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"I don't think it's hard to do things
that are honest and sincere," says
Glass. "I feel like irony is very '90s ...
or even '80s."
In case you've never tuned in, show
topics have included jobs that take
over your life, girl gangs, piano lessons
and the biggest lies ever told, even
Glass's own sad tale of trying to be
"just friends" with his ex-girlfriend.
Last week's show, called "Ask an
Expert," included stories about people
who turned to the experts and got
horrible advice. One story was about
therapists who made their patients
sicker. Another was about how the
hosts of the radio show Car Talk inad-
vertently (or perhaps intentionally)
destroyed a car belonging to one of
their own employees.
'American Limbo" aired on June 8.
It told the stories of people off the
grid of conventional American life. A
family of eight goes on the run from
the law ... for nine years. They live on
a rotting boat in an old marina, in a
treehouse over a Florida swamp, and
everyone they meet comes to love
them.
The best of these shows come
together in Glass' stage appearance.
Plus it provides a rare glimpse at the
man behind the voice and an opportu-
nity to hear those mesmerizing tones
without interference from your speak-
ers or traffic noise.
It took Glass a long time before he

Lies, Sissies 6- Fiascoes: An Afternoon
With Ira Glass comes to the Power
Center in Ann Arbor 4 p.m.
Sunday, June 30. $20-$30. (734)
764-2538 or wwwmlive.com/aasf.
This American Life is broadcast
locally 3-4 p.m. Fridays and 7-8
a.m. Sundays on WDET-FM
101.9 and 1 -2 p.m. Saturdays and
3-4 p.m. Sundays on WUOM-
FM 91.7 and WFUM-FM 91.1.
For other broadcasts around the
country, go to wwwthislife.org .

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BusinessWeek Online:
"It's an acquired taste.
In fact, it can be down-
right annoying."
Peterson, however, admits. the show
is worth the trouble. "This American
Life is a sort of general-interest maga-
zine of the air. It gives you a glimmer
of what American journalism might be
like if you [let the best, funniest and
most imaginative writers do the stories
they really want to do].
"You would end up with something
odd and individualistic that gives voice
to all sorts of people and ideas you
don't normally hear about."
One of the things you have to love
about the tales Glass tells is that
they're multi-layered — combining
humor, pathos, irreverence and inves-
tigative journalism. And he's managed
to snag some of the best reporters and
authors (including David Sedaris) to
contribute.
Says Peterson, "Sometimes quirky
and personal can be more revealing
than all the facts and objectivity a
reporter can muster. That's the beauty
of This American Life." [1]

High Holidays), which,
he says, speak to him.

N*fd&Peingf

FM I I

NPR's headquarters in
Washington, D.C.
2. He believes that for a
story to work, it needs to
have not only character
development, conflict and
plot, but also something he
calls a "transformative
moment" — that point in
a story where the protago-
nist learns something
important and is changed
forever.
3. He detests irony.
"Without a doubt, the
anti-irony policy at This
American Life enables
countless listeners to con-
sider topics that, in anoth-
er medium, would be
received with ridicule or
scorn," explains Dan
Eldridge in the Resonance
interview. "Unbiased reli-
gious reporting, for exam-
ple, has become a show
trademark."

was comfortable
enough to put himself
on the air, preferring to
let other artists speak
in his stead. But now
his voice is a trademark
of the show. He has a
distinctive, yet matter-
of-fact, kind of style
that brings to mind a
casual conversation
with a college room-
mate.
In fact, most people .
are surprised to discov-
Ira Glass in a photo at
his bar mitzvah. He rarely er the man behind the
voice is 40-something
attends synagogue, yet
keeps a prayer book on his rather, than 25. It's not
music to every listener's
office shelf and opens it
ears, however.
often to the "Vidui" (the
Said editor Thane
confessional prayers most
Peterson of -
often recited during the

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