20 Acts in 60 Minutes

#241 - 11 July 2003

Instead of the usual "each week we choose a theme, and bring you 3 or 4 stories on that theme" business, we throw all that away and bring you 20 stories—yes, 20—in 60 minutes.

I'm In Charge Now

#240 - 20 June 2003

Stories of people putting themselves in charge in very unlikely, unpromising circumstances.

Lost in America

#239 - 6 June 2003

Stories of people who are lost, histories that are lost, and things that are lost. This show was recorded onstage in front of audiences on a five-city tour in May 2003. The cities: Boston, Washington DC, Portland Oregon, Denver and Chicago. Featuring house band OK Go.

Lost in Translation

#238 - 30 May 2003

Stories of what can and cannot be translated. A short, non-athletic, bespectacled East Asian studies major who couldn't make his high school basketball team finds himself in the NBA as the personal translator for the first-ever Chinese pro basketball superstar, Yao Ming. Plus, a Palestinian man teaches Hebrew classes in the Gaza strip to Palestinians eager to learn news from the other side of the checkpoint.

Regime Change

#237 - 18 April 2003

Sure, John Kerry got in trouble for using the phrase, but we have no fear. Because we know that regime change, like charity, begins at home. This week: Stories of regime change in everyday life—people switching jobs, people switching families, businesses dying and new ones starting in their place.

My Two Cents

#236 - 11 April 2003

Stories from a contradictory recession. (Audio is from the updated 2004 broadcast)

The Balloon Goes Up

#235 - 21 March 2003

Stories from the beginnings of the war in Iraq, and how it compares with wars in our country's past.

Say Anything

#234 - 14 March 2003

Does talking about it really help? Stories where it does, and stories where it doesn't, including Michael Bernard Loggins, who tried to battle his fears by listing them. He ended up with a list 183 items long.

Starting from Scratch

#233 - 7 March 2003

Stories of people starting over, sometimes because they want to, other times because they have to.

The Real Story

#232 - 14 February 2003

It's been said that truth is the first casualty of war. In this week's show, we try to get the real stories from three very different wars.