This American Life Updates
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| Last updated Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:00
Presented by Chicago Public Radio, "This American Life" is an award-winning radio program as well as a television program on the Showtime network. Hosted by Ira Glass, we feature first-person stories and short fiction pieces that are touching, funny, and surprising. Regular contributors include David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, David Rakoff, Dan Savage, John Hodgman, Jonathan Goldstein, and Chris Ware. This feed is the source for all things "TAL": promos, announcements, press, Web site updates and fixes, and more.
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This Week on the Radio: "Switched At Birth"
| Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:00
On a summer day in 1951, two baby girls were born in a hospital in small-town Wisconsin. The infants were accidentally switched, and went home with the wrong families. One of the mothers realized the mistake but chose to keep quiet. Until the day, more than 40 years later, when she decided to tell both daughters what happened. How the truth changed two families' livesâ'and how it didn't. Broadcast July 25 - July 27.
Five Emmy Nominations For This American Life Television Show
| Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:00
We're very proud to announce that the second season of This American Life television has been nominated for five (5!) Emmy Awards, with special attention for the first episode, “Escape”: Outstanding Nonfiction Series: The Producing Team, This American LifeOutstanding Cinematography For Nonfiction Programming: Adam Beckman, Director of Photography, "Escape" Outstanding Directing For Nonfiction Programming: Chris Wilcha, Director and Adam Beckman, Director, "Escape" Outstanding Picture Editing For Nonfiction Programming: Joe Beshenkovsky, Editor, "Escape" Outstanding Writing For Nonfiction...
This Week on the Radio: "Life After Death"
| Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:00
When John came back from Iraq, he refused to leave his house. He was paranoid. He had violent nightmaresâ'the same ones every night. He was haunted by the killing he'd done. Unlike a lot of vets, John got treatment. The people at the Veterans Affairs clinic started to feel optimistic about his case. And then John attacked his fiancée and her mother. This and other stories of people who've come face to face with death and are struggling to move on. Broadcast July 18 - July 20.
TAL T-Shirt Design Contest Details!
| Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:00
So you’ve heard that we’re holding a contest to design a This American Life t-shirt. You’ve also heard that it will be our thank you gift for the next pledge drive, and that the winner will get $1000. And, well, you happen to be a pretty awesome graphic designer. In that case, all you need are the contest rules and submissions instructions. The deadline is soon: Monday July 28th. We’re excited to see your designs!
This Week on the Radio: "A Little Bit of Knowledge"
| Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:00
Bob Berenz had a good job as an electrician. But he wanted to do something bigger. He came up with an idea for an invention. But as he studied physics texts to see if his invention could work, he happened upon the biggest idea of his life: a revelation about physics that would disprove Einstein, and Newton. That is...if Bob's right. This, and other stories about the pitfalls of knowing just a little bit too little. Broadcast July 11 - July 13.
This Week on the Radio: "By Proxy"
| Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:00
Robert (pictured) had a bad reputation as a kid who didn't do his schoolwork and had little respect for adults. But his best friend, Lilly (holding picture), thought he was misunderstood. After Robert died, Lilly decided to step in and do for him what he could never do for himself: tell people how great he was. This and other stories of what happens when one person becomes a proxy for another, either by choice or by accidentâ'including one by Davy Rothbart about the time he made a life-changing decision that wasn't really his to make. Broadcast July 4 - July 6.
| Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:00
Every once in a while, listeners ask if we have a new This American Life t-shirt. And we tell them no. And then, well, maybe they feel sad. We assume it's just sad, and not something worse, like morose...or despondent. Truth is, it's been a while since we've had a shirt idea that we really like. This is where you come in. That's right: we're holding a t-shirt design contest! Create a This American Life t-shirt, and your art could end up on the backs (or fronts, depending on your design) of thousands of people. Because.... drum rolllll.... the shirt is going to be our thank-you gift during the next...
| Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:00
Every once in a while, listeners ask if we have a new This American Life t-shirt. And we tell them no. And then, well, maybe they feel sad. We assume it's just sad, and not something worse, like morose..or despondent. Truth is, it's been a while since we've had a shirt idea that we really like. This is where you come in. That's right: we're holding a t-shirt design contest! Create a This American Life t-shirt, and your art could end up on the backs (or fronts, depending on your design) of thousands of people. Because.... drum rolllll.... the shirt is going to be our thank-you gift during the next...
| Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:00
Every once in a while, listeners ask if we have a new This American Life t-shirt. And we tell them no. And then, well, maybe they feel sad. We assume it's just sad, and not something worse, like morose..or despondent. Truth is, it's been a while since we've had a shirt idea that we really like. This is where you come in. That's right: we're holding a t-shirt design contest! Create a This American Life t-shirt, and your art could end up on the backs (or fronts, depending on your design) of thousands of people. Because.... drum rolllll.... the shirt is going to be our thank-you gift during the next...
This Week on the Radio: "Social Engineering"
| Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:00
Governments are always looking for ways to change behaviorâ'stopping people from driving drunk, or encouraging them to recycle. This week, we have stories of social engineering on a smaller scale. In one story, a man convinces his friend to try something new, turn his back on a good paying salary and an apartment...and become homeless. Broadcast June 27 - June 29.
This Week on the Radio: "Duty Calls"
| Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:00
Josh's mother and younger brother (pictured) were a mess. His mother drank too much. His brother got arrested a lot. And they'd somehow ended up living in a retirement community in South Florida, even though his brother was 23. Josh hadn't lived with them since he was nine, and they didn't play much of a role in his daily lifeâ'until they took over his life. Duty calls. Broadcast June 20 - June 22.
This Week on the Radio: "The Truth Will Out"
| Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:00
Does the truth always come out? Of course not! Though sometimes it comes out in the most uncomfortable ways imaginable. Stories of concealed truths bubbling to the surface, including a brand-new, unpublished story by fiction writer and filmmaker Etgar Keret. Broadcast June 13 - June 15.
This Week on the Radio: "The Ten Commandments"
| Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:00
Sure, you know the big ones: don't murder, steal...something about graven images? We help you with the others through stories and interviews, each dealing with a different commandment. Military chaplains discuss "Thou Shalt Not Kill." Middle school students explain what they've been coveting. Plus, adultery, lying, and more. (Image courtesy of The Brick Testament.) Broadcast June 6 - June 8.
Help Keep Our Podcast and Streaming Free
| Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:00
Hello, listeners.It's been a year-and-a-half since we decided to offer our show as a free, weekly podcast, and that's been a crazy, whopping success. But because so many peopleâ'sometimes more than half a millionâ'are downloading and streaming our show each week, the Internet bandwidth to distribute the program this way costs $152,000 per year. We want to keep offering This American Life for free. You want us to keep offering the show for free. Our home station, Chicago Public Radio, doesn't need to make money on our podcast, but they can't lose $152,000 a year on it, either.We think we can cover...
| Wed, 28 May 2008 19:00
If you are A) Super-cool and stay out really lateB) A big nerd and go to bed early that means you missed Ira Glass's appearance last Friday on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. But the good news is, you can stream it online!Ira shows us the freakish advertisement he recently saw in Canada, breaks the news to movie theater owners about a scary new technology called "television," and talks about the very ambitious season finale of our TV show:
This Week on the Radio: "The Prosecutor"
| Tue, 27 May 2008 06:00
A lawyer in the Justice Department gets the professional opportunity of a lifetime: to be the lead prosecutor in one of the first high-profile terrorist cases since 9/11. But things go badly for him. His convictions get overturned, he loses his job, and he ends up on trial himself, in federal court. His accusers? His former colleagues at the Justice department. Broadcast May 30 - June 1.
This Week on the Radio: "Prom"
| Tue, 20 May 2008 06:00
While the seniors danced at Prom Night 2001 in Hoisington, Kansasâ'a town of about 3,000â'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. Broadcast May 23 - May 25.
This Week on the Radio: "Big Wide World"
| Tue, 13 May 2008 06:00
Haider was a teenager living in Iraq when the war broke out. All of a sudden, the whole world was watching what was happening in his country. And he decided to do one of the least safe things possible: work for foreign media covering the war. Plus, other stories of what happens when you strike out into the world. Broadcast May 16 - May 18.
This Week on the Radio: "The Giant Pool of Money"
| Tue, 06 May 2008 06:00
A special program about the housing crisis. We explain it all to you. What does the housing crisis have to do with the collapse of the investment bank Bear Stearns? Why did banks make half-million dollar loans to people without jobs or income? And why is everyone talking so much about the 1930s? It all comes back to the Giant Pool of Money. Broadcast May 9 - May 11.
Let Us Know What You Thought of Our Cinema Event
| Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00
A big thanks to the more than 20,000 of you who turned out to your local movie theaters last Thursday night for This American Life - Live! No other radio show had ever tried a nationwide cinema simulcast, and we didn't really know what to expect. So we were thrilled that so many people came out, and even more thrilled to read the positive feedback on your blogs (thanks, Google Alerts!).It was more technologically complex than anything we'd ever attemptedâ'with shots from five HD cameras intercut live, video playback, Ira synching audio to visuals, and everything beamed onto 330 screens across...
Let Us Know What You Thought of Our Cinema Event
| Mon, 05 May 2008 18:00
A big thanks to the more than 20,000 of you who turned out to your local movie theaters last Thursday night for This American Life - Live! No other radio show had ever tried a nationwide cinema simulcast, and we didn't really know what to expect. So we were thrilled that so many people came out, and even more thrilled to read the positive feedback on your blogs (thanks, Google Alerts!).It was more technologically complex than anything we'd ever attemptedâ'with shots from five HD cameras intercut live, video playback, Ira synching audio to visuals, and everything beamed onto 330 screens across...
New Chris Ware Animation for TAL TV
| Fri, 02 May 2008 22:00
For the second season of our television show, cartoonist Chris Ware once again teamed up with animator John Kuramoto. You may recognize the story, told by public radio veteran Robert Krulwich, from our radio show. Here's Chris and John's complete segment from our television episode "Every Marriage Is a Courtroom":Season Two debuts this Sunday, May 4, at 10 pm ET/PT on Showtime. See more clips on our Showtime site!
This Week on the Radio: "What I Learned from Television"
| Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00
A show assembled from our 2007 live tour. Sarah Vowell, David Rakoff, and Dan Savage went on the road with us and performed brand-new stories in front of sold-out audiences. Stories about what TV can teach us...and how TV lies to us. With music by Mates of State. Broadcast May 2 - May 4.
| Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:00
Ahead of next Thursday's special event on the big screen, Ira will appear on the small screen tonight. He'll be on the Late Show with David Letterman alongside Craig Ferguson and The Black Crowes. Items on the agenda: doggie anti-depressants, testosterone, and our upcoming cinema simulcast.So tune in tonightâ'11:30 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.Pictured: TAL producer Jane Feltes (left) and intern Emily Youssef on the set of the Late Show.
TAL on Television: Season Two Debuts May 4 on Showtime
| Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00
We've been bursting at the seams to share this with you, so without further ado, here's a preview of season two of our television show:The stories are funnier and more confident this time around, and we're really excited for you to see them. Our six-episode run debuts Sunday, May 4 at 10 pm ET/PT on Showtime.
