Ira Glass

And really, I felt pretty distant from them.

They did not hide the fact that they disapproved of pretty much all my life choices, and I didn't feel a lot of patience for that disapproval.

And I didn't have, like, a combative relationship with them, but it was just distant.

I would go a month or two all the time without talking to them.

And, you know, they were busy people, but I am sure this hurt their feelings.

We talked about it later in our lives.

And then I started a radio show.

I have to say the single most surprising thing that happened in my life because of the radio show is that it fundamentally changed things between me and my parents.

It healed things in a way I had not suspected could ever happen.

And what I'm going to do today is I'm going to play you four of those conversations that I had on the air with my parents.

I'm going to talk about that change.

A lot of the change happened, I think.

because I was just including them in this big project I was doing.

I would have them on the show, and they were part of this project that meant so much to me.

They were on the show five times in the first year that we were on the air.

Really, it wasn't even the first year.

It was just like the first eight months.

And we just got into a rhythm of that, and they really liked it.

They liked the attention from me.

They liked being on the air.