Lost in America

Stories of people who are lost, histories that are lost, and things that are lost. This show was recorded onstage in front of audiences on a five-city tour in May 2003. The cities: Boston, Washington DC, Portland Oregon, Denver and Chicago. Featuring house band OK Go. Prologue: Host Ira Glass tells the story of Chris Sewell, who was living on the street and yet somehow managed to find $610,940 of lost money that belonged to the city of New York, hidden away on the Internet. (7 minutes) Losing It: If you're going to do a show about people who are lost, you pretty much have to include a story about adolescents. Jonathan Goldstein tells a story from his teenage years. He was trying to lose something -- namely his virginity -- which turned out to be harder than he expected. Jonathan is the host of the podcast “Heavyweight.” (12 minutes) Teacher Hit Me With A Ruler: Sarah Vowell tells the lost story behind a patriotic song, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." An early version of the song celebrated an American terrorist. She's accompanied by Jon Langford and the band. Sarah is the author of "Lafayette in the Somewhat United States" and other books. (16 minutes) I Found Your Letter: Davy Rothbart reads from letters, notes, scraps of paper and school papers, which have been lost by their original owners. He collects and publishes things like this in his magazine, Found Magazine. (13 minutes)