People living in that in-between moment before everything changes. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Kirk Johnson tells Ira about a strange choice he made during his family’s evacuation from the Sunset Fire in Los Angeles. (5 minutes)Act One: Editor Nancy Updike tries to make sense of this current moment by talking to a master of dark comedy, Armando Ianucci. (19 minutes)Act Two: As President Trump prepares to return to the Oval Office, producer Valerie Kipnis talks to Ukrainian soldiers on the front line who wonder about what his administration could mean for them. (14 minutes)Act Three: Editor Susan Burton reflects on the ramp-up to an era that comes for so many of us. (9 minutes)Act Four: In the wake of the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, producer Miki Meek talks to a woman on a very particular mission. (6 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.
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When Kirk and his wife MJ evacuated their house in LA on the second day of the fires, they could see the flames up the hill from their backyard. They packed the car full, got their seven and eight year old kids inside with a family cat, hit the road. And Kirk started recording.
Okay, now I know it's scary.
Did this happen when mommy or daddy was little?
He records his kids a lot and just had a feeling like this is an important moment.
Can we just turn on to like a song by the Beatles? Sure. Not rock band, okay? Sure. Not like we're the kings. I don't really want to listen to rock.
Okay, but let me, can I just say something?
I don't really want to listen to rock music when Kirk is Kirk Johnson.
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