Somewhere on the road to adulthood I lost interest in TV and Radio.  When I was a kid I  was one of those six to eight hour a day media addicts.  Followed a bunch of shows, had a few favorite rock and roll radio stations.  Over time, the lack of quality in programming,  and increasing responsibilities caused my listening and viewing to dwindle to almost nothing.

Several years ago I stumbled on to ‘This American Life‘ with Ira Glass while listening to a National Public Radio station in the LA area.  This show is some of the best storytelling and reporting available anywhere.  The stories run from heartwrenching, to so funny you’ll laugh till you cry, or deeply and truly frightening.

I recently tweeted about last week’s show that did a segment on bait and switch evangelism.

Here is another one of my favorites. Act one is about an Iranian family that emigrates to the US, then the parents divorce; what happens next is truly unexpected.  Act two concerns a family that has their prized bull cloned by Texas A&M University after it dies. ( These two stories are true, by the way.)

They also have done some of the best financial reporting on the present economic crisis.  Start here:  http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1242

The show is an untapped goldmine of sermon illustrations, and has provided hours of thought provoking entertainment.  Do yourself a favor and listen in.

By Pat K