From the ages of 12 to 27, our producer Elna Baker was supposed to confess to male clergy anytime she did anything sexual. It was so routine for her that she barely thought to talk about it.
Shalom Auslander reads his true story, "The Blessing Bee." It's about the time when, as a third-grader at an Orthodox Jewish school, Shalom saw his chance to both make his mom proud, and push his drunken father out of the picture. Part of his scheme involved winning the school's bee on the complicated Hebrew blessings you say before eating certain foods.
Reporter Eric Mennel introduces Host Ira Glass to church planters, a group of evangelical Christians who apply the lessons of Silicon Valley to their goals of building new churches and growing their flock. (9 ½ minutes)