This American Life Archive

108: Truth and Lies at Age Ten 07.08.1998 ↓

A woman who'd been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis talks about the lies she told herself as a child.

107: Trail of Tears (1998) 03.07.1998 ↓

Sarah Vowell re-traces the route her Cherokee ancestors took when expelled from their own land by President Andrew Jackson.

106: Father’s Day ‘98 19.06.1998 ↓

Stories in which fathers and their kids sit down and try to have an honest moment together.

105: Take A Negro Home 12.06.1998 ↓

Two stories of people who try to cross the color line, and why it's still so hard.

104: Music Lessons 05.06.1998 ↓

David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell on what's frustrating about music lessons, what's miraculous about them, and what they actually teach us.

103: Scenes from A Transplant 29.05.1998 ↓

An NPR reporter leaves her three-year-old son and heads to Omaha—for cancer treatment, and a last chance to save her life.

102: Road Trip! 22.05.1998 ↓

With so many songs, movies, and books about the joy of the open road, it's hard to take just a normal road trip without huge expectations.

101: Niagara 01.05.1998 ↓

The story of a town that started with something huge—the falls—and built nothing lasting from it.

100: Radio 24.04.1998 ↓

A radio show about what makes radio so great, and what makes it so terrible.

99: I Enjoy Being A Girl, Sort Of 10.04.1998 ↓

Variations on what it means to be a girl and what it means to be a woman.

98: Throwing the First Punch 27.03.1998 ↓

Stories about what it means to be a person who throws the first punch, and how hard it is to give up.

97: Death to Wacky 20.03.1998 ↓

David Sedaris tells true stories of photographers who try to take pictures of him which will make him seem "wacky." That, and other stories of wackiness.

96: Pinned by History 13.03.1998 ↓

Stories of people who were lifted out of everyday life, thrown into much bigger events, and how that made sense of what they did years after the fact.

95: Monogamy 06.03.1998 ↓

Stories of people struggling to redefine monogamy, to stay monogamous, and what we should make of these ad hoc experiments in everyday life.

94: How To 27.02.1998 ↓

Ira teaches Sarah Vowell how to drive with some advice from the hosts of Car Talk.

93: Valentine’s Day ’98 13.02.1998 ↓

Stories about couples that all take place decades after that moment their eyes first meet.

92: Leave the Mask On 06.02.1998 ↓

When someone tries to tell you a little bit more about themselves than you'd really rather know.

91: Escape the Box 30.01.1998 ↓

Stories of people trying to escape the box of their own lives, and create new lives.

90: Telephone 16.01.1998 ↓

The story of a teenager, illegal drug use, lying, stealing, and a kid's life changed completely when he heard how he sounded on the phone.

89: Sibling Rivalry 09.01.1998 ↓

Stories about people who are destined to fight: brothers and sisters.

88: Numbers 02.01.1998 ↓

People trying to use numbers to describe things that should not be quantified.

87: A Very Special Sedaris Christmas 19.12.1997 ↓

Holiday stories from David Sedaris and Julia Sweeney.

86: How to Take Money from Strangers 12.12.1997 ↓

A con man who's so good he's thanked.

85: Poultry Slam 1997 05.12.1997 ↓

Chickens and turkeys are a mirror of ourselves.

84: Harold (1997) 21.11.1997 ↓

The story of Harold Washington and the white backlash that was set off when he became Chicago's first Black mayor.