We talked to Julian Joslin this morning, co-writer and producer of the pitch-perfect "This American Life" parody that's doing internet rounds. "The Ira Glass Sex Tape" is one of those forehead-slapping thought experiments that answers a question way overdue: with celebrity sex tapes such a fact of modern life, would any actually surprise us at this point?
Apparently, yes! Joslin told us once he and his roommate realized nebbish NPR host (and hipster icon) Ira Glass was the only celebrity they'd be shocked to see in a grainy hotel room, they also knew "a profound life lesson" would be involved. The result is a barbed love letter to public radio's self-seriousness, with a familiar cast of characters that includes Alex Bloomberg, Jonathan Goldstein and Terry Gross, who's kind of the co-star.
To conjure the supporting characters, Joslin trolled NPR footage, splicing Gross from nine "Fresh Air" episodes including interviews with Jay-Z, Gene Simmons, Woody Allen, a dominatrix of unknown provenance and Keith Richards. Goldstein's and Bloomberg's sound bytes come largely from the "Testosterone" episode of "This American Life." And Glass is the only invented character, voiced by Joslin in a dead-on impersonation that's a sure sign of a "This American Life" fanboy.
So here it is. The only sex tape that might actually shock the nation, because it's fancy enough to have "two acts."
LISTEN: