A show filled with stories of people going to great lengths to throw a special Christmas for their families.
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We sifted through thousands of images on Instagram and chose a selection of events, big and small, that people captured over the course of this week.
Stories united by one thing: They all happened in the seven days prior to broadcast.
Photos and documents from our Animal Sacrifice show.
The This American Life staff confronts Ira about his dog, Piney.
Why Minnesotans don't talk much about the most important historical event ever to happen there.
Not only do the two sides disagree on the solutions to the country’s problems, they don’t even agree on what the problems are.
As part of its Ask a Grown series, Rookie Magazine had Ira shared some of his children’s-entertainment skills while answering reader questions.
Stories of people breaking the rules fully, completely, and with no bad consequences.
Stories of how people cope after brushes with death.
People reach out in all kinds of ways to try to get their point across—messages in code, over the phone, and from beyond the grave.
A growing body of research that suggests we may be on the verge of a new approach to some of the biggest challenges facing American schools.
When an aspiring stand-up fails to express his true feelings, his anxiety comes out in increasingly funny and dangerous sleepwalking incidents.
An estate attorney discovers a financial scheme that's all reward and no risk. The only catch? You have to die to get the money.
Favorite stories by our longtime contributor and friend David Rakoff.
On Tuesday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that was filed against the FBI as a result of Operation Flex.
An undercover FBI informant at the mosque in Orange County starts acting very odd.
Stories about people in trouble who look for help in mystifying places.
Several papers have dropped Journatic, and there's some strife internally at the company as well.
The chief of security for a Colombian drug cartel decides to take the cartel down.
We invited listeners to write us if they believe they've spotted Cindy Sherman or someone claiming to be her at her retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art.
People pretending to be people they're not: sometimes it's harmless, sometimes it's harmful, and sometimes it's hard to tell.
Historic photos from John Biewen's story.
It used to be that the American expats in China were the big shots. But that's changed.
A woman gambles away her inheritance and then sues the casino, saying they're to blame.
A Guatemalan immigrant living near Boston gets a phone call with some very strange news about his past.
Ira gives a commencement speech denouncing the very idea of commencement speeches. He also tries to give helpful pointers to the grads.
David Sedaris, Tig Notaro, Ryan Knighton, and the late David Rakoff in his final performance on the show.
Photos of Oscar Ramirez Castaneda and his family, and also Tranquilino Castaneda.
Mike Birbiglia directed this short film — starring him and Fresh Air host Terry Gross — for our “Invisible Made Visible” live show.
David Sedaris, David Rakoff, Tig Notaro, Glynn Washington, Terry Gross, Mike Birbiglia, Ryan Knighton, dance by Monica Bill Barnes & Company, music by OK Go (who created an app so the audience could play along with the band).
Religion makes clear the difference between mortal sins and venial ones. But in our everyday lives, it can be really difficult to determine just how bad we've been.
Stories of people who can’t seem to stop getting in their own way.
The conversation left a real impression on us. Here's the extended version.
Discovering just how much time members of Congress spend raising money.
We've learned that Mike Daisey's story about Apple in China contained significant fabrications.
All across the country right now, local and state governments are finding they can't pay their bills.
Stories of people who decide to flip their personalities and do the exact opposite of what they normally do.
A couple decides they need to sleep with other people before getting married, and a teenage boy falls for an undercover cop.
We were reminded that Kobach was not the first person to come up with the idea of "self-deportation."
Alabama's new immigration law aims to make life so difficult for illegal immigrants that they will "self-deport."
The story of the European debt crisis is actually very surprising and dramatic.
Ira writes: “I did this interview in the press tour for Sleepwalk with Me. Every now and then, I run into someone who makes movies – or tries to make them – who tells me how much they related to it.”
The USS John C. Stennis has been in the news a lot lately, after Iran warned the US to keep the Stennis out of the Persian Gulf.
The website FrugalDad posted this infographic inspired by our episode.
This American Life has retracted the episode referenced here because we learned that many of Mike Daisey's experiences in China were fabricated.
This American Life has retracted this story.