Episodes - This American Life

A super-heated adult debate about trans kids lands in the life of an Alabama teenager named Finn.

774: The Pink House at the Center of the World

July 1, 2022

Prologue

Host Ira Glass reminds us that, before they change the country, all major Supreme Court cases start with just a person, in a place. (3 minutes)

777: Name. Age. Detail.

Aug. 12, 2022

Andre Mackniel

Bim Adewunmi finds a window into Andre Mackneil’s world through TikTok. (4 minutes)

780: Setting the Record Straight

Sept. 30, 2022

Prologue

Tobin Low tells Ira about Paul, who intended to have an anonymous, romantic rendezvous but instead wound up having to decide whether or not to clear up a big misunderstanding.

770: My Lying Eyes

May 6, 2022

Act Three: We Did Start the Fire

Sometimes even when you live through something, it can be hard to see it for what it is. Reporter Katie Worth has a story about a 7th-grader in that position.

780: Setting the Record Straight

Sept. 30, 2022

Act Three: U-F-No!

David Kestenbaum desperately wants to set the record straight for everybody about whether aliens regularly visit earth. They don’t, he says.

760: A City Walks Into an Investigation

Jan. 28, 2022

Ira and Ben consider how officers could be flagged for bad policing in a more systematic way, rather than the freak occurrence of a couple walking into an officer’s home and finding a KKK application up on his wall.

762: Apocalypse Creep

Feb. 11, 2022

Act Two: Resilience is Futile

Miami writer Mario Alejandro Ariza on how his city is trying to beat back the impacts of climate change.

773: The Longest Distance Between Two Points

June 17, 2022

Prologue

Ira talks with Cassidy, a 10-year-old who has to take a very long route when he encounters an unfamiliar word in a book.

769: The Reluctant Explorer

Apr. 29, 2022

Act Two: In the Time of Chimpanzees I Was a Monkey

Host Ira Glass talks to one of the suspects. Ken learns who is behind the bot and who isn’t.

786: It's a Game Show!

Dec. 2, 2022

Act Two: You Bet Your Planet’s Life!

Is it possible for the U.S. to reach the goals set by the Paris Agreement? What steps would we have to take to cut emissions by 50% by 2030? We challenge climate researcher Melissa Lott to get us to that number. (11 minutes)

Act Three: You Didn’t Hear It From Me. No, Really. You Didn’t.

A game of telephone played on the podcast Normal Gossip reveals how gossip spreads, and why stories change from person to person.

778: Me Minus Me

Aug. 26, 2022

Prologue

Guest host Bim Adewunmi talks to Mona Chalabi about why she sometimes feels like an imposter in her own home.

774: The Pink House at the Center of the World

July 1, 2022

Act Six: The Babies

Emma Green spends time with Anja Baker, who’s working on preparing Mississippi for the influx of babies it will have to absorb now that abortion is illegal in that state.

766: Well Someone Had to Do SOMETHING!

Apr. 1, 2022

Act One: Cold Call to Action

Producer Alix Spiegel tells the story of a Lithuanian man who devises a plan to solve a problem related to the war in Ukraine.

781: Watching the Watchers

Oct. 7, 2022

Act Two: I’ll Be Watching You

A group of 6th grade boys are bothered by their teacher’s behavior. They complain, but no one listens.

782: Family Dig

Oct. 14, 2022

Prologue

Ira Glass introduces Nancy Updike, one of This American Life's founding producers.

Act Two: The Great Lie-Gration

Jahmal Williams stumbles on a clue about his grandmother’s history that answers a question he’s always had. (11 minutes) Video: The Williams family gets on the bus for their trip north in 1962. WJAR-TV Collection © Rhode Island Historical Society. Archival audio in the story: WPRI-TV Collection ©1962 WPRI-12, Nexstar Media Inc. Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society.More from Gabrielle Emanuel on the Reverse Freedom Rides: The Cruel Story Behind the Reverse Freedom Rides The Long Journey North

758: Talking While Black

Jan. 7, 2022

Act Two: The Farce Awakens

After the murder of George Floyd, sales of books by Black authors skyrocketed. Now, there are efforts to ban many of the same books.

763: The Other Mr. President

Feb. 25, 2022

Act Three: Maybe Pay a Little Attention to the Man behind the Curtain

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.

776: I Work Better on Deadline

July 29, 2022

Act Two: Snail in the Coffin

Senior Editor David Kestenbaum talks with a different kind of advocacy group: animal scientists doing their best to save a particular species before it winks out of existence. (16 minutes)

778: Me Minus Me

Aug. 26, 2022

Act One: Voice Over

Sandy Allen tells the story of learning to play an instrument that suddenly sounds very different — his own voice.

765: Off Course

Mar. 18, 2022

Act Three: The Year of Manic-al Thinking

Comedian Casey Wilson’s mom was a stabilizing force in her family. So after her unexpected death, both Casey and her father felt devastated and unmoored.

767: Do Not Go Gentle

Apr. 8, 2022

Act One: The Brothers Harangazo

Producer Zoe Chace spends time with two brothers in Hungary, trying to win an election that’s basically impossible for them to win.

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Act Two: Finn Raises His Hand

Prologue

Andre Mackniel

Prologue

Act Three: We Did Start the Fire

Act Three: U-F-No!

Coda

Act Two: Resilience is Futile

Prologue

Act Two: In the Time of Chimpanzees I Was a Monkey

Act Two: You Bet Your Planet’s Life!

Act Three: You Didn’t Hear It From Me. No, Really. You Didn’t.

Prologue

Act Six: The Babies

Act One: Cold Call to Action

Act Two: I’ll Be Watching You

Prologue

Act Two: The Great Lie-Gration

Act Two: The Farce Awakens

Act Three: Maybe Pay a Little Attention to the Man behind the Curtain

Act Two: Snail in the Coffin

Act One: Voice Over

Act Three: The Year of Manic-al Thinking

Act One: The Brothers Harangazo

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