This American Life-logo

This American Life

Chicago Public Media

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.

Location:

Chicago, IL

Description:

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.

Language:

English


Episodes

826: Unprepared for What Has Already Happened

3/17/2024
People waking up to the fact that the world has suddenly changed. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:02:49

304: Heretics

3/10/2024
The story of Reverend Carlton Pearson. He was a rising star in the evangelical movement when he cast aside the idea of hell and, with it, everything he'd worked for over his entire life. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:59:22

825: Yousef

3/3/2024
A series of phone calls to a man in Gaza named Yousef Hammash, between early December and now. He talks about what he and his family are experiencing, sometimes as they are experiencing it. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:06:03

824: Family Meeting

2/25/2024
Your mother and I have something we want to talk with you about. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:58:52

653: Crime Scene

2/18/2024
Every crime scene hides a story. In this week's show, we hear about crime scenes and the stories they tell. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:00:16

791: Math or Magic?

2/11/2024
When it comes to finding love, there seems to be two schools of thought on the best way to go about it. One says, wait for that lightning-strike magic. The other says, make a calculation and choose the best option available. Who has it right? Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:56:34

823: The Question Trap

2/4/2024
An investigation of when and why people ask loaded questions that are a proxy for something else. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:57:30

822: The Words to Say It

1/28/2024
What it means to have words—and to lose them. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:58:01

821: Embrace the Suck

1/21/2024
People finding themselves in situations that are worse than they thought and deciding to really go with it. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:58:44

567: What’s Going On In There?

1/14/2024
Often we see someone’s situation from the outside and think we know exactly what’s going on. This week, we get inside and find out just how much more interesting the reality of it is. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:59:31

205: Plan B

1/7/2024
There's the thing you plan to do, and then there's the thing you end up doing. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:00:03

241: 20 Acts in 60 Minutes

12/31/2023
Instead of the usual "each week we choose a theme, and bring you 3 or 4 stories on that theme" business, we throw all that away and bring you 20 stories—yes, 20—in 60 minutes. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:59:10

820: It Wouldn’t Be Make-Believe If You’d Believe In Me

12/24/2023
A major political party in a major swing state bets on a new leader: a total political outsider. How does that work out for them? Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:02:23

819: Special Bonus Podcast — Yousef’s Week

12/22/2023
One of our producers, Chana Joffe-Walt, had a series of conversations with a man in Gaza over the course of one week. They're so immediate – and particular to this moment in the war in Gaza – that we're bringing them to you now, outside of our regular schedule. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:42:42

819: Special Bonus Podcast — Yousef’s Week

12/22/2023
One of our producers, Chana Joffe-Walt, had a series of conversations with a man in Gaza over the course of one week. They're so immediate – and particular to this moment in the war in Gaza – that we're bringing them to you now, outside of our regular schedule. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:42:42

819: Special Bonus Podcast — Yousef’s Week

12/22/2023
A series of conversations with a man in Gaza over the course of one week. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:42:42

818: Stand Clear of the Closing Doors

12/17/2023
In the last year and a half, 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. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:17:47

786: It's a Game Show!

12/10/2023
Something we’ve never done before: true stories told in the form of a game show. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:04:49

817: The Cavalry Is Not Coming

12/3/2023
When you realize that help is not on the way, what do you do next? Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:59:38

816: Poultry Slam

11/26/2023
During the highest turkey consumption period of the year, we bring you a This American Life tradition: stories of turkeys, chickens, geese, ducks, fowl of all kinds—real and imagined—and their mysterious hold over us. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:57:50