Sewers of Paris: Excited and Scared (Ep 417 - Ari Shapiro/Stephen Sondheim) (Patreon)

If you happen to be in Toronto this weekend, you may want to find your way down to Massey Hall on Saturday night for a one-night-only performance called Och and Oy!, starring actor Alan Cumming and NPR correspondent Ari Shapiro. Their collaborative show is a mix of cabaret and storytelling, and to mark its debut, I’m diving into the Sewers archives to revisit my 2018 conversation with Ari Shapiro, who was then as now one of the hosts of NPR’s flagship show All Things Considered.

As a journalist, Ari primarily tells other people's stories, but his own story is considerably is more winding than you might expect -- behind his calm voice is a man who spent time as an undocumented immigrant, who carried mace for protection in high school, and who might never have found his place on the radio if a gay icon hadn't intervened on his behalf.