Ira Glass on screen
I’ve made no secret of my love and obsession with This American Life. I listen to the podcast of the show while doing dishes, or during my getting-ready routine in the morning or at night right before I fall asleep.
I know I’m not alone. CityBeat contributor Justin Roberts told me last night he listens to at least a show a day.
So what exactly do we nerdy hipsters like about it? It’s complicated, but the first and most obvious answer is the humble genuineness. Perhaps it is formulaic, which CityBeat associate editor Kelly Davis pointed out to me yesterday, and maybe all it is is narrative journalism at its best — the kind of stuff I’d love to have time to do myself — but, in the end, the show makes me feel less alone. It introduces me to quirky humans across the country, and after they tell their very personal stories I feel like I get them–I really get them.
Aaaahhhh. I know, you’re thinking I’m a sap. You’re really gonna think I’m a sap when I tell you that I’m not going to the simucast of his live show/preview of his new Showtime show tonight because I don’t like the idea of my little show leaving the intimate radio waves for the whorish television waves. I was fine sharing Ira with the NPR crowd — I get those people, too — but now I have to share him with people who have cable? I don’t like it one bit. My own personal strike against the television show won’t make any bit of difference, but if Ira starts slipping on the radio show, you can be sure I’ll be the first to publicly call him out.
