This American Life
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175 episodes
How do you count almost 12 million votes if you’re not the government? This week, we bring you the extraordinary story of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who created the only verifiable public record of votes in their presidential election — and other stories of people trying to correct the official record with their own versions. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com to sign up for our premium subscription. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/848/transcript This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Keiko was a hugely beloved adventure park attraction. He was also captured in the wild and taken away from his mother when he was just a calf. When Hollywood learned about him, a colossal effort began to un-tame him and send him back to the ocean. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com to sign up for our premium subscription. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/847/transcript This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With Donald Trump’s victory this week, many people looked at the election results and thought, yeah, this is the country I thought it was. For some people, that was a hopeful thing. For others, kind of the opposite. This week, we talked with people who helped make it happen and some who are looking to what’s next. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com to sign up for our premium subscription. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/846/transcript This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A wee flame, flickering in the dark. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com to sign up for our premium subscription. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/845/transcript This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Thirteen parole board members decide whether or not one man should be released from prison. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/844/transcript This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Ira Glass has news to share about some things happening here at This American Life. To sign up as a Life Partner, visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners https://www.thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners.
So much of the fight for the presidency is coming down to battles for small slices of voters who can help throw swing states to one candidate or another. Abbas Alawieh, a leader in the Uncommitted movement, grapples with how to get his voters the thing they want. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/843/transcript This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chen Almog-Goldstein was kidnapped by Hamas along with her three youngest children on October 7, 2023. This week, she tells the story of their life as hostages in Gaza. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/ This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
One kid comes to America as an exchange student and commits herself to the senior year experience. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/841/transcript This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
People trying and struggling to see what another person sees. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/840/transcript This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Iowa has three million people and a million come to their State Fair, each with their own goals and dreams for the fair. We hang out with some of them, to see if they get what they hoped for. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/839/transcript This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
When the best—and perhaps only—way to say something is to write it down. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/ This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In a crisis, when all logic suggests that you get away from the dangerous thing, how will you respond? __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/ This American Life privacy policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy Learn more about sponsor message choices. https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We document one day in a Chicago diner called the Golden Apple, starting at 5 a.m. and going until 5 a.m. the next morning. We hear from the waitress who has worked the graveyard shift for over two decades, the regular customers who come every day, the couples working out their problems, assorted drunks, and, of course, cops. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/172/transcript
People rethinking some of the most important relationships in their lives — with their sister, their political party, and the nominee for president. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/836/transcript
We head to some of the happiest places on earth: amusement parks! Ira Glass takes us behind the scenes at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, where the young staff – coached by a funny, fun-loving boss just a little older than they are – truly seem to love their jobs. __ Act One: Ira continues with Cole Lindbergh and the hundred teenagers who work for him in the games department at Worlds of Fun. We watch them compete against each other to see who can do the most business, in Cole's Sweet Sixteen bracket tournament, which pits all 32 games in the park against each other. We hear about all the things Cole does that other games managers don't. He invents games. He directs music videos starring his team. (23 minutes) Act Two: We asked for your stories about amusement parks. Three hundred of you called in, with stories of fear, floating carnies and, um, vomit. (9 minutes) __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/443/transcript
Boen Wang has a theory that a lot of the misery in his life can be traced to a single moment that happened years before he was born. So he makes a pilgrimage to see if he’s right. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/835/transcript
Yousef is forced into a move he is not sure he can make. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/834/transcript
Donald Trump has talked about taking retribution on his enemies since the early days of his 2024 presidential campaign. After his conviction last week in New York, his talk intensified. We try to understand what his retribution might look like by speaking with people who have the most to lose in a second Trump administration: people who believe Trump will be coming for them. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/833/transcript
People tethered to one particular other person, whether they want to be or not. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/832/transcript
How they organize the chaos of the world, for good and for bad. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/
The trial for the men accused of orchestrating the September 11 terrorist attacks still hasn’t started yet. Family members of those who died that day are still hoping for some kind of accountability, more than 22 years later. This week, the story of how one victim’s sister is navigating this historic and twisted trial. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/830/transcript
For years, Majid believed that if he could testify in court about what happened to him when he was held in a CIA black site, a judge and jury would give him a break. Finally, he got a chance to see if he was right. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/
While the seniors danced at Prom Night 2001 in Hoisington, Kansas—a town of about 3,000—a tornado hit the town, destroying about a third of it. When they emerged from the dance, they discovered what had happened, and in the weeks that followed, they tried to explain to themselves why the tornado hit where it did. Plus other stories that happen on Prom Night. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/186/transcript
Gladiators in the Colosseum. Sideshow performers. Reality television. We've always loved to gawk at the misery or majesty of others. But this week, we ask the question: What's it like when the tables are turned and all eyes are on you? __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/568/transcript
A girl signs up for a class. A couple hires an accountant. A group of co-workers decides to pool their money and buy a couple of lottery tickets. In the beginning, they're full of hope and optimism — and then something turns. Stories of good ideas gone bad. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/306/transcript
When is too soon for that celebrity comeback, that joke that is either brilliant or full-on repugnant, that parent-child conversation? Stories about a fallen man trying to kickstart his career with a reality show and an awkward moment between a mom and a daughter. __ Act Two: One of the show's producers, Zoe Chace, tells Ira about a joke she made pretty soon after something terrible had happened.__ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/564/transcript
People taking it upon themselves to solve the tiny, overlooked crimes of the world. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/
Mysteries that exist in relationships we thought couldn't possibly surprise us. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/587/transcript
The things we break and the ones we can't fix. __ __ Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org https://www.thisamericanlife.org/827/transcript
