This American Life

883: Call Your Parents

2026-03-22 · 22:00 UTC ·This American Life ·1 min read

Brief

Family relationships and radio-making are the core of this This American Life episode, as Ira Glass returns to four archival conversations with his parents. The hour moves from humorous friction over parenting advice to candid feedback on building the show, then into Barry’s failed time in radio, ending on an uncomfortable interview with Shirley that Ira frames as revealing how much these exchanges reshaped their family dynamic.

Why it matters

Ira Glass revisits four early interviews with his parents that he says changed their relationship, structuring the 2026-03-22 This American Life episode around conversations with his mother Shirley and father Barry.

Key details

  • One segment features Shirley leading a discussion on how to get along with adult children, while her own adult children openly challenge whether she is qualified to give that advice.
  • Another segment has Ira asking his parents for blunt advice on how to build the radio show, and a 21-minute interview explores Barry’s short-lived, unsuccessful radio career before a final conversation with Shirley that Ira says still makes his skin crawl.
Source evidence

title: 883: Call Your Parents
author: This American Life
contenttype: podcast
publication: This American Life
published: 2026-03-22T22:00:00+00:00
sourceurl: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/call-your-parents

word_count: 135

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.

Prologue: Ira talks about why four conversations reveal how his relationship with his parents changed. (4 minutes)

Interview 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)

Interview Two: Ira asks his parents for advice on how he should build the radio show. His parents don’t hold back. (9 minutes)

Interview Three: Ira talks with his dad, Barry, about Barry’s own brief and doomed career in radio. (21 minutes)

Interview Four: An interview with Ira’s mom that, to this day, makes Ira’s skin crawl. (13 minutes)