Reader · no content
No body text on file.
Open the original to read the full piece.
676: Here’s Looking at You, Kid
Brief
The episode, "Here’s Looking at You, Kid," bundles two linked stories about how adults shape a child’s sense of self. In act one Ira Glass interviews comedian Gary Gulman about being remade — superficially — by two charismatic assistant coaches nicknamed the Jetsyns in Peabody, Massachusetts. Gulman recounts a transformative summer training regimen (daily 7:30–9:30 workouts, heavy breakfasts) that bulked him from about 200 lbs to roughly 240–260 lbs, produced measurable gains (225 lb bench, a "48.40" time) and a burst of early success that earned a Salem Evening News write‑up and college recruiting attention (including an offer from Boston College assistant Jack Bicknell). But the physical "costume" didn’t change who he was inside: repeated concussions (“bizzes”), anxiety, and depression followed. A therapist urged him to quit football; he kept the scholarship, left the team, and redirected his identity toward comedy, while candidly describing lingering adult comforts like his childhood blankie.
Act two, reported by Eleanor Gordon‑Smith, examines a very different and darker consequence of adult authority: the contested memory of Nicole Kleumper. As a child she was interviewed on videotape by Dr. Dave Corwin in the context of a custody battle; those tapes show a six‑year‑old naming burns and sexual touching by her mother. At 17 Corwin replayed the tapes to Nicole and she regained a vivid memory, which Corwin published anonymously as the "Jane Doe" case. Elizabeth Loftus, a leading skeptic of recovered memory claims, independently investigated, identified Nicole, and published doubts in an article headlined "Who Abused Jane Doe?" Nicole sued Loftus but lost on First Amendment grounds after a five‑year fight and was saddled with nearly $250,000 in legal fees, financial ruin, and a long‑term identity crisis. The two acts contrast supportive adults who help forge (or misforge) identity and investigative adults who can unsettle a person's most fundamental memories — leaving Gary to find a new life in comedy and Nicole to live with unresolved uncertainty while building a career as a psychologist and pilot. The episode probes where authority, evidence, and compassion collide and how grownups' claims about a child's truth can both enable and devastate.
Why it matters
Gary Gulman (speaking to Ira Glass) described being recruited in late 1980s Peabody, MA by twin assistant coaches the 'Jetsyns' who trained him every morning (7:30–9:30) that summer; by season he weighed ~240 lbs, could bench 225, and "ran a 48.40," which led to local press calling him "Mr. Raw Potential."
Key details
- Gulman told Ira Glass he suffered repeated head hits called "bizzes" (concussions), developed severe anxiety and depression in college (including suicidal thoughts), and ultimately quit football after a therapist advised it while keeping his scholarship—then began writing jokes.
- Gulman also revealed personal details on the show: at 48 he still keeps his childhood "blankie" (carries it on planes) and has an HBO special due, Gary Gulman: The Great Depresh (announced by Ira Glass).
- Reporter Eleanor Gordon‑Smith recounts that Dr. Dave Corwin recorded interviews of six‑year‑old Nicole Kleumper in the 1980s in a custody case; those tapes contain a young Nicole alleging burns and sexual touching by her mother, and at 17 Corwin showed Nicole the tapes, after which she recalled similar abuse.
- Corwin published Nicole's anonymized case study ("Jane Doe") that became evidence for proponents of repressed memory; psychologist Elizabeth Loftus investigated, identified Nicole, and published an article titled "Who Abused Jane Doe?" arguing the abuse might not have occurred.
- Nicole Kleumper told Gordon‑Smith she sued Loftus for defamation and invasion of privacy; the lawsuit lasted about five years, she lost on First Amendment grounds in California, and was ordered to pay nearly $250,000 in legal fees, which led to garnished wages, leaving the Navy, lost houses, car repossession, and bankruptcy.