This American Life

This American Life
  • 4.2 (136)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
This American Life
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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.

  1. Nancy's Deep Cuts (Part Two)

    2 DAYS AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Nancy's Deep Cuts (Part Two)

    Nancy Updike and Ira Glass head back into the studio, where they listen to two more very personal stories — one by Ira, and one by Nancy about Ira. Thank you for supporting the show as our Life Partner!

    50 min
  2. Hoaxing Yourself

    4 DAYS AGO

    Hoaxing Yourself

    People who tell a lie and then believe the lie more than anyone else.  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)

    59 min
  3. This Is the Case of Henry Dee

    20 OCT

    This Is the Case of Henry Dee

    Thirteen parole board members decide whether or not one man should be released from prison. 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)

    59 min
  4. A Big Announcement

    16 OCT

    A Big Announcement

    Ira Glass has news to share about some things happening here at This American Life.

    5 min
  5. Ira Glass on Wild Card

    15 OCT • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Ira Glass on Wild Card

    EXCLUSIVE EARLY RELEASE FOR LIFE PARTNERS. Our second bonus episode! There’ll be more every couple weeks! NPR’s Wild Card uses a breezy game show format as cover for host Rachel Martin to ask super-personal questions. Rachel and Ira recorded this episode live onstage in Washington DC. NPR was nice enough to let us release this early to our Life Partners before it's released publicly.

    35 min
  6. Nancy's Deep Cuts (Part One)

    14 OCT • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Nancy's Deep Cuts (Part One)

    Our first bonus episode! There’ll be more every couple weeks! Longtime producer Nancy Updike sits down with Ira to listen to one of the most personal stories Ira has ever made for the show. This is the first in a series of bonus episodes featuring deep cuts, staff favorites, and candid conversations about the stories and how they were made. Thanks so much for supporting the show as our Life Partner.

    26 min
  7. A Little Bit of Power

    13 OCT

    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. 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)

    56 min
  8. 51 Days

    6 OCT

    51 Days

    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. 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)

    59 min
See All (435)

Hosts & Guests

4.2
out of 5
136 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    This American Life
  • Years Active
    2006 - 2024
  • Episodes
    435
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 1995-2024 This American Life
  • Show Website
    This American Life
  • Provider
    AMERICAN WHATEVER LLC

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