Comments on: Best episode to introduce someone to This American Life?

Question: Best episode to introduce someone to This American Life?

exhilaration — Sun, 04 May 2008 13:49:27 -0800

Best episode to introduce someone to This American Life?

I'm a big fan of This American Life and I'd like to introduce my friend to it by pointing him to a truly great episode. I know this sounds suspiciously like a chatfilter question, but I'm looking for suggestions of the most moving and compelling episode/segment you've heard on the show.

By: JDHarper

JDHarper — Sun, 04 May 2008 13:56:42 -0800

I was hooked after listening to the Superpowers episode.

By: Science!

Science! — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:05:08 -0800

Yeah, the superpowers one is fantastic. It think it would be a great starter; it has several stories, they're all human, parts are insanely funny, it goes from light hearted to really digging into and exposing a human life.

Fiasco! is also great, and I think my personal favorite is Backed into a Corner with I Know What You Did This Summer as a close second.

By: l33tpolicywonk

l33tpolicywonk — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:05:18 -0800

Previously.

By: Sufi

Sufi — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:06:14 -0800

Radio or t.v.?

By: jaimev

jaimev — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:06:38 -0800

There is a page of TAL staff favorites among which the "Babysitting", "My Pen Pal", and "Prom" were some of my favorites.

By: supramarginal

supramarginal — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:07:01 -0800

I like 'Kid Logic' and anything with Sarah Vowell.

By: sweetkid

sweetkid — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:09:35 -0800

I think it depends a lot on the person's taste. Some are really interesting and thought provoking, and some are just a good laugh. Some people think it's just middle class bellyaching, and I don't understand that perspective, but if I wanted to convince someone the show wasn't like that, I'd introduce them to something like the recent "Competition," which involves immigrant injustices etc.

But for someone generally unbiased, I'd recommend Fiasco or Notes on Camp.

By: scody

scody — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:11:26 -0800

Act V is one of my all-time favorites; The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar is one of the best I've heard recently. Also seconding Notes on Camp.

By: pjenks

pjenks — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:11:57 -0800

This one is not really representative of the multiple different stories motif, but the Act V episode (Hamlet as performed in a prison) is really amazing.

And here's another prison-related episode which I still think about frequently after hearing it 10 years ago.

By: thisjax

thisjax — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:13:59 -0800

The "Tornado Prom" segment of Prom, and, well, the entirety of The Allure Of The Mean Friend strongly factored into making me a fan of TAL. 24 Hours At The Golden Apple (the bit during Act 2 with the two teenage girls playing matchmaker with each other is especially heartwarming) and the anonymous mother's essay during Act 2 of How To Talk To Kids are also wonderfully accessible.

By: carbide

carbide — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:14:32 -0800

I've found it depends hugely on the person - if they're into something, I'll find an episode to match (like Dreamhouse for the rosemantic architects), or ditto if they like one of the contributors from elsewhere. This seems to work better than pointing people at the archive.

What Is This Thing has worked on a few people (especially the Sarah Vowell piece about Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash). The Book That Changed Your Life was the one that won me over. Family Physics always strikes me as a good typical episode, and the Jon Ronson and David Sedaris stories in it are fantastic.

My dad was a hard sell (he kept describing great episodes like Notes On Camp as "too American") but I got him with 81 Words, and he liked some of the other atypical single-story episodes likeThe Fix Is In (this never gets old on relistening) and House On Loon Lake.

By: ellenaim

ellenaim — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:16:27 -0800

It really depends on whether you want to highlight the show as funny, thought-provoking, political, etc.

Some of my favorites:

#74 Conventions
#168 The Fix Is In
#260 The Facts Don't Matter
#292 The Arms Trader
#317 Unconditional Love
#321 Sink or Swim

For what it's worth, I had a horrible experience trying to introduce someone to the show using Fiasco!.

By: Falconetti

Falconetti — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:21:35 -0800

Fiasco and Cringe. I used them to introduce TAL to my parents and they loved them.

By: O9scar

O9scar — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:29:08 -0800

To me a classic is the squirrel cop story - definitely in the comedy category. (scroll down to First Day, and peruse the rest of the favorites list too).

By: inconsequentialist

inconsequentialist — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:30:27 -0800

Break-Up
Telephone
Perfect Evidence
Ties that Bind

By: DangerIsMyMiddleName

DangerIsMyMiddleName — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:41:53 -0800

The Middle of Nowhere is as close to a perfect radio production as they've ever done. It's masterful.

By: lalalana

lalalana — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:48:26 -0800

I agree with sweetkid that it really depends on your audience. I don't agree that the ones that focus on immigrant rights, etc. are best for people who'd be annoyed by class issues. Nothing worse than middle class bellyaching about middle class problems than middle class bellyaching about poor people's problems. You know? TAL is good at what it's good at.

House on Loon Lake is awesome.
Most Sarah Vowell is awesome, though the one where her parents come to NYC is kinda' annoying.
The Fix Is In is awesome.
David Sedaris is usually awesome.

Gots to say that I DO NOT like "Notes on Camp."
I am an on-again-off-again fan of TAL, and that episode epitomizes the "middle class bellyaching"
problem. In this case, it's not bellyaching so much. More the opposite. Do they not realize that sleep away camp is a really, really privileged thing? Ugh. Bugs me.

By: Gerard Sorme

Gerard Sorme — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:59:42 -0800

Sometimes the first of something can end up being a favorite just because it was the first. The first episode of TAL that I ever heard was Accidental Documentaries. I was hooked.

By: stresstwig

stresstwig — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:00:20 -0800

Getting and Spending, especially part two and three. John Hodgman's piece on the Mall of America (part three) is what I play for everybody I know and love.

By: Ostara

Ostara — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:01:21 -0800

House on Loon Lake is my personal favorite.

By: HotPatatta

HotPatatta — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:11:15 -0800

Any episode with Sarah Vowell would be perfect, better than David Sedaris for sure.

24 Hours at the Golden Apple was pretty damn compelling.

By: chrisalbon

chrisalbon — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:13:49 -0800

Fiasco

Specifically Act I. I have never laughed so hard from the radio before.

By: nkknkk

nkknkk — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:14:59 -0800

The Super, in particular, "Act Two: SUPER DUPER." I laughed so damn hard.

I also liked "Act One: The Luck of the Irish" from Seemed Like a Good Idea At the Time.

By: Fuzzy Skinner

Fuzzy Skinner — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:23:37 -0800

Lots of great suggestions here. Two of my favorites, with a low threshold of entrance:

Quiz Show
My Brilliant Plan

By: qxntpqbbbqxl

qxntpqbbbqxl — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:27:33 -0800

353: The Audacity of Government

By: leesh

leesh — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:41:48 -0800

Classifieds is one of the ones that got me hooked.

By: Sweetie Darling

Sweetie Darling — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:48:42 -0800

Highly recommend the Lies, Sissies and Fiascoes best-of CD.

By: schnee

schnee — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:53:25 -0800

My Pen Pal is the one that leaps to my mind, for Sarah York's story (and equally compelling is the follow-up of what she's up to now, but I'm fascinated by that stuff).

Remember Me made me cry over ACT I. I still love this one.

By: dmd

dmd — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:02:06 -0800

And then of course there's this.

By: geekyguy

geekyguy — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:08:22 -0800

inconsequentialist: "Break-Up"
I came in to recommend this episode. This is the episode I have most burnt to disc to share. Whether that speaks to me or the show, I don't know. Great episode.

By: davebush

davebush — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:16:20 -0800

Seconding "The Super" - it's my fave.

By: awesomebrad

awesomebrad — Sun, 04 May 2008 17:47:11 -0800

Seconding Middle of Nowhere (especially the segment about getting stuck on hold, my favorite ever), Notes from Camp, and The Super.

By: LairBob

LairBob — Sun, 04 May 2008 19:19:04 -0800

Squirrel Cop. Squirrel Cop. Squirrel Cop.

(Plus, "The Super".)

By: bkeene12

bkeene12 — Sun, 04 May 2008 19:21:20 -0800

I liked Dream House also. I heard it scanning the radio stations one night. This was before I got hooked on podcasts. Something about it made me stop, listen and consider.

By: fredbaker

fredbaker — Sun, 04 May 2008 19:31:01 -0800

After some coaxing by a friend I recently gave this show a try and I've been hooked ever since. I've only been able to listen to fairly recent shows but these are the ones that got me hooked.

The Audacity of Government
The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar
Mistakes Were Made

Hope you're friend gets into it.

By: moxiedoll

moxiedoll — Sun, 04 May 2008 19:51:38 -0800

I can't believe no one has mentioned Recordings for Someone. Act One - The Little Mermaid answering machine message - makes me cry it's so funny.

By: Deathalicious

Deathalicious — Sun, 04 May 2008 21:44:09 -0800

Which is the episode that starts out with the weird guy in the subway pointing at people and saying "You're in. You're in. You're out. You're in." and the guy telling the story says he really hoped that this total stranger would say "You're in" even though he had no idea what it actually meant or who this guy was?

That one.

By: Deathalicious

Deathalicious — Sun, 04 May 2008 21:54:06 -0800

Oh, and neither of these are at all like the rest of the show, but both the Guantanamo Bay episode and the episode about the guy who is effectively duped into being tried and convicted as a terrorist are both amazing.

By: inconsequentialist

inconsequentialist — Mon, 05 May 2008 00:29:00 -0800

Deathalicious: The Kindness of Strangers

By: desjardins

desjardins — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:52:36 -0800

I just recently got hooked. I think the one that did it was The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar. I think the last one I downloaded - With Great Power - was really edge-of-your-seat as well (at least the first act; the third mostly sucked).

By: sully75

sully75 — Mon, 05 May 2008 08:51:26 -0800

The Super
The Allure of the Mean Friend
Break Up

and there's one about these people that ride horses across country, I can't remember what the name is but I literally found myself in tears...such a beautiful story and the people are awesome.

By: sneakin

sneakin — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:57:08 -0800

nthing "The Super." It's pure gold.

By: Lucie

Lucie — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:55:13 -0800

I listened to 'Ties that Bind' while walking home from work last night. Thank god it was late and very dark, because I was walking along bawling my eyes out.

Another fascinating episode was 'What's in a Number?'

When I grow up I want to be Ira Glass.

By: alohaliz

alohaliz — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:16:21 -0800

I loved The Super...it was my first, and I've listened to every episode since. Also heard great things about Pen Pals, although I still haven't heard it.

By: catmint

catmint — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:45:58 -0800

And don't overlook Who's Canadian. It's a riot.