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.
Episodes
Stories of people who try simple mind games on others, and then find themselves way in over their heads.
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- Prologue: Host Ira Glass interviews Lori Gottlieb about the time she sent a letter to a writer in a magazine, a letter packed with white lies. (5 minutes)
- Act One: Lori Gottlieb's story continues. One complication led to another, and before long,...
A group of immigration judges, who almost never speak to the press, describes the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside.
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- Prologue: Zoe Chace gives an eyewitness account of what has been happening at 26 Federal Plaza, an immigration courthouse in New York City. (5 minutes)
- Act One: The judges walk us through how different their ...
Things are different on college campuses this year. We see inside the drama, with students and staff.
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- Prologue: We go to orientation at Arizona State University and meet international students who are trying to make friends. (6 minutes)
- Act One: The president of the Black Student Union at the University of Utah fights to keep the B in BSU. (30 minut...
Small human plans that run into much larger obstacles.
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- Prologue: Angela's dad, an accountant, made a spreadsheet to prepare for their family trip to a national park. But there are things you never think to put in a spreadsheet. (7 minutes)
- Act One: A young couple, excited to start a new chapter in their lives, is suddenly put on a very different tra...
Since October 7th, while the world has focused its attention on Gaza, the Israeli government has tightened the screws on the three million Palestinians in the West Bank in all sorts of dramatic ways. We travel to the West Bank to see these changes in person.
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- Prologue: Ira joins Hamed on his Monday commute. He has to navigate a constantly changing s...
The story of the most commonly performed surgery, and what goes wrong with it – terribly wrong – 100,000 times a year in the United States. We’re excited to bring you the first episode of The Retrievals, Season 2, the new show from longtime This American Life producer and editor Susan Burton. It’s from Serial Productions and The New York Times.
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- Pro...
Ira Glass talks with longtime producer Nancy Updike about the most personal stories they have put on the radio. This is a sample of the bonus episodes we regularly release to our This American Life Partners.
To gain access to all the bonus episodes AND help us keep making This American Life, join at thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners.
People on a mission to achieve their goals before their window of opportunity closes.
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- Prologue: Guest host Emmanuel Dzotsi goes to a packed sports bar in Brooklyn for his favorite soccer team’s biggest game in years. (6 minutes)
- Act One: Connie Wang tells the story of a championship window she didn't realize she was in — until it was too late. (14 m...
On his first day in office, President Trump decided to freeze all U.S. foreign aid. Soon after, his administration effectively dissolved USAID—the federal agency that delivers billions in food, medicine, and other aid worldwide. Many of its programs have been canceled. Now, as USAID officially winds down, we try to assess its impact. What was good? What was not so good? We meet people around the world wrestling with these questions...
Conversations across a divide: People who are outside a war zone check in with family, friends, and strangers inside.
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- Prologue: The Hammash family’s group chat unfolds over texts, starting before the war. (8 minutes)
- Act One: When Yousef Hammash left Gaza a year ago, his sisters decided to stay behind. We hear about the toll that separation has take...
A show about people who are suddenly confronted with who they are.
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- Prologue: Guest host Aviva DeKornfeld tells Ira Glass about breaking into a community pool as a kid, and the split-second decision that has haunted her ever since. (4 minutes)
- Act One: Some people are great in a crisis. Others, not so much. Does that mean anything about who we reall...
Ira Glass has news to share about some things happening here at This American Life.
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