Stories about people who are not afraid of fire, though perhaps they should be.
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Act One
Firestarter
Why one teenager set fires and then stopped setting them. Paul Tough interview. (7 minutes)
Act Two
Centralia
An inextinguishable subterranean fire on the edge of a small Pennsylvania town, and why the residents are not afraid of it. Host Ira Glass and This American Life contributor Alix Spiegel. (15 minutes)
Act Three
Fearless
Producer Nancy Updike with Ki Kim, who's not afraid of walking on coals. But maybe he should have been. (8 minutes)
Act Four
Act Five
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Act Five: What Peacetime Forgets About Wartime
A few years back, a writer named Lee Sandlin wrote a story for the weekly paper The Chicago Reader about what makes wartime different—how a country's perceptions and logic during war are fundamentally different than during peace.
Act Three: Who Would Win In A Fight Between A Polar Bear And An Insurance Company?
Or maybe the insurance companies are to blame? Producer Sarah Koenig reports.
Act Three: Yes, In My Backyard
The story of the government cracking down on smokestack emissions at a city factory...even though the residents LIKE the emissions.
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