This American Life

This American Life (TAL) is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by Chicago Public Radio. It is distributed by Public Radio International and is also available as a free weekly podcast. TAL, hosted by Ira Glass, is primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, although it has also featured essays, memoirs, field recordings, short fiction, and found footage.

Each week's show loosely centers on a particular theme. The theme of the show is explored in several "acts," usually two to five. On occasion, an entire program will consist of a single act. A notable exception was the show "20 Acts in 60 Minutes", which broke the normal convention by presenting twenty acts in one hour. Each act is produced using a combination of staff and freelance contributors.

Content varies widely by episode, and stories are often told as first-person narratives. The mood of the show ranges from gloomy to ironic, from thought-provoking to hilarious. The show often addresses current events, such as Hurricane Katrina in "After the Flood." Listeners are just as likely to be introduced to subjects and or issues completely new to them as the island nation of Nauru in the story, "The Middle of Nowhere". Often This American Life features stories which explore aspects of human nature, such as "Kid Logic", which presented pieces on the reasoning of children.

The end credits of each show are read by Ira Glass, and include a quotation extracted from some portion of that show, which Glass attributes out of context to WBEZ general manager Torey Malatia.

Visit the TAL website at thisamericanlife.org