Recommended

Okay. It’s hundreds of episodes. Thousands of stories. Here are lists with some favorites.

New to This American Life?

“When I’m trying to explain our program to someone who doesn’t know it, I stammer a bunch of words like ‘entertaining,’ ‘funny,’ ‘surprising plot twists,’ ‘true stories but not boring I swear’ … and then I just give them this list.” — Ira Glass

Monthly Staff Pick: Sean Cole

Each month a different staffer takes over this space. Sean writes about stories in which there is an absence, sometimes palpable, sometimes unacknowledged.

Staff Recommendations

The producers of the show name some of their favorite stories.

Funny Stories

Two cops try to catch a squirrel, Tig Notaro runs into an 80s music star surprisingly often, and a phone message that’s been called the greatest phone message in the world.

Award Winners

These are some of the most ambitious stories we’ve ever done.

Videos

Yes we have videos! Animations, music videos, speeches, our live stage shows, and more.

Hour-long Stories

This list is handy if you want to immerse yourself in a long story.

Stories Kids Seem to Like

We asked our listeners which stories they like to listen to as a family. Here’s what they had to say.