What is this American life?
This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.
How many people listen to this American life?
Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards. This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations.
Is this American life free on Apple Podcasts?
New episodes are free for ten weeks on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Radio Public, Stitcher, etc. Our entire archive — all 700+ episodes — is available to stream or download here on our website. I can stream all of your shows here on the site; why would I want a This American Life app?
Where can I find this American Life on the radio?
This American Life airs on more than 500 stations across the country, reaching 2.2 million listeners. PRX, the Public Radio Exchange, delivers the show to stations. We mostly air on the weekend, but times differ. NPR's station finder can link you to your local public radio station.
Are the stories on This American Life real?
Each week there are a bunch of stories organized around a theme. The stories are the same sorts we do on the radio, true stories about real people. The hard part was everything else.
Is This American Life affiliated with NPR?
From This American Life It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.
Is This American Life podcast free?
New episodes are free for ten weeks on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Radio Public, Stitcher, etc. Our entire archive — all 700+ episodes — is available to stream or download here on our website. I can stream all of your shows here on the site; why would I want a This American Life app?
Who Owns This American Life podcast?
Ira GlassIra Glass owns all of 'This American Life' Twenty years after Ira Glass launched “This American Life” at WBEZ FM 91.5, the host and executive producer has just acquired full ownership of his iconic public radio program.
Is This American Life journalism?
This American Life (TAL) is an American weekly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is also available as a free weekly podcast.
Is This American Life a good podcast?
The stories are both masterfully reported and produced and give listeners a true look into the inside of the lives of young Americans that are drastically different, but in a way related.
How does This American Life work?
This American Life is a weekly public radio program and podcast. Each week we choose a theme and put together different kinds of stories on that theme. Mostly we do journalism, but an entertaining kind of journalism that's built around plot. In other words, stories!
Is This American Life appropriate for kids?
This is a great piece for middle-school and older kids, but maybe not for those who worry about what might be wrong with their own bodies. We had to turn it off. When I play the show for my children, I want them to like it.
How do I listen to podcasts?
Download the Google Podcasts app. Ask your Google Assistant to play a specific podcast. Search for a podcast in your Google app. or on google.com....Add a podcast by RSS feedOn your Android phone or tablet, open Google Podcasts .At the bottom, tap Activity. Subscriptions.Tap More. ... Enter the feed URL.Tap Subscribe.
How much does This American Life pay?
This American Life offers two six-month production fellowships each year, one starting in January and the other in July, based in our office in New York City. This is a paid position. Our fellows earn about $6,250 a month, before taxes. We offer benefits like health insurance and a relocation reimbursement.
Does The New York Times own This American Life?
“This American Life,” produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago and distributed by PRX (Public Radio Exchange), will remain independent.
Is Philip Glass related to Ira Glass?
Ira Glass Interviews His Cousin, Composer Philip Glass It's no coincidence that composer Philip Glass and This American Life host Ira Glass have the same last name: They're second cousins.
Who broadcasts This American Life?
On the Radio This American Life airs on more than 500 stations across the country, reaching 2.2 million listeners. PRX, the Public Radio Exchange, delivers the show to stations. We mostly air on the weekend, but times differ. NPR's station finder can link you to your local public radio station.
Is This American Life ending?
Public Radio International announced today that it will end distribution of one of its biggest titles, This American Life. The Minneapolis-based PRI has offered TAL to stations since 1997.
How much does This American Life pay?
This American Life offers two six-month production fellowships each year, one starting in January and the other in July, based in our office in New York City. This is a paid position. Our fellows earn about $6,250 a month, before taxes. We offer benefits like health insurance and a relocation reimbursement.
What radio station is This American Life on?
Produced by WBEZ. Tuesday at 9pm on 93.9 FM.
What is American life podcast?
Listen on Apple Podcasts. This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, ...
Who hosts this American life?
Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, ...
What is the show "This American Life" about?
Often This American Life features stories which explore aspects of human nature, such as "Kid Logic", which presented pieces on the reasoning of children.
When was this American life first broadcast?
On May 1, 2008, This American Life was the first major public media program to use digital cinema, distributing a one-hour-long program titled This American Life – Live! to select cinemas. PRI originally conceived of the idea to serve stations around the country. This American Life Live! was presented exclusively in select theatres by National CineMedia 's (NCM) Fathom, in partnership with BY Experience and Chicago Public Radio, and in association with Public Radio International.
What are the stories from the TAL series?
giving the studio two years of "first-look" rights to its hundreds of past and future stories. One film to have apparently emerged from the deal is Unaccompanied Minors, a 2006 film directed by Paul Feig and reportedly based on "In The Event of An Emergency, Put Your Sister in an Upright Position" from "Babysitting". In June 2008, Spike Lee bought the movie rights to Ronald Mallett 's memoir, whose story was featured in the episode "My Brilliant Plan". Potential Warner Bros films from TAL episodes include "Niagara", which explored the town of Niagara Falls, New York, after those who sought to exploit the tourism and hydroelectrical opportunities of the area left; "Wonder Woman" (from the episode "Superpowers"), the story of an adolescent who took steps to become the superhero she dreamed of being, well into adulthood; and "Act V", about the last act of Hamlet as staged by inmates from a maximum security prison as part of Prison Performing Arts Adult Theatre Projects. Paramount Pictures and Broadway Video are in production on Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill, a film based on the TAL story in the episode "My Experimental Phase".
What is the TAL radio show?
This American Life. This American Life ( TAL) is an American weekly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is also available as a free weekly podcast.
How many acts are in a program?
On occasion, an entire program will consist of a single act. Each act is produced by a combination of staff and freelance contributors. Programs usually begin with a short program identification by host Ira Glass who then introduces a prologue related to the theme which precedes act one.
What was the first news program to win the Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting?
In 2020, This American Life became the first news program to win the Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting. The winning work was "The Out Crowd", the 688th episode with "revelatory, intimate journalism that illuminates the personal impact of the Trump Administration’s ' Remain in Mexico ' policy".
How many times has This American Life been on the road?
This American Life has taken the radio show on the road three times since 2000; material recorded on each of the three tours has been edited into an episode which aired on the radio shortly after the tour. Other episodes include segments recorded live.
Podcast Apps
Subscribe to our show to get the latest episode every week. New episodes are available for ten weeks to stream or download via these and other podcast apps:
Our Website
Our entire archive of 700+ episodes is available here on our website to stream or download.
On the Radio
This American Life airs on more than 500 stations across the country, reaching 2.2 million listeners. PRX, the Public Radio Exchange, delivers the show to stations. We mostly air on the weekend, but times differ. NPR's station finder can link you to your local public radio station. We also air on the CBC in Canada and Radio National in Australia.
When was this American life first broadcast?
F irst broadcast in November 1995 , This American Life is the most influential precursor to narrative podcasting as it exists today. Over the last 25 years, the show founded and led by Ira Glass has built a vast network of producers and writers who have set standards across all genres of audio production.
What is the most rerun episode of This American Life?
One of This American Life ’s most rerun episodes, “Fiasco!” is a collection of masterful debacles. Everything goes wrong, at least once in a while. When it does, you can only hope someone is there to record the wreckage. A community theater’s attempt to dazzle in their production of Peter Pan shatters the fourth wall and a rookie cop succumbs to a devious foe (a squirrel). Each of the episode’s four acts investigates a doomed, hilarious series of errors.
How did Scott Carrier start radio?
The legend about TAL contributor Scott Carrier (later explored in Carrier’s own podcast Home of the Brave) is that he started making radio by hitchhiking, cross-country, from his home in Utah to the NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. Arriving on a Saturday, he asked the first Weekend Edition producer who would listen to teach him how to make radio. Carrier is fiercely partisan, an outsider in every possible sense, and keenly unafraid to burn bridges. He writes like Hemingway, with brief language, quick movement, and constant grappling with the more toxic angles of masculinity. He can sound, at times, both dangerous and uniquely tuned to an unknown rhythm. All of these traits are on display in “Running After Antelope,” a 40-minute narrative of a decade-long attempt to chase down an antelope on foot, and how his desire to be “primitive” conflicted with the inexorable movement of time. Carrier would later get a full episode of This American Life dedicated to his work ( 181: The Friendly Man ).
What is the library dreamt up in The Abortion?
The library dreamt up in The Abortion is an open-source public good, one to which any ordinary person can bring their writing, and have it archived forever. The fictional space was a home to books written and read by the public. Cole tracks down the man who tried to make Brautigan’s dream real. The nearly 30-minute story, about bridging the divide between the art world and our own, is among the best in This American Life ’s archive.
What is the leap in this American life?
“The Leap” patches together three stories about the unknown. It deserves a place in the This American Life canon for its centerpiece, Sean Cole and Jonathan Goldstein’s survey on time travel. They ponder why so many feel the need to tell the world that they would kill young Hitler if given the chance, and why older people seem less interested in going back than the rest of us. The segment is ultimately sentimental, but it’s a standout for the disdain with which the elderly treat a frivolous radio segment.
What is 24 hours at the Golden Apple about?
In this episode, Glass and a few other producers spend the day at a local Chicago diner, from early morning until late into the night. We meet a regular who plays harmonica as the sun ris es, a waitress who’s been working the night shift for the past 26 years, a pair of teen girls trying to corral friends to come join them at the diner, and many, many others.
What episode of This American Life is Dawn?
15: Dawn. An early highlight of This American Life is “Dawn,” the episode first to give the entire hour over to a single contributor. Master storyteller and magazine journalist Jack Hitt’s work holds a strong influence over the first decade of the program. “Dawn” follows Hitt as he interviews old friends and family in Charlotte about ...
Prologue: Prologue
It's been the kind of summer that makes it seem like the alarmists were right about everything. Heat waves and drought and wildfires across the West, hurricanes along the East Coast drowning people in their cars in New Jersey and in their basement apartments in New York.
Act One: 1.5 Degrees of Separation
Act One, 1.5 Degrees of Separation. So Aviva was interested in the toll that having a wake-up moment like this could have on a family. And she heard about somebody who had a moment like this over a decade ago. And it led him to quit his job, dedicate his life to activism. He tried to pull his family into it.
Act Two: Out of the Crying Pan and into the Fire
Act Two, Out of the Crying Pan and into the Fire. So there are all sorts of ways your world can end. And sometimes you want it to end, you need it to end, because that's the only way you can get to a new beginning. A couple weeks ago, I watched 15,000 people who wanted exactly that.
Credits
Well, today's program was produced by Miki Meek and Aviva DeKornfeld. The people who put together today's show include Bim Adewunmi, Sean Cole, Damien Graef, Seth Lind, Mary Marge Locker, Stowe Nelson, Katherine Rae Mondo, Alissa Shipp, Jessica Suriano, Christopher Swetala, Matt Tierney, Julie Whitaker, and Chloee Weiner.
Overview
This American Life (TAL) is an American weekly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays, memoirs, field recor…
Format
Each week's show has a theme, explored in several "acts". On occasion, an entire program will consist of a single act. Each act is produced by a combination of staff and freelance contributors. Programs usually begin with a short program identification by host Ira Glass who then introduces a prologue related to the theme which precedes act one. This prologue will then lead into the presentation of the theme for that week's show. After the introduction of the theme, Glass then i…
History
In the early 1990s, Glass co-hosted, with Gary Covino, a Friday-night show in Chicago called The Wild Room. However, he was looking for new opportunities in radio, and had been sending grant proposals to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for two years when, in 1995, the MacArthur Foundation approached Torey Malatia, general manager of Chicago Public Radio. They offered him US$150,000 to make a show featuring local Chicago writers and performance artists. Malati…
Production
In a 2014 interview, Glass revealed the software and equipment used to make the show. The staff records interviews using Marantz PMD661 digital recorders and Audio Technica AT835b shotgun microphones. After each recording session (whether a single interview or day of recording) he uses a story structuring technique he learned from print journalist Paul Tough. He jots or types all the most memorable moments from the tape, then has the recording transcribed and makes not…
Music
Episodes of TAL are accompanied by music. Some songs are used between acts and are credited in the episode guide for the show. Other songs are used as thematic background music for stories and are not credited. Jonathan Menjivar is a producer and music supervisor at the show.
"Over the years, we've used hundreds of songs under our stories—and in some stories, we use a number of different songs in different sections. We tried to answer these emails for awhile [sic?]…
Reception
The show received positive reviews from the beginning. Marc Fisher with American Journalism Review drew attention to how the program's production style elicits "a sense of ease, informality and direct, unfiltered access", and "the effect is liberating". After remarking that producing so many stories each episode is "labor intensive," David Stewart with Current said it is "remarkable th…
Adaptations
Discussions of a television adaptation of TAL date back to at least 1999. However, the show's creative team was unsure of what the show would "look like" and, with so much money on the line, turned down offers. In January 2006, Showtime announced it had greenlit six episodes of a new series based on TAL. The announcement noted that each half-hour episode would "be hosted by Ira Glass and [...] explore a single theme or topic through the unique juxtaposition of first-person …
Cultural impact
Marc Fisher with American Journalism Review wrote, in a 1999 article on the show, that "in ways small but clear, as inspiration if not direct model, This American Life is at the vanguard of a shift in American journalism." In the book Sound Streams—A Cultural History of Radio-Internet Convergence, author Andrew Bottomley calls the show "the archetype of the modern US feature-documentary mode."