4.6 • 8.7K Ratings
🗓️ 30 March 2022
⏱️ 18 minutes
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A new poll this week from AP-NORC found that when asked, close to half of Americans say they are very concerned that Russia would directly target the U.S. with nuclear weapons, and an additional 3 in 10 are somewhat concerned. Given that Vladimir Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert at the start of his invasion of Ukraine, and with the rhetoric heating up as the war continues, it's hardly surprising that people are worried.
All the talk of nukes got us thinking about a segment from a few years back in which Brooke spoke to playwright Anne Washburn, about her work Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play. In it she imagines a world that has been devastated by a nuclear incident and how the remaining civilization would process the destruction over time...by retelling an episode of The Simpsons and about what the episode's evolution over the decades says about society's need for stories and about the role of comedy in the face of tragedy.
Excerpts taken from the 2013 production at Playwrights Horizons, directed by Steve Cosson, and a 2017 production at Amherst Regional High School, directed by Nathan Baron-Silvern. Music by Michael Friedman.
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0:00.0 | Oh, hi, it's me, Katya. |
0:03.0 | I have a favour to ask. Don't hang up. It's not a huge favour, but it's something that I need you to do. |
0:10.0 | The last few years have been rough for so many reasons. |
0:14.0 | And, you know, we've covered it all. |
0:17.0 | And you are loyal listeners have been right by our side. |
0:20.0 | We rely on you, you rely on us, you know how it goes. |
0:23.0 | You always come through for us when we ask you to, except when you don't. |
0:29.0 | But what we've observed, actually, is that when the country is in a like a deep crisis, |
0:34.0 | like really deep, the public radio listener, you guys, you step up, you feel the urgency, you donate. |
0:43.0 | But then when the news temperature drops, even by a few degrees, |
0:47.0 | and it feels less like we're an oppressor piss, you just don't feel as compelled to give. |
0:52.0 | You know, you put the pocketbook away. |
0:55.0 | Or maybe you just feel exhausted by the relentless nature of it all. |
1:00.0 | And you want to check out for a bit. We're all human. I understand the impulse. |
1:04.0 | I really, really do. |
1:08.0 | But here's the deal. If we don't keep this show financially supported, it will go away. |
1:13.0 | It's that simple. |
1:15.0 | I mean, how would you feel if the next time the news cycle spins completely out of control? |
1:20.0 | And you turn to your favorite podcast to help you through it, and we're just not there. |
1:25.0 | Okay? Picture it. |
1:27.0 | It's not like it can't happen. |
1:30.0 | Here's the solution. Become a sustaining member. |
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