145: Poultry Slam 1999
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In Danielle's house, ever since she was a girl, when holiday dinners come, they serve this meal that might look familiar to you. The main chorus on a big platter, drumsticks, white breast meat, stuffing and gravy, cranberry relish on the side. And in Danielle's family, they have a name for this meal. As she told me on the phone, the name for this meal is... - Fish. - Got that? - Fish. (upbeat music) Well, from W.B.E. Z. Chicago and Public Radio International. It's American Life. A special program today on the wonders of... Fish. (upbeat music) Actually, we can say the word here. And the word is poultry. And as you know, each week in our program, we choose some theme by the variety of writers and performers to tackle that theme. And this week, as we stand now in that magical five weeks of the year, that magical five weeks between the turkey served at Thanksgiving, the turkey served at Christmas, a period when Americans consume nearly a fourth of all the turkey consumed in this country every year. 67 million turkeys are eaten during this period. And every year during this important time, this American Life brings you yet another program about poultry. That's right, stories about turkeys, chicken stucks, far of all kind, and their mysterious hold over us. (upbeat music) Am I a glass coming up in this hour? At one, ducky, the story of a typical American family, imaginary poultry, and a hand puppet, that too, still life with chicken. What happens when a chicken crosses that thin yellow line, that divides the animals that we eat on the one hand, and the animals that we keep as pets on the other. Back three, how to do the funky chicken. The true story of a multinational chicken company, powerful enough to turn a white man into a black man, and the man they chose to do this too. Well, an old time Kentucky colonel who happened to be their own spokesman, back four, chicken diva, yet another testimony to the power that chickens have over our hearts and minds, my friend,
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