Episodes - This American Life

Disinformation and propaganda works differently in Putin’s Russia than it did during the Soviet Union. Instead of tamping down the opposition, the Russian government works to control the opposition.

Act Four: A Matter of Principal

The anti-government protests last month in Russia were surprising for a few reasons – including the fact that they included tons of young people. After the protests, teenagers started posting videos to the internet of their teachers lecturing them about the protests and the kids arguing back.

615: The Beginning of Now

Apr. 28, 2017

Act Two: Who Tells Your Story?

For years Pat Buchanan ran on many of the same ideas that Donald Trump would later run on. Buchanan lost — three times.

608: The Revolution Starts At Noon

Jan. 20, 2017

Prologue

Host Ira Glass talks to a man driving to Washington, D.C.—with his brother, father and a whole lot of neckties—for his first job on Capitol Hill.

626: White Haze

Sept. 22, 2017

Act One: Lost in the Proud

Dante Nero has been involved in this group for years, since before it even had a name. He’s seen its evolution.

615: The Beginning of Now

Apr. 28, 2017

Prologue

Vice News producer Reid Cherlin tells Ira about a party he attended in Washington in 2014. At the time he thought everyone there was on the fringe of the right wing, largely irrelevant.

Act One: The Brat Pack

In 2014, in the wake of losing the previous presidential election, the Republican Party had committed itself to immigration reform as its only path to winning elections in the future. Within two years, Donald Trump would be elected on the exact opposite platform, railing against immigration.

620: To Be Real

July 14, 2017

Act One: How I Learned To Start Worrying and Fear the Bomb

Earlier this month, North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile… one powerful enough, news reports said, to reach Alaska. People were shocked.

608: The Revolution Starts At Noon

Jan. 20, 2017

Act One: Meme Come True

Producer Zoe Chace attends the DeploraBall, a party for trolls and others who say they memed Trump into the presidency.

Act Six: A Change In The Office Climate

Two civil servants who do not like our new President weigh their options. Quit? Stay? Stay and fight? Producer David Kestenbaum reports.

630: Things I Mean to Know

Oct. 27, 2017

Act Two: Flake News

Producer Zoe Chace has been following Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake for the last few months, reporting on the run-up to his re-election bid in 2018.

609: It’s Working Out Very Nicely

Feb. 3, 2017

Act Four: How Do You Solve A Problem Like Sharia?

Ira talks with a very skeptical national security expert about whether this order actually secures the nation.

621: Fear and Loathing in Homer and Rockville

July 21, 2017

Prologue

Ira talks to our Senior Producer Brian Reed about a fight that’s been brewing in the remote town of Homer, Alaska over a resolution that states that Homer welcomes immigrants. Which is odd.

614: The Other Mr. President (2017)

Apr. 14, 2017

Act Two: Mr. Popular

Vladmir Putin’s approval rating is a seemingly unreal 84%. Ira talks to reporter Charles Maynes to find out if that number is real and how it could be that high.

612: Ask a Grown-Up

Mar. 17, 2017

Act Two: The Enemy of The People vs. The People.

Mike Wilson, the editor of the Dallas Morning News, recently got some hate mail from conservative readers. They think that the media—and his paper—are biased.

626: White Haze

Sept. 22, 2017

Act Two: Phone Calls to an Undisclosed Location

The man who organized the rally in Charlottesville is named Jason Kessler. He says he’s not to blame for the violence that happened there, including the death of a counter protester.

608: The Revolution Starts At Noon

Jan. 20, 2017

Act Three: Law and Border

Border Patrol agents were stoked when immigration became a centerpiece of Trump’s campaign. Producer Stephanie Foo went to find out how they hope their jobs will change.

629: Expect Delays

Oct. 20, 2017

Act One: The Most Expected Delay in Northern Ohio

Linndale, Ohio, is a town known almost entirely for its speed trap. Producer Sean Cole explains.

621: Fear and Loathing in Homer and Rockville

July 21, 2017

Act One: Fear

Brian Reed continues his story about the town of Homer, Alaska. He talked to all sorts of people involved in the debate over whether the town should welcome immigrants.

630: Things I Mean to Know

Oct. 27, 2017

Act One: Fraud Complex

 We’ve all heard reports that voter fraud isn’t real. But how do we know that’s true? David Kestenbaum went on a quest to find out if someone had actually put in the work—and run the numbers—to know for certain.

624: Private Geography

Sept. 1, 2017

Act One: Vouching Towards Bethlehem

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is from Grand Rapids, Michigan. So is This American Life producer Susan Burton.

623: We Are in the Future (2017)

Aug. 18, 2017

Act One: Metropolis Now

Producer Neil Drumming spends a couple days exploring Detroit, first with a quirky mayoral candidate running an Afrofuturist campaign, and then with a couple of locals.

621: Fear and Loathing in Homer and Rockville

July 21, 2017

Act Two: Loathing

In the first half of the show, we documented a community that was worried about what might happen, theoretically, if undocumented immigrants arrived. In this act, Producer Zoe Chace looks at a community where the immigrants have already arrived – Rockville, Maryland.

611: Vague and Confused

Mar. 3, 2017

Prologue

The Department of Homeland Security’s new policies on deportation have sown fear and confusion among undocumented immigrants. Ira Glass and Lilly Sullivan go to Chicago and meet a family trying to navigate the situation.

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Act Three: Maybe Pay Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain

Act Four: A Matter of Principal

Act Two: Who Tells Your Story?

Prologue

Act One: Lost in the Proud

Prologue

Act One: The Brat Pack

Act One: How I Learned To Start Worrying and Fear the Bomb

Act One: Meme Come True

Act Six: A Change In The Office Climate

Act Two: Flake News

Act Four: How Do You Solve A Problem Like Sharia?

Prologue

Act Two: Mr. Popular

Act Two: The Enemy of The People vs. The People.

Act Two: Phone Calls to an Undisclosed Location

Act Three: Law and Border

Act One: The Most Expected Delay in Northern Ohio

Act One: Fear

Act One: Fraud Complex

Act One: Vouching Towards Bethlehem

Act One: Metropolis Now

Act Two: Loathing

Prologue

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