12.23.05
305: The This American Life Holiday Spectacular
A full-throttle, show-stopping, no-holds-barred Christmas Spectacular! Shedding the crusty old Christmas stories of yore, this year we...
12.16.05
304: Heretics
The story of Reverend Carlton Pearson, a renowned evangelical pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who cast aside the idea of Hell, and with it...
12.2.05
303: David and Goliath
Variations on an old tale, with very modern consequences. Cambodia is competing with other nations for the business of big clothing...
11.18.05
302: Strangers in a Strange Land
Someone once said, "If you're not willing to be changed by a place, there's no point in going." This week, stories about what happens when...
11.11.05
301: Settling the Score
Stories about the lengths we go to make things right, and about what money can and cannot fix.
10.28.05
300: What's In A Number?
About a year ago, a study estimated the number of Iraqi casualties since the war began at 100,000 dead — higher than any other estimate....
10.7.05
299: Back from the Dead
Stories about people and places that have come back to life after everything seemed lost.
9.23.05
298: Getting and Spending
How far will we go to get money? And once we've got it, what should we spend it on? The first half of this show is on making money, and the...
9.16.05
297: This Is Not My Beautiful House
It's the largest mass resettlement that America has seen since the Civil War, as over 400,000 people — victims of Hurricane Katrina — try...
9.9.05
296: After the Flood
Surprising stories from survivors in New Orleans. We give people who were in the storm more time than daily news coverage can to tell their...
8.26.05
295: Not What  I Signed Up For
Stories about being sucked into something against your will. In one story, a 9/11 widow finds herself having to comfort another distraught...
8.5.05
294: Image Makers
Stories of people and institutions who are worried about what the world thinks of them, and who take action ... decisive action.
7.22.05
293: A Little Bit of Knowledge
Stories about the pitfalls of knowing just a little bit too little.
7.8.05
292: The Arms Trader
The U.S. government spent two years on a sting operation trapping an Indian man named Hemant Lakhani, whom they suspected of being an...
7.1.05
291: Reunited (And It Feels So Good)
Stories about getting back together with your spouse, your country, your...Brahman bull. And how it never goes the way you think it's going...
6.3.05
290: Godless America
At a time when House Majority Leader Tom Delay calls for enacting a "Biblical world view" in government, when Christians are asserting...
5.13.05
289: Go Ask Your Father
In this show, sons and daughters get to find out the one thing they've always wanted to know about their father. The answers aren't always...
5.6.05
288: Not What I Meant
Stories about how easy it is for communication to go awry, and what the consequences can be after it does.
4.15.05
287: Backed Into A Corner
Stories about people who end up making choices they'd rather not make, when their options begin to run out. Sometimes this works out great...
4.8.05
286: Mind Games
Stories of people who try simple mind games on others, and then find themselves way in over their heads.
3.25.05
285: Know Your Enemy
Stories about trying to understand who's on your side. The defense mnister of Israel visits would-be suicide bombers in prison, only to...
3.11.05
284: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Stories about people teetering on the edge of this question: Should they stay or go? A software writer loses his job, but refuses to go...
2.25.05
283: Remember Me
Stories about people who are remembered very differently than they'd wished. The ghost of a kindly, distinguished philanthropist supposedly...
2.11.05
282: DIY
After four lawyers fail to get an innocent man out of prison, his friend takes on the case himself. He becomes a do-it-yourself...
1.21.05
281: My Big Break
Sometimes, getting your big break isn't all it's cracked up to be. A comedy duo lands the gig that can make them famous—the Ed Sullivan...
1.7.05
280: In Country
What life is like for American soldiers in Iraq.