Writers Center Stage
Ira Glass & David Rakoff
appeared 10.24.07
Ira Glass producer and host of NPR’s "This American Life" and David Rakoff, humorist and essayist, recreated the popular radio show and shared insights about the program. The appearance of Mr. Glass and Mr. Rackoff was made possible through Cuyahoga County Public Library.
Ira Glass
Ira Glass did radio his way - and changed radio.
Highlights of Glass's life from Biography Resource Center,
a library subscription database.
Websites - Ira Glass
New to This American Life? Start here with their list of favorite shows.
A long time fan? Click on the link for "Episode Archive" and look up your favorites from 1995 through last weekend.
Audio.
Terry Gross, of National Public Radio's Fresh Air, interviews Glass in February 2007 about the TV premiere of This American Life.
Audio (40 minutes).
Glass talks to American Jewish Life Magazine (March/April 2007) about the new TV show, touching on his childhood, his new wife, and his atheism.
Ira Glass on Late Show with David Letterman (April 24, 2007). Glass entertains Letterman with the story of how a close encounter with a "poultry advocacy group" led to his becoming a vegetarian.
Video (5 minutes).
Watch episode one online and excerpts of the rest of This American Life's first season on Showtime.
Video.
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Works by/about Ira Glass
My Dad & Me:
A Heartwarming Collection of Stories About Fathers
from a Host of Larry's Famous Friends
by Larry King
Includes story about Ira Glass and his father.
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David Rakoff
Short biography of Rakoff from his agent's website.
Websites - David Rakoff
David Rakoff: Essayist, Mountaineer, 'Comic Saint.'
Terry Gross, of National Public Radio's Fresh Air, interviews Rakoff in 2001 about his first book, Fraud.
"David Rakoff Exposed"
Rakoff tells the stories behind the stories in Fraud in this candid 2002 interview from Powells Bookstore in Portland, OR. On his weeklong stay at a survival camp: "When we carved the little components of our fire-making kits, mine was the nicest. I was the art fag at wilderness camp."
Gravitas
Rakoff describes his visit to a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon in this video excerpt based on his second book, Don't Get Too Comfortable. Video (4 minutes)
The Daily Show with David Rakoff
Rakoff entertains Jon Stewart with his hilarious take on conservative cultural organizations. With dual Canadian-American citizenship, Rakoff also gives Stewart the key to defeating Canada: "Canadians are so unfailingly polite that, if you simply asked them to cede their sovereignty, you might be very pleased with the results." Video (6 minutes).
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Works by David Rakoff
BOOKS
by David Rakoff
(2001)
Debut collection of hip and witty essays about Rakoff's stint playing Freud in a Christmas window display, searching for elves in Iceland, learning survival skills in the New Jersey wilderness - and more.
Don't Get Too Comfortable:
The Indignities of Coach Class, the Torments of Low Thread Count, the Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems
by David Rakoff
(2005)
In his second collection, Rakoff skewers over-consumption and over-indulgence. Go along for the ride on the supersonic Concorde, travel to an exclusive island resort off Belize, attend a Paris fashion show, all with Rakoff's biting satire as your guide.
Also in CD book
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