I would just like say to you with all my heart is that most everybody I know who does interesting creative work, they went through a phase of years where they had really good taste and they could tell what they were making wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be.
Ira GlassI think good radio often uses the techniques of fiction: characters, scenes, a big urgent emotional question. And as in the best fiction, tone counts for a lot.
Ira GlassIt is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.
Ira GlassIt's not a terribly original thing to say, but I love Raymond Carver. For one thing, he's fun to read out loud.
Ira GlassI remember clearly that when I was little it was explained to me [that] the way that babies were made was that God put the baby into some lady's stomach, right? And, at some point, I learned how it really happened, and really that was the beginning of the end of my belief in God. Up until that point, it had always been a really weird act of intervention on God's part.
Ira Glass