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This American Life: Daily Summaries Delivered
by 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. Hosted by Ira Glass and produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 4 days agonarrative1h 1m6-min read
137: The Book That Changed Your Life
This episode of This American Life explores how books can profoundly shape lives, not just through their content but through emotional resonance, obsession, and even physical possession. The stories reveal how literature can become a compass, a refuge, or an all-consuming force.
- 1 weeks agonarrative1h 2m7-min read
676: Here’s Looking at You, Kid
This episode of This American Life explores how adults shape children’s identities through two powerful stories: one of a shy teenager transformed — and tormented — by football coaches who rebranded him as a star, and another of a woman whose childhood abuse allegations resurface decades later through video evidence, only to be challenged by a psychologist, unraveling her sense of truth and self.
- 2 weeks agonarrative1h 0m5-min read
887: Two Is One, One Is None!
This episode of This American Life follows Garrett Morgan, a trans Navy lieutenant commander, and her wife Chrissy as they navigate the Trump administration’s 2017 ban on transgender military service, using meticulous planning and spreadsheets to protect their family. Against overwhelming uncertainty, they manage to secure a medical retirement—preserving their health care, pension, and dignity—while most other trans service members are discharged.
- 3 weeks agonarrative1h 1m6-min read
318: With Great Power
This episode of This American Life explores the moral weight of power through stories of ordinary people who face profound ethical choices, from failing to act on a murder suspicion to holding life-altering secrets over a tormentor. The emotional core lies in how power—whether to save, punish, or believe—shapes identity and conscience.
- May 3, 2026narrative1h 2m5-min read
886: Blackout
This episode of This American Life documents the lived reality of Iranians during a government-imposed internet blackout amid war with the U.S. and Israel, revealing how communication blackouts erase lives, silence dissent, and deepen trauma. The story centers on personal voice memos smuggled out of Iran, offering rare, intimate testimony from civilians across the political spectrum.
- May 1, 2026narrative8 min4-min read
Ira (Reluctantly) Gives a Graduation Speech
Ira Glass reflects on the inherent challenges of delivering meaningful graduation speeches, sharing his own experience giving one at Goucher College in 2012, where he blended personal history, family legacy, and a candid anecdote to subvert the genre’s clichés and connect authentically with graduates.
- Apr 26, 2026narrative1h 4m5-min read
466: Blackjack
This American Life explores the allure and moral complexity of beating blackjack through card counting, following both a journalist's attempt to try it and the true story of a Christian card-counting team that won millions, while also examining the darker side of gambling addiction through a woman who lost nearly $1 million. The episode reveals how math, faith, and psychology collide in the high-stakes world of casinos.
- Apr 19, 2026solo59 min3-min read
393: Infidelity
This American Life explores the messy, often absurd realities of infidelity, from the cheaters to the cheated, revealing how love, lies, and self-deception warp judgment.
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About 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. Hosted by Ira Glass and produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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This American Life covers topics including News, Arts, Culture, Society & Culture. Our AI identifies the specific themes in each episode and highlights what matters most to you.
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