This American Life (Unofficial)

At a time when the U.S. government is trying to make American history tidier, we try to learn from the mess. Including the untold, messy story of Paul and Essie Robeson.

M. Gessen returns to our show with a true-crime story that takes place entirely within their own family. This story comes to us from the producers at Serial Productions—who invented the true-crime podcast more than a decade ago—and from The New York Times.

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.

Two lawyers who work for ICE step forward and lift the curtain on what is really happening inside our immigration system right now.

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

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

When a joke could get you killed, should you say it anyway? A group of Syrian comedians test the limits of their newfound freedom, a year after the fall of the brutal Assad regime.

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

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

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

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

What’s great about living in a family is that everyone sees everything differently. Also, that’s what’s awful about living in a family. We go behind closed doors with two families.

Shalom Auslander goes on vacation with his family, suspects the beloved, chatty old man in the room next door is an imposter, and sets out to prove it. This and other stories about the pitfalls of making snap judgments about others.

America loves winners—now more than ever. But how do you get to a win in 2025 America? We watch someone trying to score a win in a game whose rules are being made up as she plays.

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

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

When Zohran Mamdani won the primary race for New York mayor, the Democratic establishment's lukewarm response echoed the treatment of another charismatic, unconventional candidate decades earlier. This week, we bring you the story of Harold Washington, the greatest politician you've probably never heard of, and the backlash that ensued when he became Chicago's first Black mayor.

A group of immigration judges, who almost never speak to the press, describes the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside.

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

Small human plans that run into much larger obstacles.

Since October 7th, while the world has focused its attention on Gaza, the Israeli government has tightened the screws on the three million Palestinians in the West Bank in all sorts of dramatic ways. We travel to the West Bank to see these changes in person.

The story of the most commonly performed surgery, and what goes wrong with it – terribly wrong – 100,000 times a year in the United States. We’re excited to bring you the first episode of The Retrievals, Season 2, the new show from longtime This American Life producer and editor Susan Burton. It’s from Serial Productions and The New York Times.

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

On his first day in office, President Trump decided to freeze all U.S. foreign aid. Soon after, his administration effectively dissolved USAID—the federal agency that delivers billions in food, medicine, and other aid worldwide. Many of its programs have been canceled. Now, as USAID officially winds down, we try to assess its impact. What was good? What was not so good? We meet people around the world wrestling with these questions and trying to navigate this chaotic moment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the new year, stories of people trying a radical approach to solving their problems.

The tiny thing that unravels your world.

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

How do you count almost 12 million votes if you’re not the government? This week, we bring you the extraordinary story of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who created the only verifiable public record of votes in their presidential election — and other stories of people trying to correct the official record with their own versions.

Keiko was a hugely beloved adventure park attraction. He was also captured in the wild and taken away from his mother when he was just a calf. When Hollywood learned about him, a colossal effort began to un-tame him and send him back to the ocean.

With Donald Trump’s victory this week, many people looked at the election results and thought, yeah, this is the country I thought it was. For some people, that was a hopeful thing. For others, kind of the opposite. This week, we talked with people who helped make it happen and some who are looking to what’s next.

A wee flame, flickering in the dark.

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

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.

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.

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

People trying and struggling to see what another person sees.

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.

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

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

People rethinking some of the most important relationships in their lives — with their sister, their political party, and the nominee for president.