I Savagely Love This American Life

That's one of my favorites.  My friend Erica shared that episode of This American Life when I posted on Facebook my congratulations to Dan Savage and Terry Miller, who finally got their marriage license in Washington.  Suddenly rational people everywhere seem to know that gay people deserve the same legal rights as other people and so Washingtonians passed the law legalizing the Savage-Miller union. If you haven't read either The Kid--about the process the couple went through to adopt their son D.J.--or The Commitment--about their decision to legally wed in Canada despite the laws at the time banning their marriage in the States--you're missing two excellent stories about family and love that anyone could relate to.

Which is exactly why I love This American Life.  It's one of my favorite places to find work by the best writers, the ones who share their divergent perspectives in stories we can all relate to.  Writing that unifies us.  Makes us truly proud to call ourselves American.  

I named my blog after This American Life.  And while I'm belaboring the obvious, how amazing is our modern life that we can, at any moment we desire, listen to these excellent stories online?  Back when I first started listening to This American Life, I'd wake up and push the "record" button on my boom box so I could tape an episode of the show and listen to it again on my Walkman.  Now I can find whichever show I like in the online archives and listen to it anywhere I have internet access.  Find shows here by date, by tag, by contributor, and by location where the story takes place.  My favorite contributors are David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, David Rakoff, and the not newlywed but newlylicensed himself, Dan Savage.

This American Life, is produced by Chicago Public Media and distributed by Public Radio International.  They don't rely on commercials to raise money to produce these shows and pay these writers.  So donate to this fantastic vat of entertainment and enlightenment.  You can make a contribution to Public Radio International here, Chicago Public Media here, or you can donate directly to This American Life here.