# 883: Call Your Parents

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-american-life-7814501/883-call-your-parents
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-american-life-7814501/883-call-your-parents.md
Podcast: [This American Life](https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-american-life-7814501)
Published: 2026-03-22T22:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/883-call-your-parents--71324478
Audio file: https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71324478/default.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/this-american-life-7814501/episodes/883-call-your-parents
Duration seconds: 3508

## Resource

In the early days of the radio show, Ira did a series of interviews with his parents that completely changed his relationship with them. This week, he returns to those interviews. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Ira talks about why four conversations reveal how his relationship with his parents changed. (4 minutes) Act One: Ira’s mom, Shirley, is invited to lead a discussion about how to get along with your adult children. Her adult children question her expertise. (9 minutes) Act Two: Ira asks his parents for advice on how he should build the radio show. His parents don’t hold back. (9 minutes) Act Three: Ira talks with his dad, Barry, about Barry’s own brief and doomed career in radio. (21 minutes) Act Four: An interview with Ira’s mom that, to this day, makes Ira’s skin crawl. (13 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices. 🎬 SEE THE STORY UNFOLD: Want to see the original photos, documents, and the faces behind this week's acts? 👇 View the visual archive for this episode here: https://goo.su/XwNQm (Updated for each story)

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## Transcript

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