Speech: Ira Glass and American Life Essay

Submitted By skdjasf
Words: 736
Pages: 3

“But sadly, one of the problems with being on public radio is that people tend to think you're being sincere all the time.” –Ira Glass

Good afternoon everyone and thank you for attending today. My name is Ashley Barberio and I would like to begin today by asking you all some questions. Lets see with a raise of hands how many people listen to the radio even if its not often. Well, a good portion of you listens to the radio. Now how many of you have ever heard of or listened to This American life. Alright, well I see a lot of hands go down but hopefully after today that will change drastically. Today I will talk about the history of This American life, the man behind all of it and my personal favorite story produced by This American Life.
This American life is a weekly podcast that has a new and exciting topic every week. Each one will intrigue your attention though every time. The wide variety of things they cover is always so interesting because you never know what to expect for the next podcast. Each week has a new theme do keep the listener interested. Each time the show goes through some type of emotion whether its depressing or cheerful This shows airs on more than five hundred stations across the nation and almost two million people tune in every week. This American life became such a craze amongst the nation that it was turned into a television show on ShowTime Network, which won three Emmys.
If you have never heard of Ira Glass, you really should take the time to figure out who is he. Born in Baltimore Maryland, on March 3. 1959. Ira Glass attended high school in Baltimore and later went on to college at Northwestern University in Illinois but later transferred to the collegiate Brown University. He graduated from Brown University in 1982 with a degree in semiotics. Ira Glass is known as being the mastermind behind the show This American Life. He has been the host and producer since its debut, which was on November 17, 1995. Glass began his journey on becoming a producer and host when he was only 19 years old. He was offered an internship at the National Public’s radio network headquarters in Washington. “Mr. Glass is a journalist but also a storyteller who filters his interviews and impressions through a distinctive literary imagination, an eccentric intelligence, and a sympathetic heart” the New York Times referred to him as. Also, Time Magazine declared Ira Glass as the best radio show host in the country.
Amusement Parks are something new and exciting to people no matter how many times you go. It is one of the happiest places for many people to go