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This American Life from 10/22/1999.| "We've all heard occasional news stories about how some of the drug laws enacted in the last 15 years may have gone too far. First time offenders get locked up for decades. Judges--even Republican appointees--say that mandatory minimum sentences prevent them from making fair rulings. But have sentences really gone too far? This hour examines the areas where a consensus is growing on the problems in federal drug laws, and it explains the areas where drug laws seem to be administered fairly. |
If you've never heard 'This American Life,' by the way, you really should go listen to the archives. Some of my favorites:
Mind Games: Stories of people who try simple mind games on others, and then find themselves way in over their heads. My favorite part - Act Two. The Spy Who Loved Everyone. A group called Improv Everywhere decides that an unknown band, Ghosts of Pasha, playing their first ever tour in New York, ought to think they're a smash hit. So they study the band's music and then crowd the performance, pretending to be hard-core fans. Improv Everywhere just wants to make the band happy – to give them the best day of their lives. But the band doesn't see it that way. Nor does another subject of one of Improv Everywhere's "missions."
Guns: Americans who love their guns. And the Americans who love them. My Favorite Part - Act Three. Bryn Magnus with a quintessential gun story from his childhood in Wisconsin.
Know Your Enemy: Stories about trying to understand who's on your side. My favorite part - Act Two. I Am Curious, Jello. About 20 years ago, a Los Angeles prosecutor named Michael Guarino thought he'd make a name for himself by taking the lead singer of the Dead Kennedys (Jello Biafra) to court for obscenity. He was so sure of success, he didn't even bother to listen to the lyrics. As the trial wore on, Guarino began to think twice about his mission. Reporter David Segal tells the story.
20 Acts in 60 MinutesInstead of the regular "each week we choose a theme, and bring you three or four stories on that theme" business, this week we throw all that away and bring you twenty stories, yes twenty, in sixty minutes. Inspiration for this week's show came from the Neo-Futurists, whose long-running Chicago show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind promises 30 Plays in 60 Minutes every single weekend. Be sure to listen to the clip of the Neo-Futurists starting at about 24:45 into this episode.
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