List of This American Life episodes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of This American Life episodes by year and episode number.

[edit] Television

All episodes are aired on Showtime. Currently, six episodes have been recorded and produced for the first season. Episodes are available for free streaming following the broadcast.

[edit] Radio

All of the episodes can be streamed via a custom Adobe Flash player from the TAL Radio Show Archive. The current week's episode can be downloaded via MP3 for free for seven days starting on the Monday after the broadcast. All episodes are available for purchase from the iTunes Store or Audible.com.

Contents: 2007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995


[edit] 2007

[edit] Television – Season 1

  • Episode 1Reality Check
    • Original air date: March 22, 2007
    • Show description: Plans that started out as a good idea or a dream-come-true, but turn sour: the unpleasant experience known as a "reality check". All of the stories had been aired previously on the radio show, but were developed into film for the TV series.
    • Prologue: PeezillaHeather McElhatton
    • Act 1: If by Chance We Meet Again — Jane Feltes/Ira Glass (originally from radio episode #291)
      • Ralph and Sandra Fisher's gentle and beloved Brahman bull "Chance" was nearing the end of his long life. The Fishers couldn't bare to live without Chance, so they asked researchers at Texas A&M University to clone him—the result being the first ever bull clone, whom they dub "Second Chance". But Second Chance is not as gentle as his namesake.
    • Act 2: The Spy Who Loved Everyone — Jorge Just (originally from radio episode #286)
      • The flash mob group Improv Everywhere decides to give Vermont band Ghosts of Pasha their "Best Gig Ever", and pack a small club, posing as highly devoted fans. But when the band realizes it was a prank, the effect is devastating.
  • Episode 2 – My Way
  • Episode 3 – God's Close-Up
  • Episode 4 – The Camera Man
  • Episode 5 – Growth Spurt
  • Episode 6 – Pandora's Box

[edit] Radio

  • Episode 328What I Learned from TV
    • Show description: Collection of commentaries from live shows about television. All interludes performed by a band touring with This American Life, Mates of State.
    • Prologue: Ira Glass describes the effect of television on our culture.
    • Act #1: 29David Rakoff
      • David Rakoff takes the task of watching and describing the first 29 hours of television he's watched in years. (Takes its name from the average amount of time spent watching television each week by the typical person)
    • Act #2: Turkeys in Pilgrim ClothingSarah Vowell
      • Sarah Vowell talks about the ubiquitous "Thanksgiving Episode", and how writers always manage to dilute the truth.
    • Act #3: Radio on the TVIra Glass
      • Ira Glass reflects on TV, and in particular on a line from an episode of The O.C. which holds special meaning to This American Life.
    • Act #4: My Other Dog's a German ShepherdDan Savage
      • Columnist Dan Savage commentates on the portrayal of sexuality on television and what effect this can have.
  • Episode 327By Proxy
    • Act #1: I'm the DeciderDavy Rothbart
      • David Rothbar makes a decision that isn't his to make.
    • Act #2: Kill the MessengersIra Glass
      • What it's like to be the proxy for American soldiers in Iraq.
    • Act #3: Redemption by Proxy — Eve Ambrams
      • A girl steps in for her dead best friend.
  • Episode 326Quiz Show
    • Act #1: Gamester of Ireland is Fine — Ronan Kelly
    • Act #2: Dire Enigmas for Elite Fans — Lisa Pollack
    • Music interlude: The Undertones, "Smarter Than You"
    • Act #3: Girls in Need of a Safer Time — Robin Epstein
  • Episode 325Houses of Ill Repute
    • Act #1: It’s Not a Crack House, It’s a Crack Home — Maherin Gangat
      • Maherin Gangat interviews an oldman who keeps rather unsavory guests in his New York City home...
    • Act #2: The Crisco Kid
    • Music interlude: Ted Nugent,Stranglehold
    • Act #3: Bully's Pulpit — Alex Blumberg
    • Music interlude: Gwen Stefani, "U Started It"
  • Episode 324My Brilliant Plan
    • Act #1: Mr. Adam's NeighborhoodNancy Updike and Adam Davidson
    • Act #2: Tragedy Minus Time Equals Happily Ever After
  • Episode 323The Super
    • Show description: Stories of the mysterious hold supers have on their buildings, or their buildings have on them.
    • Prologue: Ira speaks with a super who has exclusive access to a courtyard, but doesn't use it
    • Act #1: The Super Always Rings Twice
    • Music interlude: "Theme from Superman: The Movie"
    • Act #2: Super Duper
    • Music interlude: The White Stripes, "Blue Orchid"
    • Act #3: Please Re-Lease Me
    • Music interlude: Elvis Presley, "Working on a Building"

[edit] 2006

  • Episode 322Shouting Across the Divide
  • Episode 321Sink or Swim
  • Episode 320What's In a Number – 2006 Edition
    • Show description: Discussion about a new study by The Lancet about the number of Iraqis who have died since the US invasion.
    • Prologue: Ira Glass talks with ordinary Iraqis about life after the invasion.
    • Act 1: Truth, Damn Truth and Statistics — Alex Blumberg
    • Act 2: Not Just a Number
    • Act 3: The War This TimeIra Glass
    • Music interlude: The Roots, Somebody's Gotta Do It
  • Episode 319And the Call Was Coming From the Basement
    • Show description: Scary stories that are all true.
    • Prologue: Ira Glass and Albert Donnay read a ghost story from a 1921 medical journal.
    • Act 1: The Hills Have Eyes — Alex Blumberg
    • Music interlude: 45 Grave, Evil
    • Act 2: The HitcherIra Glass
    • Act 3: And the Call Was Coming from ... the Listeners!
    • Act 4: Graveyard ShiftDavid Sedaris
    • Music interlude: Gnarls Barkley, The Boogie Monster
  • Episode 318With Great Power
    • Act 1: Objects in Side View Mirror Are Truer Than They Appear — Alex Kotlowitz
    • Act 2: Unwelcome WagonIra Glass
    • Music interlude: Dave Parker, I Got to Get Away
    • Act 3: Waiting for Joe — Shalom Auslander
    • Music interlude: Bettye Lavette, The High Road
  • Episode 317Unconditional Love
  • Episode 316The Cat Came Back
  • Episode 315The Parrot and the Potbellied Pig
  • Episode 314It's Never Over
    • Act 1: Who Takes the Class Out of Class ReunionJon Ronson
    • Act 2: Life Without LeanneLarry Doyle
    • Act 3: Deal of a Lifetime — Sarah Koenig
    • Act 4: One Word: Timing — Tami Sagher
  • Episode 313Parental Guidance Suggested
    • Act 1: Two Possibilities, Both BadIra Glass
    • Act 2: The Grandma Letters — Will Seymour, Mortified
    • Act 3: My Angel's in the Centerfolds — Thea Chaloner
  • Episode 312How We Talked Back Then
    • Show description: A return to two live shows from the TAL archive including show 36, "Letters" and show 66, "Tales from the Net".
    • Act 1: Letters
    • Act 2: Internet
  • Episode 311A Better Mousetrap
    • Act 1: Mother of InventionKaren Sosnoski
    • Act 2: Everything Must Go — Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh
    • Act 3: What Would Fill-in-the-Blank Do?Brett Martin
    • Act 4: Squashing the Creative Spirit — Andy Raskin
  • Episode 310Habeas Schmaebeas
    • Act 1: There's No U.S. in HabeasJack Hitt
    • Act 2: September 11th, 1660Jon Ronson
    • Act 3: We Interrogate the DetaineesJack Hitt
  • Episode 309Cat and Mouse
    • Act 1: El Gato Y El Ratoncito — James Spring
    • Act 2: Hello KittyDavid Sedaris
    • Act 3: Looking for Loveseats in all the Wrong Places — David Segal
    • Act 4: Spray My Name, Spray My Name — Brian Thomas Gallagher
  • Episode 308Star-Crossed Love
    • Act 1: Prisoner of Love — Shant Kenderian
    • Act 2: The Diary of Mrs. Sam Horrigan — Catalina Puente
    • Act 3: So a Squirrel and a Chipmunk Walk Into a BarDavid Sedaris
  • Episode 307In the Shadow of the City
    • Act 1: Brooklyn Archipelago — Brett Martin
    • Act 2: The Thin Gray Line — Cheryl Wagner
    • Act 3: Yes, In My Backyard — Jorge Just
  • Episode 306Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
    • Act 1: Luck of the IrishIra Glass
    • Act 2: Taxation Without Inebriation
    • Act 3: Bad Morning AmericaDavy Rothbart
    • Act 4: Function of the Heart

[edit] 2005

  • Episode 305The "This American Life" Holiday Spectacular
  • Episode 304Heretics
    • Act 1: Rise — Russell Cobb
    • Act 2: Fall
  • Episode 303David and Goliath
    • Act 1: Lab RugratsIra Glass
    • Act 2: Dreams of Distant Factories — Rachel Louise Snyder
    • Act 3: Adventures at Poo CornerDavid Sedaris
  • Episode 302Strangers in a Strange Land
    • Air date: November 18, 2005
    • Prologue — Ira Glass
    • Act 1: Not Just Tourists, Tourists Who Care — Chris Tenove
    • Act 2: Johnny Get Your Mouse — Amy O'Leary
  • Episode 301Settling the Score
    • Air date: November 11, 2005
    • Prologue — Ira Glass
    • Act 1: One Good Deed — Erin Einhorn
    • Act 2: The Things That Money Can Buy — Beau O'Reilly
  • Episode 300What's in a Number?
    • Act 1: Truth, Damn Truth, and Statistics — Alex Blumberg
    • Act 2: Not Just a Number — Ryan Gist
    • Act 3: What do we do with these numbers anyway?Ira Glass
  • Episode 299Back From The Dead
    • Act 1: In the Event of An EmergencyIra Glass
    • Act 2: 'P' Is For Porta-Potty — Sarah Koenig
    • Act 3: Friday Night Floodlights — Lisa Pollak
  • Episode 298Getting and Spending
    • Act 1: Mothers of Invention — Alex Kotlowitz and Amy Drozdowska-McGuire
    • Act 2: That Guy — Diane Cook
    • Act 3: Mall RatJohn Hodgman
  • Episode 297This Is Not My Beautiful House
    • Show description: Stories from the Houston Astrodome and New Orleans about survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
    • Act 1: Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow — Jane Feltes
    • Act 2: No Place Like DomeIra Glass
    • Act 3: Land Grab — Lisa Pollak
    • Act 4: The Long Way Home — Nick Spitzer
    • Act 5: Water Bed — Alex Kotlowitz
  • Episode 296After the Flood
    • Show description: Stories from survivors of Hurricane Katrina. (transcript)
    • Prologue: Ira Glass interviews William Nichelson about the role of state and federal authorities
    • Act 1: Middle of SomewhereIra Glass interviews Denise Moore, a hurricane survivor
    • Music interlude: Memphis Minnie, When the Levee Breaks
    • Act 2: Forgotten, But Not Lost — Alex Blumberg interviews Lorrie Beth Slonsky and Debbie Zelinsky about an occurrence at the Pontchartrain Expressway bridge
    • Music interlude: Fats Domino, Walking to New Orleans
    • Act 3: Social Studies Lesson — Alex Blumberg interviews Ashley Nelson
    • Ray Charles, Them That Got
    • Act 4: Diaspora — Cheryl Wagner
    • Act 5: Displaced Persons Camp — Lisa Pollak interviews survivors of Hurricane Charley in Florida
  • Episode 295Not What I Signed Up For
  • Episode 294Image Makers
    • Act 1: Dewey Decibel System — Alex Blumberg
    • Act 2: Goldstein on GoldsteinJonathan Goldstein
    • Act 3: Hearth Shaped Box — Julie Hill
  • Episode 293A Little Bit of Knowledge
    • Prologue: Ira Glass and Nancy Updike
    • Act 1: Small Thoughts in Big Brains — Alex Blumberg
    • Act 2: And Daddy Makes ThreeDan Savage
    • Act 3: Sucker MC-Square — Robert Andrew Powell
    • Act 4: The Art of Adult Conversation — Alexa Junge
  • Episode 292The Arms Trader
  • Episode 291Reunited (and It Feels So Good)
    • Act 1: Not Your Parents' Parent Trap — Nazanin Rafsanjani
    • Act 2: If By Chance We Meet AgainIra Glass
    • Act 3: French KissSarah Vowell
  • Episode 290Godless America
    • Act 1: The Substance of Things Hoped For
    • Act 2: God Said, Huh?Julia Sweeney
  • Episode 289Go Ask Your Father
    • Act 1: Make Him Say UncleIra Glass
    • Act 2: My Favorite Martian — Paul Tough
  • Episode 288Not What I Meant
    • Act 1: Froggy Goes A-Courtin' — Gabrielle Galanek
    • Act 2: Cat Got Your TongueDavid Sedaris
    • Act 3: Romance LanguagesBen Karlin
  • Episode 287Backed Into a Corner
    • Act 1: Working Class Hero Sandwich — Shirleen Holt
    • Act 2: Don't Drive Like My Brother — Jonathan Menjivar
    • Act 3: Confessions of a Not-So-Dangerous Mind — Brian Montopoli
  • Episode 286Mind Games
    • Act 1: Untitled — Ira Glass
    • Act 2: The Spy Who Loved Everyone — Jorge Just
    • Act 3: Invisible GirlScott Carrier
  • Episode 285Know Your Enemy
    • Act 1: The Minister Meets the Martyr
    • Act 2: I Am Curious, Jello — David Segal
    • Act 3: Eight Percent of NothingEtgar Keret
  • Episode 284Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
    • Act 1: The Karachi kid
    • Act 2: Not far from the tree — Amy O'Leary
    • Act 3: Because I'm the mommy, that's why
  • Episode 283Remember Me
    • Act 1: Thinking inside the box — David Wilcox
    • Act 2: Where's Walter?Starlee Kine
    • Act 3: Giving up the ghosts — Shalom Auslander
  • Episode 282DIY
    • Show description: An entire episode of a story about the wrongful murder conviction of Collin Warner. After 21 years in prison, Warner's friends managed to prove Warner's innocence and free him from jail.
    • Act 1: Untitled — Anya Bourg
    • Act 2: The story of Collin Warner continues
  • Episode 281My Big Break
    • Show description: On personal struggles leading to unexpected success or failure
    • Act 1: Take My Break, PleaseDavid Segal
    • Act 2: What Happens in Baghdad, Stays in Baghadad — Jen Banbury
    • Act 3: Oedipus Hex — Shalom Auslander
  • Episode 280In Country

[edit] 2004

  • Episode 279Auto Show
    • Show description: On dB drag racing, vehicle theft, car salespeople, and elderly drivers
    • Act 1: Crunk in the TrunkDavid Segal
    • Act 2: Baby You Can't Drive My Car — Jamie Kitman
    • Act 3: Objects in the Rear View Mirror My Be Alarmingly FamiliarCurtis Sittenfeld
    • Act 4: Not Your Father's Chevrolet Salesman — Sarah Koenig
    • Act 5: End of the Road — Lisa Pollack
  • Episode 278Spies Like Us
    • Show description: On surveillance and eavesdropping by private citizens
    • Act 1: The Lobbyist — Burt Covit
    • Act 2: Life With the Haters — Beth Lisick
    • Act 3: Mystery Shoppers — Lisa Pollak
    • Act 4: Stop Bugging Me — Jane Feltes
  • Episode 277Apology
    • Show description: On apologizing
    • Act 1: Repeat After MeDavid Sedaris
    • Act 2: Dial "S" for SorryIra Glass
    • Act 3: Two Words You Never Want to Hear From Your DoctorStarlee Kine
  • Episode 276Swing Set
    • Show description: On swing voters, who were thought to play an important role in the U.S. presidential election, 2004, which took place a few days after the episode first aired
    • Act 1: My Buddy, HackettIra Glass
    • Act 2: Cold-Cock the VoteJack Hitt
    • Act 3: One Son, One Vote — Sarah Koenig
    • Act 4: He's Got Legs — Lisa Pollak
  • Episode 275Two Steps Back
  • Episode 274Enemy Camp '04
  • Episode 273Put Your Heart In It
    • Show description: On motivation and passion, especially regarding career choices
    • Act 1: Farm Eye for the Farm Guy — George DeVault
    • Act 2: Diary of a Long-shot — Teal Krech
    • Act 3: Contrails of My TearsBrett Martin
  • Episode 272Big Tent
    • Show description: On the Republican Party during the campaign season preceding the U.S. presidential election, 2004
    • Act 1: Pink Elephant — Patrick Howell
    • Act 2: Right and Righter — Alex Blumberg
    • Act 3: Indecent Proposal — Shane DuBow
    • Act 4: It's My Party
  • Episode 271Best Interests
    • Act 1: I'd Rather NotIra Glass
    • Act 2: Exodus of One — Alex Kotlowitz
  • Episode 270Family Legend
    • Act 1: Take My Cheese, PleaseIra Glass
    • Act 2: We Don't Talk About ThatKevin O'Leary
    • Act 3: Admissions — Katia Dunn
  • Episode 269Someone to Watch Over Me
    • Act 1: Doctoring the Doctor — Jo Giese
    • Act 2: The Over-Protective Kind
    • Act 3: Are You a Man or a Mouse?Aimee Bender
  • Episode 268My Experimental Phase
    • Act 1: That's Funny, You Don't Look JewishDavid Segal
    • Act 2: Miami Vices — Sascha Rothchild, Mortified
  • Episode 267Propriety
  • Episode 266I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help
  • Episode 265Fake Science
    • Show description: On cranks, distortions of science, and the application of pseudo-scientific methods to questions outside the realm of science
    • Act 1: Spook Science — Jake Warga
    • Act 2: Government Science — Alex Blumberg
    • Act 3: Beauty Science — Adam Sternbergh
    • Act 4: Radio ScienceBrent Runyon
  • Episode 264Special Treatment
    • Show description: On the ethics and reality of preferential treatment
    • Act 1: Lunchtime with the King of KetchupJonathan Goldstein
    • Act 2: Except for that One Problem, it's Perfect — Gregory Warner
    • Act 3: Mommie's Psychic HelperAimee Phan
    • Act 4: The Way to a Boy's Heart Is Through His StomachLisa Carver
  • Episode 263Desperate Measures
    • Act 1: Hasta La Vista, ArnieScott Miller
    • Act 2: We Built This City on Rock and CoalIra Glass
    • Act 3: The Router Less Taken
    • Act 4: The Rocks at Rock Bottom — Hillary Frank
  • Episode 262Miracle Cures
    • Act 1: Changing the ChannelerDavy Rothbart
    • Act 2: The Entities Known as The Food and Drug AdministrationIra Glass
  • Episode 261The Sanctity of Marriage
  • Episode 260The Facts Don't Matter
    • Act 1: Straight Eyes on the Quirin Guys — Chris Neary
    • Act 2: Mush Polling — Sarah Koenig
  • Episode 259Promised Land
    • Act 1: Across the Street from HeavenStarlee Kine
    • Act 2: Life in the Fast LaneDavid Rakoff
    • Act 3: Mystery Train — Hillary Frank
  • Episode 258Leaving the Fold
    • Act 1: I've Got a Secret I've Been Hiding From You — Alex Blumberg
    • Act 2: God and HockeyIra Glass
    • Act 3: Nuns Amok — Susan Drury
  • Episode 257What I Should've Said
  • Episode 256Living Without
    • Act 1: Do You Hear What I Hear? — Nubar Alexanian
    • Act 2: The Journalism of DeprivationSarah Vowell
    • Act 3: The Call of the Great Indoors — Chelsea Merz
    • Act 4: Tin Man — Judith Budnitz

[edit] 2003

  • Episode 255This American Life's Holiday Gift-Giving Guide
    • Act 1: Make a Joyous Noise Unto Your MomIan Brown
    • Act 2: A Christmas Memory
    • Act 3: Secret Santa — Caitlin Shetterly
  • Episode 254Teenage Embed, Part Two
  • Episode 253The Middle of Nowhere
    • Act 1: No Island Is An IslandJack Hitt
    • Act 2: On Hold, No One Can Hear You ScreamJulie Snyder
  • Episode 252Poultry Slam '03
    • Act 1: Duki
    • Act 2: Winged Warrior
    • Act 3: Chicken DivaJack Hitt
    • Act 4: Trying to Respect the ChickenIra Glass
  • Episode 251Brother's Keeper
    • Act 1: Whatever Happened to Baby Cain?Jonathan Goldstein
    • Act 2: This Land is Your Land, This Land Is My LandNancy Updike
    • Act 3: Neighbor's Keeper — Robert Kurson
  • Episode 250The Annoying Gap Between Theory and Practice
    • Act 1: Rock, Paper, ComputerJack Hitt
    • Act 2: Detroit Is In the House — Alex Blumberg
    • Act 3: Zero Divided By Zero Is Still ZeroAdrian Nicole LeBlanc
  • Episode 249Garbage
    • Act 1: Oh, Mr. San ManIra Glass
    • Act 2: Except for the Smell, I Think I Have a Crush on You — Luis Urrea
    • Act 3: "I'm a Legitimate Businessman ... Waste Management."'
  • Episode 248Like It Or Not
  • Episode 247What Is This Thing?
    • Act 1: Inside the Romance Industry — Robin Epstein
    • Act 2: View from the Other Half — Griffin Hansbury
    • Act 3: A Love StorySarah Vowell
  • Episode 246My Pen Pal
    • Act 1: Who Put the "Pistol" in "Epistolary"?Ira Glass
    • Act 2: Pen Pal Husband — Janice Powell
  • Episode 245Allure of the Mean Friend
    • Act 1: Return to the Scene of the CrimeJonathan Goldstein
    • Act 2: Does Niceness Pay?Ira Glass
    • Act 3: And What's Going on With You? — Mike Albo and Virginia Heffernan
    • Act 4: Keeping It in the FamilyBernard Cooper
  • Episode 244MacGyver
    • Act 1: Bolt of Lightning, Pro and ConIra Glass
    • Act 2: Files in Cakes, Ha!Angelo
    • Act 3: So Crazy It Just Might WorkElizabeth Gilbert
    • Act 4: A Girl's Guide to Mending the Unmendable — Susan Burton
  • Episode 243Later That Same Day
    • Act 1: The Hiker and the Cowman Should be FriendsScott Carrier
    • Act 2: Scrapbook, the Verb
    • Act 3: SlingshotJohn Hodgman
  • Episode 242Enemy Camp
    • Act 1: Confession — Carl Marziali
    • Act 2: Blood AgentIra Glass
    • Act 3: And I Love HerEtgar Keret
    • Act 4: Yet another ineffective road map for world leadership — Blue Chevigny
  • Episode 24120 Acts in 60 Minutes
    • Act 1: Don't I Know You?Tate Donovan and Starlee Kine
    • Act 2: No of Course I Know YouScott Carrier
    • Act 3: It's Commerce that Brings Us Together — Susan Drury
    • Act 4: The Sound of One Hand Waving — Patty Martin
    • Act 5: The Sound of No Hands Clapping — Viki Merrick, Eric Kipp, and Jay Allison
    • Act 6: Reaching Out with Radio — "Joey" and "Jake" with Blunt Youth Radio Project
    • Act 7: Up Where the Air is ClearJonathan Goldstein
    • Act 8: The Greatest Dog Name in the World — ?Valion Loetz?, ?Paris Loetz? and ?Katie Adone?
    • Act 9: Of Dogs and Men — Elaine Boehm and Jim Sultzer
    • Act 10: UntitledNeo-Futurists
    • Act 11: Etiquette LessonDavid Sedaris
    • Act 12: To Tell the TruthBrent Runyon
    • Act 13: More Lies — Catharyn and Ira Glass
    • Act 14: Call in Colonel Mustard or That's What Happens when you Don't Use a Condoment KidsIra Glass
    • Act 15: Mr. PredictionDavid Rakoff
    • Act 16: That One Guy at the Office — ?Drewdanna Gustafson?
    • Act 17: You Can't Choose Your Gift — ?Richard Carry? and Jim Sultzer
    • Act 18: Party TalkChuck Klosterman
    • Act 19: The Hard Life at the TopDavid Lipsky
    • Act 20: The Greatest Moment I Saw On StageIra Glass
  • Episode 240I'm In Charge Now
    • Act 1: It's Not Just the Aces That Are WildDavid Sedaris
    • Act 2: Playing Clinton in the Bush Leagues — Katy Vine
    • Act 3: You Talkin' to Me?Adam Davidson
  • Episode 239Lost in America
  • Episode 238Lost in Translation
  • Episode 237Regime Change
    • Act 1: Unconquerable — Katie Davis
    • Act 2: Or Give Me Death — Sarah Koenig
    • Act 3: The Heart is a Lonely JuntaIra Glass and Jeffrey Brown
  • Episode 236My Two Cents
    • Act 1: Dave Knows — Susan Drury
    • Act 2: Stock Making Sense — Alex Blumberg
    • Act 3: A View from the Mop — Greg Tate
  • Episode 235The Balloon Goes Up
    • Act 1: Bombs over BaghdadIra Glass
    • Act 2: Tice Ridley is a first Lieutenant in the Army
    • Act 3: What's French for French Fries?David Sedaris
    • Act 4: Fighting the Previous WarSarah Vowell
    • Act 5: What Peacetime Forgets about Wartime — Lee Sandlin
    • Act 6: Lessons from Ancient Wars — Mary Zimmerman and Ira Glass
  • Episode 234Say Anything
    • Act 1: How to Write a Note — Jake Warga
    • Act 2: The Battle of Words vs Fear — Michael Bernard Loggins
    • Act 3: When a City Opens its Big Mouth
    • Act 4: Wedding Bells and Door BellsElizabeth Gilbert and Jonathan Goldstein
  • Episode 233Starting from Scratch
    • Act 1: Puppy Love — Molly FitzSimons
    • Act 2: Making Money the Old Fashioned Way — Mary Beth Kirshner
    • Act 3: The First Starting from ScratchJonathan Goldstein
  • Episode 232The Real Story
  • Episode 231Time to Save the World
    • Act 1: The RundownStarlee Kine
    • Act 2: Heather Help MeJessica Riddle
    • Act 3: Fools Rush In, Where Mommies Fear to Tread
    • Act 4: The Science of Good and Evil — Susan Drury
  • Episode 230Come Back to Afghanistan
    • Susan Burton and Hyder Akbar won the Third Coast Festival Silver Award for Best Documentary for this episode
    • Act 1: Teenage EmbedHyder Akbar and Susan Burton
  • Episode 229Secret Government
    • Act 1: Until the End of the WarJack Hitt
    • Act 2: Secret Trials and Secret Deportations — David Kestenbaum
    • Act 3: Secret Wiretaps from a Secret Court — Blue Chevigny
  • Episode 228You Are So Beautiful... To Me
    • Act 1: Polly Wants More Than a Cracker — Veronica Chater
    • Act 2: On the Border Between Good and BadRussell Banks

[edit] 2002

  • Episode 227Why We Fight
  • Episode 226Reruns
  • Episode 225Home Movies
    • Act 1: The Big NightJonathan Goldstein
    • Act 2: The Kids Stay in the PictureIra Glass
    • Act 3: A Half-Million Home Videos Can't be WrongIra Glass
    • Act 4: The Cinema of Upward Mobility — Susan Burton
    • Act 5: UntitledDavid Sedaris
  • Episode 224Middlemen
    • Act 1: Show Me the Monet — Alex Blumberg and Davy Rothbart
    • Act 2: Stuck inside of Memphis
    • Act 3: What it Takes to Tromp Through the Desert — Wendy Dorr
  • Episode 223Classifieds
  • Episode 222Suckers
    • Act 1: No Receipt, No Surrender — "Jen"
    • Act 2: The Stereo Type — Shane DuBow
    • Act 3: Suckers in the Promised LandAdam Davidson
    • Act 4: Mother SuckerHeather O'Neill
  • Episode 221Fake I.D.
  • Episode 220Testosterone
    • Act 1: Life at ZeroIra Glass
    • Act 2: Infinite Gent
    • Act 3: Contest-osterone
    • Act 4: Learning to Shut UpMiriam Toews
  • Episode 219High Speed Chase
    • Act 1: Cowboys and Indians, Part 1 — Susan Burton
    • Act 2: Cowboys and Indians, Part 2 — Susan Burton
  • Episode 218Act V
  • Episode 217Give It to Them
  • Episode 216Give the People What They Want
    • Act 1: Let Them Eat Cake, Wedding CakeIra Glass
    • Act 2: God Shed his Grace on TheeJack Hitt
    • Act 3: Have Paint, Will Travel — Alex Kotlowitz and Amy Dorn
    • Act 4: Handing People Their Dreams — Ali Davis
    • Act 5: What Daddy WantsCurtis Sittenfeld
  • Episode 215Ask An Expert
    • Act 1: An Epidemic Created by Doctors — Alix Spiegel
    • Act 2: Not Stella Adler, Just Stellllaaah — Jod Kaftan
  • Episode 214Family Physics
    • Act 1: Occam's Razor — Cris Beam
    • Act 2: The Trajectory and Force of Bodies in OrbitJon Ronson
    • Act 3: Conservation of Energy and MatterDavid Sedaris
  • Episode 213Devil On My Shoulder
    • Act 1: It's Fun to Make Hell on Earth — George Ratliff
    • Act 2: Sixteen Candles Can Lead to a Lot of FireIra Glass
    • Act 3: Devil in Angel's Clothing, or Is It the Other Way Around? — Sarah Koenig
  • Episode 212The Other Man
  • Episode 211Naming Names
    • Act 1: How Britain Nearly Saved AmericaJon Ronson
    • Act 2: One Crucible Leads to AnotherElia Kazan and Arthur Miller
    • Act 3: Beating the Erasers — Susan Drury
  • Episode 210Perfect Evidence
    • Act 1: Hawks and Rabbits — Shane DuBow
    • Act 2: Snitch
  • Episode 209Didn't Ask to Be Born
    • Act 1: The chronicle of a family that unravelled — Debra Gwartney and Sandy Tolan
    • Act 2: UntitledBrent Runyon
  • Episode 208Office Politics
    • Act 1: Hang In There Kitty Cat, It's Almost FridayStarlee Kine
    • Act 2: Sheetcakes in the Conference Room, Whiskey After DarkDavid Rakoff
    • Act 3: When the Job That Takes You Off the Streets Is On The StreetsJulie Snyder
  • Episode 207Special Ed
    • Act 1: Get on the MicIra Glass
    • Act 2: Black Hole Son
    • Act 3: Walkout — Veronica Chater
  • Episode 206Somewhere in the Arabian Sea
    • Act 1: Untitled — Wendy Dorr, Alex Blumberg and Ira Glass
  • Episode 205Plan B
  • Episode 20481 Words
    • Show description: Devoted entirely to Alix Spiegel's feature on the removal of homosexuality as a form of mental illness from the DSM-II during the 1973 meeting of the APA. Spiegel won the 2002 Livingston Award for National Reporting for this episode.
    • Act 1: Untitled — Alix Spiegel
    • Act 2: Untitled — Alix Spiegel
  • Episode 203Recordings for Someone

[edit] 2001

  • Episode 202Faith
    • Act 1: Adventures in Turning the Other CheekIra Glass
    • Act 2: Does Size Matter If You're Talking About a Cross? — Josh Noel and Alex Blumberg
    • Act 3: The Epiphany Biz — Bill Lychak
    • Act 4: First Be Reconciled to Thy Brother, and Then Come and Offer Thy Gift — Susie Putz-Drury
  • Episode 201Them
    • Act 1: My Friend the ExtremistJon Ronson
    • Act 2: Don't They Know It's Christmas After AllDavid Sedaris
    • Act 3: Newfies — Chris Brookes
  • Episode 200Hearts and Minds
    • Act 1: Don't Believe Anything You Hear on the RadioNancy Updike
    • Act 2: Live on Stage by the Sword, Die on Stage by the Sword — Margy Rochlin
  • Episode 199House on Loon Lake
    • Act 1: Part One — Adam Beckman
    • Act 2: Part Two — Adam Beckman
  • Episode 198How to Win Friends and Influence People
    • Act 1: To Make a Friend, Be a FriendDavid Sedaris
    • Act 2: Stay in Touch — Tami Sagher
    • Act 3: People Like You If You Put a Lot of Time Into Your AppearanceLuke Burbank
    • Act 4: Just Be YourselfJonathan Goldstein
  • Episode 197Before It Had a Name
    • Act 1: Mr. Boder Vanishes — Carl Marziali
    • Act 2: Of Course I Remember Your NameHeather O'Neill
    • Act 3: A Bad Day for Plates — Laura Tangusso
    • Act 4: You Call That Love?Jonathan Goldstein
  • Episode 196Rashomon
    • Act 1: 1001 Arabian Nightly NewscastsJulie Snyder
    • Act 2: Bombs over Baghdad — Issam Shukri
    • Act 3: Toto, I don't Think We're in Vietnam Anymore — Alex Blumberg
  • Episode 195War Stories
    • Act 1: The Situation in the FieldIra Glass and Tom Gjelten
    • Act 2: Letters to Home — Andrew Carroll and Estelle Lynch
    • Act 3: What Peacetime Forgets About Wartime — Lee Sandlin
    • Act 4: Are You Ready?Scott Carrier
  • Episode 194Before and After
    • Act 1: In the After of Before and After — Lynn Simpson
    • Act 2: Watching from the River's EdgeDavid Rakoff
    • Act 3: Notes from the UndergroundHaruki Murakami
    • Act 4: Far From HomeDavid Sedaris
    • Act 5: U.S.A., Me-S.A.Ira Glass and Shirley Jahad
  • Episode 193Stories of Loss
    • Act 1: The Disappearance — Genevieve Jurgensen
    • Act 2: Look for the Union Label — Adrian LeBlanc
    • Act 3: AshesDavid Sedaris
  • Episode 192Meet the Pros
    • Act 1: Crispy with the Rock — Joel Lovell
    • Act 2: Know When to Walk Away, Know When to RunIra Glass
    • Act 3: Martha My DearDavid Rakoff
  • Episode 191I Know What You Did This Summer
  • Episode 190Living the Dream
    • Act 1: Girls Girls Girls — Cris Beam
    • Act 2: Agent to the StarsJohn Hodgman
    • Act 3: Airel Sharon, Shimon Peres, David Ben Gurion, and Me!Ira Glass and Adam Davidson
  • Episode 189Hitler's Yacht
    • Act 1: Part One — Alix Spiegel
    • Act 2: Part Two — Alix Spiegel
  • Episode 188Kid Logic
    • Act 1: Baby Scientists with Faulty Data
    • Act 2: The Game Ain't Over til the Fatso Man Sings — Howie Chackowicz
    • Act 3: Werewolves in Their YouthMichael Chabon
    • Act 4: One Brain Shrinks, Another Brain Grows — Julie Hill
  • Episode 187Father's Day '01
    • Act 1: Driving the Divorcemobile
    • Act 2: And If That Diamond Ring Don't ShineIan Brown
    • Act 3: Legend of a Bankrobber's SonNick Flynn
  • Episode 186Prom
    • For her segment Tornado Prom Susan Burton won the 2001 Third Coast International Audio Festival Best New Artist award
    • Act 1: Tornado Prom — Susan Burton
    • Act 2: Save the Last Dance for Me... AgainIra Glass
    • Act 3: Only Two Things Are Certain in Life: Death and Tuxes
    • Act 4: Only One Thing Missing — Wendy Dorr — Prom in Racine, Wisconsin
  • Episode 185Golden Calf
    • Act 1: Bowing Before the Famous — Ann Hepperman
    • Act 2: Thou Shalt Worship No Other Trousers Before MeIra Glass
    • Act 3: Don't Have a Golden Cow — Iggy Scam
  • Episode 184Neighbors
  • Episode 183The Missing Parents Bureau
    • Act 1: Better Left to the Imagination — Alix Spiegel
    • Act 2: Tell it to the VoidMiriam Toews
    • Act 3: I'm an Orphan; Don't Tell My MomStarlee Kine
    • Act 4: Runaway MomDan Savage
  • Episode 182Cringe
    • Act 1: What We Cringe About When We Cringe About LoveNancy Updike
    • Act 2: The Growing Aesthetic of Cringe — Adam Sternberg
    • Act 3: M*A*S*H NotesIra Glass
    • Act 4: Cringe and PurgeBruce Jay Friedman
  • Episode 181The Friendly Man
  • Episode 180Return to Childhood
    • Act 1: Once More, With FeelingJonathan Katz
    • Act 2: Punk in a Grey Flannel Suit — David Philp
    • Act 3: Ich... Bin... Ein .. Mophead — Alex Blumberg
    • Act 4: Every Day I Forget Something ElseNicholson Baker
  • Episode 179Cicero
    • Act 1: Untouchables
    • Act 2: The Inevitable
    • Act 3: War By Other Means
    • Act 4: They Say Our Love is Here to Stay
  • Episode 178Superpowers
    • Act 1: Invisible Man vs. HawkmanJohn Hodgman
    • Act 2: Wonder Woman — Kelly McEvers
    • Act 3: The Green Team of Boy Millionaires, Beppo The Amazing Supermonkey from Planet Krypton, and The Man from SramIra Glass and Jonathan Morris
    • Act 4: The Wonder TwinsIra Glass and Jason Bleibtreu
  • Episode 177American Limbo
  • Episode 176Two Nations, One President
  • Episode 175Babysitting
    • For their segment Yes There Is A Baby Jonathan Goldstein, Alex Blumberg and Ira Glass won the 2002 Third Coast International Audio Festival Gold Award for Best Documentary

[edit] 2000

  • Episode 174Birthdays, Anniversaries and Milestones
  • Episode 173Three Kinds of Deception
  • Episode 17224 Hours at the Golden Apple
  • Episode 171Election
  • Episode 170Immigration
  • Episode 169Pursuit of Happiness
  • Episode 168The Fix Is In
  • Episode 167Memo to the People of the Future
  • Episode 166Nobody's Family is Going to Change
  • Episode 165Americans in Paris
  • Episode 164Crime Scene
  • Episode 163Can You Fight City Hall... If You Are City Hall?
  • Episode 162Moving
  • Episode 161Million Bubbles
  • Episode 160Character Assassination
  • Episode 159Mother's Day
  • Episode 158Mob Mentality
  • Episode 157Secret Life of Daytime
  • Episode 156What Remains
  • Episode 155Hoaxing Yourself
  • Episode 154In Dog We Trust
  • Episode 153Dolls
  • Episode 152Crush
  • Episode 151Primary
  • Episode 150Kids as Adults
  • Episode 149Bedside Diplomacy

[edit] 1999

  • Episode 148The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Suit
  • Episode 147A Teenager's Guide to God
  • Episode 146Urban Nature
  • Episode 145Poultry Slam '99
  • Episode 144Where Words Fail
  • Episode 143Sentencing
  • Episode 142Barbara
  • Episode 141Invisible Worlds
  • Episode 140Family Business
  • Episode 139Ghosts of Elections Past
  • Episode 138The Real Thing
  • Episode 137The Book that Changed Your Life
  • Episode 136You Are Here
  • Episode 135Allure of Crime
  • Episode 134We Didn't
  • Episode 133Sales
  • Episode 132Father's Day '99
  • Episode 131The Kids Are Alright
  • Episode 130Away From Home
  • Episode 129Advice
  • Episode 128Four Corners
  • Episode 127Pimp Anthropology
  • Episode 126Do-gooders
  • Episode 125Apocalypse
  • Episode 124Welcome to America
  • Episode 123High Cost of Living
  • Episode 122Valentine's Day '99
  • Episode 121Twentieth Century Man
  • Episode 120Be Careful Who You Pretend to Be
  • Episode 119Lock-up

[edit] 1998

  • Episode 118What You Lookin' At?
  • Episode 117You Gonna Eat That?
  • Episode 116Poultry Slam '98
  • Episode 115First Day
    • Act 1: Lost at SeaDishwasher Pete
    • Act 2: Squirrel Cop
    • Act 3: Bad Sex With Bud KempSandra Tsing Loh
    • Act 4: When Businesses Act Like Humans — Alex Blumberg
  • Episode 114Last Words
    • Act 1: Actions Speak LouderSarah Vowell
    • Act 2: The Unknown SoldierLuc Sante
    • Act 3: How the Living Use the DeadGreil Marcus
    • Act 4: Rosebud
    • Act 5: Black Box — Malcolm McPherson
    • Act 6: What Goes Through Your HeadTobias Wolff reads his short story, "Bullet in the Brain"
  • Episode 113Windfall
  • Episode 112Ladies and Germs
  • Episode 111Adventures in the Simple Life
  • Episode 110Mapping
  • Episode 109Notes on Camp
  • Episode 108Truth and Lies at Age Ten
  • Episode 107Trail of Tears
  • Episode 106Father's Day '98
  • Episode 105Take a Negro Home Tonight
  • Episode 104Music Lessons
  • Episode 103Scenes from a Transplant
  • Episode 102Roadtrip!
  • Episode 101Niagara
  • Episode 100Radio
  • Episode 99I Enjoy Being a Girl, Sort Of
  • Episode 98Throwing the First Punch
  • Episode 97Death to Wacky
  • Episode 96Pinned by History
  • Episode 95Monogamy
    • Act 1:Scientific Experiment
      • Chris and Sylvere describe how difficult it is to contain a "marriage threatening crush"
    • Act 2:Love and Happiness (Dan Savage)
      • Dan Savage explains what actually happens in non-monogamous couples, how they make it work, and whether they're happy.
    • Act 3:Istanbul (Ian Brown)
      • Ian Brown of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on the normal struggle most people experience when they try to stay monogamous.
  • Episode 94How To
  • Episode 93Valentine's Day '98
  • Episode 92Leave the Mask On
  • Episode 91Escape the Box
  • Episode 90Telephone
  • Episode 89Sibling Rivalry
  • Episode 88Numbers

[edit] 1997

  • Episode 87A Very Special Sedaris Christmas
  • Stories from David Sedaris's book Holidays on Ice (ISBN 0-316-77998-9), recorded live at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles
  • Episode 86How To Take Money From Strangers
  • Episode 85Poultry Slam '97
  • Episode 84Harold
  • Episode 83One of Us
  • Episode 82Haunted by Ghosts
  • Episode 81Guns
    • Show description: How guns affect us.
    • Prologue: Ira Glass reads an open letter advertisement from American Handgunner
    • Act #1: NRA meets NEASarah Vowell
      • Sara Vowell talks about firing off a homemade cannon with her father
    • Music interlude: MUSIC PERFORMER,
    • Act #2: Fists and Guns — Geoffry Canada
      • Geoffry Canada, author of the book Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America, talks about what it's like to carry a gun.
    • Act #3: Shooter — PRODUCER/REPORTER
      • Bryn Magnus with a quintessential gun story from his childhood in Wisconsin
    • Act #4: Po-tay-to, Po-ta-to — PRODUCER/REPORTER
      • Two people who've nearly died in gun battles, Mike Robbins, a Chicago police officer and Susanna Gratia-Hupp, a Texas chiropractor, draw opposite conclusions from their near-death experiences.
    • Act #5: Strawman — PRODUCER/REPORTER
      • Chicago writer Tori Marlan with a man who sold guns to criminals for two years.
  • Episode 80Running After Antelope
  • Episode 79Stuck in the Wrong Decade
  • Episode 78How Bad is Bad?
  • Episode 77Pray
  • Episode 76Mob
  • Episode 75Kindness of Strangers
  • Episode 74Conventions
  • Episode 73Blame it on Art
  • Episode 72Trek
  • Episode 71Defying Sickness
  • Episode 70Other People's Mail
  • Episode 69Dreamhouse
  • Episode 68Lincoln's Second Inaugural
  • Episode 67Your Dream, My Nightmare
  • Episode 66Tales from the Net
  • Episode 65Who's Canadian
  • Episode 64Summer
  • Episode 63One Thing
  • Episode 62Something for Nothing
  • Episode 61Fiasco!
  • Episode 60Business of Death
  • Episode 59Fire
  • Episode 58Small Towns
  • Episode 57Delivery
  • Episode 56Name Change
  • Episode 55Three Women and the Sex Industry
  • Episode 54Sinatra
  • Episode 53Valentine's Day '97
  • Episode 52Edge of Sanity
  • Episode 51Animals Die, People Ponder
  • Episode 50Shoulda Been Dead
  • Episode 49Animals
    • Prologue
    • Act 1: Food Chain in a New York Apartment — Paul Tough
    • Act 2: More Animals Eating Other AnimalsDavid Sedaris
    • Act 3: The Moment Humans Stopped Being AnimalsScott Carrier
  • Episode 48Justice

[edit] 1996

  • Episode 47Christmas and Commerce
  • Episode 46Sissies
  • Episode 45Media Fringe
  • Episode 44Poultry Slam '96
  • Episode 43Faustian Bargains
  • Episode 42Get Over It!
  • Episode 41Politics
  • Episode 40Lessons
  • Episode 39Halloween
  • Episode 38Simulated Worlds
  • Episode 37The Job that Takes Over Your Life
  • Episode 36Letters
  • Episode 35Fall Clearance Sale
  • Episode 34Democratic Convention
  • Episode 33A Night at the Wiener's Circle
    • This episode is about the unique culture in a Chicago fast food restaurant.
    • Prologue — New introduction recorded in 2006, saying this show was never broadcast nationally — Ira Glass
    • Ira records various colorful personalities at the Wiener's Circle.
  • Episode 32Republican Convention
  • Episode 31When You Talk About Music
  • Episode 30Obsession
  • Episode 29Bob Dole
  • Episode 28Detectives
  • Episode 27The Cruelty of Children
  • Episode 26Father's Day '96
  • Episode 25Basketball
  • Episode 24Teenaged Girls
  • Episode 23Drama Bug
  • Episode 22Adult Children
  • Episode 21Factions
  • Episode 20From a Distance
  • Episode 19Rich Guys
  • Episode 18Liars
  • Episode 17Name Change/No Theme
  • Episode 16Economy
  • Episode 15Dawn
  • Episode 14Accidental Documentaries
  • Episode 13Love
  • Episode 12Animals
    • Prologue
    • Act 1: Food Chain in a New York Apartment — Paul Tough
    • Act 2: More Animals Eating Other AnimalsDavid Sedaris
    • Act 3: The Moment Humans Stopped Being AnimalsScott Carrier
  • Episode 11Enemies
  • Episode 10Double Lives
  • Episode 9Julia Sweeney
  • Episode 8New Year

[edit] 1995

  • Episode 7Quitting
    • Prologue/Act 1 — Ira Glass talks to Evan Harris about Quitter Quarterly zine, which she founded with Shelley Ross, and the nature of "the quit" (20:45)
    • Ella Fitzgerald, Don't Fence Me In
    • Act 2 — Sandra Tsing Loh (7:40)
    • Brave Combo, Do Something Different (Disappear)
    • Act 3: Shut Up, Little ManIra Glass on an unusual CD of bickering and fighting (8:20)
    • Act 4.1: Work — Lisa Buscani (5:55)
    • Robert Metrick, The Calendar Song (3:15)
    • Act 4.2: Love — Lisa Buscani (3:50)
    • Act 5: Farewell Samba — Dwight Okita reads this poem from his book Crossing with the Light (ISBN 0-9624287-9-5) (1:35)
    • Act 6: Poetry of Departures — a poem by Philip Larkin, read by Ira Glass (1:15)
  • Episode 6Christmas
  • Episode 5Anger & Forgiveness
  • Episode 4Vacations — May not be in order, as it presents itself as "This American Life" rather than "Your Radio Playhouse", and the transition does not occur until Episode 17.
  • Episode 3Poultry Slam
  • Episode 2Small Scale Sin
  • Episode 1New Beginnings