Before It Had a Theme

Rob and Britta share a discussion they had in 2019 (but never released) about the classic This American Life episode "Notes on Camp." Topics include their own camp experiences, the power of scary stories, Rob's favorite thing ever recorded by any radio show ever, and the wild back story of the beloved camp counselor David Himmel, aka Mr. Popluar.

Show Notes:

Notes on Camp - This American LIfe 

“Ira Glass Is a Douche” - Literate Apecast

Longform Interview with Julie Snyder

Music:

Calisson - Blue Dot Sessions

Throughput - Blue Dot Sessions

Coffero’s Theme - Bill Frisell

Untitled III - Calexico

Gentle Chase - Podington Bear

On the second of a two-part series about the podast Startup, Rob and Britta talk about how the mini-seasons of the podcast Startup about the growth of Gimlet revealed all kinds of details about the troubles at the company, the ill-fated sale to Spotify, and what all this means for the state of narrative audio.

Show Notes:

Skye Pillsbury's newsletter The Squeeze

Galen Beebe's website

Music:

A Simple Plan Soundrack 

Nine Count by Blue Dot Sessions

Within the Garden Walls by Blue Dot Sessions

Gentle Chase - Podington Bear

Audio Excerpts:

Startup

On the first episode of the new season Rob and Britta talk about what made them want to restart a show about narrative audio. And they discuss the complicated legacy of a podcast that's having its tenth anniversary this year. 

Show Notes:

Music:

Coffaro’s Theme by Bill Frisell

"Arabic Tallow" and "At Our Best Alone" from Blue Dot Sessions

Gentle Chase - Podington Bear

Audio Excerpts:

This American Life - Double Lives

Constellation Prize

Startup

Alex Blumberg on Longform

Heavyweight

TLDR

After more than five years of silence, new episodes of this podcast finally are on their way. Season 2 starts September 5, 2024. 

Rob and Britta discuss This American Life Episode 37 - The Job that Takes Over Your Life, as well as Britta’s former job fixing scandals for big companies, and Rob’s former job working for Garrison Keillor. Other topics include the great radio reporter Scott Carrier and his masterpiece of a story The Test, and Rob interviews Peter Clowney, one of the original producers of This American Life, about what it was like to work on the show in the early days.

Links and Show Notes:

The Job that Takes Over Your Life

In Particular - Blonde Redhead

Defect2: Curiosidade - John Mcentire Remix

Lydia - Tim Story

Shatter - Liz Phair

Scott Carrier interview on Tape

Scott Carrier interview on HowSound

Hitchhiker episode of Home of the Brave

Gentle Chase by Podington Bear

Rob’s Twitter

Britta’s Twitter

Before It Had a Theme Twitter

Review us on Apple Podcasts

Rob and Britta discuss whether this episode is TAL’s first real masterpiece, the role of David Sedaris in the show’s early years, why “The Man in the Well” is the rare example of great audio fiction, the bone-chilling music of the Bulgarian State Television Female Choir, and why an effort to keep children from excluding each other makes Rob weirdly emotional.

And we talk to the amazing Marlo Mack, from the podcast How to Be a Girl, about her own unique perspective on the cruelty of children.

Links and Show Notes:

The Cruelty of Children

David Sedaris on Morning Edition

Nah Dran by Couch

Lydia by Tim Story

Coffaro’s Theme by Bill Frisell

Santa Land Diaries

The Writer in the Well

Pilentze Pee by Bulgarian State Television Female Choir

How to Be a Girl

Gentle Chase by Podington Bear

Rob’s Twitter

Britta’s Twitter

Before It Had a Theme Twitter

Review us on Apple Podcasts

Rob and Britta discuss This American Life Episode 14: Accidental Documentaries, including their own experience creating accidental documentaries. The main focus of the discussion is the centerpiece of this episode, a documentary edited out of reel to reel tapes that a family sent back and forth to each other back in 1967. And Rob talks to Joe Silovsky, the man who originally found those tapes and gave them to Ira Glass, and whose work as a performance artist echos the experience he had with those tapes back when he was an art student. And since this is the final episode of the show that originally aired under the name “Your Radio Playhouse,” Rob and Britta talk about some of the worst moments from those early episodes, and their awfulness is inspiring.

Links and Show Notes:

The Chase by Portastatic

Buried at Sea by MC (900 Ft. Jesus)

Coffero’s Theme by Bill Frisell Quartet

Pilentze Pee by The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir

Episode 2: Small Scale Sin

Episode 5: Anger and Forgiveness

Episode 7: Quitting

Episode 13: Love

Gentle Chase by Podington Bear

Joe Silovsky’s website

Rob’s Twitter

Britta’s Twitter

Before It Had a Theme Twitter

Review us on Apple Podcasts

A discussion of This American Life Episode 10: Double Lives. Topics include Rob and Britta's own experiences leading double lives, Rob's childhood habit of breaking into schools at night, why this episode feels like the birth of This American Life, why parents so often hide secrets from their children, what Britta’s parents have been hiding from her, and how it feels to hear Ira Glass talk about sex.

This episode also includes an interview with Peter Bresnan, a podcast producer for Gimlet, about what it's like to listen to this old episode of TAL on the topic of closeted gay men.

Links and Show Notes:

Cubes by Jon Brion

Kt by Bexar Bexar

Coffero’s Theme by Bill Frisell Quartet

Episode 10: Double Lives

It Might Get Loud - a documentary about Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White

Another Version of You by Chris Zabriskie

Tell Me I’m Funny - a podcast by Peter Alexander Bresnan

A Chorus Line

Maybelle by Ida

Catalog & Classify by Mark Robinson

Gentle Chase by Podington Bear

Peter Bresnan’s Twitter

Rob’s Twitter

Britta’s Twitter

Before It Had a Theme Twitter

Review us on Apple Podcasts

Rob and Britta discuss the very first episode of This American Life, as well as why the show is worth discussing, how they and others became fans of the show, and why they love Ira Glass’s mother.

Clips from following were used in this episode:

Coffaro’s Theme by Bill Frisell

Episode of Tape with Jonathan Menjivar

Episode of Tape with Ben Calhoun

Ira’s talk at the Third Coast Audio Festival

Longform Podcast, Episode 159: Ira Glass

This American Life, Episode 1: New Beginnings

Ira’s talk at the Gel Conference

Rob's Twitter

Britta's Twitter

Show Twitter

Review us on Apple Podcasts

Episode 0 Show Notes

Clips from following were used in this episode:

• This American Life, Episode 1: New Beginnings
• This American Life, Episode 17: Name Change/No Theme
• Longform Podcast, Episode 159: Ira Glass
• Coffaro’s Theme by Bill Frisell