AI Summary
5 min readBrandon, a 33-year-old man in a suit and string tie, is about to enter his old high school prom. He is not a student; he is chaperoning with his wife, Megan, who teaches art there. As Megan makes small talk with colleagues, Brandon wanders off and watches the students. His gaze settles on the kids drifting along the margins, the aimless ones. They remind him of himself as a teenager, and of his own prom, an improbable night that has haunted him for fifteen years with a single, unresolved question: why did a popular girl named Allie ask him to go with her?
In high school, Brandon was an easy target. He was heavy, he tried too hard to fit in (once shaving his head in a way a classmate said looked like a hockey stick), and he was a CODA—a child of deaf adults. Raised in a deaf community where volume was not a concern, he would talk to himself in class. By senior year, he had retreated into a hoodie, hoping to go unnoticed. Then, during a free period, Allie—who had long blonde hair, a big smile, and belonged to a completely different social world—began asking him about prom from across the room. She moved closer with each question until she was sitting next to him. "Take me to prom," she said. "Let's go together." Brandon was certain it was a setup for a punchline. But no punchline came.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:11) **Cold Open & Introduction** - Jonathan Goldstein and producer Stevie Lane banter about an egg salad smell and introduce the episode's subject, Brandon, a past guest who has undergone major transformations.
- 2 (03:18) **Brandon's High School Story Begins** - The original episode opens with Brandon, now 33 and married to Megan, chaperoning a high school prom, which triggers memories of his own difficult adolescence.
- 3 (09:42) **The Unexpected Invitation** - During senior year, a popular girl named Allie approaches Brandon in class and insists he take her to prom, leaving him suspicious and confused.
- 4 (12:14) **The Prom Night Experience** - Brandon rents a suit and attends the pre-dance dinner and prom, feeling a huge sense of responsibility to make the night great for Allie.
- 5 (15:57) **The Lingering Question** - After the prom, Brandon and Allie never speak again, leaving him with a decade-and-a-half-long mystery: why did she pick him?
- 6 (20:25) **Tracking Down Allie** - Jonathan and Brandon work together to locate Allie on Facebook, with Brandon operating under the pseudonym "Oak Tree."
- 7 (28:55) **The Video Call with Allie** - On the video call, Allie and Brandon catch up on their lives, and Brandon finally asks the question that has haunted him for 15 years.
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Show Notes
Throughout high school, Brandon was a misfit. Then one day, out of the blue, one of the school’s prettiest, most popular girls asked him to prom. Fifteen years later, Brandon wants to know: why him?
Four years after the release of his episode, we check back in with Brandon to learn what's changed and get an update on his underwear situation.
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This episode was produced by Stevie Lane and Mohini Madgavkar. The senior producer is Kalila Holt. Special thanks to Emily Condon, Alex Blumberg, Sharon Mashihi, Mimi O’Donnell, Jessica Yung, and Jackie Cohen. The show was mixed by Bobby Lord. Music by Christine Fellows, John K Samson, Michael Hearst, the Jacobi Family Band, Podington Bear, and Bobby Lord. Our theme song is by The Weakerthans courtesy of Epitaph Records. Mixing on this update by Sarah Bruguiere, with production by Lisa Wang.
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