Podcast · 63 episodes
This American Life
by This American Life · English
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.
Latest episodes
898: An ArgumentThe episode revisits Nicole Hannah-Jones’s 10-year-old New York Times Magazine argument that middle-class parents should stop “gaming” school segregation, and follows how her own daughter Nadja’s…26 Sep 2026 · 1 h 3 min
897: Intergenerational Space TravelEpisode 897: Intergenerational Space Travel is a three-part “This American Life” program about crossing gaps between generations—online, at home, and in everyday routines.21 Sep 2026 · 1 h 8 min
646: The Secret of My DeathThree linked stories about death and what evidence or testimony reveals afterward: (1) a sister’s attempt to reconstruct her sibling’s overdose and assign responsibility; (2) a comedian’s “own…14 Sep 2026 · 1 h 7 min
All episodes
898: An ArgumentThe episode revisits Nicole Hannah-Jones’s 10-year-old New York Times Magazine argument that middle-class parents should stop “gaming” school segregation, and follows how her own daughter Nadja’s…26 Sep 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 19 chapters
897: Intergenerational Space TravelEpisode 897: Intergenerational Space Travel is a three-part “This American Life” program about crossing gaps between generations—online, at home, and in everyday routines.21 Sep 2026 · 1 h 8 min · 26 chapters
646: The Secret of My DeathThree linked stories about death and what evidence or testimony reveals afterward: (1) a sister’s attempt to reconstruct her sibling’s overdose and assign responsibility; (2) a comedian’s “own…14 Sep 2026 · 1 h 7 min · 18 chapters
449: Middle SchoolThis episode explores what middle school feels like physically and socially, using stories from kids, teachers, and reporters across the U.S.7 Sep 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 29 chapters
896: I Know What You NeedA waitress in Memphis gets paid twice after two women walk out on her check, then later confronts them in a gift shop; the episode also contrasts that “knowing what someone needs” with fiction about…31 Aug 2026 · 1 h 8 min · 18 chapters
206: Somewhere in the Arabian SeaLife aboard the USS John C. Stennis (Arabian Sea) during early Afghanistan operations after 9/11—especially the contrast between combat and the daily, often tedious work that keeps 5,000+ people…24 Aug 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 22 chapters
895: Label Maker!The power and consequences of labels—romantic labels, immigration “temporary” labels, medical/diagnostic labels, and how descriptions shape what we think we know about people.17 Aug 2026 · 1 h · 21 chapters
443: Amusement ParkA day at Worlds of Fun amusement park in Kansas City, Missouri, focused on how games staff create excitement, run competitions, and keep morale high; plus listener stories about carnies and rides,…10 Aug 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 31 chapters
894: I Couldn't Help but Notice“I couldn’t help but notice” links three examples of how institutions and governments shape everyday life—military exercises without notice in Pasadena, rural hospital closures forcing emergency care…2 Aug 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 16 chapters
893: TestosteroneThe episode examines how testosterone may shape personality, desire, and behavior, using four “acts” and a workplace experiment rerun after a news story about the U.S.26 Jul 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 23 chapters
892: Trapped on a BusThree “trapped” journeys—(1) passengers on a New York–to–Washington bus discover the driver is refusing to go to Union Station and instead drives erratically past DC; (2) a bipolar reporter describes…19 Jul 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 16 chapters
891: The Test CaseA first-of-its-kind Texas trial stemming from a July 4th, 2023 ICE detention-center protest in Prairie Land Detention Center, near Alvarado, Texas, where masked protesters set off fireworks, tried to…12 Jul 2026 · 1 h 12 min · 28 chapters
890: Maximal Americanness“Maximal Americanness” (This American Life’s 250th-birthday episode) uses American sports, public behavior, TV, education, and music to show how “being American” often means arguing, bending rules,…5 Jul 2026 · 56 min · 11 chapters
128: Four CornersThis American Life episode “Four Corners” (rerun from 1999) uses four street-corner stories to portray different aspects of American life: history, love, neighbors, and becoming American.28 Jun 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 18 chapters
889: There’s Something About Hail MaryThis American Life episode “889: There’s Something About Hail Mary” follows Aura, a young woman whose symptoms began in college: blurry vision, heart palpitations, severe fatigue and brain fog,…21 Jun 2026 · 1 h 6 min · 23 chapters
354: Mistakes Were MadeEpisode 354 (“Mistakes Were Made”) argues that apologies often function as moral theater—especially in politics—when the speaker doesn’t actually feel remorse.14 Jun 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 32 chapters
888: Not Today, Hades!Two-part “myths in real life” episode. Act 1 (“Icarus”): Pablo Manriquez, a Washington, D.C. reporter-turned-aspiring oil painter, tries to become immortal in the U.S.7 Jun 2026 · 59 min · 17 chapters
137: The Book That Changed Your LifeHow books change lives in four different ways: a playwright’s life shaped by a grandfather’s annotated memoir; a family’s moral/sexual worldview warped by a filthy novel; a construction worker…31 May 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 22 chapters
676: Here’s Looking at You, KidTwo stories about adults shaping kids’ identities—Gary Goldman’s “goal man” football transformation and Nicole Klumper’s foster-care past, where videotaped childhood interviews later fuel the “Memory…24 May 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 31 chapters
887: Two Is One, One Is None!A family story about how trans Navy officer Garrett and her wife Chrissy used spreadsheets and contingency planning to survive uncertainty after President Trump’s executive order banning trans people…17 May 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 21 chapters
318: With Great Power“With Great Power” explores how ordinary people experience superhero-level responsibility—either by acting (or failing to act) when a stranger’s fate is at stake, or by restraining themselves when…10 May 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 16 chapters
886: Blackout“Blackout” follows Iranian life during the February U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran and the Iranian government’s Internet blackout, using voice memos smuggled out despite surveillance, arrests, and…3 May 2026 · 54 min · 24 chapters
466: BlackjackCard counting and gambling odds, plus two follow-on stories: a Christian blackjack card-counting team and a lawsuit by a compulsive gambler against casinos.26 Apr 2026 · 1 h 5 min · 26 chapters
393: InfidelityInfidelity and how it reshapes narratives—how newspapers frame cheating as “fate,” how affairs start and unfold, how cheaters justify themselves, and how the cheated-on respond afterward.19 Apr 2026 · 1 h · 11 chapters