This American Life: Stories Of Hope & Fear on Shout! Factory

This American Life: Stories Of Hope & Fear

Two-Disc Compilation Boasts Stories by David Sedaris (Me Talk Pretty One Day) & John Hodgman (The Daily Show)

Contains Music by Thurston Moore, Blonde Redhead, Tortoise, RZA, Philip Glass, Calexico, Morcheeba, Mogwai and More

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Each week, some 1.7 million listeners tune-in to This American Life, an insightful, innovative radio program that broadcasts touching true-life stories that unfold like audio movies to listeners on over 500 public radio stations nationally. This fall, listeners can own a selection of the greatest stories from the show on a two-CD compilation, This American Life: Stories Of Hope & Fear, available November 7th from Shout! Factory. Host Ira Glass and the staff of This American Life selected some of their favorite segments from the Peabody Award-winning series, organized along the title theme which, Glass admits, “Not only summarizes the theme of nearly every story on our program, but all human drama and literature besides." Featuring segments by bestselling writer and humorist David Sedaris (Naked), Comedy Central's “Daily Show" correspondent John Hodgman, and many others, this eclectic anthology addresses topics ranging from gender reassignment to karaoke comedy, with over two hours of alternately hilarious and heart-breaking spoken performances set against the music of Thurston Moore, Blonde Redhead, RZA, Calexico, Philip Glass, Morcheeba, Mogwai, Tortoise, Carly Simon and others. The third installment in the This American Life CD series, the two-disc This American Life: Stories Of Hope & Fear set, includes 11 complete stories from the Chicago Public Radio series, with an album insert featuring original artwork by Divya Srinivasan (Sufjan Stevens' Illinois) and liner notes by Ira Glass, for the suggested list price of $19.98.

*Peabody Award for Excellence in TV/Radio, 1996

This American Life is produced by Ira Glass and Diane Cook of Chicago Public Radio and distributed by Public Radio International. To find out where to hear This American Life in your town, visit www.thisamericanlife.org. In January of 2007, This American Life will premiere a new weekly television program on the Showtime network. Additionally, the Warner Brothers feature film adaptation of the show's story, “Unaccompanied Minors," is slated for release in December.

Also available: Crimebusters + Crossed Wires--Stories From This American Life (Shout! Factory, 2003)

DISC ONE: HOPES

1. “If I Can Make It There" / An interview with Jorge Just

“IN PARTICULAR" performed by Blonde Redhead
“THE RULES OF PERSONAL SPACE" and “BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE" performed by Bobby Johnston
“HOST" performed by Bootcut
“BATHTUB" performed by Galt MacDermot

2. “Is This Thing On?" / By Jonathan Goldstein & Starlee Klein

“BLUES FOR BILLIE BASIE" performed by Ben Webster
“BLUES FOR PINEY BROWN" performed by Ben Webster

3. “Thinking Inside The Box" / By David Wilcox

“SKRAG THEME" performed by Aerial M
“ITSY BITSY SPIDER" performed by Carly Simon
“DID THIS REALLY HAPPEN?" performed by Gustavo Santaolalla

4. “Infinite Gent" / Alex Blumberg interviews Griffin Hansbury

“MAYBELLE" performed by Ida

5. “Miami Vices" / By Sacha Rothchild

6. “The Babysitters" / An interview with Myron Jones & Carol Bove

“JERRY'S THEME" performed by Evan Lurie
“DEFECT 2: CURIOSIDADE (TORTOISE REMIX)" performed by Tom Z
“DEEP SH**T PT. 1 & PT. 2" performed by Kruder & Dorfmeister
“DANCE V" performed by Philip Glass
“UNTITLED (TRACK 15)" performed by Portastatic
“MAYBELLE" performed by Ida
“KISSING ON THE BRIDGE" performed by Thurston Moore
“GOOD EVENING MR. PECKINPAH" performed by Rick Rizzo/Tara Key

DISC TWO: FEARS

1. “Fears Of Your Life" / By Michael Bernard Loggins, Read by Tom Wright

“FLYING BIRDS" performed by The RZA
“ARRRIVING AT KENNY'S" performed by John Lurie
“XMAS STEPS" performed by Mogwai

2. “On Hold No One Can Hear You Scream" / An interview with Julie Snyder

“MANY HATS," “THE RULES OF PERSONAL SPACE," “LULLABY LOST" performed by Bobby Johnston
“THE LONELY SHEPHERD" performed by Zamfir
“I'M NOT HUNGRY BUT I LIKE TO EAT-BLUES" performed by Erwin Helfer
“THE SAD CHICKEN" performed by Leroy & The Drivers
“PRINCESS GIKA" performed by Galt MacDermot

3. “Anti-Oedipus" / By Nancy Updike

4. “So a Chipmunk and a Squirrel Walk Into a Bar" / By David Sedaris

“SPRAWL" performed by Calexico
“BATHTUB" performed by Galt MacDermot
“SEUM MA." performed by Black Cat Orchestra
“WHEN I FALL IN LOVE" performed by Ben Webster

5. “Slingshot" / By John Hodgeman

“CIRCUS IN OUTER SPACE" performed by Caleb Sampson
“WHIPPING THE HORSE'S EYES" performed by Calexico
“BIG CALM" performed by Morcheeba
“HP TOYS" performed by Mayfair Recordings

Shout! Factory is a diversified entertainment company devoted to producing, uncovering and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their careers sharing their music, television and film faves with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory's DVD offerings serve up classic, contemporary and cult TV series, riveting sports programs, live music, animation and documentaries in lavish packages crammed with extras. The company's audio catalogue boasts GRAMMY-nominated boxed sets, new releases from storied artists, lovingly assembled album reissues and indispensable “best of" compilations. These riches are the result of a creative acquisitions mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Santa Monica, Calif. Its fine products are distributed by Sony BMG Music Entertainment Inc.