This American Life
535: Origin Story
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Little-known and surprising stories of how all sorts of institutions began.
Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.
- Prologue: Host Ira Glass talks to business professor Pino Audia and Fast Company magazine columnist Dan Heath about corporate creation myths and why so many of them involve garages. (7 minutes)
- Act One: Sarah Koenig tells the story of her father, Julian Koenig, the legendary advertising copywriter whose work includes the slogan “Timex takes a licking and keeps on ticking” and Volkswagen’s “Think Small” ads. For years, Sarah has heard her dad accuse a former partner of stealing some of his best ideas, but until recently, she never paid much attention. Then she started asking her dad for details of this fight for his legacy, and what she learned surprised her. (20 minutes)
- Act Two: Producer Sean Cole visits Chad’s Trading Post in Southampton, Massachusetts. One person who works there wears a shirt that says “Chad’s Brother;” other shirts say “Chad’s Best Friend,” “Chad’s Cousin,” and “Chad’s Father.” Pictures of Chad are everywhere. Chad’s dead. The family explains. (14 minutes)
- Act Three: Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, tells Ira the origin story of one of the worst movie sequels ever made. (5 minutes)
- Act Four: Reporter Mary Wiltenburg tells the story of a little boy stymied by the question “Where do you come from?” (8 minutes)
Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org
This American Life privacy policy.
Learn more about sponsor message choices.
More Great Podcasts:
Tonight I welcome KM9G @temporarilyoffline onto the stream to help me setup a Winlink Gateway server that I want to run here at my home. BTECH...
Read more
Send your favorite Co-Ghosts a message!What makes an object truly "haunted"? In this riveting exploration of paranormal artifacts, we dive deep with Quinn from Real...
Read more
Movie star and filmmaker Ben Stiller joined Logan, Howard, and Raja to discuss all things Knicks and his decorated film career. How does Ben feel...
Read more
The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly to discuss Aaron Rodgers, who appears to be choosing between the...
Read more
Ukraine says it is ready to accept a US proposal for an initial 30-day ceasefire with Russia, in a joint statement. US Secretary of State...
Read more
Check out Monster Hunter Now here! https://mhn-web.onelink.me/ZLW3/tswfcfq5Go to http://joinbilt.com/kindafunny to start earning points on your rent payments today.Go to http://get.stash.com/KINDAFUNNY to see how you can receive $25 towards your first...
Read more
The smoke is THICK this week as Matt and Geno dive into LeBron James' heated confrontation with Stephen A. Smith. Can the Lakers make a...
Read more
Former NFL QB Chris Simms weighs in on the biggest NFL storylines and discusses why “DeflateGate” bothered him so much. Auburn Head Men’s Basketball Coach...
Read more
Podcast Playground Live