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.
For Easter weekend — and the end of Passover! — stories of people struggling to follow the Ten Commandments. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Host Ira Glass reads from the Ten Commandments. Not the original Ten Commandments, but some of the newer, lesser-known ones. There's the Miner's Ten Commandments of 1853, the Ten Commandments of Umpiring, and the Ten Commandments for Math Teachers — just to name a few. (4 minutes) Commandments One, Two and Th...
A couple devises a strategy to get their daughter's killer prosecuted and to get attention for other Native families. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Mika Westwolf was killed in a hit-and-run on a Montana highway. Her parents thought the driver might get away with it. The driver was white. Mika was a citizen of the Blackfeet Nation. (1 minute) Act One: Mika’s parents, Carissa Heavy Runner and Kevin Howard, share recordings of their inter...
People tossing words out into the world impulsively to ignite and burn over decades. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Host Ira Glass plays a strange voicemail left by a 96-year-old surgeon about a letter that was written five decades ago. (6 minutes) Act One: Producer Lilly Sullivan reports out that voicemail. (13 minutes) Act Two: On his deathbed, a wealthy man in Toronto decides to make some trouble. Hundreds of babies are involved. Ste...
Artifacts and exhibits of this particular moment we are living through. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Exhibit One: Ira talks to producer Emmanuel Dzotsi, who brings the first exhibit into the studio with him: a chunk of concrete with some yellow paint on it. He got it from the demolition site in Washington, DC, where the giant Black Lives Matter letters are being dug out of the street with heavy equipment. (8 minutes) Exhibit Two: Producer Aviva...
This episode of This American Life explores the theme of invisibility, both literal and figurative, through a series of stories. Ryan Knighton recounts humorous and disorienting experiences with blindness. Tig Notaro shares her repeated encounters with pop star Taylor Dane. David Rakoff reflects on physical limitations and the desire for change, while David Sedaris delves into the unspoken thoughts and judgments we harbor in everyday interactions.
Sometimes, life’s biggest mysteries require one very specific person to answer them. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: 7-year-old Miles has lots of questions. More specifically, he has questions about the famous car chase from “The Blues Brothers” movie. We arrange for him to talk to stunt coordinator Gary Powell so he can get the answers he so desperately wants. (9 minutes) Act One: Producer Aviva DeKornfeld looks into why comedian Daniel...
This episode explores the origin stories of institutions, ideas, and personal identities. It delves into the myths of entrepreneurial beginnings, a copywriter's fight for recognition, a restaurant as a memorial, the transformation of a film script, and a refugee boy's search for identity. The stories reveal the complexities of creation, legacy, and belonging.
Unnecessary and outrageous lies that make you wonder — why lie about that in the first place? Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Kasey, a woman who prides herself on her truthfulness, tries to help host Ira Glass figure out how to stop lying about one specific thing. (10 minutes) Act One: Producer Dana Chivvis talks to reporter Liz Flock about a strange experience she had in 2011. (21 minutes) Act Two: Host Ira Glass talks with M. Gessen ab...
Zach Mack and his dad try to mend a rift between them in a very unusual way. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Ira Glass introduces Zach Mack’s story. (1 minute) Part One: Zach and his father enter into an agreement that could change their entire relationship. (9 minutes) Part Two: Zach’s mother and sister weigh in on the agreement. (28 minutes) Part Three: With the year coming to an end, someone is going to have to say, “You were right, a...
People stuck in a loop, trying to find their way out. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Host Ira Glass talks to B.A. Parker about her birthday tradition. (6 minutes) Act One: Producer Aviva DeKornfeld speaks with a father and daughter who have been playing the same game for 25 years. (9 minutes) Act Two: Talia Augustidis asks a single question over and over. (5 minutes) Act Three: Editor David Kestenbaum speaks with Jeff Permar, who is tra...
People living in that in-between moment before everything changes. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Kirk Johnson tells Ira about a strange choice he made during his family’s evacuation from the Sunset Fire in Los Angeles. (5 minutes) Act One: Editor Nancy Updike tries to make sense of this current moment by talking to a master of dark comedy, Armando Ianucci. (19 minutes) Act Two: As President Trump prepares to return to the Oval Office, ...
In the new year, stories of people trying a radical approach to solving their problems. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Ira meets two sisters who got into a fight, and then learned a lesson in turning the other cheek. (8 minutes) Act One: A hardened PI works the toughest case of his very young life. (18 minutes) Act Two: Producer Aviva DeKornfeld talks to a man who finds himself the target of vengeful crows. (8 minutes) Act Three: Comedi...
The tiny thing that unravels your world. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Ira talks to Chris Benderev, whose high school years were completely upended by an impromptu thing his teacher said. (8 minutes) Act One: For Producer Lilly Sullivan, there’s one story about her parents that defines how she sees them, their family, and their history. She finds out it might be wrong. (27 minutes) Act Two: For years, Mike Comite has replayed in his he...
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