Alex Blumberg is a former producer for This American Life and Planet Money. Last year he founded Gimlet Media, a podcast network, and hosts its first show, StartUp.

“When someone starts talking about something difficult, when they get unexpectedly emotional, your normal human reaction is to sort of comfort and steer away. To say, ‘Oh I’m sorry, let’s move on.’ What you need to do, if you want good tape, is to say, ‘Talk more about how you’re feeling right now.’ It feels like a horrible question to ask. It feels like you're going against your every instinct as a decent human being to go toward the pain that this person is experiencing.”

Thanks to TinyLetter, Lynda and Alarm Grid for sponsoring this week's episode.



Show Notes:


@abexlumberg
gimletmedia.com
Blumberg’s archive on This American Life
[2:00] Longform on Reply All #7: This Website Is For Sale
[2:00] Longform Podcast #23: Starlee Kine
[4:00] "Company Eight" (Matthew Pearl • The Atavist • Jan 2015)
[20:00] "91: 33 Million Dollar Box" (This American Life • Jan 1998)
[20:00] "115: First DayFirst Day" (This American Life • Nov 1998)
[27:00] "236: Stock Making Sense" (This American Life • Apr 2003)
[30:00] "355: The Giant Pool of Money" (This American Life • May 2008)
[34:00] "365: The Day The Market Died" (This American Life • Oct 2008)
[36:00] StartUp