here are a few RealAudio broadcasts worth listening to, if you don't have the players you can download them from the links below, and bear in mind that you don't need to pay to download the basic verisons, just poke around in the sites and you'll find the free versions (they don't make it overly obvious) but they are there.

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a small collection of dark and twisted monologues by joe frank

for the complete archive, visit http://kcrw.org

The Road To Calvary
Originally produced for broadcast
April 15, 2001.

Mountain Rain
Originally produced in 1997.
Aired June 25, 2000.

Holy Land
Originally produced for broadcast
November 7, 1999.

Prison Songs
Originally produced for broadcast
October 31, 1999.

Bible Salesman
Originally produced in 1997.

Blues Singer
Originally produced in 1997.

Just Get Me Out Of Here
Originally produced in 1997.

An Enterprising Man
Originally produced in 1996.

Hawaii
Originally produced in 1994.

Red Sea
A revisiting and reworking of some past favorite monologues.
Broadcast on
January 28, 2001.

a few choice episodes of "this american life" from our friends at WBEZ chicago

for the complete and massive archive, visit http://thislife.org

 

How To Take Money From Strangers December 12, 1997 Episode 86

Three stories of how to get money from strangers. In every story, the money is made by people who make the strangers feel good about themselves, and about their nation. Act One. Saint Nick. A con man named Nick Ward who's so good he's thanked. Act Two. What makes Grammy Run? Sarah on selling secrets of art dealer Graham Arader. Act Three. Futures Market. New Republic Associate Editor Steven Glass as a telephone psychic.

Memo to the People of the Future September 8, 2000 Episode 167

Stories of people who are engaged in the something that's both difficult and probably futile: trying to control how they'll be seen by generations to come. Prologue. Ira tells the story of a time capsule project designed to document our lives, so people a thousand years from now can know what we were like. Ira explains that when a friend of his got involved in the time capsule, Ira realized that he hates the people of the future. But lots of people don't. Lots of people worry about how they'll be remembered. This show is about that sad, sad lot. (5 minutes) Act One. Dewey Decimal Beats Truman. Sarah Vowell visits four Presidential libraries on a fact-finding tour for ... President Clinton. Not that he asked her. But she wanted to offer a little advice about what should and should not be in the Presidential library he'll soon be building in Arkansas. Rejected titles for this act of our show: "Can You Direct Me to the Dick Morris Exhibit?," "The Last and Longest Press Conference," "How a Bill Becomes an Archive," "All the President's Pens," "It's the Eternity Stupid," and "If This Library Be A Rockin, Don't Come a Knockin." (24 minutes) Act Two. One and One Don't Make Two. What if you're remembered in ways that you don't like? What if you're remembered for something someone else did? In this act, we consider the case of Marguerite Oswald, mother of Lee Harvey Oswald. In 1965 she spent three days with reporter Jean Stafford, who wrote about Mrs. Oswald for McCall's magazine and later in a book called A Mother in History. This American Life Producer Susan Burton tracked down the tapes of the interview to the University of Colorado in Boulder. According to the librarians in the Special Collections there, this is the first time the tapes have been played publicly, possibly the first time the tapes have ever been heard by anyone but Jean Stafford and Mrs. Oswald herself. On the tapes, Marguerite Oswald defends her parenting skills against the conclusions of the Warren Commission Report. (13 minutes) Act Three. You Don't Have To Be An Einstein. After he died, Albert Einstein became a figure of international kitsch: appearing in computer and Pepsi ads, showing up a comic character in movies with Meg Ryan, and until very recently his brain was on the loose without his family's consent ... in the unauthorized possession of the doctor who did the autopsy, a man named Thomas Harvey. Mike Paterniti took a cross-country roadtrip with Dr Harvey and the brain. At one point, in search of the global epicenter of those who've attached themselves to Einstein after the physicist's death, Mike headed to Japan. He reads an excerpt from his book Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America with Einstein's Brain. (14 minutes) Song: Fleetwood Mac "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow"

Pimp Anthropology April 16, 1999 Episode 127

This entire show is devoted to just one story. A former pimp tells how he and three childhood friends became pimps in the 1970's in Oakland, California. He explains all the elaborate "rules of the game" among pimps and prostitutes of that era. He didn't have the stomach for the violence of pimping, and failed as a pimp because of that. Tamar Brott reports. Prologue. Ira talks about the classic biography of an American pimp, Iceberg Slim's Pimp: The Story of My Life, and explains today's show. He warns listeners that although there's no sex in the show at all, there is a scene or two in which men hit women (3 minutes) Act One. Rules of the Game. How Kevin and his friends got into the game of pimping, and the rules of the game at the time. (30 minutes) Act Two. The Price of Ignoring the Rules. Kevin's story continues. We hear about his own rise and fall as a pimp, and how he failed in his attempt to be a different kind of pimp -- a less cruel kind. (20 minutes) Song: Elliott Smith, Between the Bars

Allure of Crime July 23, 1999 Episode 135

We think of crime as a kind of monolithic, menacing presence. But there are many kinds of crimes, and many kinds of criminals. Through our crimes, we express who we are. Today we hear of three different criminals and three different kinds of crimes. Prologue. A survey of local crime blotters from the Anacortes American (by John Bauer; thanks also to Gail Mann and Duncan Frazier) in Anacortes, Washington; the Pueblo Chieftain (by Juan Espinosa) in Pueblo, Colorado; and the Athens Daily News (by Ben Deck, Stephen Gurr and Joan Stroer; thanks also to Jim Thompson and Greg Martin) in Athens, Georgia. Actor Matt Malloy reads. (5 minutes) Act One. Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad. When she was 21, Julia Sweeney got a job as a bartender's assistant and stole between ten and fifteen thousand dollars in cash. She describes the thrill of stealing, and how she justified her thefts to herself, and -- oddest of all -- how she became a more religious Roman Catholic during her crime spree. Julia Sweeney's an actress and writer, a former cast member at Saturday Night Live; and star of her autobiographical movie God Said Ha!. (14 minutes) Song: "Satan is Real" The Louvin Brothers Act Two. You'll pay. Some criminals do not see themselves as basically good people getting away with something bad. Some people do not believe god is on their side when they commit their crimes. We have this story from reporter Marilyn Snell about a bankrobber who now lives in Oakland, California. (17 minutes) Crime Blotter Redux. We hear more crime blotter readings from around the nation, read by actor Matt Malloy. (3 minutes) Act Three. Grandma Takes a Fall. No one knows how much theft iscommitted each year by senior citizens. One study found that seniors comprise 15 percent of people apprehended for shoplifting. Seniors of course, tend to be poorer than other Americans, but counselors who work with senior shoplifters say that many of them aren't stealing out of need. About half of senior shoplifters have stolen all their lives. Documentary filmmaker Jean Finley talks with an elderly shoplifter to find out why. (15 minutes) Song: "It's a Sin" Pet Shop Boys and "My Rough and Rowdy Ways" Bill Cox

The Friendly Man April 6, 2001 Episode 181

A special show, composed entirely of stories from just one This American Life contributor: Scott Carrier, whose strange and compelling stories sound like nothing else on the radio. Prologue. Ira tells the story about how Scott first got into radio. He was listening to a story on the radio one day, thought "I can do that," and promptly hitchhiked across the country to Washington, to the headquarters of NPR. (3 minutes) Act One. The Test. At a fairly bleak time in his life, Scott took a job driving all over the state of Utah, interviewing people who were diagnosed with schizophrenia. His job was to administer a standard test, which measured mental health. The more interviews he conducted and the more familiar he became with the questions on the test, the more he began to wonder about his own sanity. (15 minutes) Song: Noel Coward, "I Travel Alone." Act Two. The Friendly Man. It's another not-so-great period in Scott's life. This time he takes a job a inside his profession, as a producer for a national commercial radio program. His boss is a nationally-recognized host who Scott refers to only as "The Friendly Man." Again, things don't go so well. (16 minutes) Act Three. Who Am I? What Am I Doing Here? Scott goes on a quest to discover if the amnesia in the movies -- where someone gets bonked on the head and forgets everything -- ever happens in real life. And if so, could he, somehow, get it to happen to him? (10 Minutes) Song: Marianne Faithfull, "Don't Forget Me" Act Four. The Day Mom and Dad Fell in Love. Scott interviews his 11-year-old daughter about his marriage. She sheds light on the previous three stories in the show. (7 Minutes) Song: Jack Jones, "You Make Me Love You"

Blame it on Art August 15, 1997 Episode 73

The darker side of the art world: petty jealousies, competitiveness, failure. And what's so great about art. Prologue. Foreign correspondent Jim Biederman stands in the Louvre on a cellphone, in front of the Mona Lisa, and reports on what people say while they're standing in front of the world's great works of art. It turns out to be pretty banal. People talk about dinner. And the price of the paintings. It makes you actually feel bad for artists -- a group most of us feel no sympathy for whatsoever. ) Act One. Life in a Bubble. This American Life Senior Editor Paul Tough with Aaron Hsu-Flanders, an acknowledged master in the field of animal balloons. Act Two. Still Life. David Sedaris recounts his shameful career as a performance artist. Act Three. Reverb. Ellery Eskelin never met his father, but always heard he was a musical genius. Years after his father's death, he started finding recordings from his musical output. Act Four. Grace Note. After all this doom and gloom about the difficult life of artists, we end the show with a more hopeful story, from Joel Kostman, a New York City locksmith, about an incident that happened to him on the job Kostman's book is Keys to the City: Tales of a New York City Locksmith.

First Day November 13, 1998 Episode 115

Stories of the first day on the job, the first day in a relationship, the first day in school. On the first day, any first day, we're expected to live by the rules and customs of the culture we're entering, but we don't know those rules and customs just yet. These are stories of people trying to make the transition -- and the difficulty of making the transition -- in a new place -- from outsider to insider. Prologue. Writer (and TAL Contributing Editor) Jack Hitt talks about his daughter Tarpeley's first day in her new school. It was her first "first day" of any kind. The kids at the school put her through a kind of hazing. This often happens at all sorts of first days: in military academies, for doctors-in-training, in street gangs. And why is hazing so common? Hazing is so primal -- and intimate. As if the existence of The First Day - the simple presence of an outsider who wants to be an insider -- is so profound -- so disturbing to any group -- that they have to crush you, prove you harmless, before they can bring you in as family. (7 minutes) Act One. Lost at Sea. Dishwasher Pete tells the story of his first day washing dishes on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana. He'd heard he'd get a hazing when he stepped foot on the rig. How cussing can save you when reason treads, and other lessons of his job there. Listeners who want to buy Pete's zine -- where this story first appeared -- can get it by sending a dollar to Dishwasher, P.O. Box 8213, Portland, OR 97207. (12 minutes) Song: Roy Orbison "Working for the Man" Act Two. Squirrel Cop. The first day inevitably means mistakes, mishaps, fiascos. A true story, told by a former rookie cop. (14 minutes) Song: Muddy Waters "Fox Squirrel" Act Three. Bad Sex With Bud Kemp. Los Angeles writer Sandra Tsing Loh on the first day of a relationship. A failing relationship. (13 minutes) Song: Eydie Gorme "The First Time" Act Four. When Businesses Act Like Humans. Then Chicago radio listener and writer Alex Blumberg (he's now one of our producers) tells the story of encountering a corporation on its first day. It made all the human errors anyone does on a first day: exhibiting false confidence, pretending it wasn't the first day, trying too hard. (5 minutes) Song: Monty Python "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song On the Radio"

Welcome to America March 19, 1999 Episode 124

Stories of people moving to this country: what they see and hear about America that those of us who were born here don't necessarily see. Prologue. Ira goes to the courtroom of Abraham Lincoln Marovitz, who, at 93, presides over the ceremony to make people citizens. In this setting, it's hard to talk about America as it is. Instead, people talk about the America we wish we lived in. (5 minutes) Act One. What Do Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sigmund Freud Have In Common? Because of a shortage of math and science teachers, New York City decided to import instructors from Austria. Then the Austrians started to see things about this country that few Americans ever get to see. What they know that you don't know about life in America. David Rakoff reports. (31 minutes) Song: They Might Be Giants, "New York City" Act Two. Are Movies Stronger than Communism? This is a story of a father and son -- told by the son, Juan Zaldivar -- who was born in Cuba. Has spent the past four years shooting a movie about his father, to try to reassure him that he did the right thing to leave Cuba with his family in the 1980s and come to America. His father, so far, is not reassured. (15 minutes) Song: Ray Charles, "Sentimental Journey"

Mob Mentality May 5, 2000 Episode 158

The pleasure of being in a rampaging, angry mob ... and the terror of being in a rampaging, angry mob. Prologue. There's a TV ad so popular in Canada right now that people chant it in bars, stand and cheer it in theaters and at hockey stadiums. The ad taps into our desire to be part of a mob ... and provides a safe way to do it, without fear. Ira talks with the Vice President for Marketing for Molson's beer, which made the ad. (View the ad here.) (6 minutes) Act One. Among the Thugs. Writer Bill Buford reads from his book Among the Thugs. In it he sets out to try and understand the soccer houligans who were rioting in ways large and small -- on a regular basis -- after soccer matches. It's a remarkable book -- in turns funny, and then horrifying. By the time Buford's done, you understand that the thrill of being in a violent mob is as hardwired into us, as basic to us as a species, as the ability to love. (17 minutes) Song: Nino Rota, "Main Title (The Godfather Waltz)" Act Two. One Tin Soldier Rides Away. What happens when seventh graders become an angry mob? Karen Bernstein reports on her own seventh grade class from small-town Connecticut. In 1973, a teacher turned them into an angry mob, an event they all remember decades later. She tracks down her classmates ... and the teacher. (20 minutes) Song: Coven, "One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack)" Act Three. The Hissing of Winter Lawns. What happens when a crowd converges over something they strongly believe in, for weeks, and months, in front of television cameras that never go away? To what degree does that change the character of being in a crowd? A few days before Elian Gonzalez was seized by Federal authorities, reporter Alix Spiegel went to the lawn of his home, where activists camped out 24 hours a day. (14 minutes) Song: Black Sabbath with Dio, "Mob Rules"

Americans in Paris July 28, 2000 Episode 165

Many Americans have dreamy and romantic ideas about Paris, notions which probably trace back to the 1920s, to the vision of Paris created by the expatriate Americans there. But what's it actually like in Paris if you're an American, without rose-colored glasses? Prologue. Ira with writer David Sedaris at the Louvre, in Paris. David's never set foot inside, though he lives just a few minutes away. He says most people go to the Louvre because they think they should. Where he would take them ... if they wanted to see the city where he's lived for two years ... is very different. (6 minutes). Act One. Him Talk Pretty Three Days. David Sedaris takes Ira on a tour of his favorite spots in Paris. He moved to France with no special feelings for the place. His head wasn't full of Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein and Sartre and Proust; he was a blank slate. And so the places he's found as his favorites tend to be places where the people aren't mean to him when he speaks French, or places where very unusual and fascinating objects are sold, or place that are unlike anywhere in the States. (27 minutes). David describes his struggle with daily life in France in his book Me Talk Pretty One Day. Song: Lloyd Cole "Si tu dois partir" Act Two. Ca Vie Amercain. We hear from two Americans who live in Paris about what it is that draws the people who love France so much. (6 minutes). Song: Blossom Dearie, "Comment Allez Vous?" Act Three. Notes from a Native Daughter. Is Paris still the racially tolerant place that Richard Wright and James Baldwin discovered in the 40's? Janet McDonald talks about whether African-Americans are still welcomed in Paris so warmly, even after a half century of African migration to the city. Also: why it's sometimes better for her to put on a bad American accent. She's the author of the book Project Girl, and has lived in Paris since 1995. (15 minutes) Song: MC Solaar, "Paradisiaque" and Andy Williams, "Au Revoir Paris"