 but Goldston and Hanson's next band, Spectratone International, collaborated with Mirah on the 2007 album Share This Place: Stories and Observations . Lori Goldston Lori Goldston (born 1963 or 1964) is an American cellist and composer. Accomplished in
2730-546: The Public Radio International block on the XM Public Radio channel. In the early 2010's, the program consistently rated as the first- or second-most downloaded podcast on iTunes for each week. Early response to the program was largely positive. In 1998, Mother Jones magazine called it "hip – as well as intensely literary and surprisingly irreverent." Glass used a unique strategy to promote
2800-725: The Tectonics Festival, culminating in a composition for the BBC Scottish Symphony . Goldston has been commissioned by numerous established arts organizations, including performing arts companies like On the Boards , Portland Institute for Contemporary Art 's Time-Based Art (TBA) Festival, the Degenerate Art Ensemble ; and art institutions such as the Frye Art Museum , the Seattle Asian Art Museum ,
2870-614: The WBEZ Alliance) produced. The program's first year was produced on a budget that was tight even by US public-radio standards. A budget of $ 243,000 covered an outfitted studio, marketing costs, satellite time, four full-time staffers, and various freelance writers and reporters. The station was located at Chicago's Navy Pier . Early on, Glass commissioned stories from artists, writers, theater people, and journalists. National syndication began in June 1996 when Public Radio International formed
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2940-483: The band to pursue independent projects. As a solo artist, Goldston has recorded and performed around the country and the world. Her work is often eclectic, irreverent, and genre-bending. She has appeared as a voiceover artist on The Dina Martina Holiday Album (playing the role of Martina's eleven-year-old daughter Phoebe); and composed a suite of solo cello work in response to Melinda Mueller's poetry collection Mary’s Dust . She has also worked on numerous dramas, and as
3010-408: The episode guide for the show. Other songs are used as thematic background music for stories and are not credited. Jonathan Menjivar is a producer and music supervisor at the show. "Over the years, we've used hundreds of songs under our stories—and in some stories, we use a number of different songs in different sections. We tried to answer these emails for awhile [ sic ? ], but often it
3080-517: The face of obvious discrepancies. The podcast of this episode became the most downloaded until February 2013. Two weeks later, the show also reiterated that they had previously removed three stories by Stephen Glass due to dubious content, namely episode 57, "Delivery", episode 79, " Stuck in the Wrong Decade", and episode 86, "How to Take Money from Strangers." The episodes including the segments had inadvertently resurfaced in episode streams due to
3150-424: The film. In June 2008, Spike Lee bought the movie rights to Ronald Mallett 's memoir, whose story was featured in the episode "My Brilliant Plan". Potential Warner Bros films from TAL episodes include "Niagara", which explored the town of Niagara Falls, New York , after those who sought to exploit the tourism and hydroelectrical opportunities of the area left; "Wonder Woman" (from the episode "Superpowers"),
3220-791: The first news program to win the Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting. The winning work was "The Out Crowd", the 688th episode with "revelatory, intimate journalism that illuminates the personal impact of the Trump Administration's ' Remain in Mexico ' policy". In March 2021, the May 9, 2008, episode, "The Giant Pool of Money", was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry as one of 25 works added to
3290-567: The mid-nineties, Goldston rose to prominence in the Pacific Northwest music scene as a session cellist, notably joining Nirvana on a US tour and appearing on their famous MTV Unplugged in New York set. Through the nineties and early millennium, Goldston played on dozens of studio albums. Meanwhile, with the Black Cat Orchestra, she toured and recorded for prominent national acts, including David Byrne (on his 1997 album Feelings ),
3360-463: The mixing and editing. Since October 2006, the program has offered a free podcast feed to the public. Under this arrangement, each show is made available to podcast feeds and aggregation programs Sunday evening at 8 p.m. ET, allowing radio stations a 43-hour window of exclusivity to carry the episode. After seven days, the link to the MP3 is removed from the podcast feed. Older shows can be streamed online via
3430-404: The official show website, and a DRM-encrypted download available through Audible.com , which charged $ 4 per episode. In early 2006, the program began to offer MP3 copies of each episode, which could be streamed from the show's website using a proprietary Flash player. Aware that more people were listening through headphones and so could hear mistakes more clearly, the production sought to improve
3500-459: The political album To All We Stretch the Open Arm . Goldston's group disbanded in 2004, but soon after, she and Hanson founded Spectratone International. Goldston and Hanson reprised their roles on cello and accordion, respectively. They were joined by Kane Mathis on oud, Jane Hall on percussion, and Darko Vukmanic on bass. With Spectratone International, Goldston's rejoined Mirah for the 2007 album Share This Place: Stories and Observations . For
3570-459: The program. Content varies widely by episode. Stories are often told as first-person narratives . The mood of the show ranges from gloomy to ironic, from thought-provoking to humorous. The show often addresses current events, such as Hurricane Katrina in "After the Flood". Often This American Life features stories which explore aspects of human nature, such as "Kid Logic", which presented pieces on
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#17328548391623640-590: The project, Goldston commissioned stop-motion animator Britta Johnson to make short films for the band to perform against live; Share This Place premiered at the 2006 Seattle International Children's Festival and was performed throughout the US, including the Kennedy Center , Museum of Fine Arts, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art 's TBA Festival, Henry Art Gallery , and What the Heck Fest . Goldston has also appeared as
3710-643: The radio story and the monologue were fabrications. WBEZ canceled the planned live performance and refunded all ticket purchases. Airing that day, This American Life devoted the week's show (titled "Retraction") to detailing the inconsistencies in "The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs". The show includes interviews between Rob Schmitz, the reporter who discovered the discrepancies, and Daisey's translator in China, Cathy Lee, as well as an interview between host Glass and Daisey. Daisey apologized for presenting his work as journalism, saying "It's not journalism. It's theater," but refused to acknowledge that he had lied—even in
3780-434: The reasoning of children. The majority of interviews with subjects never make it to the air, as many as 80 percent, because the team looks for interviewees who recount stories in a "particular way". The end credits of each show are read by Glass, and include a sound clip extracted out of context from some portion of that show, which Glass humorously attributes to previous WBEZ general manager Torey Malatia , who co-founded
3850-517: The registry for 2020. It was the first podcast episode ever chosen for inclusion in the registry. Discussions of a television adaptation of TAL date back to at least 1999. However, the show's creative team was unsure of what the show would "look like" and, with so much money on the line, turned down offers. In January 2006, Showtime announced it had greenlit six episodes of a new series based on TAL . The announcement noted that each half-hour episode would "be hosted by Ira Glass and [...] explore
3920-500: The series had a contract for a total of 30 shows over the four years, but after two seasons Glass announced that he and the other creators of the show had "asked to be taken off TV", largely in part to the difficult schedule required to produce a television program. He went on to state that the show is officially "on hiatus", but would like to do a television special at some point in the future. The episode "The Anatomy of Doubt" based on reporting by ProPublica and The Marshall Project
3990-409: The show in July, and that May, Glass announced that the staff would be distributing the show themselves, with Public Radio Exchange doing the technical legwork to deliver the audio to the radio stations. On October 1, 2014, the show produced a spinoff, Serial , a season-long exploration delivered as a podcast series. In 2015, Glass became the sole owner of This American Life ; WBEZ continued as
4060-504: The show primarily represents the perspective of its "predominantly white, upper-middle-class, educated audience." He also said the show is "didactic ... extracting from the stories of others a lesson that is then instilled on the audience." In 1999, more than 800,000 people listened to This American Life each weekend on 332 public radio stations. By 2019, the show broadcast to 2.2 million listeners each week, with an additional podcast audience of 3.6 million. WBEZ-FM received
4130-501: The show to stations by giving away pledge drive ads he developed himself. By the end of 1999, TAL aired on 325 public radio stations, and, around that time, Rhino Records released a " greatest hits " CD of TAL episodes. In January 2011, the series was picked up by CBC Radio One in Canada . The program is shortened slightly for the Canadian broadcast to allow for a five-minute newscast at
4200-520: The show with Glass in 1995. Glass has stated he is contractually obligated to mention station WBEZ (and previously, also former distributor PRI) three times in the course of the show. In the early 1990s, Glass co-hosted, with Gary Covino, a Friday-night show in Chicago called The Wild Room. However, he was looking for new opportunities in radio, and had been sending grant proposals to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for two years when, in 1995,
4270-459: The show with two independent sensibilities. I love Gary. I loved Gary. But I didn't want to keep doing that show...and the notion that everything I brought to The Wild Room I got from him I find completely infuriating...I didn't want to do free-form radio anymore. I have no interest in improvisation. It might have been possible to design a show with him that he would have felt comfortable with and I would have felt comfortable with. But at that point—I
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#17328548391624340-533: The show's original title, Your Radio Playhouse . The series was distributed by Public Radio International until June 2014, when the program became self-distributed with Public Radio Exchange delivering new episodes to public radio stations. A television adaptation of the show ran for two seasons on the Showtime cable network between June 2007 and May 2008. Each week's show has a theme, explored in several "acts". On occasion, an entire program will consist of
4410-702: The story of an adolescent who took steps to become the superhero she dreamed of being, well into adulthood; and "Act V", about the last act of Hamlet as staged by inmates from a maximum security prison as part of Prison Performing Arts Adult Theatre Projects. Paramount Pictures and Broadway Video are in production on Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill , a film based on the TAL story in the episode "My Experimental Phase". This American Life ' s 168th episode, "The Fix Is In", inspired screenwriter Scott Burns to adapt Kurt Eichenwald 's book about business executive and FBI informant Mark Whitacre , titled The Informant , into
4480-450: The tape, then has the recording transcribed and makes note of any quotes of potential value in the story. He then arranges those quotes into a structured narrative. To edit each story, the reporter presents the show to other producers. Guests on the show have included Malcolm Gladwell and Michael Paterniti , who would normally command tens of thousands of dollars for an article but have settled for as little as US$ 200 per day to have
4550-465: The top of the hour, although this is partly made up for by the removal of mid-program breaks, most of the production credits (apart from that of Malatia), and underwriting announcements (CBC's radio services being fully commercial-free, except when contractually or legally required). In January 2012, This American Life presented excerpts from a one-man theater show The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs by Mike Daisey as an exposé of conditions at
4620-627: Was adapted into the Netflix series Unbelievable . Stories from TAL have been used as the basis of movie scripts. In 2002 the show signed a six-figure deal with Warner Bros. giving the studio two years of "first-look" rights to its hundreds of past and future stories. One film to have emerged from the deal is Unaccompanied Minors , a 2006 film directed by Paul Feig and based on "In The Event of An Emergency, Put Your Sister in an Upright Position" from "Babysitting". Ira Glass and longtime TAL producer Julie Snyder were both executive producers on
4690-399: Was impossible sometimes to pinpoint which song people were asking about...". The show received positive reviews from the beginning. Marc Fisher with American Journalism Review drew attention to how the program's production style elicits "a sense of ease, informality and direct, unfiltered access", and "the effect is liberating". After remarking that producing so many stories each episode
4760-468: Was in my late 30s—I just wanted to do the thing I wanted to do." We always saw the show as an entertainment. We saw ourselves as designing a format in opposition to the way stories were structured on NPR. We talked about it as a public radio show for people who didn't necessarily like public radio. Glass to The New York Review of Books , August 2019 The show debuted on WBEZ in Chicago as Your Radio Playhouse on November 17, 1995. Glass conceived
4830-669: Was not entirely an earthbound experience [...] the music could only be described as a storm or flock of sound." Goldston draws on musical styles from around the world. She has performed as a member of the Seattle Turkish Music Ensemble and Seattle Chinese Orchestra, Volunteer Park Conservatory Orchestra, with Turkish Sufi singer Latif Bolat, Brazilian music with guitarist Marco De Carvalho, Japanese 20th-century and classical repertoire with Elizabeth Falconer , Klezmer music with Jack Falk, Lev Lieberman, Sandra Layman, Hank Bradley and Cathy Whitesides. Goldston has appeared on
4900-515: Was the first major public media program to use digital cinema , distributing a one-hour-long program titled This American Life – Live! to select cinemas. PRI originally conceived of the idea to serve stations around the country. This American Life Live! was presented exclusively in select theatres by National CineMedia 's (NCM) Fathom, in partnership with BY Experience and Chicago Public Radio, and in association with Public Radio International. On April 23, 2009, This American Life broadcast
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