Footprints

by Budd Glassberg

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel on January 23, 2008

This American Life

After hitting the seek button on my radio, the tuner paused on a show that immediately grabbed my mind and soon went straight for my heart. Driving through Jefferson County on a cold sunny day a year ago, I was engaged with a story that kept me delighted until I lost the signal a little more than a half hour later. The show was so well done that I wanted to know more about it. Regrettably, I would wait more than six months before rediscovering this captivating radio show again.

Last summer, while driving in Chicago the voice I had heard in southern Indiana appeared once more. It was a Sunday afternoon and I was listening to WBEZ, a public radio station broadcasting from Chicago. The familiar voice was emitted from Ira Glass on his radio show, This American Life. Once again the show held me mesmerized for its entire length. This time, having found the name of the show, I researched it on the internet and found that I could listen to the shows whenever I wanted on the internet or download the podcast of the most recent show to my MP3 player for free. I also discovered that the show is locally broadcasted every Saturday at 9 PM on WFYI Public Radio at 90.1 FM.

Because I am rarely near a radio on Saturday night, I have taken to downloading the podcast every Monday morning and listening to it while walking to and from work each Monday. I find that I now look forward to that commute in anticipation of the show and what emotions it may bring out in me. Each show follows a unique topic for that week and is often broken down in three or four parts. Ira Glass introduces the theme and briefly describes the segments that he calls acts. The show is more than just interesting. It is very personal. It demonstrates the human condition of individuals in our country often centering on quirky people too often neglected. It is remarkable in that within minutes it can take you from laughter to tears and then back to laughter.

The segments are woven together with Ira’s narration and separated by eclectic music that somehow adds to the mood and mode. The real people featured on the show are much more interesting than the drivel you might hear about American celebrities who are over-hyped by the traditional news media. The stories on this radio show are genuine. The people featured are authentic. They speak from the heart.

Years ago, Charles Kuralt made a career out of traveling around the country and producing his “On the Road” vignettes. His television segments were both nostalgic and heartwarming. He took television journalism down the back roads of America and America was richer for what he discovered. Ira Glass has done a similar thing for radio. This American Life is so unique and special that once tried, the listener will keep coming back for more. I must admit my addiction. With some free time and a computer at hand, I will go to www.thislife.org and listen to older shows online. The weekly shows go back to November of 1995 so I am not likely to go through withdrawal anytime soon.

With so much garbage on radio and television, when a quality show is discovered it makes you want to shout its praises from the tallest building around. When something this refreshing is available, you beg others to take the time to give it a try. Those of you who have already experienced listening to This American Life know what I am talking about. I am sure many of you have been listening to the show for more than a decade. I am coming late to this party, but I am as rabid a listener as those of you who are veterans of the show. I like it best when the story gives voice to people who have been put in preposterous situations and they somehow come out the other side of it better for the experience. I am drawn to the peculiar characters whose humanity is something to which all of us can relate. If you have not had the pleasure to have listened to the show, do yourself a favor and listen in.

Budd Glassberg is a 23 year resident of Zionsville who works and volunteers in the community. Visit www.runz.com for reprints of all his columns. You can reach him by email at budd@runz.com.