We head to some of the happiest places on earth: amusement parks! Ira Glass takes us behind the scenes at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, where the young staff – coached by a funny, fun-loving boss just a little older than they are – truly seem to love their jobs.
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Prologue
Host Ira Glass walks through a Kansas City Missouri amusement park called Worlds of Fun
with Cole Lindbergh, who had a season pass to the park as a little kid,
starting working there summers at 14, and then just stayed. Now he's a
full-time, year-round employee, running the games department. It's possible
he does this job better than anyone in the country. It's rare to witness
someone so happily great at his job. (9 minutes)
Act One
Gameboy Grows Up
Ira continues with Cole Lindbergh and the hundred teenagers who work for him
in the games department at Worlds of Fun. We watch them compete against
each other to see who can do the most business, in Cole's Sweet Sixteen
bracket tournament, which pits all 32 games in the park against each other.
We hear about all the things Cole does that other games managers don't. He
invents games. He directs music videos starring his team. (23 minutes)
Cole's Worlds of Fun videos mentioned in Act One:
- Play My Games Music Video
- I'm in a Game Music Video (The sequel: note how it starts where Play My Games ends)
- Training Video
- Sci Fi Special Effects Film (Yes, there's a two minute credit sequence/prologue before the action starts)
- Others!
Act Two
Great Adventures
We asked for your stories about amusement parks. Three hundred of you
called in, with stories of fear, floating carnies and, um, vomit. (9
minutes)
Act Three
What I Didn't Do on My Summer Vacation
Jonathan Goldstein returns to Wildwood, New Jersey, where he spent one not-fateful summer when he was sixteen. Jonathan's the host of the podcast Heavyweight. (13 minutes)
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