This American Life (Unofficial)

We leave the normal realm of human error and enter the territory of huge breakdowns.

The coronavirus has now fully arrived in the United States. This week, stories of people trying to rise to that challenge, in some pretty extreme situations.

This week, as the staff creates the episode from their apartments and houses, with our host in quarantine, in this moment when everyone’s reaching out to the people they love, we put together a collection of family stories, with some timely stuff at the top.

Things do not seem fine at all, but it’s hard to say why.

People squirming in a world where everything is rated and reviewed.

People looking everywhere to find a place—any place—where, for once, they don't have to be the odd man out.

We return to our story about Abdi Nor from 2015, with some big news about his life today. When we first broadcast the story, Abdi was a Somali refugee living in Kenya desperately trying – against long odds – to get to the United States. Then he got the luckiest break of his life: he won a lottery that puts him on a short list for a U.S. visa. But before he could cash in his golden ticket, the poli...

In these dark, combative times, we attempt the most radical counterprogramming we could imagine: a show made up entirely of stories about delight.

Other universes that are just like our own, but with one small difference.

For the holidays, stories of families finally addressing the thorny thing they’ve never really talked about.

There's a lot that can be gained from unearthing the past -- learning about oneself, learning about others. But, it doesn't always go how you'd expect.

Reports from the frontlines of the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" asylum policy. We hear from asylum seekers waiting across the border in Mexico, in a makeshift refugee camp,  and from the officers who sent them there to wait in the first place.  This episode won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for audio reporting, the first ever given for audio journalism.

Stories about being little. Secret writings in tiny letters. The power of a very small number. And a medication that's supposed to cure shortness.

For over 100 days now, protestors in Hong Kong have taken to the streets every weekend. What it’s like to live through that.

The staff goes to one of the biggest parties in New York City, the Labor Day Carnival and the West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn.

Stories of people who decide the only way forward — for real change — is to burn everything to the ground.

Two people, sitting down over a beer, hashing out their differences and understanding where the other guy is coming from. Hard to imagine these days, right? It's so rare right now that someone is curious enough to actually see the other person's point of view. This week on the show, beer summits. Including going behind the scenes of the most famous one ever.

What if someone told you about a type of therapy that could help you work through unhealed trauma in just ten sessions? Some people knock through it in two weeks. Jaime Lowe tried the therapy—and recorded it.

What happens when our most ingenious creations actually make it out into the world.

Words mean things, but some words are especially meaningful — whether in a survival manual, a song lyric, or a slur.

People go on missions to save young girls from danger. But sometimes they get so caught up in the mission that it overshadows the girl herself.

This country is crawling in presidential candidates right now and they're bumping into each other in Des Moines and yelling over each other in Miami. We hang out with them, in this weird early period of the election when they're easy to walk right up to.

Stories of those unexpected moments when we see who we really are.

Adults telling kids who they are, and kids wondering — are they right?

What it's like to be momentarily big on the small screen.