This American Life

699: Fiasco!

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We leave the normal realm of human error and enter the territory of huge breakdowns.

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  • Prologue:
Jack Hitt tells the story of a small-town production of Peter Pan in which all the usual boundaries between the audience and actors dissolve entirely. (6 minutes)
  • Act One: Jack Hitt's Peter Pan story continues. (18 minutes)
  • Act Two: The first day on the job inevitably means mistakes, mishaps, and sometimes, fiascos. A true story, told by a former rookie cop. (13 minutes)
  • Act Three: Comedian Mike Birbiglia talks about the time he ruined a cancer charity event by giving the worst performance of his life. Here's a hint: He improvised. About cancer. (10 minutes)
  • Act Four: Journalist Margy Rochlin on her first big assignment to do a celebrity interview: Moon Unit Zappa in 1982. Midway through the interview: fiasco! (7 minutes)

    • Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

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