Yeah, you read that right.
I mentioned in my post yesterday that I am listening to all of the This American Life podcast episodes from when it started back in 1995.
Well, this one from 2004 really surprised me.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/258/leaving-the-fold/act-one-4
It’s about Jerry Springer, the infamous talk show host of one of the worst talk shows (in my opinion) in the history of that genre.
My opinion about him was completely changed by listening to this podcast.
A “picopause” is a little loving nudge towards simplicity and serenity.
Hmm, that’s a tricky one for me. Does kanji study count as self-care? Probably not, right? I might just take a nap, but that seems wasteful if it’s a whole hour that I didn’t have in the first place. Does reading a book on my new couch count? Or does it have to be more like, “get a massage”? I don’t really like massages that much. I think I might be bad at self-care…
I am a huge fan of the podcast This American Life.
A few months ago, I decided to go back to the beginning (1995!) and listen to every single episode in order. I’m now up to 2004, and I feel like I am experiencing time travel.
One episode that I particularly enjoyed was this one, from January 2003. Hyder Akbar is a 17 year old boy living in the US when his father decides to move back to his homeland, Afghanistan. Akbar visits him and is given extremely intimate access to some very powerful and influential individuals in the country through his father.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/230/come-back-to-afghanistan/act-one-1
There is also a follow up episode one year later, which I also enjoyed.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/254/teenage-embed-part-two
When I looked up the links for this post, I noticed that they recorded two more updates in 2011 and 2012, respectively, but I haven’t gotten there yet.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/445/ten-years-in/act-one-2
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/481/this-week/act-one-4
It seems that Hyder turned his stories into a book in 2005. I haven’t read it, but I imagine it is a fascinating account of what it was like in Afghanistan at the turn of the century through the eyes of a young man who straddles two very different cultures.
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