This American Life
Each week we choose a theme. Then anything can happen. This American Life is true stories that unfold like little movies for radio. Personal stories with funny moments, big feelings, and surprising plot twists. Newsy stories that try to capture what it’s like to be alive right now. It’s the most popular weekly podcast in the world, and winner of the first ever Pulitzer Prize for a radio show or podcast. Hosted by Ira Glass and produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago.
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Recent Episodes
876: Bigger Than Me
Dec 07, 2025When history comes knocking, you have to figure out what to do. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: Brittany’s job is to answer anonymous cal...
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This episode tells the remarkable story of Funmilayo Ransom Kuti, a Nigerian educator who led a revolutionary women's movement in the 1940s that successfully deposed a British-backed king. It explores how her political activism shaped her son Fela Kuti's anti-colonial views and reveals a largely forgotten chapter of African women's resistance to colonialism. The episode also examines contemporary challenges facing U.S. military personnel navigating potentially illegal orders under the Trump administration.
- Military Personnel Face Dilemmas Over Potentially Illegal Orders
- Funmilayo Ransom Kuti: From Elite Educator to Revolutionary Leader
513: 129 Cars
Nov 30, 2025We spend a month at a Jeep dealership on Long Island as they try to make their monthly sales goal: 129 cars. If they make it, they'll get a huge bonus from the manufacturer, possibly as high as $85,00...
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This American Life documents the intense final days of October 2013 at Town & Country Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram dealership in Levittown, New York, as they scramble to sell exactly 129 cars to meet their monthly quota and earn a crucial $65,000-85,000 bonus from Chrysler. The episode reveals the chaotic reality of car sales, following individual salespeople as they navigate desperate negotiations, family sacrifices, and the messy seat-of-the-pants deals that drive billions in economic activity.
- The Stakes: Missing September's Goal
- Jason Macia: The Number One Salesman
875: I Hate Mysteries
Nov 23, 2025What’s in the box? What’s in the $%&ing box?!? Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: A class of second graders is handed a sealed box with a my...
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This American Life explores the deeply human need to solve mysteries and grapple with the unknown. The episode takes listeners through three compelling stories: a second-grade classroom's lesson in tolerating uncertainty, a nearly decade-long investigation into a mysterious 60-foot hole dug on Mount Shasta, and one comedian's surreal misunderstanding in an Uber. Throughout, we see how people respond when confronted with unanswered questions—from seven-year-olds to journalists to entire immigrant communities living under the threat of ICE raids.
- Teaching Kids to Live with Uncertainty
- The Mystery Hole on Mount Shasta
874: Under One Roof
Nov 16, 2025What’s great about living in a family is that everyone sees everything differently. Also, that’s what’s awful about living in a family. We go behind closed doors with two families. Visit thisamer...
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This episode explores how family members living under the same roof can experience and remember the same events in drastically different ways. The main story follows the Rivera family—Jenny, Fidel, and their daughters Mackenzie and Bella—as they spend months debating whether Fidel, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, should self-deport under Trump's second administration. The episode opens with a shorter story about Heather Gay (from Real Housewives of Salt Lake City) and how she hid her departure from Mormon rules from her daughters, only to discover years later that they knew much more than she thought.
- Heather's Secret Coffee Habit and the Keurig Revelation
- The Rivera Family's Immigration Dilemma Begins
873: Got You Pegged
Nov 09, 2025Shalom Auslander goes on vacation with his family, and suspects the beloved, chatty old man in the room next door is an imposter—and sets out to prove it. This and other stories about the pitfalls of ...
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This episode explores how people make assumptions about others, often based on limited information or first impressions, and how these judgments can be both deeply flawed and unavoidable. Through personal stories ranging from museum misunderstandings to police racial profiling to vacation disasters, the episode examines the universal human tendency to pigeonhole others—and the consequences when we get it wrong.
- Museum Mistaken Identity
- Police Profiling on the Lower East Side
872: Winners
Nov 02, 2025America loves winners—now more than ever. But how do you get to a win in 2025 America? We watch someone trying to score a win in a game whose rules are being made up as she plays. Visit thisameric...
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This episode explores the concept of 'winners' through a deep investigation into white South Africans seeking refugee status in the United States under a Trump administration executive order. The story follows two competing visions: Afrikaners who want help staying in South Africa versus those who want to immigrate to America. It centers on Sam Busa, who independently interpreted the executive order, organized thousands of applicants, and eventually became an official referral partner for the U.S. government's refugee program—demonstrating how ordinary citizens can shape policy implementation through determination and initiative.
- The Winner Mentality at This American Life
- The Executive Order on South Africa