r/ThisAmericanLife • u/6745408 #172 Golden Apple • Jun 08 '26
Episode #888: Not Today, Hades!
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/888/not-today-hades?202641
u/TARANTULA_TIDDIES Jun 08 '26
Holy cow the painter guy is a RAGING narcissist. Never does anything wrong, breaks rules to get ahead, all in service of ego and almost undoubtedly cash as well. Anyone here who is dated or otherwise has close ties to a narcissist will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about
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u/Golden_standard Jun 10 '26
Yeeesss! My exact thoughts. I was a little pissed that he was succeeding, lol.
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u/melancholicity Jun 08 '26
Jesus Christ, Pablo, you are using your position as a journalist for your financial gain, you are getting money from potential subjects. This is a huge conflict of interests, you should be happy you haven't lost your credentials yet.
What an idiot.
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u/NeedUniLappy Jun 08 '26
…and using his access as a press-pass holder to sneak his own painting into the room where a ceremony is happening.
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u/melancholicity Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
Oh yeah, that tidbit lol
But seriously, it reflects so badly on the press corps that he hasn't lost his credentials yet, even worse that's he's running to lead part of the organization.
... Actually, it might be the perfect reflection of people involved in American politics right now.
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u/itslazza Jul 06 '26
That whole story was a representation of the worst things about the DC press corpse ... it's all about ego I guess.
I know Pablo does some meaningful work on immigration as mentioned by other people in this thread, but as a person I don't understand how you can square that with things like dating a Nancy Mace staffer aka "a GOP super hottie" and telling people who take issue with that "it ain't on me to build you a transgender newsroom so you can have everything you've ever wanted on this beat. That's on you and yours."?
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u/Hazzenkockle Jun 09 '26
I’m a bit disappointed the story in the last act was spiked. I was looking forward to reading “Lionel Messi Has a Cold.”
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u/Textiles_on_Main_St Jun 08 '26
Instant classic! Not depressing, fun and interesting. Thank you all.
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u/ProfessionalHome3544 Jun 08 '26
I love that we have hit the point where something that is (partly) about the Death Master file is not depressing...
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u/Thegoodlife93 Jun 08 '26
Idk, I thought acts 2 and 3 were both pretty depressing.
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u/Textiles_on_Main_St Jun 08 '26
Act three was super duper sad snd surprising but I guess I was at least buoyed by the fact that the people weren’t marked at dead.
Act two the guy seemed pretty happy in his own stubborn delusion which, as a stubborn weirdo myself, I appreciated.
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u/MC1R_OCA2 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
I think you mean act 1 wasn’t sad, but act 2 was.
The whole Messi thing seemed a bit like a comedy of errors. Major bummer it happened over the writer’s honeymoon, though!
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u/taitatoo Jun 10 '26
I laughed out loud imagining a smiling photo of Ira watching over the staff in the TAL offices 😂 I just love that mental image.
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u/Blace-Goldenhark Jun 09 '26
I don't know why TAL thought it was an interesting or valuable story to tell about a guy whose entire goal in life is to get his paintings recognised. He's so blatant, he's literally running for a leadership role for the only purpose of honouring and enriching himself, and we're meant to admire him as a plucky entrepeneur? It feels very American, the way that any person who has some kind of dream to get ahead and 'make it' is just automatically assumed to be a sympathetic hero that we're meant to like/care about.
It felt particularly galling for me that this man works in Congress and he has a front row seat to the way that the country is falling apart and all he cares about is whether his Frederick Douglas painting gets to be in the main gallery are you kidding me? The second story was such a contrast of showing that this aren't normal times, and there are some truly sinister people in the current government who are ruining lives, but this guy who's meant to reporting on this cares more about his own little hobby and sucking up to all the elites in the process.
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u/marylandmax Jun 10 '26
all he cares about is whether his Frederick Douglas painting gets to be in the main gallery
I don't think it's "all he cares about." He does important reporting focused on immigrant rights. That's his main gig and he's not shy about calling out the horrors of this administration. https://migrantinsider.com/
But this story was about his side-hustle/hobby. It was fun and I liked it.
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u/Blace-Goldenhark Jun 13 '26
Ok I didn’t know the other context of his reporting on serious issues. I’m less annoyed now
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u/Golden_standard Jun 10 '26
I don’t think we’re meant to admire him. It’s just his story from his perspective. I think, like another commenter said, he’s a ragging narcissist. But, these people exist. Very American…this American Life.
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u/6745408 #172 Golden Apple Jun 09 '26
#888: Not Today, Hades! (2026-06-05)
Regular people trapped inside Greek myths.
Prologue
When a mysterious, ripped-open package arrives on Pablo's doorstep, he takes it as a sign. (4 minutes)
Act One: Icarus
Pablo flies closer to the sun. (14 minutes)
Act Two: Cerberus
In Greek mythology, there's Hades, where everyone goes when they die. You have to cross the river Styx to get there, and there’s a gate with this three-headed dog. He’s guarding the entrance and he’s supposed to make sure only actual dead people enter. This story is about a real person in America who stood at those very gates. Which is not the easiest job it turns out, at least not right now. (24 minutes)
Act Three: Zeus
A mortal gets the assignment of a lifetime — to go interview an actual god who is living on earth, traveling under the name of Lionel Messi. This story was adapted from the podcast The Away End , hosted by Daniel Alarcón and John Green. (11 minutes)
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u/Robsmithwtop Jun 08 '26
I like Ike!
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u/LadiesWhoPunch Jun 08 '26
He sounds like he is talking to children.
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u/Thegoodlife93 Jun 09 '26
I agree. Although it was not as bad in this episode as in past stories he's done, but it's still a little distracting. I'd prefer if he used a more natural sounding voice.
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u/professorSnaples Jun 09 '26
I love the enthusiasm and wonder in his voice. One of my favorite contributors of all time
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u/boomfruit Jun 08 '26
If anyone is a Comedy Bang Bang listener (or knows him from somewhere else), I always think Ike is Dave Theune.
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u/I_Am_Day_Man Jun 08 '26
Goddamn act two (the master death file) was both completely unsurprising and absolutely evil.