245: Allure of the Mean Friend

This episode of "This American Life" explores the theme of "mean friends" through four distinct acts. It begins with an investigation into the allure of mean, popular girls in junior high, featuring interviews with those affected and the "mean girls" themselves, now adults. The second act involves a social experiment examining whether niceness pays off for waitresses, using hidden microphones to record interactions and tips. The third act presents a satirical short story illustrating the subtle ways friends can undermine each other. Finally, the show concludes with a reading from Bernard Cooper's work about a man who receives a bill from his father for the total cost of his childhood, highlighting the complexities and potential for cruelty within family relationships.