Sacred journalism : displaying public memory in This American Life

Abstract

This dissertation examines the radio show This American Life as an example of contemporary public memory. While public memory scholars have begun to explore the role of public participation in the construction of memory of traumatic events like "9/11," not enough attention is given to the everydayness of memories. The popularity of This American Life indicates an increasing public fascination with creating archives of experience that pay tribute to real people "just like me." In order to illuminate how the show works both as an archive and an experience, this study engages in a multifaceted analysis of the show's production and reception. I consider the interaction among producers, contributors, and listeners to explain the show's distinctive "sound," its power to move listeners emotionally, and its capacity to hail into existence a community of memory.