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Among his many talents, Irish writer Frank O’Connor had a particular gift for showing the world through the eyes of young, precocious, often naive protagonists, like Larry Delaney of his 1957 story “The Genius.” Larry wants to be the town’s first proper genius and win the affections of Una Dwyer — first, he just has to find out where babies come from. We revisit this timeless story, originally featured in an early episode of the podcast, along with musings from Jack Handey, poetry by Richard Wilbur, and lots of great music.

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Continuing with the theme of our last episode, we present another one of Flannery O’Connor’s great short stories, “A Late Encounter with the Enemy.” In this 1953 story, elderly former Civil War veteran George Poker Sash attends his 62-year-old granddaughter’s fateful college graduation, and the occasion leads to ruminations on memory, aging, and mortality. Host Joe Weber leads off the show with some of his own musings on the realities of aging, and as always, music guides the way.

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Flannery O’Connor was one of the greatest Southern writers, and one who truly understood the people and nuances of the South. In our second ever episode, we featured one of her classic short stories, “Everything that Rises Must Converge.” Published near the end of her life, it deals with a changing South as seen through the lens of recent college graduate Julian and his old-fashioned mother. This week, we feature the story once again in a return to that early episode.

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This week we revisit another of our very first episodes, featuring a wonderful 1950 short story by Irish writer Frank O’Connor entitled “First Confession.” The story explores a seven-year-old boy’s anxieties over having to give his first ever confession at church. It is a show favorite which sharply exhibits O’Connor’s wit and shows real sympathy for his young protagonist.

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You might just want to listen to this re-release of Podcast #22 if you answer YES to the following questions:

Are you so tired of superheroes that even a hero sandwich gives you pause?

Are you a man who can readily observe unique qualities in your spouse such as the ability to save you from a school of man-eating rainbow trout?

Are you a baby boomer who has experienced the heartache of being unable to find a human being anywhere on a customer hotline?

These, and more, explored in this week’s return to “Anti-Heroes”!

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A toxic mix of Bob Newhart, Mel Brooks, Dr. Fllambeau, and the best Klezmer band that ever was.

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“Paging Mr. Driftwood!” Humor abounds in this episode, brought to you by the likes of Groucho Marx, Bob Newhart, and Flight of the Conchords. A treasure trove of comedy gold all for the low low price of free — there’s no chance you’ll see the bill and say “This is an outrage! If I were you, I wouldn’t pay it…”

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Returning to our very first episode, we feature the short story “The Babes in the Wood” from Irish writer Frank O’Connor, a show favorite whose work often appeared in The New Yorker during his life.

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This week, we revisit a favorite episode from the past — Episode #15: “The Sacred and the Profane”, in which Simon Rich wonders whether making sure that Orel Hershiser won his game prevented God from relieving half a million flood victims in Southeast Asia.

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Geronimo and the longest armed conflict in U.S. History, including the recently ended war in Afghanistan.