Host Ira Glass with Rory Evans, who describes the day her father fired his own mother from their family business, a machine shop called Evans Industries. Some estimates say that 40 to 60 percent of our nation's gross domestic product is created by family businesses, but talking to anyone who works for one of these companies, you end up wondering ... how? (5 minutes)

Act One. What's a Grecian Urn?

David Rakoff takes us inside the world of a Greek family-owned ice cream parlour, and what he learned about the husband and wife and son who owned it ... and what he didn't figure out until later. (12 minutes)


Song: " Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)," Jay-Z


Act Two. Silent Partner.

Sean Cole visits Chad's Trading Post in Southampton, Massachussetts. One person who works there wears a shirt that says "Chad's Brother;" other shirts say "Chad's Best Friend," "Chad's Cousin," "Chad's Father." Pictures of Chad are everywhere. Chad's dead. The family explains. (14 minutes)


Song: " Without You," Motley Crue


Act Three. Family Photo Opp.

Dave Eggers on what happens when politics suddenly becomes your family business. When his brother ran for office, he asked for Dave's help and support. But his brother's political views were in contrast to Dave's own. He explains what he did. (12 minutes)

Act Four. Every Unhappy Family Cleaning Supplies Business Is Unhappy In Its Own Way.

Hillary Frank explains how an invitation to a business meeting, sent through the mail in 1963, kept two sides of a family from speaking to each other for most of the second half of the 20th Century. (10 minutes)

Read the full text of Before and After Science, from David Rakoff. Because of time constraints, we had to trim some great funny writing out of the first half of this story in Act One.

Song: " Two Story House," George Jones and Tammy Wynette