Million Bubbles

Imagine that you could somehow look down from above, onto all the streets and avenues and country roads and highways of this nation...each car below its own tiny subculture on wheels...glass and steel worlds rolling down the street alongside each other. We hear what's going on inside some of these cars. Prologue: Host Ira Glass explains the premise of the show, and we hear what's actually going on inside five of these cars. (7 minutes) The Number 66 Bus: Linnel Peterson drives the Number 66 bus in Chicago, on Chicago Avenue. She grew up just blocks from the route, still lives near the route, and says it's strange whenever she drives her car on Chicago Avenue these days. She sees people waiting for the bus and momentarily heads over to pick them up. (5 minutes) Emerald Green Peugeot: Nick Hornby, author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, explains the travails of driving his autistic son to the park. (6 minutes) Leased Volvo Sedan: Jay Allison and his 12-year-old daughter discuss what radio station to listen to. She wants music. He wants...public radio. She sighs in exasperation. And then—on public radio—comes a defense of everything she holds dear. Sort of. This story is one of Jay Allison's Life Stories series, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (9 minutes) Three More Bubbles: An '88 Grand Marquis that Senator Conrad Burns inherited from his mother; a New York taxicab whose driver, Jeff Perkins, tape-records his passengers to help pass the time; a 1980s-era BMW 5 series in which film producer Rob Levine had his first job as driver and assistant to movie producer Edgar Sherrick. (5 minutes) 1991 Silver Toyota Camry: Ernest Castle and his best friend Clarence tool around the neighborhood where they grew up—the Chicago suburb of Hazelcrest—drinking and running into friends on a Sunday morning. (9 minutes) Bubble Five: David Sedaris, author of Me Talk Pretty One Day, explains how the most important moments of your life can happen in a car...and you can miss them. (4 minutes) Yellow AAA Pickup Truck: Kelly Keggers demonstrates how there are angels on the road in San Francisco. (8 minutes)