Ira Glass to spin stories of 'This American Life'

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Ira Glass, the creator of the award-winning public radio show "This American Life," is coming to Western Michigan University's Miller Auditorium at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24.

Purchase tickets online:
millerauditorium.com

Glass will discuss "This American Life" and how it's put together: what makes a compelling story, where they find the stories for the show, how he and his staff are trying to push broadcast journalism to do things it doesn't usually do. As part of this, Glass will combine his narration of stories from the show with pre-taped quotes and music, recreating the sound of the show for the audience. He'll also play memorable moments from the show and talk about what was behind their creation.

'This American Life'

Under Glass's editorial direction, "This American Life" has won the highest honors for broadcasting and journalistic excellence, including five Peabody awards. "This American Life" is heard each week by over 2.2 million listeners on more than 500 public radio stations, with another 2.2 million downloading the podcast. The show also airs each week on the CBC in Canada, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's radio network and on BBC Radio 4 Extra in the UK. For years, the podcast of "This American Life" was the most popular podcast on iTunes, until the show started its first spin-off program "Serial," which quickly became the most popular podcast ever created. Over 8 million people have downloaded each episode.

Ira Glass

Glass began his career as an intern at National Public Radio's network headquarters in Washington, DC in 1978, when he was 19 years old. Over the years, he worked on nearly every NPR network news program and held virtually every production job in NPR's Washington headquarters. He has been a tape cutter, newscast writer, desk assistant, editor, reporter and producer. He has filled in as host of "Talk of the Nation" and "Weekend All Things Considered."

Tickets

Ira Glass at Miller Auditorium is part of the Lake Michigan Mailers Spotlight Series and is welcomed by Meijer, Seat n Sleep and Pepsi. Tickets are on sale now and range from $25 to $50. They can be purchased online at millerauditorium.com, by calling (269) 387-2300 or (800) 387-2312, or in person at the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office.

A 15 percent discount is available to all WMU faculty and staff, and a 50 percent discount is available to WMU students. Discounted tickets may be purchased by phone or in person, and a valid Bronco ID is required at the time of pickup. Group discounts are available at (269) 387-2312.

For more information, contact Bethany Gauthier at bethany.gauthier@wmich.edu or (269) 387-2245.

For more news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.