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Ira Glass Talks Dancing, Playing Poker In Las Vegas And A Whodunnit

It is often said that everyone looks good on the radio. That's because in radio, the pictures are all in a listener's head (as Garrison Keillor once pointed out). Of course, we really have no idea what our favorite radio hosts look like, just what we'd like them to look like.

Ira Glass is one of the exceptions. His trademark black spectacles, and slightly nerdy attire have become recognizable. Meanwhile, Ira Glass' voice (which he tells KNPR's State of Nevada is an ordinary, "pedestrian" voice) became imitated by a generation of creative producers. And he became a tastemaker in his own right, introducing a generation of radio listeners to writers like Davis Sedaris and Sarah Vowell.

The show Glass created in the 1990s, " This American Life", is coming up on 20 years old. Glass and his team of producers have branched out into television, they've done live stage shows. And this Saturday, Glass brings a new show to the Smith Center, which blends together "This American Life"-style stories, with dance.

"Don't be scared of this show," Glass told KNPR. "I think a lot of people are like, 'radio stories and dance?I don't know know about that!' I swear. I swear, it's a good show."

Five Things You Didn’t Know about Ira Glass:

1.       The most interesting person he has met is his wife.

2.       He doesn’t have a ‘guilty pleasure.’ He believes in taking pleasure in things but not feeling guilty about it.

3.       He loves playing poker and is coming a day early to Las Vegas to play poker

4.       He eats the same thing (yogurt for breakfast and a salad or food from a Japanese restaurant for lunch) every day

5.       He felt that he was bad on the radio but used that belief to become a better storyteller

Guest: 

Ira Glass, host, " This American Life"

 

Copyright 2015 KNPR-FM. To see more, visit http://www.knpr.org/.

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