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Transcripts for This American Life

This American Life

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.

Description from the show’s public podcast feed.

Recent episodes

Latest episodes from the show’s RSS feed. Pick one to open Podskrift with that episode ready.

899: Reaching Out
2026-10-05 · 62 min
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 ...
898: An Argument
2026-09-28 · 64 min
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 an...
897: Intergenerational Space Travel
2026-09-21 · 68 min
People braving the true final frontier — the gap between people born at slightly different times. Visit <a href="https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com?utm_id=lifepartners&amp;utm_source=rs...
646: The Secret of My Death
2026-09-14 · 67 min
Cryptic messages on a cell phone and a teeter-totter at a construction site: these are clues people found, trying to make sense of a death. Visit <a href="https://thisamericanlife.supercast...
896: I Know What You Need
2026-08-31 · 68 min
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 <a href="https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com?utm...
895: Label Maker!
2026-08-17 · 59 min
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...
894: I Couldn't Help but Notice
2026-08-03 · 61 min
People dealing with new, glaring, massive changes happening right where they live. Visit <a href="https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com?utm_id=lifepartners&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_mediu...
893: Testosterone
2026-07-27 · 61 min
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 te...
892: Trapped on a Bus
2026-07-20 · 62 min
People on journeys they did not intend — or agree to. Visit thisamericanlife...
891: The Test Case
2026-07-13 · 71 min
Some people in this country think Antifa is a dangerous domestic terror organization. Some think that’s a complete myth. This week, we go to the federal trial where, for the first time, the governm...

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