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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.

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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

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

815: How I Learned to Shave

11/19/2023
Things our dads taught us, whether they intended to or not. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:00:27

814: Parents Are People

11/12/2023
What happens when you realize the people in charge don’t have the answers. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:03:14

813: Is That What I Look Like?

11/5/2023
You've been seeing yourself, getting to know what you look like, your whole life. So why does it often take an outsider to see things about you that are obvious, and set you straight? Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:54:56

319: And the Call Was Coming from the Basement

10/29/2023
For the lead up to Halloween, scary stories that are all true. Zombie raccoons, haunted houses—real haunted houses!—and things that go "EEEEK!!!" in the night. Plus, a story by David Sedaris in which he walks among the dead. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:58:10

812: The Bear at the End of the Tunnel

10/22/2023
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. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:03:50

477: Getting Away With It

10/15/2023
People breaking the rules fully, completely, and with no bad consequences. Some justify this by saying they’re doing it for others, or for a greater good. Some really don’t care. And, unlike the mealy weaklings you usually hear on this program: none of these wrongdoers seems regretful about what they’ve done. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:59:49

751: Audience of One

10/8/2023
We bring the movies to you. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:11:52

811: The One Place I Can’t Go

10/1/2023
Spots we’re avoiding in our private maps of the world. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:00:16

779: Ends of the Earth

9/24/2023
An exploration of the very upper limits of what you do for someone you love. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:06:02

810: Say It to My Face

9/17/2023
Friends and ex-friends finally talk about the one thing between them they've been avoiding. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:03:25

809: The Call

9/10/2023
One call to a very unusual hotline, and everything that followed. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:01:58

388: Rest Stop

9/3/2023
Nine radio reporters. Two days. One rest stop on the New York State Thruway. Stories of people who are just passing through, and the ones who can’t leave, because this is where their jobs are. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:00:20

323: The Super

8/27/2023
The mysterious hold supers have on their buildings, or that their buildings have on them. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:00:30

808: The Rest of the Story

8/20/2023
Legendary radio broadcaster Paul Harvey had a popular show called “The Rest of the Story.” Today on our show, we do just that. We hear from people who, whether they want to or not, find themselves face-to-face with the rest of their stories. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:03:24

714: Day at the Beach

8/13/2023
It’s the last few weeks of summer, so we’re going to the beach! This week, stories from the surf and sand. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:04:40

807: Eight Fights

8/6/2023
Nadia's family is split between Russia and Ukraine, which is pretty common. And when Russia invaded Ukraine, it didn’t just start fighting on the battlefield. It sparked family conflict, too. An intimate story of the war from writer Masha Gessen. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:00:24

806: I Can't Quit You, Baby

7/30/2023
People on the verge of a big change, not wanting to let go. And the people who give them the final push. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:01:49

199: House on Loon Lake

7/23/2023
The true story of an abandoned house, discovered by a young boy in the 1970s, and the mysterious family who disappeared without a trace. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:00:59:51

805: The Florida Experiment

7/16/2023
Governor Ron DeSantis is running for president on the argument that he'll do for America what he's done for Florida. So what's it like in Florida? Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

Duration:01:15:26

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