This American Life

09/07/2026

This week: Stories from the awkward, confusing, hormonally charged world of middle school. Link below to listen.

09/02/2026

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.

08/31/2026

A guy hooked two Claude chatbots up to talk to each other. Each one insisted it was the real AI, and the other one was human. Watch what happens when the two Claudes figure out neither of them is human and try to end the conversation.

The full story is in our new episode: "I Know What You Need"

Link below to listen.

08/31/2026

A guy connects two AI chatbots, so instead of talking to him, they're talking to each other. Each one keeps trying to help the other until they realize neither is human. Then they try to stop the conversation, but they can't.

This week: that and more stories about the decision to jump in and help somebody else, even if they do not necessarily want what you're offering to do for them.

Listen: https://lnk.to/thisamericanlife

08/27/2026

With news about the USS Abraham Lincoln and the strain on its crew, Ira looks back at the time he got a real glimpse of life aboard an aircraft carrier: the USS John C. Stennis. 5,000 people on one ship. Bunking with 196 other people. Jobs that range from genuinely dangerous to, in one crew member's words, "filling up vending machines all day for 12 hours."

The episode is called "Somewhere in the Arabian Sea." Link below to listen.

08/27/2026

We commissioned a new take on Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” for our 2018 episode "Five Women," about a boss who sexually harasses his female employees. We turned to Dolly’s classic anthem because in our interviews, a woman describes a revenge fantasy that mirrors the movie plot — even though she’d never seen it. The song from 1980 captures that feeling perfectly.

That's what Dolly did: wrote something so true, it feels new no matter how old it gets.

The cover is from Merrill Garbus of Tune-Yards. It's unrecognizable in the opening bars, until the lyrics land and it's unmistakably a Dolly Parton song.

Volume up to hear a sample, link below to download the full song.

08/25/2026

SCHOOL PICTURES, the play by Milo Cramer featured in our "Question Trap" episode, is opening at Cherry Lane Theatre on October 7.

Tickets: https://cherrylanetheatre.org/shows/school-pictures

08/24/2026

The USS Abraham Lincoln has been in the news over an extra-long deployment. Back in 2002, we explored life aboard another aircraft carrier, the USS John C. Stennis.

Only 50 or 60 people on board actually flew the planes that dropped bombs. Everyone else — over 5,000 people — was there to get them in the air: stocking vending machines, doing laundry, running the ship's water supply, playing in garage bands between shifts.

Listen to hear what everyday life aboard a ship at war can be like: https://link.podtrac.com/xolnw359

08/21/2026

People kept asking comedian Janet McNamara the same question, for years: have you ever thought you might be autistic?

Her story is in our new episode, "Label Maker!"

08/19/2026

When Temporary Protected Status ended for Haitian immigrants, some 300,000 people had their lives upended. We spent time with Marie, a Boston nursing assistant, as she tried to figure out exactly when her very last day on the job would be. Link below to listen to our new episode: Label Maker!

Labels are powerful. They can distill you down to a single word. They can get stuck on you without your permission. And sometimes, when they get taken away, they can upend your entire life. On this episode: labels and the havoc they wreak. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our p...