Published: 2 June 2020
Last updated: 5 March 2024
IN NOVEMBER 1995, for the inaugural episode of his radio program This American Life, Ira Glass chose to interview his mother, Shirley Glass. And, like the proverbial Jewish mum, she wasn’t shy about telling the audience what she thought of her son’s decision to work in public radio. “I’m saying that you’re in danger of appealing to a narrow range of listeners,” she berated him in that broadcast.
Today, 25 years and more than 700 shows later, and after he made history this month when his show became the first recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for audio reporting, a new category – it’s clear he made the right choice.
Over the years, Glass’ program has become one of the most acclaimed and popular in the history of radio in America, with a weekly audience of more than five million.
In 2001, Time magazine termed Glass the “best radio host in America”; last month the London Evening Standard called him the “godfather of podcasting”; and he is widely credited with being the person who revived public radio.
FULL STORY ‘This American Life' host Ira Glass on Pulitzer-winning storytelling, Trump and growing up Jewish (Haaretz)
