This American Life Archive

483: Self-Improvement Kick 04.01.2013 ↓

A perfectly normal guy gets rid of everything he owns, changes his name, says goodbye to his friends—and begins walking.

482: Lights, Camera, Christmas! (2012) 21.12.2012 ↓

A show filled with stories of people going to great lengths to throw a special Christmas for their families.

481: This Week 07.12.2012 ↓

Stories united by one thing: They all happened in the seven days prior to broadcast.

480: Animal Sacrifice 30.11.2012 ↓

The This American Life staff confronts Ira about his dog, Piney.

479: Little War on the Prairie 23.11.2012 ↓

Why Minnesotans don't talk much about the most important historical event ever to happen there.

478: Red State Blue State 02.11.2012 ↓

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.

477: Getting Away With It 19.10.2012 ↓

Stories of people breaking the rules fully, completely, and with no bad consequences.

476: What Doesn’t Kill You 05.10.2012 ↓

Stories of how people cope after brushes with death.

475: Send a Message 28.09.2012 ↓

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.

474: Back to School 14.09.2012 ↓

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.

473: Loopholes 24.08.2012 ↓

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.

472: Our Friend David 17.08.2012 ↓

Favorite stories by our longtime contributor and friend David Rakoff.

471: The Convert (2012) 10.08.2012 ↓

An undercover FBI informant at the mosque in Orange County starts acting very odd.

470: Show Me the Way 27.07.2012 ↓

Stories about people in trouble who look for help in mystifying places.

469: Hiding in Plain Sight 13.07.2012 ↓

The chief of security for a Colombian drug cartel decides to take the cartel down.

468: Switcheroo 29.06.2012 ↓

People pretending to be people they're not: sometimes it's harmless, sometimes it's harmful, and sometimes it's hard to tell.

467: Americans in China 22.06.2012 ↓

It used to be that the American expats in China were the big shots. But that's changed.

466: Blackjack 08.06.2012 ↓

A woman gambles away her inheritance and then sues the casino, saying they're to blame.

465: What Happened at Dos Erres 25.05.2012 ↓

A Guatemalan immigrant living near Boston gets a phone call with some very strange news about his past.

464: Invisible Made Visible 18.05.2012 ↓

David Sedaris, Tig Notaro, Ryan Knighton, and the late David Rakoff in his final performance on the show.

463: Mortal Vs. Venial 27.04.2012 ↓

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.

462: Own Worst Enemy 13.04.2012 ↓

Stories of people who can’t seem to stop getting in their own way.

461: Take the Money and Run for Office 30.03.2012 ↓

Discovering just how much time members of Congress spend raising money.

460: Retraction 16.03.2012 ↓

We've discovered that one of our most popular episodes contained numerous fabrications. This week, we detail the errors in Mike Daisey's story about visiting Foxconn, which makes iPads and other products for Apple in China. Marketplace's China correspondent Rob Schmitz discovered the fabrications. Transcript. Press Release.

459: What Kind of Country 02.03.2012 ↓

All across the country right now, local and state governments are finding they can't pay their bills.