This American Life: Ira Glass’ Sex Tape

No, this isn’t a new version of the bit that ran a decade ago. But what’s old hat for some may be new to others, and this is also a case where revisiting the audio sketch remains a hilarious affair. Written by Julian Joslin (who also produced) and Michael Grinspan, “The Ira Glass Sex Tape” isn’t a simple one-note joke or oddly perverse fantasy, but a brilliantly lived in piece of comedy that betrays a real fandom (even if unintentional).

The premise is simple: Ira Glass, host and owner and much more of the massive public radio/podcast juggernaut This American Life embarks on creating his own sex tape. Like many a TAL episode before it, there’s a mission statement combined with moments of levity and poignancy as the hosts seek to get answers and accomplish the task they have set before themselves. In this case, it’s Ira Glass recording himself fucking someone else on camera.

Originally released in October 2011, what belies the fact that Joslin and Grinspan is the specificity of the Glass impersonation and the formatting of the fake episode. The cadences, mannerisms, and idiosyncratic vocal inflections of Glass are perfectly encapsulated, along with the background music choices, the way interviews are interwoven, common phrases used in the long-running show, and more. When Terry Gross gets pulled into the whole mishugas, it goes off the rails in the best of ways (it appears that the bulk of Gross’ dialogue comes from her infamous interview with Gene Simmons).

So while it’s been almost a decade with this delightful slice of hilarity, it’s fun to revisit and enjoy the bizarre comedy that is “The Ira Glass Sex Tape.”

"Well, from WBEZ Chicago, it's This American Life, I'm Ira Glass. Each week, of course, we pick a theme and bring you a variety of stories on that theme. This week's theme...my sex tape." --Ira Glass, Host