This American Life

09/18/2025

Become our Life Partner! Help support the show and get ad-free episodes, exclusive bonus content, and access to hundreds of archive favorites curated by Ira Glass himself.

The economics of the podcast industry have changed, and we need your help to keep making the show. You can do that by becoming a Life Partner. What you’ll get out of the relationship: ad-free listening, exclusive bonus episodes, and our brand new Greatest Hits Archive – over 250 favorite episode...

09/16/2025

The Trump administration withheld $400M from Columbia until the university agreed to a settlement with specific conditions—including adopting a government-approved definition of antisemitism. Professors are asking: what does this actually mean for them and their classes this school year?

Things are different on college campuses this year. We see inside the drama, with students and staff. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: We go to orientation at Arizona State University and meet international students who are trying to make fri...

09/15/2025

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

Things are different on college campuses this year. We see inside the drama, with students and staff. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: We go to orientation at Arizona State University and meet international students who are trying to make fri...

09/10/2025

Applications are open for our fellowship program! Our fellows learn to structure and mix radio stories, participate in group edits, and pitch their own pieces. It’s paid, with benefits like health insurance and a relocation reimbursement. Apply by Oct. 1.

Our fellowship program focuses on every facet of producing this show.

09/10/2025

Ira Glass will be at Campbell Hall in Santa Barbara, CA on October 4, sharing lessons from his life and career in storytelling. Don’t miss it. https://bit.ly/40aoU4X

09/09/2025

A sixteen-year-old plans out a prank, and a complete stranger from Honduras ends up in a million-dollar deal. What could go wrong?

Small human plans that run into much larger obstacles. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Angela's dad, an accountant, made a spreadsheet to prepare for their family trip to a national park. But there are things you never think to put in a spre...

09/08/2025

A young couple, excited to start a new chapter in their lives, is suddenly put on a very different trajectory.

Small human plans that run into much larger obstacles. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Angela's dad, an accountant, made a spreadsheet to prepare for their family trip to a national park. But there are things you never think to put in a spre...

09/06/2025

On the radio this weekend: Small human plans that run into much larger obstacles. https://bit.ly/45RGHkM

09/05/2025

The deadline to apply for our next fellowship session is October 1.
✅ paid position
✅ health insurance
✅ relocation reimbursement
And you'll participate in all aspects of show production.

Our fellowship program focuses on every facet of producing this show.

09/04/2025

Bonus content: Producer Tobin Low sits down with Ira Glass to listen to some stories by our coworker Lilly Sullivan – stories that Tobin thinks shouldn’t work on the radio but somehow really, really do. Become a Life Partner today to listen.

The economics of the podcast industry have changed, and we need your help to keep making the show. You can do that by becoming a Life Partner. What you’ll get out of the relationship: ad-free listening, exclusive bonus episodes, and our brand new Greatest Hits Archive – over 250 favorite episode...

09/02/2025

After 25 years in the same business, a man starts from scratch to create a cable network with no people, no talking, no plots—but lots and lots of puppies.

People starting over—sometimes because they want to, other times because they have to. Host Ira Glass talks to Jorge Just, who thought he'd started over successfully. He'd moved to New York, found an apartment that everyone told him was a great deal, things were looking good. Then a reality televi...

09/01/2025

A day in the life of a guy who wakes up broke every morning, hustles as much as $10,000 during the day, and then loses most of it by the time he goes to bed. What it's like to start from scratch every day.

People starting over—sometimes because they want to, other times because they have to. Host Ira Glass talks to Jorge Just, who thought he'd started over successfully. He'd moved to New York, found an apartment that everyone told him was a great deal, things were looking good. Then a reality televi...