Ira Glass

She is 60 years old in this recording.

And I picked this one to begin because it's one that directly addresses the actual tensions between my parents and their three children.

Though, as you'll hear, it addresses them in kind of a light way that does not get too deep or heavy.

But you can also feel that there's something real under the surface, I think.

Okay, so I'm going to start this with the open of that episode where I tell a little story, very brief story, that kind of sets up the interview that then will happen with my mom.

Here we go.

Well, when I picked up the phone, it was my mom.

And it had been about a month since we had spoken.

And as usual, that was my fault.

Anyway, she said that she had been invited to speak with a group of women at the local Hadassah, you know, the Jewish women's organization.

My mom's a therapist in the Jewish suburbs outside Baltimore.

And these Hadassah women have this group that meets regularly.

All of them are women in their... I'm just going to jump in again here in 2026.

I am reading this in such a heavy way.

Hearing it now, it's like I am really trying to milk the drama out of this.

Anyway, back to 1996, maybe.

All of them are women in their... I guess the late 40s to early 60s.

And when the group first started meeting, apparently they discussed all sorts of stuff.

It was wide-ranging.

But as time progressed, they realized there was only one topic they all really wanted to talk about.