Ira Glass Made me Question Everything: You Might Too
For this episode of Bite Your Tongue, we’re doing something quite a bit different. This is the last episode of Season 7, and today it’s just me. Me — and excerpts from one of my all-time favorite podcasts, This American Life with Ira Glass. For those who may not know Ira’s work, he is the groundbreaking creator and host of This American Life, whose storytelling helped redefine public radio and podcasting. A recipient of the Peabody, Pulitzer, and Edward R. Murrow Awards, Ira is widely conside...
For this episode of Bite Your Tongue, we’re doing something quite a bit different.
This is the last episode of Season 7, and today it’s just me.
Me — and excerpts from one of my all-time favorite podcasts, This American Life with Ira Glass.
For those who may not know Ira’s work, he is the groundbreaking creator and host of This American Life, whose storytelling helped redefine public radio and podcasting. A recipient of the Peabody, Pulitzer, and Edward R. Murrow Awards, Ira is widely considered one of the most influential storytellers of our time.
Now, as you might guess, I would have absolutely loved to have Ira on as a guest. Sadly, that didn’t happen. But Ira did the next best thing — he very graciously gave me permission to use excerpts from his show in this episode. Honestly, I was so grateful. What a class act and what a thrill for me to connect, even briefly, with someone I admire so much.
So here’s how this all came about.
I was listening to a recent episode of This American Life called Call Your Parents, and it immediately caught my attention. As I listened, I found myself completely drawn in. In fact, when I mentioned the episode to Connie FIsher, our audio engineer, she told me she literally sat in her car until the episode finished because she was so engrossed in it.
In the episode, Ira shares recordings and conversations with his parents from when he was a young adult. While Ira never had children of his own, he has of course been an adult child — and like so many families, his relationship with his parents was loving, complicated, strained at times, and deeply human.
As I listened, I kept thinking:
Maybe this is not quite as new as we think it is.
For years on this podcast I’ve heard versions of the same questions over and over:
- Why don’t they call?
- Why don’t they visit?
- Why are relationships with adult children so hard now?
- Why does this generation seem so different?
But listening to Ira and his parents, I realized they were wrestling with many of the exact same issues decades ago.
His parents worried about his career.
He sometimes pulled away. There was judgment. Frustration. Love. Misunderstanding.
In other words, it all sounded incredibly familiar.
There are several moments in this episode that stayed with me long after I finished listening — moments that are funny, painfully honest, tender, and incredibly relatable for anyone navigating family relationships. You will love it.
And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I found myself wondering:
Are relationships between parents and adult children truly harder today? Or are we finally talking openly about struggles families have quietly carried for generations?
This finale became much more personal than I expected. It made me reflect not only on today’s struggles between parents and adult children, but on my own parents, my own choices, and the possibility that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Next up: We are dropping some short episodes called: Straight From the Listener Line," which aims to address real questions from listeners with expert insights. This initiative emphasizes the podcast's commitment to fostering dialogue and providing support for families navigating the complexities of adult relationships.
And don't forget our phone line (719-347-1106) and email address (biteyourtonguepodcast@gmail.com). We will never play your message on the podcast without your approval first. Let us know what is on your mind!
We are on SUBSTACK now too - with "Behind the Mic." We talk about how the episode resonated with us and share some inside scoop that you won't want to miss.
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Huge thanks to Connie Gorant Fisher, our audio engineer.
Website: biteyourtonguepodcast.com
Substack: Behind the Mic
Listener Line: 719-347-1106
Email: biteyourtonguepodcast@gmail.com
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