
883: Call Your Parents
From This American Life by This American Life
March 22, 2026 · 59 min · Episode 883
About this episode
Ira revisits early interviews with his parents that transformed their relationship.
In the early days of the radio show, Ira did a series of interviews with his parents that completely changed his relationship with them. This week, he returns to those interviews. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Ira talks about why four conversations reveal how his relationship with his parents changed. (4 minutes) Act One: Ira’s mom, Shirley, is invited to lead a discussion about how to get along with your adult children. Her adult children question her expertise. (9 minutes) Act Two: Ira asks his parents for advice on how he should build the radio show. His parents don’t hold back. (9 minutes) Act Three: Ira talks with his dad, Barry, about Barry’s own brief and doomed career in radio. (21 minutes) Act Four: An interview with Ira’s mom that, to this day, makes Ira’s skin crawl. (13 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.
People in this episode
Host: Ira
Guests: Shirley, Barry
Topics covered
- family relationships
- parenting
- radio
- interviews
- personal growth
Keywords
- interviews
- parents
- radio show
- family
- advice
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: This American Life
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