https://www.thisamericanlife.org Autogenerated feed of the This American Life archive. en Copyright 1995-2016 Ira Glass https://www.thisamericanlife.org/848/the-official-unofficial-record How do you count almost 12 million votes if you’re not the government? 2024-11-15T13:32:32-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/847/the-truly-incredible-story-of-keiko-the-killer-whale A colossal effort to un-tame a whale and send him back to the ocean. 2024-11-08T11:18:15-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/846/this-is-the-cake-we-baked For some people, Donald Trump’s victory is a hopeful thing. For others, the opposite. This week, we talk to people who helped make it happen and some who are looking to what’s next. 2024-10-31T14:09:57-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/845/a-small-thing A wee flame, flickering in the dark. 2024-10-25T10:02:33-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/844/this-is-the-case-of-henry-dee Thirteen parole board members decide whether or not one man should be released from prison. 2024-10-10T12:00:41-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/843/a-little-bit-of-power Abbas Alawieh, a leader in the Uncommitted movement, grapples with how to get his voters the thing they want. 2024-10-04T09:27:10-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/842/51-days Chen Almog-Goldstein tells the story of life as a hostage in Gaza. 2024-09-27T15:49:29-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/841/my-senior-year One kid comes to America as an exchange student and commits herself to the senior year experience. 2024-09-13T11:03:31-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/840/how-are-you-not-seeing-this People trying and struggling to see what another person sees. 2024-09-05T12:29:54-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/839/meet-me-at-the-fair We spend a few days at the Iowa State Fair. 2024-08-22T15:23:09-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/838/letters-actual-letters When the best—and perhaps only—way to say something is to write it down. 2024-08-08T17:41:57-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/837/swim-towards-the-shark In a crisis, when all logic suggests that you get away from the dangerous thing, how will you respond? 2024-07-24T15:40:20-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/836/the-big-rethink People rethinking some of the most important relationships in their lives. 2024-07-12T10:51:18-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/835/children-of-dave Boen Wang goes back to a day that changed the course of his family's story. 2024-06-21T13:51:17-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/834/yousef-and-the-fourth-move In Rafah, Yousef is out of options and faces his toughest move yet. 2024-06-07T09:18:06-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/833/come-retribution Donald Trump has a plan for his second term: retribution. We check in with the people who’ve crossed him to hear how they feel about that. 2024-06-03T15:31:56-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/832/that-other-guy People tethered to one particular other person, whether they want to be or not. 2024-05-24T09:55:14-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/831/lists How they organize the chaos of the world, for good and for bad. 2024-05-17T10:32:15-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/830/the-forever-trial The trial for the men accused of orchestrating the September 11 terrorist attacks still hasn’t started yet. 2024-05-08T14:49:05-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/829/two-ledgers Majid believed that if he could testify in court about what happened to him at a CIA black site, he would be given a break. Was he right? 2024-05-03T11:17:27-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/828/minor-crimes-division People taking it upon themselves to solve the tiny, overlooked crimes of the world. 2024-03-22T07:58:26-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/827/all-the-kings-horses The things we break and the ones we can't fix. 2024-03-15T10:41:33-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/826/unprepared-for-what-has-already-happened People waking up to the fact that the world has suddenly changed. 2024-03-08T12:30:31-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/825/yousef A series of phone calls to a man in Gaza about what he and his family are experiencing. 2024-02-26T09:10:09-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/824/family-meeting Your mother and I have something we want to talk with you about. 2024-02-16T14:51:42-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/823/the-question-trap An investigation of when and why people ask loaded questions that are a proxy for something else. 2024-01-25T14:50:06-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/822/the-words-to-say-it What it means to have words—and to lose them. 2024-01-18T14:21:07-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/821/embrace-the-suck People finding themselves in situations that are worse than they thought and deciding to really go with it. 2024-01-05T15:58:29-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/820/believe-in-me A political party in a major swing state bets on a total outsider. 2023-12-15T15:08:22-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/819/yousefs-week A series of conversations with a man in Gaza over the course of one week. 2023-12-18T10:38:27-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/818/stand-clear-of-the-closing-doors New York City has scrambled to try and provide shelter and services to over 150,000 migrants. We take a look at how that’s going. 2023-12-08T10:28:22-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/817/the-cavalry-is-not-coming When you realize that help is not on the way, what do you do next? 2023-11-22T12:56:23-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/816/poultry-slam Turkeys, chickens, geese, ducks, fowl of all kinds—real and imagined—and their mysterious hold over us. 2023-11-21T10:11:01-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/815/how-i-learned-to-shave Things our dads taught us, whether they intended to or not. 2023-11-10T09:34:55-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/814/parents-are-people What happens when you realize the people in charge don’t have the answers. 2023-11-03T20:02:26-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/813/is-that-what-i-look-like Why does it often take an outsider to see things about you that are obvious? 2023-11-03T11:03:18-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/812/the-bear-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel People who have a good, long time to think about what they’re doing, look hard at what’s ahead of them, and decide to keep moving forward anyway. 2023-10-11T11:23:38-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/811/the-one-place-i-cant-go Spots we’re avoiding in our private maps of the world. 2023-09-21T12:49:48-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/810/say-it-to-my-face Friends and ex-friends finally talk about the one thing between them they've been avoiding. 2023-09-08T11:00:33-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/809/the-call One call to a very unusual hotline, and everything that followed. 2023-08-30T09:09:23-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/808/the-rest-of-the-story People who—whether they want to or not—find themselves face-to-face with the rest of their stories. 2023-08-10T16:15:54-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/807/eight-fights Nadia's family is split between Russia and Ukraine, and when Russia invaded Ukraine, it sparked family conflict, too. 2023-07-25T11:35:27-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/806/i-cant-quit-you-baby People on the verge of a big change, not wanting to let go. And the people who give them the final push. 2023-07-19T11:09:57-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/805/the-florida-experiment Ron DeSantis says he'll do for America what he's done for Florida. So what's it like in Florida? 2023-07-05T15:53:01-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/804/the-retrievals Patients at a fertility clinic experience excruciating, unexpected pain. For months the reason for that pain remains hidden. Then they get a letter from the clinic. 2023-06-23T12:15:09-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/803/greetings-people-of-earth Humans encounter non-human intelligences of various kinds and try to make sense of them. 2023-06-15T16:11:23-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/802/fathers-day Ira's own father, Barry Glass, co-hosts this special Father's Day show. 2023-06-16T11:10:08-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/801/must-be-rats-on-the-brain The one animal we can’t seem to live without, even when we really, really want to. 2023-06-02T20:43:33-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/800/jane-doe Five years after the #MeToo explosion, what’s happened in the lives of the women who went public with their stories? 2023-05-19T19:12:24-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/799/the-lives-of-others Looping thoughts about people you barely know, or don't know at all. 2023-04-27T14:15:41-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/798/leaving-the-fold People trying to leave some moment in their life behind, which can be hard. 2023-05-03T11:42:43-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/797/what-i-was-thinking-as-we-were-sinking It's funny the things that go through your head during a disaster. 2023-04-11T10:59:16-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/796/what-lies-beneath Summoning up stuff that’s usually hidden down deep. 2023-04-11T10:34:41-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/795/nine-months-later We talk to people who wanted abortions right when the laws were changing in their states. 2023-03-29T11:13:11-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/794/so-close-and-yet-so-far People ​so close to each other, ​in ​extremely intimate situations​,​ who are also a million miles apart. 2023-03-19T14:28:11-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/793/the-problem-with-ghosts The ghosts that visit us, the ghosts that never do, and the ghosts that walk among us. 2023-03-02T12:32:53-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/792/when-to-leave People staring down that hardest of questions: Is now the time? To leave? 2023-02-13T15:55:30-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/791/math-or-magic When it comes to finding love, there seems to be two schools of thought on the best way to go about it. 2023-02-03T12:41:58-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/790/youre-it Sometimes you raise your hand. Other times you’re just the only one left. 2023-01-19T11:14:31-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/789/the-runaround People being dodged, delayed, and evaded—and what they do to put an end to it. 2023-01-06T10:02:40-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/788/half-baked-stories-about-my-dead-mom Writer Etgar Keret tries to come up with the stories that capture the different sides of his mother. 2022-12-08T12:27:43-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/787/babys-first-christmas People experiencing Christmas in brand new ways, giving the holiday even more meaning. 2022-12-15T11:42:14-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/786/its-a-game-show Something we’ve never done before: true stories told in the form of a game show. 2022-11-23T10:57:41-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/785/through-the-looking-glass People trying to coax each other across the line, from one side to the other. 2022-11-11T11:17:24-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/784/mapmaker How Ohio Republicans drew electoral maps that violated their own constitutional amendment. 2022-10-28T11:12:47-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/783/kids-these-days We hear from kids who are dealing with some of the country’s most contentious debates. Debates that are supposedly about them. 2022-10-21T09:36:12-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/782/family-dig Two people go on excavations of their families’ pasts. 2022-10-07T12:43:15-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/781/watching-the-watchers People taking it upon themselves to keep an eye on those in charge. 2022-09-30T10:54:12-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/780/setting-the-record-straight Getting to the facts can be difficult, but it’s always the right thing to do. Except when it isn’t. 2022-09-21T13:11:57-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/779/ends-of-the-earth An exploration of the very upper limits of what you do for someone you love. 2022-09-09T12:43:08-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/778/me-minus-me When a fundamental part of yourself changes dramatically, are you still who you thought you were? 2022-08-18T12:08:23-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/777/name-age-detail Ten people were killed at a grocery store in Buffalo, NY. Their stories, as you’ve never heard them. 2022-08-04T11:53:21-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/776/i-work-better-on-deadline Stories of people racing against time to solve a problem. Will they make it? 2022-07-21T15:36:20-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/775/the-possum-experiment An investigation into a very basic question about people: Are most of us bad or good? 2022-06-24T09:32:56-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/774/the-pink-house-at-the-center-of-the-world Stories from the center of this moment of history, the day it happened. 2022-06-27T11:15:53-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/773/longest-distance Getting from A to B via Z. 2022-06-03T09:03:22-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/772/the-kids-table Kids navigating hairy situations all on their own, with no help from grown-ups. 2022-05-11T11:03:51-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/771/the-parents-step-in The government isn’t doing much to prevent school shootings. So parents are jumping in — and getting results. 2022-05-26T12:38:39-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/770/my-lying-eyes People staring squarely at the truth, and still finding it hard to believe what they’re seeing. 2022-04-27T13:22:08-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/769/the-reluctant-explorer A man is thrust into a new world he didn’t ask to visit. 2022-04-19T13:03:35-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/768/the-other-front-lines Four personal stories from the war in Ukraine. 2022-04-14T10:28:51-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/767/do-not-go-gentle Stories of resistance from Hungary and Russia. 2022-03-31T11:10:33-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/766/well-someone-had-to-do-something People trying to jump in and solve other people's problems. 2022-03-25T10:31:38-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/765/off-course People who know the path their lives will take until, suddenly, they don’t. 2022-03-11T10:02:05-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/764/schools-out-forever The pandemic broke school. Can we ever go back? 2022-03-03T15:47:22-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/763/the-other-mr-president Stories about Vladimir Putin. 2022-02-25T10:56:27-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/762/apocalypse-creep Stories from places that are slowly coming apart. 2022-02-04T10:47:11-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/761/the-trojan-horse-affair A mysterious letter shocked Britain. But who wrote it? 2022-01-27T12:22:34-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/760/a-city-walks-into-an-investigation Our story continues about the Michigan couple who walked into a police officer's house and made a disturbing discovery. 2022-01-21T12:28:28-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/759/a-couple-walks-into-a-house An unsettling discovery in the home of a local police officer rocks an entire city. 2022-01-13T10:22:38-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/758/talking-while-black People tangled up in our current racial backlash in both extreme and very personal ways. 2021-12-10T10:19:19-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/757/the-ghost-in-the-machine People use machines to find people they lost. 2021-12-16T11:35:38-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/756/but-i-did-everything-right People earnestly doing what they're told, and absolutely not getting what they were promised. 2021-12-03T11:41:43-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/755/the-convert The story of an FBI undercover operation from 2006 that went terribly, and became the heart of a case heard at the Supreme Court. 2021-12-02T15:27:12-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/754/spark-bird Birds—the hearts they sway, the havoc they wreak, the lives they change. 2021-11-18T15:44:55-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/753/failure-to-communicate Getting the point across — or trying to, anyway. 2021-10-29T10:19:47-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/752/an-invitation-to-tea A man who was kept for 14 years in Guantanamo Bay gets out and issues an invitation to the people who kept him there. 2021-10-20T09:30:19-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/751/audience-of-one We bring the movies to you. 2021-10-16T08:25:46-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/750/the-ferryman Getting from Point A to Point B—with expert assistance. 2021-10-07T09:23:14-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/749/my-bad An hour devoted to embarrassing stories. 2021-09-15T08:27:31-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/748/the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it What happens when one family goes all in on fighting climate change. 2021-09-08T14:14:05-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/747/suitable-for-children Who thought that would be good for a kid? 2021-09-10T07:58:20-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/746/this-is-just-some-songs We made you a mixtape. Don't make a big deal out of it or anything. 2021-08-18T15:50:36-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/745/getting-out People trying to escape all kinds of seemingly impossible situations. 2021-08-25T13:44:47-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/744/essential The pandemic forced jobs to change, but then the workers changed, too. 2021-08-05T09:51:27-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/743/dont-you-be-my-neighbor Bad neighbors. What can you do about them? 2021-07-20T14:56:35-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/742/the-thing-im-getting-over What’s recovery mean, anyway? 2021-07-14T10:14:19-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/741/the-weight-of-words Words mean things, but some words are especially meaningful. 2021-07-02T12:30:40-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/740/there-i-fixed-it Solving problems using very extreme measures. 2021-06-18T17:02:56-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/739/sisters The bonds between sisters and how they get broken and fixed—or not. 2021-06-04T09:33:12-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/738/good-grief People figuring out how to grieve, and doing a pretty good job of it. 2021-05-21T13:39:20-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/737/the-daily An ode to life's daily practices, and what you learn from doing a thing every single day. 2021-05-07T08:53:23-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/736/the-herd What happens when your own community suddenly turns on you? 2021-04-16T13:05:26-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/735/bloody-feelings Stories about the power of blood. 2021-03-31T10:38:58-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/734/the-campus-tour-has-been-cancelled How the pandemic has thrown college admissions process into a kind of slow-motion chaos. 2021-03-12T11:12:31-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/733/warriors-in-the-garden Three friends come together to protest the murder of George Floyd. Over time, they end up in very different places. 2021-02-26T13:01:59-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/732/secrets Why we tell them, and what happens after we do. 2021-02-10T11:47:51-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/731/what-lies-beneath-2021 Summoning up stuff that’s usually hidden down deep. 2021-02-05T21:19:06-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/730/the-empty-chair Things lost in the past year that we haven’t talked about much. 2021-01-15T11:39:50-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/729/making-the-cut There's always someone whose job it is to decide if you measure up. 2021-01-04T11:02:40-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/728/lights-camera-christmas People going to great lengths to throw a special Christmas for their families. 2020-12-21T11:15:46-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/727/boulder-v-hill What the day-to-day business of saving the world looks like. 2020-12-11T19:29:59-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/726/twenty-five Stories about people who were born the year our show first aired. 2020-12-04T15:41:48-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/725/turkey-in-a-face-mask Stories about food and people who set out on very particular missions with food. 2020-11-20T16:22:13-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/724/personal-recount Stories of people changing their minds. 2020-11-11T16:18:09-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/723/squeaker People grappling with an endless presidential election. 2020-10-30T17:41:10-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/722/the-unreality-of-now Ahead of the election, we have stories about people trying to live in the unreality that defines this moment. 2020-10-23T20:06:17-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/721/the-walls-close-in People finding themselves stuck in small spaces, trying to make sense of their new surroundings. 2020-10-16T11:03:23-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/720/the-moment-after-this-moment People who are worried — or not worried enough! — about what's hurtling unstoppably towards them. 2020-10-16T11:02:57-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/719/trust-me-im-a-doctor The not-often-talked-about realm of licensing boards, and the disturbing decisions they sometimes make. 2020-09-25T14:43:17-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/718/same-bed-different-dreams-2020 Stories of people who are tied together, but imagine radically different futures. 2020-09-25T11:22:43-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/717/audience-of-one-2020 At a time when going to the movies is mostly out of the question, we bring the movies to you. 2020-09-04T11:03:41-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/716/trail-of-tears Writer Sarah Vowell and her twin sister retrace the Trail of Tears, the route their Cherokee ancestors took when expelled from their own land. 2020-09-02T11:48:30-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/715/long-awaited-asteroid-finally-hits-earth Teachers, students and parents have been bracing themselves for the start of this unprecedented school year. Now it's here. 2020-08-21T10:40:43-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/714/day-at-the-beach It’s the last few weeks of summer, so we’re going to the beach! This week, stories from the surf and sand. 2020-08-10T12:40:41-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/713/made-to-be-broken In a pitched moment of rule-questioning, a show about rules and the people who break them. 2020-07-31T11:38:46-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/712/nice-white-parents Producer Chana Joffe-Walt investigates the inordinate power of white parents at one ordinary public school. 2020-07-23T13:43:23-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/711/how-to-be-alone In space, in the ocean, by ourselves, or with others—we’re all just figuring out how to be apart. 2020-07-10T20:41:53-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/710/umbrellas-down As China's new national security law tightens its control over Hong Kong, we return to our episode about last fall's anti-government protests and check in to see how people are responding. 2020-07-10T15:58:35-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/709/the-reprieve How Covid-19 has changed the nurses and doctors at one hospital in Detroit, and their city. 2020-06-19T13:46:35-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/708/here-again We hear what different people said and did one weekend in reaction to the killing of George Floyd. 2020-06-11T09:21:50-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/707/we-are-in-the-future In this moment of sorrow, protest, and rage, we offer this as a break from the dreadful present: our show about Afrofuturism. 2020-06-05T14:37:42-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/706/a-mess-to-be-reckoned-with Lissa Yellow Bird searches for missing people. She's great at it. But then, her niece goes missing. 2020-05-22T13:34:37-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/705/time-out Our favorite stories from the football fields, boxing rings, and basketball courts of days past. 2020-05-15T21:40:43-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/704/our-pulitzer-winning-episode What the Trump administration’s "Remain in Mexico" policy really means, on the ground, at the Mexican border. 2020-05-13T09:59:57-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/703/stuck During a time when a lot of us feel like we are living in a holding pattern, stories of people feeling stuck. 2020-05-01T14:24:30-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/702/one-last-thing-before-i-go Ordinary people make last ditch efforts to get through to their loved ones. 2020-04-24T12:03:49-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/701/black-box Desperate to know what happened to his family, a man obsessively decodes the only information about them he can get. 2020-04-10T15:54:35-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/700/embiggening Sometimes a sketch of a thing needs filling in for its true significance to be known. 2020-04-03T22:37:24-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/699/fiasco Stories of when things go wrong. Really wrong. 2020-04-03T09:15:58-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/698/the-test Stories of people trying to rise to the challenge presented by coronavirus, in some pretty extreme situations. 2020-03-20T17:26:05-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/697/alone-together In this moment when everyone’s reaching out to the people they love, we put together a collection of family stories. 2020-03-19T11:44:36-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/696/low-hum-of-menace Things do not seem fine at all, but it’s hard to say why. 2020-03-06T15:12:49-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/695/everyones-a-critic People squirming in a world where everything is rated and reviewed. 2020-02-21T16:41:44-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/694/get-back-to-where-you-once-belonged People looking everywhere to find a place—any place—where, for once, they don't have to be the odd man out. 2020-02-07T17:35:26-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/693/abdi-the-american We return to our story about Abdi Nor from 2015, with some news about his life today. 2020-02-01T08:23:44-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/692/the-show-of-delights In these dark times, we attempt some radical counterprogramming: a show made up entirely of stories about delight. 2020-01-24T19:51:08-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/691/gardens-of-branching-paths Other universes that are just like our own, but with one small difference. 2020-01-03T12:48:47-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/690/too-close-to-home For the holidays, stories of families finally addressing the thorny thing they’ve never really talked about. 2019-12-20T12:56:17-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/689/digging-up-the-bones There's a lot that can be gained from unearthing the past. But it doesn't always go how you'd expect. 2019-11-29T18:57:54-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/688/the-out-crowd Reports from the frontlines of the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" asylum policy. This episode won the first ever Pulitzer Prize given for audio journalism. 2019-11-08T18:54:57-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/687/small-things-considered Tiny letters, a very small number, and a medication that's supposed to cure shortness. 2019-11-01T16:34:19-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/686/umbrellas-up For over 100 days now, protestors in Hong Kong have taken to the streets every weekend. What it’s like to live through that. 2019-10-11T19:10:54-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/685/we-come-from-small-places We go to one of the biggest parties in NYC, the West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn. 2019-10-04T17:41:58-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/684/burn-it-down Stories of people who decide the only way forward — for real change — is to burn everything to the ground. 2019-09-20T17:27:47-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/683/beer-summit Two people, sitting down over a beer, hashing out their differences. Hard to imagine these days, right? 2019-09-06T16:41:50-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/682/ten-sessions A therapy that helps people work through unhealed trauma in just ten sessions. 2019-08-16T17:58:19-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/681/escape-from-the-lab What happens when our most ingenious creations actually make it out into the world. 2019-08-09T17:50:09-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/680/the-weight-of-words-2019 Words mean things, but some words are especially meaningful — whether in a survival manual, a song lyric, or a slur. 2019-07-19T21:55:18-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/679/save-the-girl People go on missions to save girls from danger. But they get so caught up that it overshadows the girl herself. 2019-07-05T16:30:51-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/678/the-wannabes We hang out with the presidential candidates, in this weird early period of the election. 2019-06-28T19:49:51-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/677/seeing-yourself-in-the-wild Stories of those unexpected moments when we see who we really are. 2019-06-07T16:46:34-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/676/heres-looking-at-you-kid Adults telling kids who they are, and kids wondering — are they right? 2019-05-24T10:35:51-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/675/im-on-tv What it's like to be momentarily big on the small screen. 2019-05-10T15:40:02-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/674/get-a-spine Stories of people shaking off their fear and doing what they’ve been scared to do. 2019-04-26T14:52:51-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/673/left-behind People figuring out how to move through a world in which something important has disappeared. 2019-04-12T15:51:41-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/672/no-fair Stories of very small injustices and also one very big one. 2019-03-29T16:33:35-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/671/anything-can-be-anything People connecting the dots that maybe should not be connected. 2019-03-22T19:19:21-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/670/beware-the-jabberwock Stories from the upside-down world where conspiracy theorists dwell. 2019-03-08T12:33:59-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/669/scrambling-to-get-off-the-ice The Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee try out their new powers for the first time. 2019-02-22T18:44:46-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/668/the-long-fuse People tossing words out into the world impulsively, to ignite and burn over decades. 2019-02-08T18:40:45-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/667/wartime-radio Intimate and personal dispatches from two very different battlefields. 2019-01-25T16:53:55-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/666/the-theme-that-shall-not-be-named Satan! In his many surprising manifestations, all around us. 2019-01-11T17:21:52-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/665/before-things-went-to-hell Revisiting those moments of calm before the storm. 2018-12-28T10:54:51-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/664/the-room-of-requirement Stories of people who roam the stacks and find unexpected things that just happen to be exactly what they required. 2018-12-13T15:57:45-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/663/how-i-read-it Documents you don't normally think of, showing you things you didn't expect. 2018-11-30T19:33:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/662/where-there-is-a-will Stories of people who believe there is always a way. And also those who don’t. 2018-11-08T14:31:45-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/661/but-thats-what-happened Stories of women in unsettling situations, who are told that there’s nothing unsettling at all. 2018-10-26T19:01:47-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/660/hoaxing-yourself People who tell a lie and then believe the lie more than anyone else. 2018-11-01T07:18:09-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/659/before-the-next-one People taking what they’ve learned from school shootings and try to use that knowledge to save others. 2018-09-28T18:45:12-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/658/the-unhappy-deciders Zoe Chace followed Senator Jeff Flake as he decided to force the Senate to delay its vote on Judge Kavanaugh. 2018-10-01T16:36:57-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/657/the-runaways A bunch of teenagers go missing from a town in Long Island. 2018-09-14T21:35:07-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/656/let-me-count-the-ways The quiet bureaucratic war that’s even targeting legal immigrants. 2018-09-07T20:03:51-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/655/the-not-so-great-unknown What happens when an astronaut who's not really into outer space goes to the moon. 2018-08-17T15:00:32-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/654/the-feather-heist A flute player steals a million dollars worth of dead birds. 2018-08-03T11:33:01-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/653/crime-scene Every crime scene hides a story. 2018-07-31T16:33:05-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/652/ice-capades Dispatches from a government agency in its tumultuous teenage years. 2018-07-17T14:12:01-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/651/if-you-build-it-will-they-come A young preacher opens a new church. 2018-07-06T13:37:02-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/650/change-you-can-maybe-believe-in Radical change comes to an Argentinian talk show. 2018-06-22T10:20:03-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/649/its-my-party-and-ill-try-if-i-want-to Before Democrats slug it out with Republicans, they’re slugging out with each other. 2018-06-08T13:43:11-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/648/unteachable-moment People trying to learn something when no one is clear what the lesson is supposed to be. 2018-06-01T19:38:56-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/647/ladonna A security guard at the airport notices something going wrong on the tarmac, and takes it upon herself to fix it. 2018-05-18T11:56:25-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/646/the-secret-of-my-death The clues people find when trying to make sense of a death. 2018-05-09T16:10:58-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/645/my-effing-first-amendment Conservative students don't feel like their ideas are welcome on campus. So they're fighting back. 2018-04-27T14:32:01-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/644/random-acts-of-history Stories about people who accidentally bump into unsettling facts of history. 2018-04-20T20:24:24-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/643/damned-if-you-do People having to make a choice, when no good options exist. 2018-04-06T14:56:36-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/642/the-impossible-dream Before he leaves the Senate for good, Republican Jeff Flake is trying to get a bill passed. 2018-03-23T19:37:37-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/641/the-walls Stories from border walls all over the world, and of the strange ecosystems that arise around them. 2018-03-08T13:01:59-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/640/five-women A different kind of #MeToo story, about several women who worked for the same man. 2018-02-23T19:19:34-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/639/in-dog-we-trust Exactly how much are the animals that live in our homes caught up in our everyday family dynamics? 2018-02-22T10:58:16-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/638/rom-com Stories about surviving the mishaps of love. 2018-02-02T14:42:10-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/637/words-you-cant-say People who say the “wrong” thing and suffer the consequences. 2018-01-26T15:47:19-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/636/i-thought-it-would-be-easier A year into Trump’s presidency, stories of politicians—of both parties—unable to accomplish tasks that seem pretty straightforward. 2018-01-12T14:23:53-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/635/chip-in-my-brain A boy who can’t dribble gets a coach, a new best friend, and something to believe in. 2018-01-05T18:19:45-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/634/human-error-in-volatile-situations People bungle simple operations on some of the most dangerous weapons in the world. 2017-12-22T16:15:08-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/633/our-town-part-two When an Alabama town went from 98% white to one-fourth Latino, what did it mean for taxpayers, schools, traffic, crime? 2017-12-15T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/632/our-town-part-one What really happened when undocumented workers showed up in one Alabama town? 2017-12-08T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/631/so-a-monkey-and-a-horse-walk-into-a-bar Blurring the line between animal and human. 2017-11-10T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/630/things-i-mean-to-know Stories of people trying to unspool some of life’s certainties. 2017-10-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/629/expect-delays Stories about delays, including a town in Ohio known almost entirely for its speed trap. 2017-10-20T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/628/in-the-shadow-of-the-city Stories that take place on the edge of civilization, just out of sight. 2017-10-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/627/suitable-for-children-2017 Neil Drumming looks back at a toy he loved that, in retrospect, probably wouldn’t love him back. 2017-10-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/626/white-haze What should we make of right-wing groups like the Proud Boys, who believe “the West is the best”? 2017-09-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/625/essay-b In 1967, the first Black students integrated the South’s elite prep schools. One of the main reasons they were there? To benefit the white kids. 2017-09-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/624/private-geography What Betsy DeVos's experience in a public school in her hometown can tell us about her vision for education in this country. 2017-09-01T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/623/we-are-in-the-future-2017 Afrofuturism is a way of looking at black culture that’s fantastic, creative, and oddly hopeful. 2017-08-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/622/who-you-gonna-call Stories of lucky people who have found the exact right person to ring up for help. 2017-08-04T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/621/fear-and-loathing-in-homer-and-rockville Two towns grapple with the question—who do we let in? 2017-07-21T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/620/to-be-real People try to go deeper—to get to something real—in some unexpected places: war, magic, and porn. 2017-07-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/619/the-magic-show Former kid magicians Ira Glass and David Kestenbaum dive back into the world of magic. 2017-06-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/618/mr-lie-detector A polygraph operator and his strange journey. 2017-06-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/617/fermis-paradox Three people grapple with the question, “Are we alone?” 2017-05-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/616/i-am-not-a-pirate Stories about both historical and modern-day swashbucklers who loot, pillage, and question their choices. 2017-05-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/615/the-beginning-of-now Before Trump started his presidential campaign, there was a congressional race that redefined what was possible in American politics. 2017-04-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/614/the-other-mr-president What it's actually like to live in the confusing information landscape that is Putin's Russia. 2017-04-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/613/ok-ill-do-it A surgeon takes out his own appendix in what might be one of the most daring surgeries ever performed. 2017-03-31T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/612/ask-a-grown-up Teenage girls ask for advice about their love lives, and Ira's tribute to his very grown-up friend Mary. 2017-03-17T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/611/vague-and-confused A show about rules and what happens when they’re vague and randomly enforced. 2017-03-03T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/610/grand-gesture People going to very extreme measures to demonstrate their feelings. 2017-02-17T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/609/its-working-out-very-nicely We document what happened when the President’s executive order went into effect temporarily banning travel from seven countries. 2017-02-03T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/608/the-revolution-starts-at-noon Some people are super-stoked for the political changes that are coming. 2017-01-20T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/607/didnt-we-solve-this-one Why has it been so hard for us to get the tens of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans that have helped the U.S. to safety? 2017-01-06T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/606/just-what-i-wanted Stories from people who want something desperately and then have their wishes fulfilled. Or do they? 2016-12-23T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/605/kid-logic Kids using perfectly logical arguments, and arriving at perfectly wrong conclusions. 2016-12-16T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/604/20-years-later Samantha Broun interviews her mom about surviving a brutal attack 20 years ago that ended up changing Pennsylvania law regarding life sentences. 2016-12-09T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/603/once-more-with-feeling Stories of people who decide to rethink the way they’ve been doing things. 2016-12-02T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/602/the-sun-comes-up People around the country talking about the coming four years after Trump's election. 2016-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/601/master-of-her-domain-name A story about Hillary Clinton that offers a different picture than what we’ve been hearing from both sides during the campaign. 2016-11-04T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/600/will-i-know-anyone-at-this-party Right now a lot of Republicans feel like they don’t recognize their own party. 2016-10-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/599/seriously Watching lies become the truth in the 2016 election. 2016-10-21T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/598/my-undesirable-talent San Francisco’s Spider-Man dropped into buildings from skylights and leapt 10 feet from one roof to another. But mostly, his talent got him into trouble. 2016-10-07T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/597/one-last-thing-before-i-go-2016 Ordinary people make last ditch efforts to get through to their loved ones. 2016-09-23T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/596/becoming-a-badger Stories about people trying their best to turn themselves into something else—like a badger. 2016-09-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/595/deep-end-of-the-pool What do you do when you're thrown into a situation you’re not prepared for? 2016-08-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/594/my-summer-self Summer is a time when change seems more possible than ever. But is that really how it happens? 2016-08-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/593/dont-have-to-live-like-a-refugee Stories of refugees in Greece trying to move on with their lives in whatever way they can. 2016-08-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/592/are-we-there-yet 57,000 refugees are stuck in Greece, making homes in some surprising locations. 2016-07-29T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/591/get-your-moneys-worth A political donor has to decide whether or not he's going to support Trump. Plus other stories of people trying to make sure they get what they paid for. 2016-07-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/590/choosing-wrong Stories of people making the wrong choice, even though the right one is staring them squarely in the eye. 2016-06-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/589/tell-me-im-fat Maybe it’s time to rethink the way we see being fat. 2016-06-17T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/588/mind-games People who try simple mind games on others and find themselves in way over their heads. 2016-06-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/587/the-perils-of-intimacy Mysteries that exist in relationships we thought couldn't possibly surprise us. 2016-05-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/586/who-do-we-think-we-are When Mariya Karimjee was little, her family made a decision that would affect her entire life. Years later, she wants to know why. 2016-05-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/585/in-defense-of-ignorance Three very different stories of people not admitting the truth. 2016-04-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/584/for-your-reconsideration The older and wiser we get, the more bewildering our past decisions can seem. 2016-04-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/583/itll-make-sense-when-youre-older Kids do not like being told it’ll make sense when they’re older. They’re pretty sure the grown-ups are wrong. 2016-03-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/582/when-the-beasts-come-marching-in The animals drop in and show us who's boss. 2016-03-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/581/anatomy-of-doubt The story of a rape investigation gone undeniably wrong. 2016-02-26T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/580/thats-one-way-to-do-it The story of a young voter who defies political categorization. 2016-02-19T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/579/my-damn-mind A hospital staffer finds a patient on the floor of his room. He is unarmed, and has been shot by the cops in the hospital. 2016-02-12T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/578/i-thought-i-knew-you A conservative radio host is completely baffled by the candidate his audience has decided to get behind this election season. 2016-01-29T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/577/something-only-i-can-see A woman with muscular dystrophy tries to convince doctors that she has the same gene mutation as an Olympic athlete. 2016-01-15T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/576/say-yes-to-christmas We go all in and bring the joy, the spontaneity, the sense that anything can happen back to Christmas. 2015-12-25T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/575/poetry-of-propaganda Propaganda is complexity in the form of simplicity, if you know how to read it. 2015-12-18T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/574/sinatras-100th-birthday Stories, tributes, and attempts to understand the Chairman of the Board. 2015-12-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/573/status-update Three teenage girls explain why they are constantly telling their friends they are beautiful on Instagram. Plus more stories about status updates that interrupt our daily life. 2015-11-27T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/572/transformers A prisoner who hasn't talked to anyone in years comes up with a bold plan to re-introduce himself to the world. 2015-11-06T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/571/the-heart-wants-what-it-wants Emily Dickinson said “The heart wants what it wants.” This week, stories from people who take that notion to extremes and are unapologetic about it. 2015-10-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/570/the-night-in-question Conspiracy theories about the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin continue to shape Israel's politics and future. 2015-10-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/569/put-a-bow-on-it Meet the people who pitch ideas for new foods and then decide which ones they're actually going to make. 2015-10-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/568/human-spectacle We've always loved to gawk at others, but what's it like when the tables are turned and all eyes are on you? 2015-10-02T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/567/whats-going-on-in-there Getting inside a situation and finding out just how interesting it is. 2015-09-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/566/the-land-of-make-believe A father constructs an elaborate fantasy to occupy his 12 children. 2015-09-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/565/lower-9-10 We go to the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans to talk to residents about what matters most to them ten years after the hurricane. 2015-08-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/564/too-soon It can be hard to know the right moment for something to happen. 2015-08-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/563/the-problem-we-all-live-with-part-two A city goes all out to integrate its schools. 2015-08-07T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with-part-one There’s one thing that has been proven to cut the achievement gap between black and white students by half: integration. 2015-07-31T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/561/nummi-2015 A car plant in Fremont California that might have saved the U.S. car industry. 2015-07-17T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/560/abdi-and-the-golden-ticket A story about someone who's desperately trying – against long odds – to make it to the United States and become an American. 2015-07-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/559/captains-log The story of a concentration camp in China that housed groups of Girl Scouts. 2015-06-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/558/game-face Stories of people facing very difficult situations who put their game face on and muscle through. 2015-05-29T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/557/birds-bees Stories about the vague and not-so-vague ways we teach children about race, death, and sex. 2015-05-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/556/same-bed-different-dreams A movie star and her ex-husband plot against Kim Jong-Il, plus more stories of people who are tied together but imagine radically different futures. 2015-05-01T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/555/the-incredible-rarity-of-changing-your-mind Stories of those very infrequent instances where people’s opinions flip on fundamental things that they believe. 2015-04-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/554/not-it A mysterious world of heroin addiction treatment centers where no one seems to be taking responsibility for the people they're treating. 2015-04-10T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/553/stuck-in-the-middle People caught in limbo, using ingenuity and guile to try to get themselves out. 2015-04-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/552/need-to-know-basis Growing up, Stephanie Foo was the favorite child of her family in Malaysia. As an adult, she found out the complicated truth about why. 2015-03-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/551/good-guys-2015 Stories of valiant men attempting to do good: in department stores, public buses, and at the bottom of a cave. 2015-03-20T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/550/three-miles What happens when of a group of public school students in the Bronx goes to visit an elite private school three miles away. 2015-03-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/549/amateur-hour A tough group of soldiers attempts to save lives through the power of show tunes. 2015-02-27T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/548/cops-see-it-differently-part-two We look at one city where relations between police and black residents are terrible, and another city where they seem to be improving remarkably. 2015-02-13T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/547/cops-see-it-differently-part-one There's a division between people who distrust the police and people who see cops as a force for good. 2015-02-06T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/546/burroughs-101 Ira Glass was never into William Burroughs. Then he heard this radio story that changed that. 2015-01-30T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/545/if-you-dont-have-anything-nice-to-say-say-it-in-all-caps What happens when the internet turns on you? 2015-01-23T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/544/batman Can people’s expectations change whether a blind man can see? 2015-01-09T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/543/wake-up-now The story of a company—or maybe it's a movement?—that has hundreds of people posting enthusiastic videos about it online. 2014-12-26T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/542/wait-do-you-have-the-map Two brothers take a doomed road trip through Mexico. Plus other stories of feeling lost and trying to figure out how to move ahead. 2014-12-12T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/541/regrets-ive-had-a-few People struggling with regrets—big and small—that take root and have to be dealt with. 2014-12-05T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/540/a-front If a Border Patrol agent is not actually at the border, do you have to obey him? 2014-11-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/539/the-leap When routines get too mundane, sometimes you just have to hold your breath and jump. 2014-11-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/538/is-this-working There's no agreement about how teachers should discipline students. And there's evidence that some of the most popular punishments may harm kids. 2014-10-17T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/537/the-alibi The pilot episode of Serial, hosted by Sarah Koenig. 2014-10-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/536/the-secret-recordings-of-carmen-segarra An unprecedented look inside one of the most powerful, secretive institutions in the country. 2014-09-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/535/origin-story-2014 Little-known and surprising stories of how all sorts of institutions began. 2014-09-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/534/a-not-so-simple-majority School board disputes are pretty common, but not like this one. 2014-09-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/533/its-not-the-product-its-the-person Alex Blumberg tells the incredible, sweat-stains-and-all saga of a man fumbling through starting a new business. And the man is: himself. 2014-09-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/532/magic-words Stories where people recite words that have the power to change their lives. 2014-08-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/531/got-your-back Stories where one person's powerlessness is transformed when they discover they have backup. And what happens when that backup goes away. 2014-07-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/530/mind-your-own-business A cellphone hidden in a bag of chips starts a messy turf war between the FBI and a local sheriff. 2014-07-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/529/human-spectacle-2014 A Japanese reality show contestant has to enter sweepstakes from magazines to win enough sustenance to survive. 2014-06-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/528/the-radio-drama-episode In our most ambitious live show, we turn journalism into a Broadway musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. 2014-06-20T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/527/180-degrees Stories of people who go one way, and then, for what ever reason, turn around and go the exact opposite direction. 2014-06-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/526/is-that-what-i-look-like-2014 A woman wakes up from a coma having forgotten that she'd divorced her husband. And Molly Ringwald watches The Breakfast Club with her daughter. 2014-05-23T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/525/call-for-help Stories of people coming to terms with being in serious trouble. 2014-05-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/524/i-was-so-high Alex Blumberg talks to his dad about the daily pot habit he had while Alex was growing up. 2014-05-02T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/523/death-and-taxes We ask the people who work at a hospice facility some personal questions about death and dying. 2014-04-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/522/tarred-and-feathered A pedophile who has never acted on his impulses starts an online support group to help himself and others like him. 2014-04-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/521/bad-baby They're small. And they're cuddly. But sometimes it feels as though our babies were replaced with demon replicas. 2014-03-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/520/no-place-like-home Stories of people who are coming to terms with the places they call home. 2014-03-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/519/dead-men-tell-no-tales Last May, the FBI killed a guy in Florida who was loosely linked to the Boston Marathon bombings. 2014-03-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/518/except-for-that-one-thing A clerical error allowed a convicted man to walk free for 13 years. Then the justice system realized its mistake. 2014-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/517/day-at-the-beach-2014 David Sedaris tells us how losing a sister prompted a family reunion, and an impulse buy of an oceanfront cottage big enough for all of them. 2014-01-31T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/516/stuck-in-the-middle-2014 Stories about how it sucks to be in limbo, and a man who absolutely loves listening to hold music. 2014-01-17T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/515/good-guys Stories of valiant men attempting to do good in challenging circumstances: in war zones, department stores, public buses, and at the bottom of a cave 900 feet underground. 2014-01-10T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/514/thought-that-counts It's the thought that counts. Unfortunately, sometimes it's not always so clear what that thought was. 2013-12-20T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/513/129-cars One car dealership tries to make its monthly quota: 129 cars. It is way more chaotic than we expected. 2013-12-13T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/512/house-rules The history of racial housing discrimination in the United States and what has been done—and hasn't been done—to rectify it. 2013-11-22T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/511/the-seven-things-youre-not-supposed-to-talk-about Sarah Koenig's mother lives by a set of rules about conversation. We tried to prove her wrong. 2013-11-08T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/510/fiasco-2013 The story of a police officer and a squirrel. Plus, a small town production of Peter Pan goes off the rails. 2013-11-01T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/509/it-says-so-right-here Stories of people whose lives are altered when seemingly boring documents like birth certificates and petitions are used against them. 2013-10-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/508/superpowers-2013 Which is better: flight or invisibility? 2013-10-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/507/confessions What should a person suspected of murder say? 2013-10-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/506/secret-identity A teenage girl becomes a whole new person when she becomes the school mascot — a tiger — at her high school. 2013-10-04T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/505/use-only-as-directed More than 150 Americans die each year on average after accidentally taking too much acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. 2013-09-20T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/504/how-i-got-into-college How a stolen library book got one man into his dream school and changed his life forever. Or at least that's the story he tells himself. 2013-09-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/503/i-was-just-trying-to-help Planet Money looks at a charity that's decided to just give people money. 2013-08-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/502/this-call-may-be-recorded-to-save-your-life A journalist gets a disturbing tip: a phone number to a group of refugees being held hostage in the Sinai desert. 2013-08-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/501/the-view-from-in-here An American woman suddenly trades her life for one in a place most people might think twice about: Juarez, Mexico. 2013-07-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/500/500 Ira asks the producers to talk about their very favorite moments on the show. 2013-07-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/499/taking-names The story of a guy named Kirk Johnson, who started a list of Iraqis who needed to get out of their country. 2013-06-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/498/the-one-thing-youre-not-supposed-to-do People who know something's a bad idea, but convince themselves to do that thing anyway. 2013-06-21T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/497/this-week All of the stories in the show are things that have taken place in the last seven days. 2013-06-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/496/when-patents-attack-part-two Why people say our patent system may be discouraging, not encouraging, innovation. 2013-05-31T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/495/hot-in-my-backyard Why has the conversation on climate change been stuck in the same place for years? 2013-05-17T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/494/hit-the-road A man decides to take a trip from Philadelphia to San Francisco—by foot. 2013-05-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/493/picture-show Israeli soldiers take snapshots of Palestinian boys, one house at a time, in the middle of the night. 2013-04-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/492/dr-gilmer-and-mr-hyde Did a beloved family doctor with no criminal history suddenly up and strangle his own father? 2013-04-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/491/tribes A white guy who only wants to date Asian women has to adjust to the reality of a real actual Asian woman in his life. 2013-03-29T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/490/trends-with-benefits The startling rise of the number of people on disability in America. 2013-03-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/489/no-coincidence-no-story We asked listeners to send us their best coincidence stories, and we got more than 1,300 submissions! 2013-03-01T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/488/harper-high-school-part-two Part two of our program on Harper High School in Chicago, where in the last year 29 current and recent students were shot. 2013-02-22T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/487/harper-high-school-part-one We spent five months at a high school in Chicago where in the last year 29 current and recent students were shot. 2013-02-15T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/486/valentines-day A couple decides to sleep with other people before they tie the knot. Plus, more stories of love making us do crazy things. 2013-02-08T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/485/surrogates The proxy battle over a woman’s honor that became a presidential obsession. 2013-01-25T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/484/doppelgangers We got a tip about a meat plant selling pig intestines as fake calamari and decided to investigate. 2013-01-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/483/self-improvement-kick A perfectly normal guy gets rid of everything he owns, changes his name, says goodbye to his friends—and begins walking. 2013-01-04T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/482/lights-camera-christmas-2012 A show filled with stories of people going to great lengths to throw a special Christmas for their families. 2012-12-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/481/this-week Stories united by one thing: They all happened in the seven days prior to broadcast. 2012-12-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/480/animal-sacrifice The This American Life staff confronts Ira about his dog, Piney. 2012-11-30T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/479/little-war-on-the-prairie Why Minnesotans don't talk much about the most important historical event ever to happen there. 2012-11-23T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/478/red-state-blue-state Not only do the two sides disagree on the solutions to the country’s problems, they don’t even agree on what the problems are. 2012-11-02T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/477/getting-away-with-it Stories of people breaking the rules fully, completely, and with no bad consequences. 2012-10-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/476/what-doesnt-kill-you Stories of how people cope after brushes with death. 2012-10-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/475/send-a-message People reach out in all kinds of ways to try to get their point across—messages in code, over the phone, and from beyond the grave. 2012-09-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/474/back-to-school A growing body of research that suggests we may be on the verge of a new approach to some of the biggest challenges facing American schools. 2012-09-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/473/loopholes An estate attorney discovers a financial scheme that's all reward and no risk. The only catch? You have to die to get the money. 2012-08-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/472/our-friend-david Favorite stories by our longtime contributor and friend David Rakoff. 2012-08-17T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/471/the-convert-2012 An undercover FBI informant at the mosque in Orange County starts acting very odd. 2012-08-10T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/470/show-me-the-way Stories about people in trouble who look for help in mystifying places. 2012-07-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/469/hiding-in-plain-sight The chief of security for a Colombian drug cartel decides to take the cartel down. 2012-07-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/468/switcheroo People pretending to be people they're not: sometimes it's harmless, sometimes it's harmful, and sometimes it's hard to tell. 2012-06-29T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/467/americans-in-china It used to be that the American expats in China were the big shots. But that's changed. 2012-06-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/466/blackjack A woman gambles away her inheritance and then sues the casino, saying they're to blame. 2012-06-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/465/what-happened-at-dos-erres A Guatemalan immigrant living near Boston gets a phone call with some very strange news about his past. 2012-05-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/464/invisible-made-visible David Sedaris, Tig Notaro, Ryan Knighton, and the late David Rakoff, in his final performance on the show. 2012-05-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/463/mortal-vs-venial Religion makes clear the difference between mortal sins and venial ones. But in our everyday lives, it can be really difficult to determine just how bad we've been. 2012-04-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/462/own-worst-enemy Stories of people who can’t seem to stop getting in their own way. 2012-04-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/461/take-the-money-and-run-for-office Discovering just how much time members of Congress spend raising money. 2012-03-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/460/retraction We've discovered that one of our most popular episodes contained numerous fabrications. This week, we detail the errors in Mike Daisey's story about visiting Foxconn, which makes iPads and other products for Apple in China. Marketplace's China correspondent Rob Schmitz discovered the fabrications. Transcript. Press Release. 2012-03-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/459/what-kind-of-country All across the country right now, local and state governments are finding they can't pay their bills. 2012-03-02T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/458/play-the-part Stories of people who decide to flip their personalities and do the exact opposite of what they normally do. 2012-02-17T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/457/what-i-did-for-love A couple decides they need to sleep with other people before getting married, and a teenage boy falls for an undercover cop. 2012-02-10T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/456/reap-what-you-sow Alabama's new immigration law aims to make life so difficult for illegal immigrants that they will "self-deport." 2012-01-27T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/455/continental-breakup The story of the European debt crisis is actually very surprising and dramatic. 2012-01-20T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory This American Life has retracted this story. 2012-01-06T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/453/nemeses A college rivalry goes viral, and personal. 2011-12-16T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/452/poultry-slam-2011 Stories of what happens when humans and fowl collide. 2011-12-02T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/451/back-to-penn-state Penn State fans and loyalists try to make sense of the actions of Coach Joe Paterno and school officials. 2011-11-18T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/450/so-crazy-it-just-might-work An orchestra teacher has a theory that he could kill cancer cells with electromagnetic waves. 2011-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/449/middle-school Stories from the awkward, confusing, hormonally charged world of middle school. 2011-10-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/448/adventure Stories that pinpoint when people's boring old lives turn into something wildly unfamiliar. 2011-10-07T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/447/the-incredible-case-of-the-pi-moms What do you get when you take a P.I. firm, then add in a bunch of sexy soccer moms, official sponsorship from Glock, a lying boss, and delusions of grandeur? This week's show. 2011-09-23T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/446/living-without-2011 A man has to give up parts of his life as he learns to live hearing a tone in his head all the time. 2011-09-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/445/ten-years-in We return to people who have been on the show in the last ten years, and whose lives were drastically altered by 9/11. 2011-09-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/444/gossip A sociologist collects journals filled with gossip about AIDS in Malawi. 2011-08-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/443/amusement-park We head to some of the happiest places on earth: amusement parks! 2011-08-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/442/thugs Like a lot of Mexican towns, Florencia has had its share of problems dealing with drug gangs. Until recently, when new narcos rolled into town. 2011-07-29T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/441/when-patents-attack Why would a company rent an office in a tiny town in East Texas, put a nameplate on the door, and leave it completely empty for a year? 2011-07-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/440/game-changer Two professors each make a calculation that no one had made before. 2011-07-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/439/a-house-divided Stories about people who find themselves either unexpectedly being singled out or doing the singling out. 2011-06-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/438/fathers-day-2011 Surprising stories of fathers trying to be good dads. 2011-06-17T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/437/old-boys-network Nurses at a small Texas hospital report a well-connected doctor for dangerous medical practices, and find themselves under arrest. 2011-06-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/436/the-psychopath-test We heard about a test that could determine if someone was a psychopath. So, naturally, our staff decided to take it. 2011-05-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/435/how-to-create-a-job Can politicians truly create many jobs? 2011-05-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/434/this-week An hour of stories about...this week. 2011-05-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/433/fine-print-2011 Stories where the fine print changes everything, whether you read it or not. 2011-04-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/432/know-when-to-fold-em The story of an entire country deciding whether to give up on just one of its citizens. 2011-04-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/431/see-no-evil Stories of people pretending that everything is okay and ignoring the awful stuff that's staring them straight in the face. 2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/430/very-tough-love A drug court program in Georgia where people with offenses that would get minimal or no sentences elsewhere sometimes end up in the system five to ten years. 2011-03-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/429/will-they-know-me-back-home Stories of people who've grown so accustomed to wartime that the lives they've left behind no longer make sense. 2011-03-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/428/oh-you-shouldnt-have Stories about the perils of giving and receiving gifts. 2011-03-04T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/427/original-recipe We think we may have found the original recipe for Coca-Cola, one of the most guarded trade secrets in the world. 2011-02-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/426/tough-room-2011 We go backstage with comedy writers at The Onion. 2011-02-04T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/425/slow-to-react The story of a wedding 17 years in the making. 2011-01-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/424/kid-politics When it comes to governing, can kids do any better than grown-ups? 2011-01-14T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/423/the-invention-of-money Five reporters stumbled on what seems like a basic question: What is money? 2011-01-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/422/comedians-of-christmas-comedy-special The holidays are stressful so we booked a seasonal pick-me-up: an hour of comedy. 2010-12-17T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/421/last-man-standing Stories about people who feel compelled to keep going, especially when everyone else has given up. 2010-12-03T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/420/neighborhood-watch Stories of neighbors watching out for each other, for better and worse. 2010-11-19T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/419/petty-tyrant The rise and fall of a school maintenance man in Schenectady, New York who terrorized his staff and got away with it for decades. 2010-11-12T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/418/toxie Reporters from Planet Money bought a toxic asset that turned out to be an encyclopedia of the financial crisis. 2010-11-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/417/this-party-sucks Two best friends get tired of yelling at their TVs and decide to form a Tea Party chapter to effect political change. 2010-10-29T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/416/iraq-after-us We spend a month in Iraq talking to Iraqis and Americans about the war that tore the country apart. 2010-10-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/415/crybabies Stories of crybabies in sports, in politics, on Wall Street, on the streets of California. 2010-09-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/414/right-to-remain-silent A New York police officer secretly records his supervisors ordering officers to do all sorts of things that police aren't supposed to do. 2010-09-10T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/413/georgia-rambler Nine of us go to small towns in Georgia to ask around until we find stories. 2010-07-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/412/million-dollar-idea Michael Larson made the most money ever on the game show Press Your Luck. And it was no accident. 2010-07-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/411/first-contact Stories of first encounters with unknown and distant beings—girls, foreigners, and perhaps even aliens. 2010-06-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/410/social-contract Richard Ravitch has helped fix three governmental crises, so what makes it so much harder for him to solve the state's current financial crisis? 2010-06-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/409/held-hostage Stories of people held captive — by criminals, by paperwork, and in one man's case, his own body — and the ways they try to cope. 2010-06-04T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/408/island-time Blanketing a country in aid and money has never really worked so well. Is there a chance things could be different in Haiti? 2010-05-21T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/407/the-bridge Stories of bridges from three different countries, including one in China that's famous for its massive size and its high suicide rate. 2010-05-07T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/406/true-urban-legends Can a rat crawl through your plumbing and end up in your toilet? 2010-04-23T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/405/inside-job The inside story of one company that made hundreds of millions of dollars for itself while worsening the financial crisis for the rest of us. 2010-04-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/404/enemy-camp-2010 Living behind enemy lines, among the enemy, it's sometimes hard to remember why you're fighting in the first place. 2010-04-02T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/403/nummi-2010 A car plant in Fremont California that might have saved the U.S. car industry. 2010-03-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/402/save-the-day Stories about one person single-handedly taking charge of a situation gone wrong. 2010-03-12T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/401/parent-trap A chimp is raised twice—once as a human child, and again as a chimp. 2010-02-19T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/400/stories-pitched-by-our-parents We try to turn their random ideas into actual stories. 2010-02-12T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/399/contents-unknown A man finds himself in a train station in India, with no idea how he got there or who he is. That, and other stories of filling in the blank. 2010-01-22T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/398/long-shot Stories of people betting on something with very bad odds. 2010-01-08T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/397/2010 We asked our contributors to predict real events that will happen to them and the people they know in 2010. 2010-01-01T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/396/1-party-school The show goes to Penn State to report on tailgating, frat parties, and other alcohol-induced mayhem. 2009-12-18T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/395/middle-of-the-night Stories of people who are up while the rest of us are sleeping. 2009-11-27T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/394/bait-and-switch The story of man who tries to investigate a neighborhood crime and ends up in jail himself. 2009-11-06T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/393/infidelity Stories of cheating, cheaters and the cheated. 2009-10-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/392/someone-elses-money A deeper look inside the health insurance industry and the dark side of prescription drug coupons. 2009-10-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/391/more-is-less An hour explaining the American health care system—specifically, why it is that costs keep rising. 2009-10-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/390/return-to-the-giant-pool-of-money We mark the anniversary of the economic collapse. 2009-09-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/389/frenemies Tales of estranged sisters, BFFs breaking up, and how reality stars walk the fine line between making friends and getting famous. 2009-09-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/388/rest-stop Nine radio reporters. Two days. One rest stop on the New York State Thruway. 2009-09-04T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/387/arms-trader-2009 The U.S. government spent two years on a sting operation trapping an Indian man suspected of being an illegal arms dealer. 2009-08-07T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/386/fine-print Stories where the fine print changes everything, whether you read it or not. 2009-07-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/385/pro-se It's tempting to act as your own lawyer, to argue your own cause. 2009-07-10T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/384/fall-guy When things go wrong, it's easy to pin it all on one person and watch them go down in flames. 2009-06-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/383/origin-story-2009 Little-known and surprising stories of how all sorts of institutions began. 2009-06-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/382/the-watchmen Where were the regulators and watchdogs who were supposed to be overseeing the banks and the finance industry? 2009-06-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/381/turncoat A well-known activist is accused of spying on other activists for the FBI. 2009-05-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/380/no-map Stories of people who find themselves in situations far from the beaten path, without guidelines or useful precedents. 2009-05-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/379/return-to-the-scene-of-the-crime A live episode of the radio program, including stories told on stage by Dan Savage and Mike Birbiglia. 2009-05-01T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/378/this-i-used-to-believe Stories of people forced to let go of their firmly held beliefs. 2009-04-17T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/377/scenes-from-a-recession We highlight the unusual circumstances our economic drought has left us in. 2009-03-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/376/wrong-side-of-history Stories of people with wildly popular or unpopular views for one moment in time, and how those views stand up years later. 2009-03-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/375/bad-bank We tackle a very tough subject: Trying to explain exactly what a bank is and does. 2009-02-27T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/374/somewhere-out-there Of the billions of people in the world, what are the odds that any two people are a real match? 2009-02-13T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/373/the-new-boss Stories about what happens when someone new takes over—someone with a vision of how things ought to be. 2009-01-30T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/372/the-inauguration-show On the eve of Obama's inauguration, we sent reporters out to talk to people about how they're feeling. 2009-01-16T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/371/scenes-from-a-mall We document life in a mall in Tennessee during the run-up to Christmas. 2008-12-26T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/370/ruining-it-for-the-rest-of-us Stories of people who ruin things for everyone else, or who are accused of that. 2008-12-19T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/369/poultry-slam-2008 A man in Pakistan buys an amulet with the power to protect anyone from harm. He tests it out on a chicken. 2008-11-28T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/368/who-do-you-think-you-are Stories of privilege and the lengths some will go to to maintain it. 2008-11-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/367/ground-game We go to Pennsylvania to figure out why both McCain and Obama think they can win there. 2008-10-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/366/a-better-mousetrap-2008 Stories about people trying to find new solutions to age-old problems. 2008-10-10T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/365/another-frightening-show-about-the-economy A look at what regulators could've done to prevent the financial crisis from happening in the first place. 2008-10-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/364/going-big Stories about people who take grand, sweeping approaches to solving problems of all sorts. 2008-09-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/363/enforcers Stories about people who take the law into their own hands. 2008-09-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/362/got-you-pegged Shalom Auslander goes on vacation with his family, and suspects the chatty old man in the room next door is an imposter. 2008-08-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/361/fear-of-sleep Mike Birbiglia talks about the sleepwalking that nearly killed him. 2008-08-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/360/switched-at-birth Two babies switched at birth. One of the moms knew but kept it a secret for 43 years. Then she told everybody. 2008-07-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/359/life-after-death Stories of people haunted by guilt over their role in others' deaths. 2008-07-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/358/social-engineering Stories of social engineering on a small scale. 2008-06-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/357/the-truth-will-out Stories of concealed truths bubbling to the surface, including a new story by Etgar Keret. 2008-06-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/356/the-prosecutor Things go badly for the lead prosecutor in one of the first high-profile terrorist cases since 9/11. 2008-05-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/355/the-giant-pool-of-money The surprisingly entertaining story of how the U.S. got itself into a housing crisis. 2008-05-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/354/mistakes-were-made Freezing dead people so scientists can reanimate them in the future is a lot harder than it sounds. 2008-04-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/353/the-audacity-of-government Stories of the Bush Administration's quest to redefine the limits of presidential power. 2008-03-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/352/the-ghost-of-bobby-dunbar In 1912, a four-year-old boy went missing in Louisiana. Eight months later, he was found. But two grief-stricken mothers both claimed the same boy as their own. 2008-03-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/351/return-to-childhood People who try to revisit their childhoods—what they find and what they do not find. 2008-03-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/350/human-resources Teachers tell us about a secret room in the New York City Board of Education building called "the rubber room." 2008-02-29T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/349/valentines-day-2008 Stories about couples that happen decades after the moment their eyes meet. 2008-02-15T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/348/tough-room We go into the writers' room at The Onion, where they start with over 600 potential headlines for their fake-news newspaper each week. 2008-02-08T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/347/matchmakers Making a lasting love match isn't as simple as writing a check. 2008-01-18T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/346/home-alone A 79-year-old woman dies alone in Los Angeles. No one knows her—or her next of kin. 2007-12-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/345/ties-that-bind A girl receives a heart transplant from a boy her age, and her mother sets off to find out more about the kid who saved her daughter's life. 2007-12-14T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/344/the-competition Stories of the unintended consequences of market forces. 2007-11-30T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/343/poultry-slam-2007 Our annual program about turkeys, chickens, and fowl of all types. 2007-11-23T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/342/how-to-rest-in-peace What happens to the people left behind after the detectives close the case? 2007-11-02T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/341/how-to-talk-to-kids Stories of adults taking very different approaches to communicating with children. 2007-10-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/340/the-devil-in-me Stories of people trying to exorcize their inner demons. 2007-09-07T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/339/break-up Starlee Kine tries to write the perfect break-up song with some help from Phil Collins. 2007-08-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/338/the-spokesman Stories of what can happen when you go from being a private person to a public face. 2007-08-10T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/337/man-vs-history Stories about people taking history into their own hands. 2007-07-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/336/who-can-you-save Stories about the pitfalls of trying to do the right thing. 2007-07-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/335/big-wide-world When he was a teenager, Haider worked in the Iraqi Ministry of Information. He was treated like a celebrity. 2007-06-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/334/duty-calls Josh's family didn't play much of a role in his daily life—until duty called, and they took over his life. 2007-06-01T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/333/the-center-for-lessons-learned Four years into the Iraq War, what have we learned? 2007-05-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/332/the-ten-commandments Stories of people struggling to follow the Ten Commandments from the book of Exodus. 2007-05-04T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/331/habeas-schmabeas-2007 Is Guantanamo Bay a camp full of terrorists, or a camp full of our mistakes? 2007-04-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/330/my-reputation Stories of people trying to recover from damage to their reputations. 2007-04-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/329/nice-work-if-you-can-get-it Stories of sudden fame, quick riches, and the downside of the dream job. 2007-04-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/328/what-i-learned-from-television Stories recorded during our 2007 live tour, by Sarah Vowell, David Rakoff, Dan Savage, and others. 2007-03-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/327/by-proxy Stories of proxy fights, proxy arguments, and proxy situations of all kinds. 2007-03-09T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/326/quiz-show A man with social anxiety goes through a transformation on a TV game show. 2007-02-16T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/325/houses-of-ill-repute An old man in Brooklyn invites some homeless prostitutes into his house on a cold winter night. They never leave. 2007-02-02T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/324/my-brilliant-plan An American reporter in Iraq decides to rent a house in a residential Baghdad neighborhood. Plus other big ideas gone amok. 2007-01-26T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/323/the-super The mysterious hold supers have on their buildings, or that their buildings have on them. 2007-01-05T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/322/shouting-across-the-divide Stories of Muslims and non-Muslims trying to communicate with each other and not always getting their point across. 2006-12-15T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/321/sink-or-swim Stories of people who are in over their heads and trying to stay afloat. 2006-12-01T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/320/whats-in-a-number-2006-edition The remarkable story of what it took to determine the number of Iraqis who've died since the U.S. invasion. 2006-11-03T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/319/and-the-call-was-coming-from-the-basement Scary stories that are all true—zombie raccoons, haunted houses, and things that go "EEEEK!!!" in the night. 2006-10-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/318/with-great-power Stories of everyday people who get saddled with great power. 2006-10-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/317/unconditional-love A family uses a controversial therapy to train their son to love them, and other stories about the hard work of loving other people. 2006-09-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/316/the-cat-came-back When something you thought was gone forever keeps returning, against all odds. 2006-08-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/315/the-parrot-and-the-potbellied-pig Stories about animals who don't even seem like they should know each other, much less appear on the same radio show. 2006-07-21T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/314/its-never-over A grown man tries to get to the bottom of why his schoolmates threw him in a lake 20 years earlier. 2006-06-23T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/313/parental-guidance-suggested Stories about kids who actually want their parents looking out for them. 2006-05-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/312/how-we-talked-back-then We revisit two live shows we put on in the early days—one was about letters, and the other was about this then-new phenomenon called the internet. 2006-05-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/311/a-better-mousetrap-2006 Stories about people trying to find new solutions to age-old problems. 2006-04-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/310/habeas-schmabeas Is Guantanamo Bay a camp full of terrorists, or a camp full of our mistakes? 2006-03-10T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/309/cat-and-mouse Stories about the kinds of chase games that just never end. 2006-02-24T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/308/star-crossed-love Stories of how love blossoms, even when (perhaps) it shouldn't. 2006-02-10T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/307/in-the-shadow-of-the-city-2006 Stories that take place on the edge of civilization, just out of sight. 2006-02-03T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/306/seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time Lotto fever grips the cast of Riverdance. 2006-01-13T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/305/the-this-american-life-holiday-spectacular A full-throttle, show-stopping, no-holds-barred Christmas Spectacular! 2005-12-23T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/304/heretics A rising star in the evangelical movement casts aside the idea of hell. 2005-12-16T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/303/david-and-goliath Variations on an old tale, with very modern consequences. 2005-12-02T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/302/strangers-in-a-strange-land Three people tell their stories from Iraq about the fighting, the locals, and why you subscribe to Details magazine. 2005-11-18T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/301/settling-the-score Stories about the lengths we go to make things right, and about what money can and cannot fix. 2005-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/300/whats-in-a-number A study estimated the number of Iraqi casualties since the war began at 100,000. Most of the deaths were caused by coalition forces. 2005-10-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/299/back-from-the-dead Stories about people and places that have come back to life after everything seemed lost. 2005-10-07T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/298/getting-and-spending How far will we go to get money? And once we've got it, what should we spend it on? 2005-09-23T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/297/this-is-not-my-beautiful-house Stories from the largest mass resettlement that America has seen since the Civil War, as over 400,000 people—victims of Hurricane Katrina. 2005-09-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/296/after-the-flood Surprising stories from survivors in New Orleans. 2005-09-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/295/not-what-i-signed-up-for A 9/11 widow finds herself having to comfort another distraught woman on national TV. 2005-08-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/294/image-makers Some librarians in Michigan embark on an audacious act of rebranding their libraries. 2005-08-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/293/a-little-bit-of-knowledge Stories about the pitfalls of knowing just a little bit too little. 2005-07-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/292/the-arms-trader-2005 The U.S. government spent two years on a sting operation trapping an Indian man named Hemant Lakhani. 2005-07-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/291/reunited-and-it-feels-so-good Stories about getting back together with your parent, your spouse, your ... Brahman bull. 2005-07-01T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/290/godless-america We spend an hour trying to remember why anyone liked the separation of church and state in the first place. 2005-06-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/289/go-ask-your-father Sons and daughters get to find out the one thing they've always wanted to know about their father. 2005-05-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/288/not-what-i-meant Stories about how easy it is for communication to go awry, and what the consequences can be after it does. 2005-05-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/287/backed-into-a-corner Stories about people who end up making choices they'd rather not make, when their options begin to run out. 2005-04-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/286/mind-games-2005 Stories of people who try simple mind games on others, and then find themselves way in over their heads. 2005-04-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/285/know-your-enemy An LA prosecutor thought he'd make a name for himself by taking the lead singer of the Dead Kennedys to court for obscenity. 2005-03-25T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/284/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go A software writer loses his job, but continues to show up at work, sneaking in the door each day and putting in long hours. 2005-03-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/283/remember-me A dying mother makes a tape for her developmentally disabled daughter, hoping she'll watch it someday, knowing she might not. 2005-02-25T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/282/diy After four lawyers fail to get an innocent man out of prison, his friend takes on the case himself. 2005-02-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/281/my-big-break Sometimes, getting your big break isn't all it's cracked up to be. 2005-01-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/280/in-country What life is like for American soldiers in Iraq. 2005-01-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/279/auto-show Stories about people who love their cars, for better or for worse. 2004-12-10T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/278/spies-like-us A woman starts hearing her neighbors making drug deals over her baby monitor's frequency. 2004-11-19T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/277/apology It's rare that a successful apology happens. 2004-11-05T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/276/swing-set A journey through the minds of undecided voters. 2004-10-29T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/275/two-steps-back The rise and fall of school reform. 2004-10-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/274/enemy-camp-2004 Behind enemy lines, sometimes people get confused about whose side they're on and how to fight the enemy. 2004-10-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/273/put-your-heart-in-it Stories about people deciding whether to give it their all. 2004-09-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/272/big-tent We leave behind the official Republican talking points and ask them to speak instead about what they actually believe. 2004-09-10T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/271/best-interests Stories about adults struggling to figure out what is in the best interest of some child. 2004-08-20T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/270/family-legend Every family has its share of grudges, secrets, and bad behavior. 2004-08-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/269/someone-to-watch-over-me Letting someone else take care of you can change everything. 2004-07-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/268/my-experimental-phase People who decide to try out a new life—the kind of life their parents never wanted for them. 2004-06-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/267/propriety By tightening the rules on what swear words are allowed on the nation's airwaves, FCC officials say they're protecting kids. But the facts don't back them up. 2004-06-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/266/im-from-the-private-sector-and-im-here-to-help Nancy Updike goes to Iraq to try to figure out what it's like to be a private citizen working in the middle of a war zone. 2004-06-04T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/265/fake-science A Seattle group called AGHOST is using whatever scientific principles they can find to hunt for ghosts. 2004-05-21T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/264/special-treatment A defense of special treatment, by people who receive it and people who give it. 2004-05-07T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/263/desperate-measures Stories of people stuck in unfixable situations who try desperate measures. 2004-04-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/262/miracle-cures A son tries to help his mom in a faraway place defy the laws of medical science. 2004-04-02T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/261/the-sanctity-of-marriage A generation of researchers has revolutionized the way we see marriage. 2004-03-26T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/260/the-facts-dont-matter How a bungled Nazi sabotage operation became the legal foundation for the Bush administration's push to try U.S. citizens in military tribunals. 2004-03-12T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/259/promised-land David Rakoff tries a 20-day fast to see if it will bring him any form of enlightenment. 2004-02-20T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/258/leaving-the-fold-2004 People leaving the situation they're used to and striking off for something less familiar. 2004-01-30T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/257/what-i-shouldve-said People return to the scene of the crime where they should have spoken clearly and forcefully to review what the hell went wrong. 2004-01-16T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/256/living-without-2004 Sarah Vowell explains the cheerful journalism of deprivation. And other stories. 2004-01-09T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/255/our-holiday-gift-giving-guide The vexing difficulty of finding the perfect gift. 2003-12-19T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/254/teenage-embed-part-two Hyder returns to Afghanistan. 2003-12-12T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/253/the-middle-of-nowhere The tiny island of Nauru is at the center of several of the decade's biggest global events. 2003-12-05T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/252/poultry-slam-2003 Turkeys, chickens, geese, ducks, fowl of all kinds, real and imagined, and their mysterious hold over us. 2003-11-28T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/251/brothers-keeper In his ongoing effort to write his own version of the Bible, Jonathan Goldstein retells the story of Cain and Abel. 2003-11-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/250/the-annoying-gap-between-theoryand-practice Why is it always harder than you think it'll be? 2003-11-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/249/garbage We follow the trash from the sanitation men on the street, to the mob guys who controlled the hauling business, to the people who actually live in dumps. 2003-10-31T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/248/like-it-or-not David Rakoff guest hosts. 2003-10-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/247/what-is-this-thing What is this thing called love? For answers, we explore the romance novel industry, a $1.5 billion empire run almost entirely by and for women. 2003-09-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/246/my-pen-pal Stories of very unusual pen pals, people whose relationship could not exist without the help of the postal service. 2003-09-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/245/allure-of-the-mean-friend They treat us badly, they don't call us back, they cancel plans at the last minute, and yet we come back for more. 2003-09-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/244/macgyver Four real stories in which real people invent amazingly clever solutions to their problems. 2003-08-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/243/later-that-same-day Stories about what the passage of time can do to someone. 2003-07-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/242/enemy-camp The story of a fixer for the Catholic Church and how he came to sympathize with the people that he was sent to deceive. 2003-07-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/241/20-acts-in-60-minutes All kinds of little stories that we ordinarily can't use on the radio show because they are just too short. 2003-07-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/240/im-in-charge-now There is a ominous information gap between the U.S. officials running the country and the Iraqi people being governed. 2003-06-20T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/239/lost-in-america Stories of people who are lost, histories that are lost, and things that are lost. 2003-06-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/238/lost-in-translation Jonathan Goldstein and Starlee Kine go to a karaoke club that has, along with all the songs, comedy routines for people to perform. 2003-05-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/237/regime-change Stories of regime change in everyday life. 2003-04-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/236/my-two-cents We try to figure out the paradox of the current economy, where Americans are simultaneously both losing jobs and buying new homes and cars. 2003-04-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/235/the-balloon-goes-up Stories from the beginnings of the war in Iraq, and how it compares with wars in our country's past. 2003-03-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/234/say-anything Does talking about it really help? 2003-03-14T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/233/starting-from-scratch A man in retirement tries to start over in a new life with a new venture: a cable channel, with lots of puppies. 2003-03-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/232/the-real-story Real stories from three very different wars. 2003-02-14T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/231/time-to-save-the-world Stories of sudden truths delivered by complete strangers. 2003-02-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/230/come-back-to-afghanistan A California teenager returns to the home country he's never known. 2003-01-31T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/229/secret-government Stories of some of the secrets our government keeps: of imprisonment, deportation, and spying. 2003-01-10T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/228/you-are-so-beautifulto-me Two modern-day reinterpretations of the Frog Prince story. 2003-01-03T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/227/why-we-fight We still have some basic questions about why we're going to war and whether it's a good thing. 2002-12-20T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/226/reruns Stories of people stuck in moments that they revisit over and over again. 2002-12-06T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/225/home-movies Home movies are often all the same—kids on the beach, people getting married, birthday parties—so why do we make and watch so many of them? 2002-11-08T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/224/middlemen "Hi, middleman. Here are three splendid acts to toast your subtle virtues." 2002-10-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/223/classifieds We take the classifieds from one Sunday edition of the paper and fill a program with stories that come from the ads. 2002-10-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/222/suckers Some people have a rather dark worldview that divides people into two groups: Suckers and non-suckers. 2002-09-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/221/fake-id Stories of people traveling under false identities, not for power or personal gain, but for their own deeper personal reasons. 2002-09-20T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/220/testosterone The pros and cons of the hormone of desire. 2002-08-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/219/high-speed-chase What happened after a group of Native American girls from one town found themselves being chased down the highway by a group of white boys from another town. 2002-08-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/218/act-v A group of inmates at a high-security prison stage a production of the last act of Hamlet. 2002-08-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/217/give-it-to-them Two years after the Mideast peace process collapsed, we wanted to understand what that has done to people living in Israel and the West Bank. 2002-08-02T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/216/give-the-people-what-they-want Ira Glass goes to a fake wedding at a home for Alzheimer's patients. 2002-07-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/215/ask-an-expert Stories about people who turned to the experts and got horrible advice. 2002-06-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/214/family-physics We take the laws of physics and apply them to the realm of human relationships. 2002-05-31T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/213/devil-on-my-shoulder Stories of people who try to convince you that the devil is there, whispering in your ear. 2002-05-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/212/the-other-man Stories about what happens when a new guy comes on the scene and changes everything. 2002-05-10T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/211/naming-names When you turn someone over to the authorities, it can set into motion lots of huge, unintended consequences. 2002-05-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/210/perfect-evidence DNA evidence isn't just proving wrongdoing by criminals, it's proving wrongdoing by police and prosecutors. 2002-04-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/209/didnt-ask-to-be-born The story of an eighth grader who set himself on fire, and what led to that. 2002-03-29T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/208/office-politics Stories of high drama from our nation's workplaces. 2002-03-15T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/207/special-ed Stories about people who were told that they're different. 2002-03-08T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/206/somewhere-in-the-arabian-sea Life aboard an aircraft carrier stationed in the Arabian Sea supporting bombing missions over Afghanistan. 2002-03-01T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/205/plan-b There's the thing you plan to do, and then there's the thing you end up doing. 2002-02-01T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/204/81-words How the American Psychiatric Association decided that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness. 2002-01-18T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/203/recordings-for-someone Personal recordings one person made for just one other person. 2002-01-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/202/faith Stories of faith: losing it, talking about it, constructing it, and working within it. 2001-12-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/201/them In a time of war, when we're all feeling a heightened sense of "us" and "them," we wanted to take up the problem of "them." 2001-12-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/200/hearts-and-minds Of all the wars to win, perhaps the propaganda war is the hardest. 2001-11-30T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/199/house-on-loon-lake A young boy, an abandoned house, and the mysterious family who disappeared without a trace. 2001-11-16T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/198/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people Stories of people climbing to be number one. How do they do it? 2001-11-02T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/197/before-it-had-a-name In 1946, a man started to investigate the Holocaust before it was known as the Holocaust, gathering the first recorded testimonials of concentration camp survivors. 2001-10-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/196/rashomon The events of September 11th, and how its meaning changes depending on who you talk to. 2001-10-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/195/war-stories We try to sort out what the war in Afghanistan will be like. 2001-09-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/194/before-and-after Stories in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001. 2001-09-21T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/193/stories-of-loss A collection of stories in which people try to make sense of loss. 2001-09-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/192/meet-the-pros The story of one man's journey from obscurity to international professional celebrity. 2001-08-31T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/191/i-know-what-you-did-this-summer Scott Carrier travels cross-country without air conditioning, during weather in which it's too hot to stay in the car and too hot to get out. 2001-08-17T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/190/living-the-dream There's a deep impulse in American culture that says that you can make yourself into anyone. 2001-08-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/189/hitlers-yacht A modern-day fable about what happens when the free market, the media, the World War II buffs, the Neo-Nazis, and the Jews all collide over a huge Nazi tourist trap. 2001-07-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/188/kid-logic-2001 Stories of kids using perfectly logical arguments, and arriving at perfectly wrong conclusions. 2001-06-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/187/fathers-day-01 Stories of dads who are utterly human in scale. 2001-06-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/186/prom While the seniors danced at Prom Night 2001 in Hoisington, Kansas—a town of about 3,000—a tornado hit the town. 2001-06-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/185/golden-calf Stories of people worshiping false idols, and whether that's always a bad thing. 2001-05-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/184/neighbors An average Chicagoan decides to appeal the disputes and problems in his neighborhood to a higher authority, Mr. Rogers. Yes, that Mr. Rogers. 2001-05-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/183/the-missing-parents-bureau Women planning to get pregnant with the help of a sperm bank tell us about the questions they wrestle with of how much they want to know about the fathers of their kids. 2001-04-20T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/182/cringe Tales of personal humiliation, romance gone wrong, and people who profoundly misjudge how they're perceived by others. 2001-04-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/181/the-friendly-man Stories from Scott Carrier, whose strange and compelling tales sound like nothing else on the radio. 2001-04-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/180/return-to-childhood-2001 Alex Blumberg tries to find a woman who babysat him when he was nine, and other stories of people trying to revisit their childhoods. 2001-03-23T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/179/cicero The story of what was, at one time, one of most notoriously racist and corrupt suburbs in America. 2001-03-16T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/178/superpowers Which is better: flight or invisibility? 2001-02-23T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/177/american-limbo Stories of people living completely outside the grid of American life. 2001-02-09T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/176/two-nations-one-president Democrats explain why they're having trouble getting over the 2001 election, and Republicans explain why this is so infuriating. 2001-01-26T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/175/babysitting A brother and sister decide to invent children to babysit, as an excuse to get out of their own house. 2001-01-05T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/174/birthdays-anniversaries-and-milestones A live show taped for our fifth anniversary. 2000-12-29T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/173/three-kinds-of-deception A story of self-deception, a story about deceiving others, and a story about accidental deception. 2000-12-15T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/172/24-hours-at-the-golden-apple One day in a Chicago diner. 2000-11-17T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/171/election Stories for the eve of the 2000 presidential election, in which we try to look beneath the candidates' soundbites. 2000-11-03T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/170/immigration We look at a 1996 immigration law that is too obscure for most of us to have heard of, but which affects tens of thousands of lives in huge ways. 2000-10-13T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/169/pursuit-of-happiness What does it mean to grow up in a country with an inalienable right to pursue happiness? 2000-09-29T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/168/the-fix-is-in We go inside the back rooms of one multinational corporation and hear the intricate workings of how they put the fix in. 2000-09-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/167/memo-to-the-people-of-the-future Stories of people who are trying to control how they'll be seen by generations to come. 2000-09-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/166/nobodys-family-is-going-to-change Does anyone's family ever change? 2000-08-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/165/americans-in-paris David Sedaris takes Ira on a tour of his favorite spots in Paris. 2000-07-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/164/crime-scene-2000 Crime scenes and the stories they tell. 2000-07-07T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/163/can-you-fight-city-hallif-you-are-city-hall Stories of people who stand up alone for what's right, damn the consequences. 2000-06-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/162/moving Stories of people who did not want to move but circumstance forced their hands. 2000-06-23T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/161/million-bubbles A look at what's going on inside the individual glass and steel worlds of our cars. 2000-06-02T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/160/character-assassination David Foster Wallace reports on a turning point in the 2000 presidential primary. 2000-05-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/159/mothers-day Stories of moms: How they treat us, how we treat them. 2000-05-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/158/mob-mentality The pleasure and the terror of being in a rampaging, angry mob. 2000-05-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/157/secret-life-of-daytime All those people you see in the middle of the workday, in coffee shops and bookstores—why aren't they at work? 2000-04-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/156/what-remains Stories of people revisiting what happened, and who they were back when. 2000-03-31T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/155/hoaxing-yourself-2000 Stories of people who tell a lie and then believe the lie more than anyone else does. 2000-03-17T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/154/in-dog-we-trust-2000 Exactly how much are the animals that live in our home caught up in everyday family dynamics? 2000-03-10T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/153/dolls The story of the book The Lonely Doll and its author, and how the author's life came to resemble something from her book. 2000-03-03T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/152/crush What if you held onto a high-school crush? Under what conditions would it never go away? Tobias Wolff reads a short story called "Kiss." 2000-02-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/151/primary Stories from the New Hampshire primary. We hear from voters who've found candidates they love. And we hear what those voters are seeing that the rest of us aren't. 2000-01-28T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/150/kids-as-adults Stories of kids trying to act like adults—some by choice—some because they're forced to. 2000-01-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/149/bedside-diplomacy In the hospital, we're in a place that has its own rules and its own language and its own customs. 2000-01-14T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/148/the-angels-wanna-wear-my-red-suit The many, many different versions of Santa Claus. 1999-12-24T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/147/a-teenagers-guide-to-god Oh faithless and perverse generation? How long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?—Matthew 17. 1999-12-17T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/146/urban-nature David Rakoff visits Iceland, where the government is careful not to disturb certain boulders because some people believe that elves live there. 1999-12-10T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/145/poultry-slam-1999 Our annual program about turkeys, chickens, fowl of all types, and their mysterious hold over our imaginations. 1999-11-26T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/144/where-words-fail People struggle to invent words adequate to cope with death. 1999-11-05T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/143/sentencing Have mandatory minimum sentences gone too far? 1999-10-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/142/barbara We hear the story of one African-American single mother who recorded her family's life over the course of seven months. 1999-10-15T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/141/invisible-worlds Stories of people who are trying to make invisible worlds visible. 1999-10-01T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/140/family-business What happens when the tension of family dynamics collides with the pressure of capitalist market forces. 1999-09-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/139/ghosts-of-elections-past Stories designed to provide some small sense of hope about American politics. 1999-09-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/138/the-real-thing Stories of people drawn to some idea, some picture, some "thing" that they just want to be. 1999-08-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/137/the-book-that-changed-your-life We want to believe our lives can be changed by a set of ideas contained in a book. 1999-08-20T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/136/you-are-here Three stories, three people, and three sets of maps. 1999-08-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/135/allure-of-crime Through our crimes, we express who we are. 1999-07-23T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/134/we-didnt It turns out that not falling in love, not doing our jobs, not spending time with our families is every bit as vivid and complicated an experience as doing something. 1999-07-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/133/sales We accompany a Hollywood screenwriter as he tries to sell a movie idea and find ourselves asking, is the art of commerce better than the art of art? 1999-06-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/132/fathers-day-99 Photographer Joel Meyerowitz goes on a last big trip with his father, who has Alzheimer's, and his son. 1999-06-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/131/the-kids-are-alright Stories in which young people take matters into their own hands, broadcast for the tenth anniversary of the crackdown at Tiananmen Square. 1999-06-04T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/130/away-from-home Stories of people going home to places they've never been before. 1999-05-21T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/129/advice What if you asked people for advice and actually took ALL of the advice that everyone gave you? Sarah Vowell tried exactly that. 1999-05-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/128/four-corners We try to tell the story of life in America through portraits of life in four different states across the nation. 1999-04-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/127/pimp-anthropology A former pimp tells how he and three childhood friends became pimps in the 1970s in Oakland, California. 1999-04-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/126/do-gooders Two do-gooders try to change things in their hometown for the better. But the more they try, the more people resent them. 1999-04-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/125/apocalypse Fundamentalist Christians and Orthodox Jews are combining forces to breed a perfect red cow that could bring about the end of the world. 1999-04-02T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/124/welcome-to-america Stories of people moving to this country: what they see and hear that those of us who were born here don't. 1999-03-19T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/123/high-cost-of-living Stories of people who choose not to live every moment to the fullest or smell the roses. 1999-02-26T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/122/valentines-day-99 Stories of impossible love and heartbreak. 1999-02-12T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/121/twentieth-century-man What happens if you're too good at throwing everything out and starting over? 1999-01-29T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/120/be-careful-who-you-pretend-to-be Three stories of people pretending to be something they're not, and what happens to them. 1999-01-22T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/119/lockup Stories of the lives of prisoners in the United States, and the lives of their families. 1999-01-08T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/118/what-you-lookin-at Stories about seeing and being seen, taped before a live audience in Town Hall in New York City. 1998-12-18T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/117/you-gonna-eat-that The family table is stage on which many family dramas are played out. 1998-12-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/116/poultry-slam-1998 Our annual program about turkeys, chickens, and fowl of all types. 1998-11-27T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/115/first-day A rookie cop and a squirrel, and other stories of first days on the job. 1998-11-13T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/114/last-words Stories of people's last words before death. 1998-10-23T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/113/windfall What happens when you suddenly strike it rich? 1998-10-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/112/ladies-and-germs How irrational fear of germs means that you aren't going to get good apple cider in your local supermarket this fall. 1998-10-02T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/111/adventures-in-the-simple-life I thought this was supposed to be easy. 1998-09-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/110/mapping The world redrawn by the five senses. 1998-09-04T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/109/notes-on-camp We attempt to bridge the gap of misunderstanding between camp people and non-camp people. 1998-08-28T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/108/truth-and-lies-at-age-ten A woman who'd been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis talks about the lies she told herself as a child. 1998-08-07T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/107/trail-of-tears-1998 Sarah Vowell re-traces the route her Cherokee ancestors took when expelled from their own land by President Andrew Jackson. 1998-07-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/106/fathers-day-98 Stories in which fathers and their kids sit down and try to have an honest moment together. 1998-06-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/105/take-a-negro-home Two stories of people who try to cross the color line, and why it's still so hard. 1998-06-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/104/music-lessons David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell on what's frustrating about music lessons, what's miraculous about them, and what they actually teach us. 1998-06-05T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/103/scenes-from-a-transplant An NPR reporter leaves her three-year-old son and heads to Omaha—for cancer treatment, and a last chance to save her life. 1998-05-29T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/102/road-trip With so many songs, movies, and books about the joy of the open road, it's hard to take just a normal road trip without huge expectations. 1998-05-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/101/niagara The story of a town that started with something huge—the falls—and built nothing lasting from it. 1998-05-01T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/100/radio A radio show about what makes radio so great, and what makes it so terrible. 1998-04-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/99/i-enjoy-being-a-girl-sort-of Variations on what it means to be a girl and what it means to be a woman. 1998-04-10T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/98/throwing-the-first-punch Stories about what it means to be a person who throws the first punch, and how hard it is to give up. 1998-03-27T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/97/death-to-wacky David Sedaris tells true stories of photographers who try to take pictures of him which will make him seem "wacky." That, and other stories of wackiness. 1998-03-20T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/96/pinned-by-history Stories of people who were lifted out of everyday life, thrown into much bigger events, and how that made sense of what they did years after the fact. 1998-03-13T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/95/monogamy Stories of people struggling to redefine monogamy, to stay monogamous, and what we should make of these ad hoc experiments in everyday life. 1998-03-06T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/94/how-to Ira teaches Sarah Vowell how to drive with some advice from the hosts of Car Talk. 1998-02-27T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/93/valentines-day-98 Stories about couples that all take place decades after that moment their eyes first meet. 1998-02-13T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/92/leave-the-mask-on When someone tries to tell you a little bit more about themselves than you'd really rather know. 1998-02-06T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/91/escape-the-box Stories of people trying to escape the box of their own lives, and create new lives. 1998-01-30T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/90/telephone The story of a teenager, illegal drug use, lying, stealing, and a kid's life changed completely when he heard how he sounded on the phone. 1998-01-16T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/89/sibling-rivalry Stories about people who are destined to fight: brothers and sisters. 1998-01-09T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/88/numbers People trying to use numbers to describe things that should not be quantified. 1998-01-02T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/87/a-very-special-sedaris-christmas Holiday stories from David Sedaris and Julia Sweeney. 1997-12-19T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/86/how-to-take-money-from-strangers A con man who's so good he's thanked. 1997-12-12T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/85/poultry-slam-1997 Chickens and turkeys are a mirror of ourselves. 1997-12-05T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/84/harold The story of Harold Washington and the white backlash that was set off when he became Chicago's first black mayor. 1997-11-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/83/one-of-us Stories of outsiders who want to be insiders, and vice versa. 1997-11-14T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/82/haunted Stories of people who are haunted, not by ghosts or phantoms, but by other people. 1997-10-31T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/81/guns Americans who love their guns, and the Americans who love them. 1997-10-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/80/running-after-antelope Scott Carrier with the latest installment in his 12-year quest to chase down and catch an antelope. 1997-10-17T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/79/stuck-in-the-wrong-decade People stuck in the wrong decade, or simply carrying a lot of the props from another decade. 1997-10-10T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/78/how-bad-is-bad Ira Glass talks to three teenage boys who buy computer equipment using stolen credit card numbers. And other stories. 1997-10-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/77/pray Can the secular world and the religious world understand each other? 1997-09-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/76/mob The mob as portrayed in movies, and as it is in real life. And its hold over us. 1997-09-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/75/kindness-of-strangers A locksmith tells the story of an act of kindness he committed, hoping for a small reward. That, and other stories of kindness in New York City. 1997-09-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/74/conventions What happens when people with a common interest gather in fluorescent-lit halls? Sometimes they drive each other crazy, sometimes they fall in love. 1997-08-29T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/73/blame-it-on-art Mona LisaThe darker side of the art world: petty jealousies, competitiveness, failure. 1997-08-22T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/72/trek The story of two Americans—one white, one black—who go to South Africa and have very different opinions about what they find. 1997-08-08T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/71/defying-sickness A man goes on a last big trip with his father who has Alzheimer's. 1997-08-01T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/70/other-peoples-mail Four stories of people who read other people's mail, and what happens to them once they get caught up in these other lives. 1997-07-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/69/dream-house Parents moving the family to some new place, hoping it works out for the kids. 1997-07-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/68/lincolns-second-inaugural We look at the legacy of the most moving, poetic inaugural speech in American history. 1997-07-04T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/67/your-dream-my-nightmare An interracial couple takes a plantation tour. And other stories in which someone's dream is someone else's nightmare. 1997-06-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/66/tales-from-the-net Listeners sent us samples of what they're finding on the internet, including postings from Usenet groups, favorite web pages, and their own email. 1997-06-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/65/whos-canadian Canadians claim they're no different from red-blooded Americans. We put their position to the test. 1997-05-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/64/summer We want summer to be this wonderful break, but so often it fails to deliver. 1997-05-23T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/63/one-thing A man tries to run for President as a utopian nudist, and other stories of people whose lives are organized around one thing. 1997-05-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/62/something-for-nothing Twenty-four people put one hand on a Hardbody pickup truck and wait...until only one person is left standing. Plus other stories of people trying to get rich quick. 1997-05-02T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/61/fiasco-1997 Stories of when things go wrong. Really wrong. 1997-04-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/60/business-of-death Stories of people for whom death is a job—undertakers, homicide detectives, slaughterhouse workers, and others. 1997-04-18T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/59/fire Stories about people who are not afraid of fire, though perhaps they should be. 1997-04-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/58/small-towns The claustrophobia, freedom, and yearning people feel in small towns. 1997-04-04T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/57/delivery Stories about the delivery business and the people in it: UPS men, bike messengers, FedEx dispatchers. 1997-03-14T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/56/name-change Name changes are particularly American stories: they're the dream of starting over with a clean slate. 1997-03-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/55/three-women-and-the-sex-industry Radio producer Sandy Tolan was supposed to do a documentary about strippers with an aspiring writer—and stripper—named Susan. But then Susan disappeared. 1997-02-28T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/54/sinatra Stories, tributes, and attempts to understand the Chairman of the Board. 1997-02-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/53/valentines-day-97 Stories about our parents falling in love. 1997-02-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/52/edge-of-sanity Stories about the border between mental health and mental illness. 1997-01-31T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/51/animals-die-people-ponder Stories of people who handle dead animals. (Don't worry—it's not as gross as it sounds.) Featuring a story by George Saunders. 1997-01-24T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/50/shoulda-been-dead A man decides to live as if he'll die in six months. That, and other stories of starting life over. 1997-01-17T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/49/animals Stories about the animalness of animals, the irreducible ways in which they are not human. 1997-01-10T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/48/justice A portrait of Americans at the International Tribunal. 1997-01-03T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/47/christmas-and-commerce The intersection of Christmas and retail, including David Sedaris's "Santaland Diaries." 1996-12-20T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/46/sissies A family where the father was one kind of sissy and the son was another kind, and how the family was destroyed despite the fact that no one wanted it to be. 1996-12-13T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/45/media-fringe People struggling at the fringes of our nation's infotainment industry. 1996-12-06T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/44/poultry-slam-1996 Stories about turkeys, chickens, ducks, and fowl of all kinds. 1996-11-29T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/43/faustian-bargains People who made a deal with the devil. 1996-11-22T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/42/get-over-it Trying to forget the past and move on. 1996-11-15T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/41/politics Stories of the election you can't hear anywhere else. 1996-11-08T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/40/lessons Spalding Gray on finding the zen of skiing. 1996-11-01T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/39/halloween Stories of things that are supposed to be scary, but aren't. 1996-10-25T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/38/simulated-worlds Civil War reenactments, wax museums, simulated coal mines, fake ethnic restaurants, an ersatz Medieval castle, and other re-created worlds that thrive all across America. 1996-10-11T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/37/the-job-that-takes-over-your-life Scott Carrier got a job interviewing schizophrenics. After awhile, he began to wonder if he was a schizophrenic himself. 1996-09-27T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/36/letters We took out advertisements in Chicago inviting people to share letters they've received, sent, or found. 1996-09-20T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/35/fall-clearance-sale Stories that haven't fit into any of our regular "theme" shows. 1996-09-06T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/34/democratic-convention Unusual stories from the 1996 Democratic Convention in Chicago. 1996-08-30T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/33/a-night-at-the-wiener-circle Ira Glass spends a night at one of the most boisterous hot dog stands in the nation: Chicago's Wiener Circle. 1996-08-23T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/32/republican-convention Unusual stories about day-to-day life at the Republican Convention. 1996-08-16T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/31/when-you-talk-about-music Stories of people whose lives are transformed by music. 1996-08-09T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/30/obsession What happens when a little idea starts to control you. 1996-07-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/29/bob-dole Unusual perspectives on the presumptive Republican nominee. 1996-07-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/28/detectives David Sedaris recalls the days when his mother and sister played armchair detective. 1996-07-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/27/the-cruelty-of-children A story of youthful backstabbing by David Sedaris. 1996-06-21T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/26/fathers-day-96 Ira's own father, Barry Glass, co-hosts this special Father's Day show. 1996-06-14T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/25/basketball The Chicago Bulls and their grip on Chicagoans' hearts and lives during the NBA playoffs. 1996-06-07T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/24/teenaged-girls Girls who have to figure out how they're going to act when the ground rules are constantly shifting. 1996-05-24T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/23/drama-bug Stories of the people who fall for a life in the theater. 1996-05-10T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/22/adult-children Stories of the difficult relationships between parents and their grown children. 1996-05-03T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/21/factions Friends get together to start a business, start a church, do political action together. And after a while, they start fighting and split up. 1996-04-26T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/20/from-a-distance Stories of admiring someone from afar, and trying to get closer to them. 1996-04-19T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/19/rich-guys Men who had comfortable, decent lives, yet decided to do something wild and eccentric. 1996-04-12T00:00:00-04:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/18/liars A girl who adored her father tries to figure out what to think after he takes some of her college money and lies to her about it. 1996-03-28T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/17/name-change-no-theme Our first show as This American Life. 1996-03-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/16/economy Politics, the economy, and the big picture. 1996-03-14T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/15/dawn Jack Hitt stumbles onto an epic story of the Old South and changing cultural norms in America. 1996-02-28T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/14/accidental-documentaries Stories made from old recordings found in attics and thrift stores. 1996-02-21T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/13/love The dream of true love and the difficulties with achieving and maintaining that dream. 1996-02-07T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/12/animals The animalness of animals, and the irreducible ways in which they are not human. 1996-01-31T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/11/enemies A friendship between two young boys that was destroyed through the manipulative acts of one of them. 1996-01-24T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/10/double-lives People living their lives, just like the rest of us. Plus an extra life. 1996-01-17T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/9/julia-sweeney Julia Sweeney and her brother found out they each had cancer six months apart. 1996-01-10T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/8/new-year Reflecting back on 1995. 1996-01-03T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/7/quitting People who quit everything in their lives that they hated. 1995-12-29T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/6/christmas A Christmas radio play by David Sedaris. 1995-12-22T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/5/anger-and-forgiveness Stories that reveal the societal "trend" toward anger and away from genuine forgiveness. 1995-12-15T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/4/vacations Vacations gone awry—or perhaps vacations that never should have happened. 1995-12-08T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/3/poultry-slam-1995 Decrying the wonders of turkeys, chickens, and other fowl. 1995-12-01T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/2/small-scale-sin Three teenage boys tell us about their forays into low-level credit card hacking. 1995-11-24T00:00:00-05:00 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/1/new-beginnings Our very first broadcast. 1995-11-17T00:00:00-05:00