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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.

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
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845: A Small Thing That Gives Me a Tiny Shred of Hope

11/3/2024
A wee flame, flickering in the dark. 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.

Duration:01:01:16

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844: This Is the Case of Henry Dee

10/20/2024
Thirteen parole board members decide whether or not one man should be released from prison. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:00:59:04

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A Big Announcement

10/16/2024
Ira Glass has news to share about some things happening here at This American Life. To sign up as a Life Partner, visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners.

Duration:00:04:56

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843: A Little Bit of Power

10/13/2024
So much of the fight for the presidency is coming down to battles for small slices of voters who can help throw swing states to one candidate or another. Abbas Alawieh, a leader in the Uncommitted movement, grapples with how to get his voters the thing they want. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:00:56:15

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842: 51 Days

10/6/2024
Chen Almog-Goldstein was kidnapped by Hamas along with her three youngest children on October 7, 2023. This week, she tells the story of their life as hostages in Gaza. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:00:58:38

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841: My Senior Year

9/22/2024
One kid comes to America as an exchange student and commits herself to the senior year experience. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:00:57:46

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840: How Are You Not Seeing This?

9/15/2024
People trying and struggling to see what another person sees. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:00:59:39

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839: Meet Me at the Fair

9/8/2024
Iowa has three million people and a million come to their State Fair, each with their own goals and dreams for the fair. We hang out with some of them, to see if they get what they hoped for. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:01:04:21

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801: Must Be Rats on the Brain

9/1/2024
The one animal we can’t seem to live without, even when we really, really want to. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:01:09:46

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754: Spark Bird

8/25/2024
Stories about birds and the hearts they sway, the havoc they wreak, the lives they change. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:01:03:26

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838: Letters! Actual Letters!

8/18/2024
When the best—and perhaps only—way to say something is to write it down. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:00:58:43

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837: Swim Towards the Shark

8/11/2024
In a crisis, when all logic suggests that you get away from the dangerous thing, how will you respond? Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:01:05:46

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803: Greetings, People Of Earth

8/4/2024
Humans encounter non-human intelligences of various kinds and try to make sense of them. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:01:03:13

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172: 24 Hours at the Golden Apple

7/28/2024
We document one day in a Chicago diner called the Golden Apple, starting at 5 a.m. and going until 5 a.m. the next morning. We hear from the waitress who has worked the graveyard shift for over two decades, the regular customers who come every day, the couples working out their problems, assorted drunks, and, of course, cops. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:00:58:05

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836: The Big Rethink

7/21/2024
People rethinking some of the most important relationships in their lives — with their sister, their political party, and the nominee for president. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:00:59:40

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794: So Close and Yet So Far

7/14/2024
People ​so close to each other, ​in ​extremely intimate situations​,​ who are also a million miles apart. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:01:03:43

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443: Amusement Park

7/7/2024
We head to some of the happiest places on earth: amusement parks! Ira Glass takes us behind the scenes at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, where the young staff – coached by a funny, fun-loving boss just a little older than they are – truly seem to love their jobs. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:01:00:25

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835: Children of Dave

6/30/2024
Boen Wang has a theory that a lot of the misery in his life can be traced to a single moment that happened years before he was born. So he makes a pilgrimage to see if he’s right. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:01:01:10

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834: Yousef and the Fourth Move

6/16/2024
In Rafah, Yousef is out of options and faces his toughest move yet. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:00:58:11

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833: Come Retribution

6/9/2024
Donald Trump has talked about taking retribution on his enemies since the early days of his 2024 presidential campaign. After his conviction last week in New York, his talk intensified. We try to understand what his retribution might look like by speaking with people who have the most to lose in a second Trump administration: people who believe Trump will be coming for them. Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices.

Duration:01:02:23