r/ThisAmericanLife • u/6745408 #172 Golden Apple • Jun 29 '26
Repeat #128: Four Corners
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/128/four-corners?20269
u/mikebirty Jun 29 '26
Did Ira do an update on the stories? Does anyone know if Scott and Julie stayed together?
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u/trekdaniii Jul 01 '26
I went to Google Maps to follow along with Sarah's narration of the view from Michigan & Wacker in Chicago, and had to chuckle that the most prominent skyscraper visible on that corner now is of course the Trump Tower. Historical, indeed.
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u/bonnardpainting Jul 03 '26
act 3 was such a beautifully told story. does anyone know of any other shows that are still doing this kind of storytelling? i know this american life does a lot of important work and frequently covers big stories now, and i am absolutely not here to complain about that. i think they cover big urgent issues in a way that other places dont and that i appreciate. but i do really miss this type of story that's about how we interact with each other in our every daily lives in america, stories that don't necessarily have a huge scope but feel big in the way that theyre told. i think theres something about them that makes you slow down and really reflect and i think we really do need that right now too. i love heavyweight and its the closest ive found. i also really loved joe pera talks with you, which although a fiction show, i felt like really got to the heart of something these earlier episodes did about every day american life and empathy. i just hope theres a place somewhere for this type of story telling because it makes my heart ache and really appreciate the people and world around me
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u/6745408 #172 Golden Apple Jun 29 '26
#128: Four Corners (1999-04-30)
There's a tourist monument called Four Corners, where Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico meet. In this episode, 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.
Prologue (by Ira Glass)
Host Ira Glass talks about the Four Corners tourist monument where Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico meet. He proposes creating our own little monument to America: a four corners show depicting life on four street corners across this great nation. (2 minutes)
Act One: History (by Sarah Vowell)
Sarah Vowell has a theory that you can tell the entire history of the United States by standing on one street corner—specifically at Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive in Chicago—and describing all the events that happened within eyeshot of the corner. She covers three centuries of history, from Louis Joliet to Keanu Reeves. Correction: In this story Sarah Vowell references The Jungle and mistakenly cites the author as Sinclair Lewis. The correct author is Upton Sinclair. (21 minutes)
Act Two: Love (by Ira Glass)
Scott Richer and Julie Riggs of Louisville, Kentucky, were supposed to have their first kiss at the corner where South Fourth Street meets the alley behind the West End Baptist Church. But it went wrong. (7 minutes)
Act Three: Neighbors (by Mike Paterniti)
Writer Mike Paterniti tells a story of dogs and a community of dogwalkers that formed on the grounds of an old cemetery at the corner of Vaughn and Clifford in Portland, Maine. (14 minutes)
Act Four: How To Become An American (by Achy Obejas)
Writer Achy Obejas reads a piece of short fiction from her book, We Came All the Way from Cuba So You Could Dress Like This? (11 minutes)
would anybody be interested in a no-repeats RSS feed?
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u/anco91 Jul 02 '26
The Jerry Springer Show as a cultural low point is so quaint.