this american life

564: Too Soon?

When is too soon for that celebrity comeback, that joke that is either brilliant or full-on repugnant, that parent-child conversation? Stories about a fallen man trying to kickstart his career with a reality show and an awkward moment between a mom and a daughter.

  • Prologue: When Jordan was going into his senior year of high school in small town Utah, he and his buddies all lived together in a house, daring each other into Jackass-style pranks and stunts. There’s one particular thing Jordan did that he did not want to talk to Ira about. (10 minutes)
  • Act One: Harmon Leon is a writer and comedian whose cocktail party story about “the-weirdest-gig-I-ever-did” is more weird—by a lot—than anyone else’s we’ve heard. He answered an ad several years ago that called for a hilarious sidekick to a celebrity on a hidden camera show. (30 minutes)
  • Act Two: One of the show’s producers, Zoe Chace, tells Ira about a joke she made pretty soon after
    something terrible had happened.

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org