This American Life
Hosted by This American Life
About this Show
Each week we choose a theme. Then anything can happen. This American Life is true stories that unfold like little movies for radio. Personal stories with funny moments, big feelings, and surprising plot twists. Newsy stories that try to capture what it’s like to be alive right now. It’s the most popular weekly podcast in the world, and winner of the first ever Pulitzer Prize for a radio show or podcast. Hosted by Ira Glass and produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago.
Latest Episodes
489: No Coincidence, No Story!
We asked listeners to send us their best coincidence stories, and we got more than 1,300 submissions! There were so many good ones that we decided to make a whole show about them. From a chance encounter at a bus station to a romantic dollar bill to a baffling apparition in a college shower stall...
427: Original Recipe
We discover what we believe might be the original recipe for Coca-Cola…and share it with you! When this episode first aired in 2011, it made international headlines. This, and another story about telling copies from originals. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium su...
899: Reaching Out
Sayre Quevedo’s invented a way to do a podcast that feels completely new. He’s been recording nearly all his conversations for years, and the result is something that captures a person’s life in a raw and complicated way that’s rarely heard. His new show Reaching Out also documents his mutually j...
898: An Argument
Nikole Hannah-Jones made an argument 10 years ago in The New York Times Magazine that became famous. She wrote about choosing a public school for her daughter, Najya, in one of the most racially and economically segregated school systems in the country: New York City. Nikole chose a regular publi...
897: Intergenerational Space Travel
People braving the true final frontier — the gap between people born at slightly different times. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.(00:00:00) Prologue: Last fall, some NPR podcasts started getting mysterious comments on Spotify. They made no sense t...
896: I Know What You Need
Moments when it seems obvious what to do for someone else, so of course you jump in and try to help — and what happens after that. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.(00:00:00) Prologue: Devon Taylor tells host Ira Glass about a time she confronted p...
895: Label Maker!
Labels are powerful. They can distill you down to a single word. They can get stuck on you without your permission. And sometimes, when they get taken away, they can upend your entire life. On this episode: labels and the havoc they wreak. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for o...
894: I Couldn't Help but Notice
People dealing with new, glaring, massive changes happening right where they live. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.(00:00:00) Prologue: Rick Cole, a city councilmember in Pasadena, CA, talks to Ira about how he responded to a surprise nighttime mil...
893: Testosterone
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered everyone over 30 in the military to have their testosterone tested. That inspired us to rerun this classic episode where everyone at This American Life tested their testosterone and compared results. It did not lead to workplace harmony. Visit thisameri...
892: Trapped on a Bus
People on journeys they did not intend — or agree to. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.(00:00:00) Prologue: A woman on a nighttime bus ride wakes up to discover the bus driver is taking the passengers somewhere none of them want to go. (8 minutes)(...
Ira (Reluctantly) Gives a Graduation Speech
Ira always hated commencement speeches. Then he felt like he had to give this one. thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners
New Lore Drop
People discovering information about their own lives that they did not know and suddenly everything looks very different.
An Update from Ira
Ira Glass shares some news about This American Life To sign up as a Life Partner, visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners
Bonus: Nancy's Deep Cuts
Ira Glass talks with longtime producer Nancy Updike about the most personal stories they have put on the radio. This is a sample of the bonus episodes we regularly release to our This American Life Partners. To gain access to all the bonus episodes AND help us keep making This American Life, joi...
A Big Announcement
Ira Glass has news to share about some things happening here at This American Life. To sign up as a Life Partner, visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners.