Nibble, Lick, Suck, and Feast
I won’t lie, being on Letterman is always pretty cool. The Channel 13 morning show in Lubbock, Texas? Not as glamorous. During FOUND Magazine’s Slapdance Across America tour in 2004, I appeared on dozens of local morning TV shows. Here’s my story of the hilarious, absurd, and surreal shit that went down.
“Bad Morning America” first aired on This American Life on January 13, 2006 as part of a show called Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time.
LISTEN HERE.
A few crucial words were bleeped out when this piece aired on This American Life. Here’s another recording of the same piece from October, 2005, at Pulaski Auditorium in Minneapolis.
LISTEN HERE.
Read the piece here as it appeared in The Believer #27.
Lost in America
In May, 2003, I grabbed a bunch of my favorite notes from FOUND Magazine and hit the road for a five-city tour of live This American Life shows with Ira Glass, Sarah Vowell, Jonathan Goldstein, and David Sedaris.
“I Found Your Letter” first aired on This American Life on June 6, 2003, as part of a show called Lost in America.
LISTEN HERE.
For more info on FOUND, check out the 21 Balloons FOUND page or visit the FOUND site. (with links)
Who Needs Two?
For years I sold tickets on the streets of Chicago. In the fall of 2002, I went back to the Windy City to visit some of my old scalper friends and reminisce about the Golden Age of ticket-scalping–the years of Michael Jordan’s reign with the Chicago Bulls.
“Show Me the Monet” first aired on This American Life on October 15, 2002, as part of a show called Middlemen.
LISTEN HERE.
Jets to Brazil
In January, 2004, I went with my mom to Brazil for three weeks to visit a miracle healer named Joao de Deus, with hopes he could cure my mom’s deafness. That was some intense and crazy shit, for real.
“Changing the Channeler” first aired on This American Life on April 2, 2004, as part of a show called Miracle Cures.
LISTEN HERE.
Ghost Dad
My mom channels an ancient Buddhist monk named Aaron. Is she crazy—or is she making it up—or is Aaron the real deal? Listen and decide for yourself. “Psychic Buddha, Qu’est-ce que C’est” first aired on This American Life on May 10, 2002, as part of a show called The Other Man.
LISTEN HERE.
As an experiment, we did all the interviews for this story on digital video with filmmaker Bennett Miller, director of Capote and The Cruise. You can see some of our favorite clips on This American Life’s website. On their site, just do a search for my name—Davy Rothbart—and click on The Other Man show. You’ll find the video clips. CLICK HERE.
If you want to learn more about my mom and Aaron’s teachings, check out the excellent Deep Spring Center website. CLICK HERE.
Mr. Rogers & Me
When I was a little kid, Mr. Rogers invited me and my family to visit him at his summer cottage on Nantucket. Twenty years later, in 2001, I visited Mr. Rogers again. This time I brought stories from my own neighborhood—stories of neighborly conflict and distrust—to see what advice Mr. Rogers could give me. “Mr. Rothbart’s Neighborhood” first aired on This American Life on May 11, 2001, as part of a show called Neighbors.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.
When Mr. Rogers passed away, The New York Times asked me to eulogize him. Here’s what I wrote.
READ FROM THE NY TIMES SITE or HERE.
