This American Life

Ira Glass shares some news about This American Life To sign up as a Life Partner, visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners

What happens when people create alternate versions of themselves and release them into the wild? Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

When Zohran Mamdani won the primary race for New York mayor, the Democratic establishment's lukewarm response echoed the treatment of another charismatic, unconventional candidate decades earlier. This week, we bring you the story of Harold Washington, the greatest politician you've probably never heard of, and the backlash that ensued when he became Chicago's first Black mayor. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Stories of people who try simple mind games on others, and then find themselves way in over their heads. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

A group of immigration judges, who almost never speak to the press, describes the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Things are different on college campuses this year. We see inside the drama, with students and staff. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Small human plans that run into much larger obstacles. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Since October 7th, while the world has focused its attention on Gaza, the Israeli government has tightened the screws on the three million Palestinians in the West Bank in all sorts of dramatic ways. We travel to the West Bank to see these changes in person. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

What is it about them, our mean friends? They treat us poorly, they don't call us back, they cancel plans at the last minute, and yet we keep coming back for more. Popular bullies exist in business, politics — everywhere. How do they stay so popular? Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

The story of the most commonly performed surgery, and what goes wrong with it – terribly wrong – 100,000 times a year in the United States. We’re excited to bring you the first episode of The Retrievals, Season 2, the new show from longtime This American Life producer and editor Susan Burton. It’s from Serial Productions and The New York Times. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

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, join at thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners.

When you’re the only one who can see something, sometimes it feels like you’re in on a special secret. The hard part is getting anyone to believe your secret is real. This week, people trying to show others what they see—including a woman with muscular dystrophy who believes she has the same condition as an Olympic athlete. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Summer is a time when change seems more possible than ever. But is that really how it happens? Can people actually reinvent themselves in the warmer months? This week, we present stories — and some comedy — about people and their summer selves. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

People on a mission to achieve their goals before their window of opportunity closes. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

On his first day in office, President Trump decided to freeze all U.S. foreign aid. Soon after, his administration effectively dissolved USAID—the federal agency that delivers billions in food, medicine, and other aid worldwide. Many of its programs have been canceled. Now, as USAID officially winds down, we try to assess its impact. What was good? What was not so good? We meet people around the world wrestling with these questions and trying to navigate this chaotic moment. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

In honor of Father’s Day, stories of sons and daughters finding out the one thing they've always wanted to know about their father. The answers aren't always what they’d hoped for. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

We got a tip about a meat plant selling pig intestines as fake calamari, wondered if it could be true, and decided to investigate. Doppelgängers, doubles, evil twins and not-so-evil twins, this week. Fred Armisen co-hosts with Ira Glass. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Conversations across a divide: Palestinians who are outside Gaza check in with family, friends, and strangers inside. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

A show about people who are suddenly confronted with who they are. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Mike Birbiglia got used to strange things happening to him when he slept—until something happened that almost killed him. This and other reasons to fear sleep, including bedbugs, "The Shining," and mild-mannered husbands who turn into maniacs while asleep. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.