Act Three: Cold Stone Dreamery
Ben Loory wrote and tells this story, which begins with a duck falling in love with a rock.
Act Two: Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens
Comedian Danny Lobell tells this story about the unintended consequences of bringing new residents to his Brooklyn neighborhood. Namely, a couple of chickens.
Prologue
Ira Glass talks with Scharlette Holdman, who works with defense teams on high profile death row cases, and who has not talked to a reporter in more than 25 years. Why did she suddenly end the moratorium on press? Because her story is about something important: Namely, a beautiful chicken.
Act Three: Witness for the Poo-secution
Ira Glass tells the story of how science is being used to fight the ultimate neighborhood plague: Dog poop.
Prologue
Host Ira Glass investigates two urban legends—alligators in the sewer, rats in the toilet—to find out if they're true.
Prologue
When Luke Davies was 11 years old in Australia, his family moved from the boring suburbs to an incredibly fun place: A tourist park full of attractions, where his dad had gotten a job. There, he was considered kind of a wimpy kid...until he got his chance to save the day.
Act Two: Opposite Of Tarzan
Lucy was a chimpanzee raised in captivity, who adopted a surprising number of human traits. But this proved problematic—in quite unexpected ways—when her adoptive human parents decided that Lucy should be released in the wild.
Act Three: Insurance? Ruh Roh!
Planet Money correspondent David Kestenbaum investigates the growing popularity of pet insurance, and what it reveals about insurance for people.
Prologue
Host Ira Glass talks a veteran police officer about a time in his 20s when he gets sent to a car accident—and it turns out the driver at fault was a nicely dressed chimpanzee. The chimp seemed harmless enough until the other police officer on duty tries to arrest the chimp&'s owner.
Prologue
Host Ira Glass point out that it's not enough this time of year that we eat millions of turkeys. Someone also went to the trouble to make up a song about turkeys getting the supernatural power to play baseball.
Act Two: Sleep's Tiniest Enemies
This American Life producers Nancy Updike and Robyn Semien report on critters that can kill sleep: cockroaches and bedbugs.
Act Three: Almost Human Resources
Reporter Charles Siebert talks with Ira about retirement homes for Chimpanzees. Yes, retirement homes for Chimpanzees.
Prologue
When is a chicken your friend? When is he your dinner? TAL's former webmeister Elizabeth Meister talks with Kamiko Overs, an 11-year-old girl at the annual poultry exhibition run by the American Poultry Association in Columbus, Ohio.