NPR host creates podcast at PHS

Ira Glass hosts one of the world’s most popular radio podcasts called This American Life. This American Life radio podcast is broadcast all over the United States and is also broadcast internationally on over 500 stations. On January 27 Ira Glass came to Payson High School with one of his producers, Miki Meek, to interview students about the wacky ways they ask each other to dances because, believe it or not, Utah is the only place where kids ask each other to dances in creative ways. This came to Ira Glass’s attention because Meek graduated from PHS and was involved in all the madness and fun that Payson students go through to ask each other to dances.

 Glass flew out from New York to personally interview Payson students on their stories about asking others to dances. Glass collected stories from Payson students in two different ways. First, Glass set up a studio in Mr. Peery’s room and interviewed students Meek had previously talked to who she knew had interesting stories. After these interviews, with the help of students like Ivan Webber, Kylee Wharton, Ezri Staheli, and Max Bennion, Glass walked around the hallways at lunch time and talked to some random students to see if they had any interesting stories about asking to dances.

Not only did Glass get to hear about all the interesting stories from asking to dances, he got to experience what it was like! Glass actually rode along in the car with Webber as he answered his date to the Sweethearts Dance, and experienced a funny story of his own.

Webber was going to answer Makadie Richman to Sweethearts by burying a treasure chest with his answer inside in the snow.  Glass, Wharton, and Staheli were to stay in the car and witness the answer in process. They hooked Webber up with a microphone so he could communicate back to them in the car what he was doing. When Ivan was burying the chest in the snow outside Richman’s house, Kylee accidentally leaned on the horn of the car setting the horn off. As they were waiting outside the house. Richman started to come outside while Webber was still answering. Webber had to then quickly finish answering and sprinted back to the car and they drove away.

Glass plans on talking about Payson High School and wacky stories from the students on his Valentine's Podcast coming out soon. Check out thisamericanlife.org on February 18. The theme is “Things People Do For Love.”