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Post by Ryan Billings

“Captivating” is the first word that comes to my mind when I think about Ira Glass’ appearance at the Kimmel Center this past Saturday. The stories, ideas, and experiences he shared with the audience were thought provoking and surely life changing.

Glass opened the show telling a story in a completely dark Verizon Hall. He touched on the power of words, noting that he thought the presentation might be much more powerful if given in complete darkness the entire time. “The folks at the Kimmel Center weren’t really willing to let me do that,” he went on saying as the house lights came on.

Sitting in the middle of the stage at a small table with his own sound boxes and equipment, Ira opened with a hilarious story from one of This American Life’s podcasts from 2001. Check it out here “” the opening story will have you falling off your chair.

Playing sound clips and sharing stories were a large part of the show. However, he also spent a lot of time talking about the state of American journalism, including why certain media are not doing so well today. He talked about how many news anchors take a very boring spin on things, and shared examples on how the tone and angle of a story can make it a million times more interesting.

The success of a story, he shared, also has to do with a few very basic rules. Much of This American Life’s success has to do with these rules, such as asking many questions, finding a common theme or moral, and including a lot of imagery. “Radio is the most visual form of communication,” Ira said to the quiet audience. “Actually, that’s a lie,” he then joked.

Aside from playing radio clips and speaking, Glass also played a couple clips from the recent Showtime series This American Life. One clip in particular was particularly moving, which was from the Season 2 finale entitled “John Smith.” In this episode, TAL followed the lives of 7 people named John Smith all at different staged in their lives.

The end of his presentation included a question and answer session with the audience, which brought about some very interesting points including whether he and his famous composer cousin’s taste in music might be genetic, and whether he has ever regretted playing a certain story on the air.

While the performance was captivating, moving, witty, and amazing all wrapped into one, I have one complaint: I wish he had stuck around afterwards for a meet and greet or to sign autographs. That would have been awesome.

In case you missed his performance, are a die-hard Ira fan, or plan on traveling soon, check out his upcoming tour dates. Also, check out upcoming shows at the Kimmel Center.

Kimmel Center
300 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 790-5800
www.kimmelcenter.org