This American Life

Christmas and Commerce

Stories about the intersection of Christmas and retail, originally broadcast in 1996 when our show was only a year old. Including David Sedaris's "Santaland Diaries" about the seasons he spent working as an elf at Macy's.

877: The Making Of

How one block in Portland, Oregon became a movie-set war zone that lots of people think is a real war zone. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners [https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com] to sign up for our premium subscription — or to give one as a gift! * Prologue: What the movie Hearts of Darkness and right-wing influencers have in common. (8 minutes) * Act One: Producers Zoe Chace and Suzanne Gaber follow a bunch of right-wing influencers as they search for Antifa in Portland. (31 minutes) * Act Two: We meet the so-called leader of Antifa in Portland. (16 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/877/transcript] This American Life privacy policy. [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy] Learn more about sponsor message choices. [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

255: Our Holiday Gift-Giving Guide

The vexing difficulty of finding the perfect gift. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners [https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com] to sign up for our premium subscription. * Prologue: Host Ira Glass goes to a busy Target store one week before Christmas. Most shoppers he talks to don't think any of their gifts will be returned. (3 minutes) * Act One: Ian Brown tries, after decades of failure, to give his mother the perfect Christmas gift. He and his brother attempt something they haven't done since they were kids: Rehearse and sing her a program of Christmas carols. (19 minutes) * Act Two: We play a 1959 original recording of Truman Capote reading his holiday story A Christmas Memory. (18 minutes) * Act Three: Caitlin Shetterly reports on a true-life holiday fable from rural Maine, complete with a misunderstood recluse with a heart of gold, a deserving family in need, and a very special Christmas tree farm with secrets of its own. (16 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/255/transcript] This American Life privacy policy. [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy] Learn more about sponsor message choices. [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

876: Bigger Than Me

When history comes knocking, you have to figure out what to do. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners [https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com] to sign up for our premium subscription. * Prologue: Brittany’s job is to answer anonymous calls and texts from people in the military. This year, she’s gotten more than usual–most of them are wondering about what to do with orders they’ve been given. Or orders they’re afraid they’ll get someday in the future. (9 minutes) * Act One: Jad Abumrad tells the story of the "ideological genealogy” of Fela Kuti’s anti-colonial politics–his mother. In late 1940s Nigeria, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti found herself at the center of a big, historical moment: an uprising led by thousands of women selling goods in Nigeria’s markets. Jad goes searching for who she really was, and how she became the person who galvanized a movement when history demanded it of her. (45 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/876/transcript] This American Life privacy policy. [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy] Learn more about sponsor message choices. [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

875: I Hate Mysteries

What’s in the box? What’s in the $%&ing box?!? Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners [https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com] to sign up for our premium subscription. * Prologue: A class of second graders is handed a sealed box with a mystery object inside. They are supposed to guess what it is, but the lesson goes off the rails. (8 minutes) * Act One: A man is hired along with a crew to dig a mysterious hole on the slopes of Mt. Shasta. The hole goes sixty feet down. But what are they looking for? (24 minutes) * Act 2: A sparkly mystery. One woman hopes the military-industrial complex is involved. (4 minutes) * Act Two: What happens when the full force of the federal government arrives on your block? (14 minutes) * Act Three: A comedian finds himself trapped in an uncomfortable mystery in the backseat of a cab. (4 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/875/transcript] This American Life privacy policy. [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy] Learn more about sponsor message choices. [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]