This American Life

This American Life · thisamericanlife.org

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.

15 episodes

13d ago latest

monthly cadence

English language

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Episodes 15

206: Somewhere in the Arabian Sea
6d ago · 1:01:19
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been in the news thanks to an extra-long deployment that's taken a toll on its crew. What's life on an aircraft carrier at war really like? Back in 2002, we spent a few days on the USS John C. Stennis, which was sending bombing missions into Afghanistan. (00:00:00) Prologue: Alex Blumberg talks with sailor Crevon Scott, who stocks vending machines on the Stennis. (00:04:52) Act One: Aboard the USS Stennis, Ira Glass and Wendy Dorr talk with sailors about life on board. Off duty, people play video games, work out, or practice in one of the ship's man
895: Label Maker!
13d ago · 59:36
Labels are powerful. They can distill you down to a single word. They can get stuck on you without your permission. And sometimes, when they get taken away, they can upend your entire life. On this episode: labels and the havoc they wreak. (00:00:00) Prologue: Sara and Ethan have been dating for 10 months. They see each other at least once a week, text pretty much every day, and have been there for each other through hard times. But they refuse to have the “what are we?” conversation. So what gives? Guest host Tobin Low looks into it. (5 minutes) (00:05:14) Act One: Last week, when Temporary P
443: Amusement Park
20d ago · 1:02:16
We head to some of the happiest places on earth: amusement parks! Ira Glass takes us behind the scenes at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, where the young staff – coached by a funny, fun-loving boss just a little older than they are – truly seem to love their jobs. (00:00:00) Prologue: Host Ira Glass walks through a Kansas City, Missouri amusement park called Worlds of Fun with Cole Lindbergh, who had a season pass to the park as a little kid, started working there in the summers at 14, and then stayed on. Now he's a full-time, year-round employee who runs the games department. He may do this job
894: I Couldn't Help but Notice
27d ago · 1:00:55
People dealing with new, glaring, massive changes happening right where they live. (00:00:00) Prologue: Rick Cole, a city councilmember in Pasadena, CA, talks to Ira about how he responded to a surprise nighttime military exercise in his neighborhood this June – complete with helicopters, gunfire, and flash bangs. (5 minutes) (00:05:30) Act One: A doctor trained as a midwife tells the eye-popping story of how she and others came together to save a baby during a birth that suddenly went wrong, in a part of rural Maine where the local labor and delivery unit had closed less than a month before.
893: Testosterone
1mo ago · 1:01:32
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered everyone over 30 in the military to have their testosterone tested. That inspired us to rerun this classic episode where everyone at This American Life tested their testosterone and compared results. It did not lead to workplace harmony. (00:00:00) Prologue: Host Ira Glass talks with producer Alex Blumberg, who explains that he wanted to do this show because of his conflicted relationship with his own testosterone. He tells Ira that the reasons go back to a girl in his 8th-grade homeroom. We also hear from a man who stopped producing testosterone due
892: Trapped on a Bus
1mo ago · 1:02:44
People on journeys they did not intend — or agree to. (00:00:00) Prologue: A woman on a nighttime bus ride wakes up to discover the bus driver is taking the passengers somewhere none of them want to go. (8 minutes) (00:08:11) Act One: Ayman Oghanna was reporting in Syria when he got a surprising call from home: one of his neighbors had been arrested for spying. (13 minutes) (00:21:18) Act Two: Eileen Sosin Martínez describes life in Havana right now, where blackouts have become so constant that it’s nearly impossible to make ice and garbage trucks don’t collect the trash regularly. (11 minutes
891: The Test Case
1mo ago · 1:11:25
Some people in this country think Antifa is a dangerous domestic terror organization. Some think that’s a complete myth. This week, we go to the federal trial where, for the first time, the government sets out to prove that Antifa is real. Zoe Chace reports. (00:00:00) Prologue: Host Ira Glass tells the story of what happened at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. The government claims this was an attack by an Antifa cell. The defense says it was a protest gone awry. This argument goes to court in a first-of-its-kind trial. (7 minutes) (00:07:00) Act One: Reporter Zoe Chace wa
890: Maximal Americanness
1mo ago · 56:03
On this country's 250th birthday, we bring you stories about the most American people, places, objects, and social norms that make this country what it is. (00:00:00) Prologue: Ira talks to Pablo Torre about Major League Baseball’s new challenge system, and how it’s been optimized for maximum drama. (10 minutes) (00:11:10) Act One: Writer Jiayang Fan wrestles with a very common question she has never quite understood. (5 minutes) (00:17:15) Act Two: People come from all over the country to walk down one of Michigan’s tallest sand dunes, and then promptly turn around and trudge back up. Aviva D
889: There’s Something About Hail Mary
2mo ago · 1:06:18
We spend an hour in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, behind and desperate, with people trying any damn thing they can think of. (00:00:00) Prologue: Five years after Ora first started experiencing mysterious and debilitating health problems, she decides to try a treatment that she knows very well might kill her. Host Ira Glass talks to her about the experience. (9 minutes) (00:10:50) Act One: Two lawyers have just three months to stop their client's execution. In Texas, where this story takes place, these kinds of appeals to get people off death row fail 94% of the time. (38 minutes
888: Not Today, Hades!
2mo ago · 58:13
Regular people trapped inside Greek myths. (00:00:00) Prologue: When a mysterious, ripped-open package arrives on Pablo's doorstep, he takes it as a sign. (4 minutes) (00:04:47) Act One: Pablo flies closer to the sun. (14 minutes) (00:18:29) Act Two: In Greek mythology, a three-headed dog named Cerberus guards the gates to Hades, making sure only those who are actually dead get in. This story is about a real person who had that job in America — a 25-year veteran of the Social Security Administration who was asked, in a secret meeting with DOGE, to declare 6,000 living people dead. He said no.
Ira (Reluctantly) Gives a Graduation Speech
4mo ago · 8:24
Ira always hated commencement speeches. Then he felt like he had to give this one.
New Lore Drop
7mo ago · 58:16
People discovering information about their own lives that they did not know and suddenly everything looks very different.
An Update from Ira
10mo ago · 5:18
Ira Glass shares some news about This American Life
Bonus: Nancy's Deep Cuts
1y ago · 26:44
Ira Glass talks with Nancy Updike about the most personal stories they have put on the radio.
A Big Announcement
1y ago · 4:56
Ira Glass has news to share about some things happening here at This American Life.

Episodes

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More Society shows

This American Life

Episodes 15

206: Somewhere in the Arabian Sea

895: Label Maker!

443: Amusement Park

894: I Couldn't Help but Notice

893: Testosterone

892: Trapped on a Bus

891: The Test Case

890: Maximal Americanness

889: There’s Something About Hail Mary

888: Not Today, Hades!

Ira (Reluctantly) Gives a Graduation Speech

New Lore Drop

An Update from Ira

Bonus: Nancy's Deep Cuts

A Big Announcement

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Episodes 15

206: Somewhere in the Arabian Sea

895: Label Maker!

443: Amusement Park

894: I Couldn't Help but Notice

893: Testosterone

892: Trapped on a Bus

891: The Test Case

890: Maximal Americanness

889: There’s Something About Hail Mary

888: Not Today, Hades!

Ira (Reluctantly) Gives a Graduation Speech

New Lore Drop

An Update from Ira

Bonus: Nancy's Deep Cuts

A Big Announcement