Bonus episode: George Saunders reads a short story we featured in the early days of our show — a darkly comic tale about a salesman who trades in virtual reality memories.

On our show this week, M. Gessen tells Ira about the surprising events that prompted them to begin reporting on their own family. link.podtrac.com/69952cui

M. Gessen's son described their cousin Allen as "an egg who knows how to talk to people." M.'s description was less charitable. serial.lnk.to/RM5obK

M. Gessen turns the true crime lens on their own family — and says it made for a better podcast. Ira Glass wanted to know what that was like. Listen to "The Idiot," the new season of Serial, out now. serial.lnk.to/RM5obK

M. Gessen returns to our show with a true-crime story that takes place entirely within their own family. A story from the team at @serialproductions.bsky.social and @nytimes.com.

This week's episode started as a bonus for our Life Partners subscribers. That's the kind of thing they get: personal and behind-the-scenes stories that don't make it into the regular feed. Join today: bit.ly/4debpbY

This week, Ira revisits a series of interviews he did with his own parents that changed his relationship with them in ways he never saw coming. Listen to our new episode: "Call Your Parents." link.podtrac.com/r12ywz3z

One week left to get your application in for our next fellowship session. It's a paid position with benefits, and you'll observe and participate in all aspects of the show’s production. Deadline: April 1.

In the early days of the radio show, Ira did a series of interviews with his parents that completely changed his relationship with them. This week, he returns to those interviews. link.podtrac.com/dw4ij7n6

Ready to be a Life Partner? Support us and unlock ad-free listening, special bonus content, plus hundreds of handpicked archive episodes chosen personally by Ira Glass. thisamericanlife.supercast.com?utm_campaign...

The plan was simple: a 40-minute pleasure cruise with two friends. But what should have been an easy evening on the water turned into an overnight ordeal — leaving Alex lost, stranded, and bleeding on a deserted island within sight of the Empire State Building. link.podtrac.com/odlixl4x

The deadline to apply for our next fellowship session is April 1. ✅ paid position ✅ health insurance ✅ relocation reimbursement And you'll participate in all aspects of show production. www.thisamericanlife.org/fellowships

Listen to this episode, all the way to the very end.

Was honored to be a part of this one. Thank you to Ryan Schwank for trusting us with his story.

This week's episode almost had a very different title. "Give a Little Whistle" is out now: link.podtrac.com/iehabou3

"We could tell a [ICE] cadet up and down that they were going to get themselves killed in the field or get arrested or violate the law...but it didn't matter...they could still graduate, no matter what we saw them do." link.podtrac.com/iehabou3

Immigration officials have been doing a lot of things lately that are hard to explain. When asked why, the answers aren't frank — they're talking points, many of which don't turn out to be true. Two lawyers who work for ICE just lifted the curtain. link.podtrac.com/iehabou3

Heard this yesterday while out walking. Shocking details in this story. Kudos yet again to @thisamericanlife.org

A must listen.

Two lawyers who work for ICE step forward and lift the curtain on what is really happening inside our immigration system right now. link.podtrac.com/iehabou3

Bonus episode: Ira's parents appeared on our show many times, especially in year one, and it changed his relationship with them. He plays those stories and talks about them. Become a Life Partner to listen.

A classic episode, back in your feed this week. David Rakoff. Starlee Kine. And an office so chaotic that they hired a psychic. link.podtrac.com/ijguudw5

This week: Stories of high drama from America's workplaces — surprising, emotional places full of the greed, jealousy, and ambition of real politics.

Join our Life Partners community! Back the show and enjoy ad-free episodes, exclusive bonus episodes, and curated access to 250+ archive gems selected by Ira Glass.

8 days out, 42 minutes of the episode still didn't exist. Totally normal here. 🙃 Listen from the future to our new episode "I Want What I Want" link.podtrac.com/amocu3ws

Evan made a list of all 17 of his exes and set out to reconnect with every one of them. The first 16 were fine. Ex number 17 was another story. link.podtrac.com/amocu3ws

A kid who wants to get stung by a bee. A man who tracks down all 17 of his exes. A judge who does the unexpected. Listen to our new episode: I Want What I Want. link.podtrac.com/amocu3ws

A family of beekeepers in Georgia has two very different sons: Carver, who follows every rule, and Aaro, who is more carefree. Carver is the only member of his family who's never been stung. Until now — when he decides he wants to. link.podtrac.com/amocu3ws

Zoe Chace brings us a dispatch from a courtroom in Texas this week, where on the very first day of a landmark federal trial about Antifa, the judge makes an unusual decision that no one sees coming. link.podtrac.com/amocu3ws

John Tothill tells the story of Edward Dando, a 19th-century British glutton who would eat hundreds of oysters at a time and then run out on the check. link.podtrac.com/amocu3ws

This week: Kids looking at the world around them, observing it carefully, thinking through it logically — and arriving at conclusions that are completely wrong. link.podtrac.com/05lxmoko

A guy on a NYC subway platform starts walking up to strangers one by one: "You're in" or "You're out." What happens when it's your turn? This week, we revisited a classic from our early days—Kindness of Strangers. Listen: link.podtrac.com/3a6qlfrx

For five weeks, a man stood on an East Village stoop singing Sinatra songs late at night to the delight of his neighbors. It was his gift to New York. link.podtrac.com/3a6qlfrx

Brett was standing on the subway platform when a man walked by, stopping in front of each passenger to deliver a quiet verdict: "You're in. You're out. You can stay. You—gotta go." Most people ignored him. But Brett found himself hoping for the thumbs up. link.podtrac.com/3a6qlfrx

A locksmith working late sees a woman locked out of her car and rushes to help. But the lock won't budge, and what seemed like a simple good deed spirals into something much stranger. link.podtrac.com/3a6qlfrx

This week: An episode from our show's early days — stories about what happens when strangers are kind, and when they're not. link.podtrac.com/3a6qlfrx

Become our Life Partner! Support the show and you’ll get ad-free listening, bonus content, and access to hundreds of archive episodes hand-picked by Ira Glass.

The first half-ish of the latest episode (#880) @thisamericanlife.org is full of absolutely chilling 9-11 phone calls re: ICE. I highly recommend you listen to it to hear peoples' first-hand experiences. www.thisamericanlife.org/880/what-is-...

My goodness, this was so well done. Please take some time to listen.

People across the country have called 911 on ICE — for hit-and-runs, for broken laws, for shootings. Callers and dispatchers alike have to figure out what to do in this entirely new situation, where people are calling local police to do something about federal agents. link.podtrac.com/hrwz3zhh

Memo Torres (@lataco.bsky.social) has been building an archive of the daily raids, arrests, and sightings of federal agents in Southern California. He's documented 230+ days – and counting. link.podtrac.com/hrwz3zhh

Recordings I obtained of Chicagoans calling 911 to report ICE activity—including Marimar Martínez’s call after an agent shot her—are included in this week’s episode of @thisamericanlife.org

I listened to this while out walking yesterday. It is one of the best episodes I've ever heard, and very timely and apropos.

Home Depots in LA keep getting raided. Day laborers keep showing up to find work anyway. Months of this cat-and-mouse—what's that like? Anayansi Diaz-Cortes went to find out. link.podtrac.com/hrwz3zhh

This week: 911 calls unlike any we’ve heard before, and other stories about immigration agents sweeping through America. link.podtrac.com/hrwz3zhh

Evan Ratliff (@evrat.bsky.social), who made an AI clone of himself in our episode "My Other Self," has a new season of his podcast SHELL GAME, out now. www.shellgame.co

Bonus episode: Ira Glass answers questions from Life Partners! About cursing, fact checking, Serial, and many more topics. Become a Life Partner today to listen.

In this story by Simon Rich, a hardened PI works the toughest case of his very young life. Performed live by John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Fred Armisen, and Chloe Fineman. link.podtrac.com/09qlq7xr

Bonus episode: One of our mixers sits down with Ira to talk about the decisions she faces when adding music to our stories. Become a Life Partner today to listen. thisamericanlife.supercast.com?utm_campaign...