This American Life

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Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

This is one of the most painful episodes of TAL to listen to (that didn't have a stupid-assed David Sedaris Squirrel Story in it). I listen to podcasts on 2x, but I wish the iPhone had a 4x option for something like this with so many pregnant pauses interspersed.

Maybe it's all in the editing, but the way his side is framed makes me not want to believe a thing he says on this or any other subject. "The tools of theater and memoir" my rear end. This isn't some Arthur Miller bull poo poo. When someone sat down to watch this guy blubber out his story I guarantee they had been taking his word as fact. This guy lives in another universe.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2012 00:52

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 21:57

Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

Undeclared Eggplant posted:

Yes. With iOS 5, you can choose either the Music app or Podcasts, but with iOS 6 you are forced to use Podcasts (or a third party app).

I upgraded to iOS 6 and still seem to be able to play podcasts out of Music, same as ever. Am I hallucinating?

I think if you never install Podcasts it still works fine.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2012 03:30

Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

doctorfrog posted:

I've gotten used to the occasional Sedaris story, but this other guy just should never be on radio.

i always disliked david sedaris a little bit but when he ran out of interesting half made up stories to tell about his actual life and started writing fables about squirrels it really turned poo poo up to 11

# ¿ Jan 6, 2013 02:05

Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

Kangra posted:

The main story in How I Got Into College is pretty good (perhaps one gripe with the show is that it's really a one-story show, and not about getting into college at all).

I had serious Deja Vu after listening to this episode, because I felt like it followed verbatim a pattern I've heard in other radio shows, namely:

Something happened in this person's past that was very important
They don't know where the person who did the important thing is
Detectives! find the person
It turns out there is some disagreement about the story
How does this make everyone feel?

I feel like this pattern has happened exactly on at least one other TAL, but can't remember which one.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2013 00:53

Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

I dislike a lot of different things about The Moth, but what finally killed it for me was this one: http://themoth.org/posts/stories/mummy-was-a-wild-game-hunter

A real fancy lady waxing weirdsical about her crazy safari upbringing and saying 'mummy' maybe a thousand times. gag

# ¿ Sep 3, 2014 05:14

Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

I think a nice companion piece to this episode is One Week of Harassment on Twitter from Anita Sarkeesian.

Anyone who tells an oft-harassed woman on the internet that they need to have a thicker skin has no idea how thick of a skin you need to put up with this poo poo.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2015 10:41

Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

Knifegrab posted:

Going through my TAL backlog and just listened to the Lindy West segment and holy poo poo haha if you think that was real. Pro-tip: she writes for Jezebel.

If you regularly visit the internet but you think the idea of a woman being viciously anonymously harassed is so outlandish I just don't know what to tell you.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2015 06:52

Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

The Modern Leper posted:

The Burroughs episode was the NPR version of being forced to listen to your friend's favorite band while he stares at you with a fixed smile on his face.

I finally slogged through it today. In the first 15 minutes I was thinking "this isn't so bad, really" but the part about "cut-ups" made me want to murder.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2015 05:22

Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

Lady Gaza posted:

I wish they'd at least tell us when an episode is a rehash or taken directly from another podcast. Several times I've been listening and then realised ten minutes in I'd heard it before.

They label a lot of the rehashes something like "Some Old Story (2015)" but then there's never any indication of which parts have been modified.

# ¿ Apr 11, 2015 19:54

Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

doctorfrog posted:

I don't care for the drolly bored New York male voice that tends to come out of certain TAL segments, either, but is it just my imagination or are there fewer of those lately?

As a balance to any pilings on about women's voices, in addition to the recent complaints about Sedaris I also think listening to Jonathan Goldstein sucks.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2015 20:45

Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

Great true-crimey heartstring-pulley kinda episode this week.

It's just shocking how Peggy at the end is still willing to blame the victim, catches herself knowing it sounds bad, but goes through saying it anyway and allowing it to be put on the radio.

# ¿ Feb 29, 2016 07:29

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 21:57

Sivart13: May 18, 2003; I have neglected to come up with a clever title

I normally hate the fiction pieces on TAL but I thought the Lydia Davis story was great. The only downside was it felt very, very long, so if I had been listening in a different environment I might've found it annoying.

# ¿ Jun 12, 2016 02:58

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