Comments on: Merry Christmas

Question: Merry Christmas

ducksauce — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 14:35:46 -0800

Is there any place I can download or purchase the complete NPR broadcast of the SantaLand Diaries, read by David Sedaris?

I've been able to find the 9 minute 16 second excerpt on npr.org, and it seems like the David Sedaris box set on amazon might contain it somewhere amongst its 14 discs, but I don't want to have to buy everything else just for this. Either a file to download or a cd to buy would be acceptable -- I can't find anything.

By: ducksauce

ducksauce — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 14:51:31 -0800

here's a link to the 9 minute excerpt, for those who are unfamiliar with the segment. It might inspire someone to seek out the answer to this question. =)

By: tangerine

tangerine — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 14:59:01 -0800

What about the CD of Holidays on Ice? It's abridged, but it might be more complete than the excerpt.

By: mbrubeck

mbrubeck — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 15:06:01 -0800

The This American Life Store has a $33 CD called "Holiday Stories" that includes the Santaland Diaries, and the RealAudio stream is in their archives.

By: mbrubeck

mbrubeck — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 15:07:22 -0800

You can also buy just the "Christmas and Commerce" show on CD for US$13.

By: planetthoughtful

planetthoughtful — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 15:12:35 -0800

This is a link to a longer version on NPR's site. It's still in RealAudio format, but I imagine there are applications available that could help you capture the audio onto your computer (not that I'm advocating any such activity, disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer).

From the intro it seems like it might be the entire content that was recorded for NPR.

It seems that the SantaLand Diaries are also included on Sedaris' CD Holidays On Ice, based on the book of the same name.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 15:12:48 -0800

Here's all of episode 47 of This American Life, in RealMedia format. According to their website it contains the full story.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 15:20:05 -0800

I bought and downloaded the abridged Holidays on Ice audiobook from the iTunes music store last week, and listened to it on a long car ride for thanksgiving.

I hadn't heard it before, so I'm not sure if it was the whole thing, but I'd say there was maybe 60min-90min of stories of his time as an elf.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 15:23:34 -0800

by the way, here is all of episode 47 on the iTMS for $5.95 as a download.

By: jaysus chris

jaysus chris — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 16:16:50 -0800

I was going to point you to Geekymedia.com for a free download, but they've been asked to take the episodes down. Damn, I was going to update my own archive while I was there, too.

By: stefanie

stefanie — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 16:35:06 -0800

Christmas and Commerce is also available from audible for $3.95

By: nathan_teske

nathan_teske — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 18:43:13 -0800

I converted the Real Audio Stream of Episode 47 into an AAC file. Email me and I'll send you a copy.

By: ducksauce

ducksauce — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 07:19:21 -0800

You guys are the best. Thanks for all the great answers -- I listened to the episode of This American Life and it was fantastic, and exactly what I was looking for. I think I'm going to buy the Holidays on Ice CD as well.

nathan_teske, thanks for the offer, but I think I'm just going to get the CD instead.

By: phearlez

phearlez — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 13:14:29 -0800

Nathan, you would be much easier to email if your email address was in your profile or the 'contact' link on your blog worked.