June 22, 2001

Kid Logic (2001)

Stories of kids using perfectly logical arguments, and arriving at perfectly wrong conclusions.

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Transcript

We made an updated version of this episode in 2016.

Prologue

Host Ira Glass talks with Rebecca, who, using perfectly valid evidence, arrived at the perfectly incorrect conclusion that her neighbor, Ronnie Loeberfeld, was the tooth fairy. We hear her story. Ira also talks with Dr. Alison Gopnik, co-author of the book, The Scientist in the Crib, about what exactly kid logic is. Alison is also author of The Philosophical Baby.(6 minutes)

By

Ira Glass

Act One

Baby Scientists With Faulty Data

More stories like the one in the prologue, where kids look at something going on around them, observe it carefully, think about it logically, and come to conclusions that are completely incorrect. Includes a story set at Christmastime, where a father tells his daughter about the baby Jesus being born, and all the "good stuff." Then the daughter notices a picture of Jesus on the cross, and asks why they killed him. The child later asks about Martin Luther King, Jr. (11 minutes)

By

Ira Glass

Jonathan Goldstein

Jack Hitt

Act Two

The Game Ain't Over Til The Fatso Man Sings

Howie Chackowicz tried a risky combination when he was little, kid logic with puppy love. He used to think that girls would fall in love with him if they could just see him sleeping, or if they could hear him read aloud. He revisits his biggest childhood crush and finds out that not only did his methods not work, but that no one even noticed them. (11 minutes)

By

Howie Chackowicz

Act Three

Werewolves In Their Youth

Michael Chabon reads an excerpt from his short story Werewolves in Their Youth, from his collection of the same name, about an act of kid logic that succeeds where adult logic fails. His most recent book is Telegraph Avenue.(16 minutes)