This is an excellent episode of This American Life.
"Act One" is extraordinary, the sort of story that middle-class, church-going gringos can't even imagine.
Just listen to the first couple minutes and the rest will kidnap your ears.
No wonder this autobiographical story is a finalist for The National Book Award.
***
"Act Four" is a remarkable case study of American conservative politics - set in Oklahoma, perhaps the most conservative state in the "Union."
The first 3 minutes of background is worth the price of admission.
477: Getting Away With It
OCT 19, 2012
Why risk breaking the rules? Because you might get away with it. This week, we hear from people who get away with sneaking new laws on the books, others who break the law, and still others who just go off the grid of normally-accepted human behavior. To misbehave and not get caught: that is the mission.
- A boy rides shotgun in a memorable car ride with his mother, and in the process learns how his father earns money for their family. This story appears in Domingo Martinez’s memoir, The Boy Kings of Texas, which is a finalist for the National Book Award. (17 min)
- Producer Alex Blumberg tells the story of how Oklahoma, against huge odds, came to have the first and best publicly-funded pre-school system in the country, and how one businessman joined the fight because a cardboard box full of evidence convinced him that pre-school was the smartest business decision the state could make. (21 minutes)
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