In 1967, the first black students integrated the South’s elite prep schools. One of the main reasons they were there? To benefit the white kids.
What Betsy DeVos's experience in a public school in her hometown can tell us about her vision for education in this country.
Afrofuturism is a way of looking at black culture that’s fantastic, creative, and oddly hopeful.
Stories of lucky people who have found the exact right person to ring up for help.
Two towns grapple with the question—who do we let in?
People try to go deeper—to get to something real—in some unexpected places: war, magic, and porn.
"I really loved that cape. Felt very official."
See the inspiration for Teller's Red Ball trick.
Former kid magicians Ira Glass and David Kestenbaum dive back into the world of magic.
A polygraph operator and his strange journey.
A Belgian appeals court delivered a verdict in his case.
Three people grapple with the question, “Are we alone?”
Stories about both historical and modern-day swashbucklers who loot, pillage, and question their choices.
Brian Reed, host of S-Town, talked to Jimmy Fallon about how a chance email sent by a fascinating Alabama antique clock restorer led to the podcast.
As part of The Tonight Show’s Mixtape series, Brian Reed shared what podcasts he’s listening to, plus the storytelling styles that helped inspire S-Town.
Before Trump started his presidential campaign, there was a congressional race that redefined what was possible in American politics.
What it's actually like to live in the confusing information landscape that is Putin's Russia.
A surgeon takes out his own appendix in what might be one of the most daring surgeries ever performed.
Teenage girls ask for advice about their love lives, and Ira's tribute to his very grown-up friend Mary.
A show about rules and what happens when they’re vague and randomly enforced.
People going to very extreme measures to demonstrate their feelings.
We document what happened when the President’s executive order went into effect temporarily banning travel from seven countries.
Some people are super-stoked for the political changes that are coming.
Why has it been so hard for us to get the tens of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans that have helped the U.S. to safety?
Stories from people who want something desperately and then have their wishes fulfilled. Or do they?
Stories of kids using perfectly logical arguments, and arriving at perfectly wrong conclusions.
Samantha Broun interviews her mom about surviving a brutal attack 20 years ago that ended up changing Pennsylvania law regarding life sentences.
Stories of people who decide to rethink the way they’ve been doing things.
People around the country talking about the coming four years after Trump's election.
A story about Hillary Clinton that offers a different picture than what we’ve been hearing from both sides during the campaign.
The third song we commissioned on the eve of the 2016 election. Broadway composer Michael Friedman imagined what RNC Chairman Reince Priebus might be thinking, but not expressing publicly. John Ellison Conlee sang.
Ira on how the three original songs for the 2016 election came about.
15 million people watched this on Facebook. Right before the 2016 election, we asked Sara Bareilles to imagine what President Obama might be thinking about Donald Trump, but couldn’t say publicly. Leslie Odom Jr. sang.
Just before the 2016 election, we asked the Frozen songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez to imagine what Speaker of the House Paul Ryan was feeling, but couldn’t say publicly, about Donald Trump. Neil Patrick Harris sang the part of Paul Ryan.
Right now a lot of Republicans feel like they don’t recognize their own party.
Watching lies become the truth in the 2016 election.
Ira explains how to use our Shortcut app to share clips from This American Life on social media.
San Francisco’s Spider-Man dropped into buildings from skylights and leapt 10 feet from one roof to another. But mostly, his talent got him into trouble.
Stories in which ordinary people make last ditch efforts to get through to their loved ones.
See a video of his theatrical one-man show in France.
Stories about people trying their best to turn themselves into something else—like a badger.
What do you do when you're thrown into a situation you’re not prepared for?
See photos of the WWII interrogation camp PO Box 1142.
“The program had the opposite effect we have hoped for.”
Summer is a time when change seems more possible than ever. But is that really how it happens?
A list of groups we interacted with in Greece that are helping refugees.
Stories of refugees in Greece trying to move on with their lives in whatever way they can.
57,000 refugees are stuck in Greece, making homes in some surprising locations.
