This American Life

This American Life

Each week we choose a theme. Then anything can happen. This American Life is true stories that unfold like little movies for radio. Personal stories with funny moments, big feelings, and surprising plot twists. Newsy stories that try to capture what it’s like to be alive right now. It’s the most popular weekly podcast in the world, and winner of the first ever Pulitzer Prize for a radio show or podcast. Hosted by Ira Glass and produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago. read less

Our Editor's Take

The world is a complex place full of personal and powerful stories. All it takes is a little effort and curiosity to reveal their potent magic. This American Life is a radio show and podcast that excels at that—discovering and telling compelling, captivating stories.

With a storied history beginning in 1995, This American Life is a legendary public radio show. It's journalistic in nature but so much more in practice. It's storytelling with a flair for the funny, the fascinating, and the meaningful.

Full of gripping drama, larger-than-life people, and compelling concepts, this podcast is striking. Its 2.3 million downloads per episode are a testament to its provoking production and wide-reaching appeal. With an enormous collection of episodes in the books, there's no shortage of content to enjoy.

With Ira Glass as longtime host, This American Life is entertaining yet philosophical. It tells intimate true stories while asking timeless and pertinent questions. The profound impact of the program is evident. It has won prestigious awards, including the first Pulitzer Prize for a podcast or radio program.

This show remains cutting-edge and fresh despite its impressive longevity. Perhaps it is the unique approach to storytelling that maintains the appeal. It is unafraid to try new things and push the limits of what a show can be, both in content and form.

This American Life has spawned a myriad of related shows, TV included. Whether a diehard lover of podcasts or a newcomer to the format, every listener should have this show on their radar. With a reputation for excellence and standard-setting history, this is podcast gold.

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845: A Small Thing That Gives Me a Tiny Shred of Hope

845: A Small Thing That Gives Me a Tiny Shred of Hope

A wee flame, flickering in the dark. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Who’s trying to bridge the gap between Blue America and Red America? Ira gets a glimpse of one guy who might be able to do just that. (3 minutes)Act One: A politically divided couple searches for a news source they both can trust. (26 minutes)Act Two: "June" is making a tactical decision about her vote this election. (13 minutes)Act Three: Frank Filocomo thinks people care too much about politics when it comes to dating. His dates don’t necessarily agree. (10 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Episodes

845: A Small Thing That Gives Me a Tiny Shred of Hope

845: A Small Thing That Gives Me a Tiny Shred of Hope

A wee flame, flickering in the dark. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Who’s trying to bridge the gap between Blue America and Red America? Ira gets a glimpse of one guy who might be able to do just that. (3 minutes)Act One: A politically divided couple searches for a news source they both can trust. (26 minutes)Act Two: "June" is making a tactical decision about her vote this election. (13 minutes)Act Three: Frank Filocomo thinks people care too much about politics when it comes to dating. His dates don’t necessarily agree. (10 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.

660: Hoaxing Yourself

660: Hoaxing Yourself

People who tell a lie and then believe the lie more than anyone else. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Sean Cole explains why he decided that he would speak with a British accent—morning, noon and night—from the age of fourteen until he was sixteen, and how he believed the lie that he was British must be true. (3 minutes)Act One: The story of two young people who, in their search to figure out who they were, pretended to be people they weren't. Both were from small towns; both took on false identities. For two years in high school, producer Sean Cole spoke with a British accent. As a freshman in college, Joel Lovell told lies about his own diet and about his parents. (15 minutes)Act Two: The story of a con man, one of the most successful salesmen in a long-running multimillion-dollar telemarketing scam, who finally got caught when he was conned himself. Producer Nancy Updike talks about the case with Dale Sekovich, Federal Trade Commission investigator. (16 minutes)Act Three: Shalom Auslander reads his true story, "The Blessing Bee." It's about the time when, as a third-grader at an Orthodox Jewish school, Shalom saw his chance to both make his mom proud, and push his drunken father out of the picture. Part of his scheme involved winning the school's bee on the complicated Hebrew blessings you say before eating certain foods. The other part of the scheme: Sinning. (19 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.

844: This Is the Case of Henry Dee

844: This Is the Case of Henry Dee

Thirteen parole board members decide whether or not one man should be released from prison. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Henry Dee has been locked up for most of his life, nearly 50 years. Now, he’s up for parole. Reporter Ben Austen tells the story. (19 minutes)Part 1: The parole board members puzzle through the pros and cons of releasing Henry Dee from prison and cast their votes. (26 minutes)Part 2: Reporter Ben Austen continues the story. (8 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.

A Big Announcement

A Big Announcement

Ira Glass has news to share about some things happening here at This American Life. To sign up as a Life Partner, visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners.

843: A Little Bit of Power

843: A Little Bit of Power

So much of the fight for the presidency is coming down to battles for small slices of voters who can help throw swing states to one candidate or another. Abbas Alawieh, a leader in the Uncommitted movement, grapples with how to get his voters the thing they want. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: When you have some power, but not a lot, how do you wield it when you’re suddenly cast into the spotlight? (4 minutes)Act One: Zoe Chace and Ben Terris follow Abbas Alawieh as he fights to broker a deal at the DNC – a way to potentially satisfy the people who voted “Uncommitted” in the primaries as a protest vote against Biden’s handling of the war in Israel and Gaza. (33 minutes)Act Two: Three weeks after the Democratic National Convention, Abbas speaks at a tense community meeting in Michigan about the Uncommitted organizers’ general election recommendation and hears back from voters on how they feel about the Democratic nominee at this point. (15 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Chen Almog-Goldstein was kidnapped by Hamas along with her three youngest children on October 7, 2023. This week, she tells the story of their life as hostages in Gaza. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: The 251 hostages taken by Hamas a year ago have become a divisive symbol in Israel. Host Ira Glass talks about the father of one hostage, and what happened to him at a protest last week when he called for a hostage deal. (6 minutes)Part One: On this week’s show, we’re airing excerpts of interviews with former hostages produced by an Israeli podcast, Echad Bayom. In these interviews they describe, in a remarkably detailed and complicated way, what happened to them a year ago. Part Two: Chen’s story continues, with a description of what it was like to be hidden in a small apartment with her children and their captors. (6 minutes)Part Three: Chen talks about the complicated relationship between her family and the people holding them hostage. (6 minutes)Part Four: Chen describes hearing the Israeli news while in captivity, including one night when her own father was interviewed. (4 minutes)Part Five: Chen talks about what it was like to walk around the streets of Gaza in disguise and their eventual release, 51 days after they were taken from their home. (13 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.

841: My Senior Year

841: My Senior Year

One kid comes to America as an exchange student and commits herself to the senior year experience. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: We talk to high school seniors in Salt Lake City who are trying to have the perfect year. (5 minutes)Act One: Every year, thousands of teenagers come from all over the world to experience American high school. Last year, thirteen students from Palestine came to the US on a program sponsored by the US State Department. We tell the story of a girl named Majd, from Gaza, and her extraordinary year in America. (50 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.

840: How Are You Not Seeing This?

840: How Are You Not Seeing This?

People trying and struggling to see what another person sees. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Guest-host Tobin Low talks to comedian Tig Notaro about a jarring ride to school with her son. (6 minutes)Act One: Producer Aviva DeKornfeld heads to the Calgary Stampede to watch as men try out a machine designed to simulate menstrual cramps. (15 minutes)Act Two: A man can’t seem to see anyone in his life for who they really are, plunging his life into chaos. (18 minutes)Act Three: Senior Editor David Kestenbaum hears about a way to save some money and help save the world. All he needs is a little help. (5 minutes)Act Four: Marie Phillips reads a short story involving an aloof friend, a goose, and some extreme gardening. (7 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.

839: Meet Me at the Fair

839: Meet Me at the Fair

Iowa has three million people and a million come to their State Fair, each with their own goals and dreams for the fair. We hang out with some of them, to see if they get what they hoped for. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: A big bull, a giant slide, and cowboys on horseback shooting balloons are just a few sights you can take in at the Iowa State Fair. Some people come for the spectacle, and some are the spectacle. (8 minutes)Act One: Bailey Leavitt comes from a family of carnies. For her, one of the most thrilling things she looks for at the fair is someone who is really good at luring people into spending money at their stand. She takes Ira on an insider’s search for “an agent.” (16 minutes)Act 2: Motley Crue pledged never to play the fairgrounds. Then they did. We wondered what that had been like for them. They agreed to an interview, but then they flinched. (1 minute)Act Two: What life lessons can kids learn at the 4-H rabbit competition? A lot. (11 minutes)Act Three: The Iowa State Fair awarded coveted slots to just nine new food vendors this year. All of them are run by people who already own restaurants or who’ve done other big fairs. All except for an unlikely newcomer: Biscuit Bar. (19 minutes)Act Four: As the ferris wheel goes dark and the fair is closing down, one game is racing to meet their quota. Ira watches until the end.Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.

838: Letters! Actual Letters!

838: Letters! Actual Letters!

When the best—and perhaps only—way to say something is to write it down. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Ira goes out with a letter carrier, ‘Grace,’ as she delivers mail on her route. He learns about the people who bring us our mail and also how people treat their mail. (11 minutes)Act One: Writing a letter decades after an event that shaped her life was the only way that Nicole Piasecki could make some sense of it. (18 minutes)Act Two: Yorkshire, 1866. A farmer overcomes his timidity and writes a very important letter to a local beauty. (3 minutes)Act Three: When senior editor David Kestenbaum was still a rookie reporter, he wrote an email to a legend. Then he waited...and waited...for a reply. (6 minutes)Act Four: A woman writes an unusual letter on behalf of her husband. (1 minute)Act Five: Producer Zoe Chace compares the letters a person gets and the letters they wish they got. (12 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.

837: Swim Towards the Shark

837: Swim Towards the Shark

In a crisis, when all logic suggests that you get away from the dangerous thing, how will you respond? Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Ira talks to two members of a recreational swimming club who intentionally swam straight toward a shark that had just bitten their friend. (10 minutes)Act One: Sarah Polley has always been reluctant to jump into challenging situations. Then something happened that changed all of that – something that also made her think her teeth were going to fall out. (21 minutes)Act Two: Comedian Josh Johnson tells the story of a “trad wife” who stepped into an incendiary situation. And even as the flames consumed her, she kept stepping. (7 minutes)Act Three: This summer, thousands of young people have taken to the streets in Nairobi to protest the Kenyan government. But behind those protestors are thousands of worried parents. Reporter Kimu Elolia talks to a woman whose son keeps lying to her. (19 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.