Summary
Overview
This is the premiere episode of Metro with Sarah Koenig, a new show about New York City and New Yorkers produced by Serial Productions and The New York Times. The episode introduces the show's mission to explore the human-scale stories behind the superlative-filled reputation of New York City, featuring Christopher Santana, a brass polisher at Grand Central Terminal who worries about his handshake technique, and glimpses of Metro reporters covering diverse stories across the city.
Introduction: The Mission of Metro
Sarah Koenig introduces her new show Metro, explaining how New York City's intimidating reputation built on superlatives gives way to human-scale stories when you talk to actual New Yorkers. The show aims to explore the city through its residents, using the extraordinary diversity and size of New York to tell stories about what Americans are going through. She argues that New York has always been a bellwether for the nation, seeing trends and transformations first before they spread across the country.
- New York is constructed from superlatives - tallest, biggest, best, worst - but New Yorkers' lives and concerns are human-scale
- The show uses the city's size to guarantee every kind of American weirdness, conflict, and concern is represented
- New York historically promised that anyone could belong and succeed, rising from tenement poor to Park Avenue rich in one generation
- The city is at another crossroads, with a socialist mayor elected, murders at historic lows, and affordability as the watchword
" New York is a monster of a city. The tallest, the biggest, the best, the worst, the most, as if it's constructed from superlatives. "
" The sheer size of New York City means that every kind of person is here. Every kind of American weirdness. Every kind of American conflict. "
Christopher Santana: The Brass Polisher with a Handshake Problem
The episode's centerpiece follows Christopher Santana, who polishes brass at Grand Central Terminal using surgical gloves and his bare hands. Despite having strong hands from his work, Chris is deeply insecure about his handshake technique, believing he needs to "get the grip" before the other person in what he sees as a quick-draw contest rather than a gesture of goodwill. His anxiety about his small hands and wrong finger placement becomes an endearing example of the very specific, human-scale worries that occupy New Yorkers even as they maintain one of the city's grandest monuments.
- Chris Santana's job is to polish brass at Grand Central, an unfinishable task because fingerprints immediately ruin his work
- He uses surgical gloves and rubs polish directly with his hand rather than using a rag, giving him strong hands
- Despite strong grip, Chris worries his handshake technique is wrong due to small hands and finger placement
- He developed a broomstick workout to strengthen his wrists for better handshake performance
- Chris views handshakes as competitive encounters where you must 'get the grip' before the other person
" I got really strong hands. But funny enough, my handshake sucks. "
" I think of a handshake as a gesture of goodwill toward my fellow man. Chris thinks of it as a quick-draw contest, mano a mano. "
" Now I can show you, like, hey, I'm the man. I'm going to hire you. I'm boss. "
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