A quick warning, there are curse words that are unbeeped in today's episode of the show.
If you prefer a beeped version, you can find that at our website, thisamericanlife. org.
From WBEZ Chicago, it's This American Life from Ira Glass, and I am joined in the studio by M. Gessen.
Hello.
Hi, Eric.
So nice to have you back here.
It's always lovely to be here.
And the story that you're about to tell today is one that you've been telling for years?
Yeah.
First, it was just, you know, there was something weird going on in my family,
but also insane ways that my family talks about these crazy events.
And is this story a story that when you would tell it to friends and loved ones, was it a funny story?
I hesitate to say that it was a funny story, but yes, yes, it was a funny story.
And, I mean, maybe that's also just the only way that we can deal with things that are unbelievable.
It wasn't until I started reporting it that I realized how horrible the story actually was.
And when you started to report it, this was years ago.
Originally, this was going to be a story for This American Life.
And then at some point, it just got too big.
It was like, we cannot contain this in one episode of our show.
And you turned it into this podcast with Serial.