Fine Print 2011

Stories where the fine print changes everything, whether you read it or not. Prologue: Host Ira Glass talks about the infamous line in the band Van Halen's contract insisting that the groups' dressing room include a bowl of M&Ms with all the brown M&Ms removed. Ira used to think this request was just petulant rock-star behavior. Then he talked to John Flansburgh, from the band They Might Be Giants, and John explained why the M&M clause was actually an ingenious business strategy. (6 minutes) ONE PILL TWO PILL, RED PILL BLUE PILL: Planet Money's Chana Joffe-Walt explains why prescription drug coupons could actually be increasing how much we pay, and prevent us from even telling how much drugs cost. (16 minutes) Occupancy May Be Revoked Without Notice: David Rakoff tells the story of a contract between a son and his visiting mother. David Rakoff is the author of several books including Half Empty. (5 minutes) Side Effects May Include...: In Tehran in 2004, Omid Memarian confessed to doing things he'd never done, meeting people he'd never met, following plots he'd never heard of. Why he did that, and why a lot of other people have confessed to the same things, is all in the fine print. This American Life producer Nancy Updike tells the story. (22 minutes) May Be Hazardous To Children: Susan Burton rereads her parents' divorce papers—the fine print that changed her life forever. (7 minutes)