354: Mistakes Were Made

It’s the late 1960s, and a California TV repairman named Bob sees an opportunity to help people cheat death with the new science of cryonics. But freezing dead people isn’t easy. And apologizing for the mistakes you make along the way? Even harder. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.

Prologue: Host Ira Glass talks about the way most political apologies go, and chats with a man named Derek Jones about similar sorts of apologies among preteen girls and King David, in the Old Testament. (7 minutes)
Act One: In the late 1960s, a California TV repairman named Bob Nelson joined a group of enthusiasts who believed they could cheat death with a new technology called cryonics. But freezing dead people so scientists can reanimate them in the future is a lot harder than it sounds. Harder still was admitting to the family members of people Bob had frozen that he'd screwed up. Sam Shaw reports. (42 minutes)
Act Two: There's a famous William Carlos Williams poem called "This is Just to Say." It's about, among other things, causing a loved one inconvenience and offering a non-apologizing apology. Producer Sean Cole explains that this is possibly the most spoofed poem around. We asked some of our regular contributors to get into the act. Sarah Vowell, David Rakoff, Starlee Kine, Jonathan Goldstein, Shalom Auslander, and Heather O'Neill all came up with their own variations of Williams's classic lines. (7 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy.
Learn more about sponsor message choices.

🎬 SEE THE STORY UNFOLD:
Want to see the original photos, documents, and the faces behind this week's acts?
👇 View the visual archive for this episode here:
https://goo.su/XwNQm
(Updated for each story)

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(33)

443: Amusement Park

We head to some of the happiest places on earth: amusement parks! Ira Glass takes us behind the scenes at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, where the young staff – coached by a funny, fun-loving boss just...

10 Aug 1h 2min

894: I Couldn't Help but Notice

People dealing with new, glaring, massive changes happening right where they live. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Rick Cole, a city councilm...

2 Aug 59min

893: Testosterone

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered everyone over 30 in the military to have their testosterone tested. That inspired us to rerun this classic episode where everyone at This American Life teste...

26 Juli 1h 1min

892: Trapped on a Bus

People on journeys they did not intend! Or agree to! Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: A woman on a nighttime bus ride wakes up to discover the...

19 Juli 1h 1min

891: The Test Case

Some people in this country think Antifa is a dangerous domestic terror organization. Some think that’s a complete myth. This week we go to the federal trial where, for the first time, the government...

12 Juli 1h 11min

890: Maximal Americanness

On this country's 250th birthday, we bring you stories about the most American people, places, objects, and social norms that make this country what it is. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to ...

5 Juli 54min

128: Four Corners

We try to tell the story of life in America through portraits of life on four different corners, in four different states across the nation. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our...

28 Juni 58min

889: There’s Something About Hail Mary

We spend an hour in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, behind and desperate, with people trying any damn thing they can think of. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our p...

21 Juni 1h 4min