This is on the media, I'm Brooke Gladstone, and for this midweek podcast, we have something kind of exciting to share with you.

It's the first episode of a brand new radio play starring Edi Falco, John Terturo, and Tony Shalup. Playwright, a novelist Richard

Dresser, was inspired by Sinclair Lewis's dystopian novel It Can't Happen Here to write It Happened Here, 2024, a novel, and now a six-part radio play,

which offers a glimpse of what could happen if after the election our democracy continues to crumble.

The story centers around the Weeks family as they brace for the election.

The family of Paul and Ruth are working to defeat the so-called

great leader. Paul's brother Garrett and his family are on the other side. Family

get-togethers are tense and and when the great leader, with a giant boost from the Supreme Court,

shockingly wins the quote, most important election ever, the family's thrown into chaos. It happened here, 2024, describes a country

that still has Netflix and free two-day delivery. The only thing that's lost is

freedom.

Hey there, I'm Louise Weeks,

and I'm talking to you from Ontario Canada in the summer of 2039.

I want to tell you the story of what happened to my family. I made this

documentary so I'd understand how we ended up like this living on a commune

outside the USA. Maybe it can save you from going through what we did. It's worth a try, isn't it?

I was born in a Midwestern college town.

My grandfather's family and his brother Paul's family

would get together every Sunday at my great-grandfather's house.

He was called the general, and he ruled the family

with an iron fist.

Being the youngest has its advantages.

...