This American Life

464: Invisible Made Visible

Mar 23, 2025

Ryan Knighton, a blind author, shares humorous stories about his experiences navigating blindness and connecting with his daughter. Comedian Tig Notaro recounts her hilarious and unexpected encounters with pop star Taylor Dayne, adding a surprise twist. David Rakoff reflects on the invisible bodily processes he faced during cancer treatment, presenting a poignant view of health struggles. Lastly, David Sedaris offers witty observations about his coffee-buying experience, revealing the humor in everyday life.

01:00:03

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Quick takeaways

Ryan Knighton's story underscores the unpredictable challenges of blindness, illustrating his struggle to navigate familiar environments through touch.

David Rakoff's narrative poignantly explores the themes of aging and vulnerability, reflecting on the emotional impacts of physical limitations and resilience.

Deep dives

Navigating Blindness in a Hotel Room

A man recounts his experience of trying to find a phone in a Chicago hotel room after going blind. The urgency of the situation is illustrated when he explores his surroundings by touch, attempting to locate the phone on nightstands and tables, yet fails to find it despite thoroughly searching. In a surprising twist, he awakens to the sound of a ringing phone the next morning, discovering it on the very coffee table he had previously searched. This incident highlights the unpredictable nature of his blindness and how it shapes his understanding of spatial relationships, as he grapples with the disorientation of moving through unfamiliar environments.

Intro

2min

Navigating the Unseen: A Blind Experience

5min

Voicing the Invisible

4min

Parenting Through Misunderstandings

21min

Unseen Wonders: Stories of Visibility and Healing

2min

Dreams of Movement and Memory

22min

Celebrating Creativity and Upcoming Insights

5min

The radio version of an episode we did live on stage and beamed to movie theaters. David Sedaris, Tig Notaro, Ryan Knighton, and the late David Rakoff in his final performance on the show. The other half of this two-hour show was visual, including dancers, animation, and more. You can watch it on YouTube.

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Ira interviews Ryan Knighton, a blind guy who had a very peculiar experience with a hotel room telephone. (7 minutes)
Act One: Ryan Knighton tells a story about trying to get his daughter to understand his blindness. (7 minutes)
Act Two: Famous people are supposed to be somewhere else, invisible to us. Comedian Tig Notaro tells this story about repeatedly running into Taylor Dayne, who was a pop star in the late 80s and early 90s. At the end of the story, we have a little surprise for Tig. (16 minutes)
Act Three: David Rakoff tells this story, about the invisible processes that can happen inside our bodies and the visible effects they eventually have. (15 minutes)
Act Four: Ira Glass's sister once met David Sedaris, and commented that he was much nicer than she thought he would be, given his writing. David replied, "I'm not nice, just two-faced." In this story, David shares the thoughts running through his head as he attempts to buy a cup of coffee. (8 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

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