Stories about the intersection of Christmas and retail, originally broadcast in 1996 when our show was only one year old. Including David Sedaris's story "Santaland Diaries," which first aired on NPR's Morning Edition in a much shorter version.
Chris Ware
Santaland Diaries
Writer David Sedaris's true account of two Christmas seasons he spent working as an elf at Macy's department store in New York. When a shorter version of this story first aired on NPR's Morning Edition, it generated more tape requests than any story in the show's history to that point. David's most recent book is "Calypso." (30 minutes)
Christmas Freud
David Rakoff tells about his experience playing Sigmund Freud in the window of upscale Barney's department store in Manhattan. For Christmas. This was the first of dozens of appearances on our show by David Rakoff, who died in 2012. His last book was "Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish: A Novel." In 2012 we aired a tribute episode titled "Our Friend David." (15 minutes)
Song:
Act Four
Tapes recorded in a Chicago home Christmas morning, more than 50 years ago. (3 minutes)
Related
Act Three: Shopping for a Better Future
Act Two: In A World Full Of Soybeans, The Men Turn To Love
Act One: Pilgrim's Progress
Staff Recommendations
Harper High School - Part One
We spent five months at a high school in Chicago where in the last year 29 current and recent students were shot.
Harper High School - Part Two
Part two of our program on Harper High School in Chicago, where in the last year 29 current and recent students were shot.