Ira Glass' NYC apartment listing as an episode of 'This American Life'
Hi, this is Ira Glass. Today’s topic: My apartment.
With my one-bedroom, 1,020-square-foot Chelsea apartment currently up for sale, we thought it would be a good moment to shut out politics and global events for a second to look inward, to something more intrinsic to our everyday needs as human beings: home.
From WBEZ Chicago, it's This American Life, distributed by Public Radio International.
If you're looking for a place to crash in New York, stay with us.
[MUSIC - "OUR HOUSE" BY MADNESS]
Act One: Come on in
OK, so let's start with a simple question, a question that is so basic and subjective you'll be wondering why we ever asked. What is home?
One's home, or, in this case if you will — apartment — has throughout time and varying cultures been thought of as a sanctuary from a seemingly hostile world.
But in today's digitally focused society, maintaining that sense of security has proved more and more challenging — and that is why I went with the python quartzite countertops, Sub-Zero fridge, and vented Viking convection microwave.
[MUSIC - "COOKIN' (IN THE KITCHEN OF LOVE" BY RINGO STARR]
Act Two: Counter-culture
It's This American Life. I'm Ira Glass. Today's show, my apartment. This is Act Two: Counter-culture.
Think about your kitchen countertops. Are they wood? Steel? Marble? Mine, sitting over ivory-hued cabinets, are python quartzite, a material often quarried in Namibia.
They're tucked away beneath glass herringbone tiles, offset by rustic wide plank Castle Combe oak floors, and it's the kind of detail you might walk right by. But it's the small things, you know? In life, in Blink 182 songs, in my Chelsea kitchen. They count.
[MUSIC - "EVERYTHING COUNTS" BY DEPECHE MODE]
Act Three: Don't Bed on It
It's This American Life. I'm Ira Glass. Each week on our program, we choose the theme and bring you different kinds of stories on that theme. Today's show, my apartment.
We've arrived at the final act: Don't Bed On It.
Beds are a place we rest our heads each night, share intimate moments with loved ones, and dream limitless dreams unbound by the shackles of society — unbound, that is, like the beautiful white stallion framed just above my headboard.
You know, we spend around a third of our lives asleep. So our bedrooms are pretty important sanctuaries. My bedroom, pin drop quiet, with its huge walk-in closet coupled with a pass-through dressing room, is where I'll spend 33 percent of my time.
Well, until you buy my apartment for $1.75 million.
Pets are allowed.
[MUSIC - "HOME" BY EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS]
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
