April 8, 2016

For Your Reconsideration

The older and wiser we get, the more bewildering our past decisions can seem. This week, people revisit those decisions — and we revisit a story we aired a year ago with new, fascinating updates about a groundbreaking study that turned out to be false.

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Transcript

The consequences of the story in Act Three. Credit: Christopher Alesevich

Prologue

A year ago, we did a story about a study that found that a simple 20-minute conversation could change someone’s mind about controversial issues like gay marriage and abortion. But a few weeks after we aired the story, the study was discredited. A couple of researchers decided to redo the experiment the right way, and released their results this week. (3 minutes)

By

Ira Glass

Act One

Knock Knock. Who’s There? The Truth.

The story from the prologue continues, with the researchers re-doing the canvassing experiment. And the results are even more surprising this time around. (27 minutes)

By

Ira Glass

Act Two

Hotline Bleak

Comedian Chris Gethard has a new podcast called Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People, where people can call in to talk to him about anything for an hour. Our editor, Joel Lovell, tells us about his favorite episode thus far — featuring a man who calls in desperately seeking Chris’ guidance. (15 minutes)

By

Chris Gethard

Joel Lovell

Song:

“Start Living” by Farquahr

Act Three

Kids Look Back

Senior Producer Brian Reed tells Ira about a book entitled “Now I Know Better,” where children write cautionary tales recounting horrific accidents they’ve endured. He also interviews one of the book’s contributors about his childhood mishap. (9 1/2 minutes)

By

Brian Reed

Song:

“Someday We’ll Look Back” by Merle Haggard

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