This American Life Archive

58: Small Towns 04.04.1997 ↓

The claustrophobia, freedom, and yearning people feel in small towns.

57: Delivery 14.03.1997 ↓

Stories about the delivery business and the people in it: UPS men, bike messengers, FedEx dispatchers.

56: Name Change 07.03.1997 ↓

Name changes are particularly American stories: they're the dream of starting over with a clean slate.

55: Three Women and the Sex Industry 28.02.1997 ↓

Radio producer Sandy Tolan was supposed to do a documentary about strippers with an aspiring writer—and stripper—named Susan. But then Susan disappeared.

54: Sinatra 21.02.1997 ↓

Stories, tributes, and attempts to understand the Chairman of the Board.

53: Valentine’s Day ‘97 07.02.1997 ↓

Stories about our parents falling in love.

52: Edge of Sanity 31.01.1997 ↓

Stories about the border between mental health and mental illness.

51: Animals Die, People Ponder 24.01.1997 ↓

Stories of people who handle dead animals. (Don't worry—it's not as gross as it sounds.) Featuring a story by George Saunders.

50: Shoulda Been Dead 17.01.1997 ↓

A man decides to live as if he'll die in six months. That, and other stories of starting life over.

49: Animals 10.01.1997 ↓

Stories about the animalness of animals, the irreducible ways in which they are not human.

48: Justice 03.01.1997 ↓

A portrait of Americans at the International Tribunal.

47: Christmas and Commerce 20.12.1996 ↓

The intersection of Christmas and retail, including David Sedaris's "Santaland Diaries."

46: Sissies 13.12.1996 ↓

A family where the father was one kind of sissy and the son was another kind, and how the family was destroyed despite the fact that no one wanted it to be.

45: Media Fringe 06.12.1996 ↓

People struggling at the fringes of our nation's infotainment industry.

44: Poultry Slam 1996 29.11.1996 ↓

Stories about turkeys, chickens, ducks, and fowl of all kinds.

43: Faustian Bargains 22.11.1996 ↓

People who made a deal with the devil.

42: Get Over It! 15.11.1996 ↓

Trying to forget the past and move on.

41: Politics 08.11.1996 ↓

Stories of the election you can't hear anywhere else.

40: Lessons 01.11.1996 ↓

Spalding Gray on finding the zen of skiing.

39: Halloween 25.10.1996 ↓

Stories of things that are supposed to be scary, but aren't.

38: Simulated Worlds 11.10.1996 ↓

Civil War reenactments, wax museums, simulated coal mines, fake ethnic restaurants, an ersatz Medieval castle, and other re-created worlds that thrive all across America.

37: The Job That Takes Over Your Life 27.09.1996 ↓

Scott Carrier got a job interviewing schizophrenics. After awhile, he began to wonder if he was a schizophrenic himself.

36: Letters 20.09.1996 ↓

We took out advertisements in Chicago inviting people to share letters they've received, sent, or found.

35: Fall Clearance Sale 06.09.1996 ↓

Stories that haven't fit into any of our regular "theme" shows.

34: Democratic Convention 30.08.1996 ↓

Unusual stories from the 1996 Democratic Convention in Chicago.