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This American Life Archive

Autogenerated feed of the This American Life archive.

From the show's RSS feed, refreshed Sep 5, 2026. Source feed.

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Episodes

  1. 883: Call Your Parents

    In the early days of the radio show, Ira did a series of interviews with his parents that completely changed his relationship with them. This week, he returns to those interviews.

  2. 882: Give a Little Whistle

    Two lawyers who work for ICE lift the curtain on what is happening inside our immigration system.

  3. 881: I Want What I Want

    People deciding to do things that most of us do NOT choose to do.

  4. 880: What Is Your Emergency?

    911 calls unlike any we’ve heard before, and other stories about immigration agents sweeping through America.

  5. 879: A Christian and a Muslim Walk Into a Bar

    When a joke could get you killed, should you say it anyway?

  6. 878: New Lore Drop

    People discovering information about their own lives that they did not know, and suddenly everything looks very different.

  7. 877: The Making Of

    How one block in Portland, Oregon became a movie-set war zone that lots of people think is a real war zone.

  8. 876: Bigger Than Me

    When history comes knocking, you have to figure out what to do.

  9. 875: I Hate Mysteries

    What’s in the box? What’s in the $%&ing box?!?

  10. 873: Got You Pegged

    The pitfalls of making snap judgments about others.

  11. 874: Under One Roof

    Behind closed doors with two families.

  12. 872: Winners

    We watch someone trying to score a win in a game whose rules are being made up as she plays.

  13. 871: The Thing About Things

    Three stories about the strange power inanimate objects can hold over us.

  14. 869: Harold

    The story of Harold Washington and the white backlash that ensued when he became Chicago's first Black mayor.

  15. 870: My Other Self

    What happens when people create alternate versions of themselves and release them into the wild?

  16. 868: The Hand That Rocks The Gavel

    Judges describe the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside.

  17. 867: College Disorientation

    Things are different on college campuses this year. We see inside the drama, with students and staff.

  18. 866: Watch Out for That Tree

    Small human plans that run into much larger obstacles.

  19. 865: The Other Territory

    Israel has intensified restrictions on West Bank Palestinians while global attention focused on Gaza.

  20. 864: Chicago Hope

    The story of the most commonly performed surgery, and what goes terribly wrong with it.

  21. 863: Championship Window

    People on a mission to achieve their goals before their window of opportunity closes.

  22. 862: Some Things We Don't Do Anymore

    Trump froze U.S. foreign aid and dismantled USAID. We examine the agency’s impact and hear from people trying to navigate this chaotic moment.

  23. 861: Group Chat

    Conversations across a divide: People who are outside a war zone check in with family, friends, and strangers inside.

  24. 860: Suddenly: A Mirror!

    A show about people who are suddenly confronted with who they are.

  25. 859: Chaos Graph

    People immersed in chaos try to solve for what it all adds up to.

  26. 858: How to Tell a Dumb American Story

    A couple devises a strategy to get their daughter's killer prosecuted and to get attention for other Native families.

  27. 857: Museum of Now

    Artifacts and exhibits of this particular moment we are living through.

  28. 856: You’ve Come to the Right Person

    Sometimes, life’s biggest mysteries require one very specific person to answer them.

  29. 855: That’s a Weird Thing to Lie About

    Unnecessary and outrageous lies that make you wonder — why lie about that in the first place?

  30. 854: Ten Things I Don't Want to Hate About You

    Zach Mack and his dad try to mend a rift between them in a very unusual way.

  31. 853: Groundhog Day

    People stuck in a loop, trying to find their way out.

  32. 852: Pivot Point

    People living in that in-between moment before everything changes.

  33. 851: Try a Little Tenderness

    People try a radical approach to solving their problems.

  34. 849: The Narrator

    Banias is an 8-year-old kid living in Gaza. And she has a story to tell — many stories, in fact.

  35. 848: The Official Unofficial Record

    How do you count almost 12 million votes if you’re not the government?

  36. 847: The Truly Incredible Story of Keiko the Killer Whale

    A colossal effort to un-tame a whale and send him back to the ocean.

  37. 846: This Is the Cake We Baked

    We talk to people who helped make Trump's victory happen and some who are looking to what’s next.

  38. 845: A Small Thing That Gives Me a Tiny Shred of Hope

    A wee flame, flickering in the dark.

  39. 844: This Is the Case of Henry Dee

    Thirteen parole board members decide whether or not one man should be released from prison.

  40. 843: A Little Bit of Power

    Abbas Alawieh, a leader in the Uncommitted movement, grapples with how to get his voters the thing they want.

  41. 842: 51 Days

    Chen Almog-Goldstein tells the story of life as a hostage in Gaza.

  42. 841: My Senior Year

    One kid comes to America as an exchange student and commits herself to the senior year experience.

  43. 840: How Are You Not Seeing This?

    People trying and struggling to see what another person sees.

  44. 839: Meet Me at the Fair

    We spend a few days at the Iowa State Fair.

  45. 838: Letters! Actual Letters!

    When the best—and perhaps only—way to say something is to write it down.

  46. 837: Swim Towards the Shark

    In a crisis, when all logic suggests that you get away from the dangerous thing, how will you respond?

  47. 836: The Big Rethink

    People rethinking some of the most important relationships in their lives.

  48. 835: Children of Dave

    Boen Wang goes back to a day that changed the course of his family's story.

  49. 834: Yousef and the Fourth Move

    In Rafah, Yousef is out of options and faces his toughest move yet.

About this show

Autogenerated feed of the This American Life archive.

Frequently asked questions

How many episodes does This American Life Archive have?

This American Life Archive has 885 episodes on PodParley. The most recent episode was published on March 13, 2026.

What is This American Life Archive about?

Autogenerated feed of the This American Life archive.

How often does This American Life Archive release new episodes?

This American Life Archive publishes every two weeks, based on its 885 episodes since November 1995.
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