This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 1.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.
When the best—and perhaps only—way to say something is to write it down.
Prologue: Ira goes out with a letter carrier, ‘Grace,’ as she delivers mail on her route. He learns about the people who bring us our mail and also how people treat their mail. (1...
In a crisis, when all logic suggests that you get away from the dangerous thing, how will you respond?
Prologue: Ira talks to two members of a recreational swimming club who intentionally swam straight toward a shark that had just bitten their friend. ...
People rethinking some of the most important relationships in their lives — with their sister, their political party, and the nominee for president.
Prologue: Ira observes that we are in a moment of national reconsideration. (2 minutes)Act One: Zoe Cha...
Boen Wang has a theory that a lot of the misery in his life can be traced to a single moment that happened years before he was born. So he makes a pilgrimage to see if he’s right.
Prologue: Ira talks about what it’s like to go back to 1119 Bayard Stree...
Yousef is forced into a move he is not sure he can make.
Prologue: Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Yousef Hammash has decided where to go next and when. In Rafah, he is out of options and faces his toughest move yet. (5Â minutes)Act One: Yousef ...
Donald Trump has talked about taking retribution on his enemies since the early days of his 2024 presidential campaign. After his conviction last week in New York, his talk intensified. We try to understand what his retribution might look like by speak...
People tethered to one particular other person, whether they want to be or not.
Prologue: Guest host Emmanuel Dzotsi talks to Leroy Smith about how one high school basketball tryout forever changed Leroy’s relationship to a childhood friend. (7 minutes...
How they organize the chaos of the world, for good and for bad.
Prologue: Ira interviews David Wallechinsky, who wrote a wildly popular book in the 1970s called The Book of Lists, full of trivia and research, gathered into lists like "18 Brains" and "W...
The trial for the men accused of orchestrating the September 11 terrorist attacks still hasn’t started yet. Family members of those who died that day are still hoping for some kind of accountability, more than 22 years later. This week, the story of ho...
For years, Majid believed that if he could testify in court about what happened to him when he was held in a CIA black site, a judge and jury would give him a break. Finally, he got a chance to see if he was right.
Prologue: Ira talks about the excitin...
