This American Life / PRI Part Ways

Public Radio International (PRI) announced yesterday that it will end distribution of This American Life (TAL). According to the article in Variety, TAL has 2.2 million listeners and calls the weekly program one of PRI's most popular.

Details of why the show is being dropped are sketchy. PRI Executive Julia Yager states, “During our most recent negotiation, it became clear that our organizations’ expectations regarding our futures were different.” 

Yager said This American Life will continue to be distributed to Public Radio. Three possible sources, PRX, NPR and APM have not commented yet.

Fact Checking David Sedaris

After the Mike Daisey controversy, some in the media are questioning if it is appropriate for NPR and This American Life to air segments by humorist David Sedaris. An article in the Washington Post's Lifestyle section wonders if the segments by Sedaris are appropriate for news programming? You can read the article  here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/david-sedariss-exaggerations-in-memoirs-npr-nonfiction-program-raise-questions/2012/05/13/gIQAm9QONU_story_1.html

I've always understood that Sedaris was telling stories based on events in his life embellished to add humor but, the issue is being seriously considered.

This American Host Ira Glass says there are three courses of action being considered. "Fact-checking each of Sedaris’ stories to ensure their accuracy, labeling them to alert the audience that the stories contain “exaggerations” or doing nothing."


Is this examination taking this issue too far? 

Ira Glass Film at Sundance

Sleepwalk With Me was produced by Ira Glass (This American Life) and based on writer-director-star Mike Birbiglia’s harrowing tale of life as a not-so-good, but-getting-better comedian. 


Entertainment Weekly is calling "Sleepwalk with Me" bright spot of the Sundance Festival.


Variety says, "Appealing enough to launch Birbiglia in a big way, this warm, perceptive debut should win over auds, but loses some of the specificity that made his one-man show so personal."


And, according to a Sundance Exclusive clip shared by the Boise Weekly, Glass is a little befuddled by the whole process. Glass asks at the end of the video is anybody is going to see it. So far...6,822 views. It was added to YouTube January 18th.


Does this mean Ira Glass is going to have 'People?'