This American Life

Paul got a dollar bill in his change with a name written on it: Esther, the name of the woman he was dating. He framed it and gave it to her. Esther had her own history with that dollar. link.podtrac.com/1iovip44

Contributor Hillary Frank has a new original audiobook, a feminist thriller called WEDLOCKED. Available wherever you get your audiobooks: us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

Ira remembers Noah Adams, a longtime host of NPR's All Things Considered, who died on October 16.

Paul got a dollar bill in his change with a name written on it: Esther, the name of the woman he was dating. He framed it and gave it to her. But she had a story of her own about that dollar. This week's episode is full of stories about coincidences that will delight you. link.podtrac.com/1iovip44

The formula for Coca-Cola is one of the best-kept secrets in American business. Years ago, our show got hold of what might be an early version, made a batch, and tested it on cola drinkers. Hear the full story: link.podtrac.com/6zls9ktn

Our free livestream starts in 15 minutes! Join to watch: thisamericanlife.supercast.com?coupon=LIVES...

Ira's sold-out live show in LA is streaming for Life Partners on October 9! Sign up by Friday to watch, free trial with code LIVESTREAM: thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners

"The rarest thing in podcasting is for somebody to invent something that feels completely new. And with this show, he has done that." Ira on Sayre Quevedo's podcast "Reaching Out." Hear excerpts on our new episode: link.podtrac.com/0dc5axni

Sayre Quevedo documents his mutually judge-y relationship with his twin brother Connor as they set out to find their long-lost birth father. This week's show is an excerpt from the new podcast "Reaching Out." link.podtrac.com/0dc5axni

Ira has spent a surprising amount of his working life talking to lawyers about dirty words. Case in point: a story about teenagers tearing tickets at a movie theater and telling customers "enjoy your chode." 🤣 From Ike's story in Act Two of "Integenerational Space Travel" link.podtrac.com/78g1b584

Every morning, Myra Flynn finds herself in a standoff with her daughter over her hair. Recently, to understand why these hair sessions are so fraught, Myra started recording them. Hear their conversations in Act Three: link.podtrac.com/78g1b584

Ten years ago, Nikole Hannah-Jones chose a regular public school for her daughter in NYC and challenged other parents to do the same. Now her daughter, Najya, is 16 and has very different views. Hear their conversations. link.podtrac.com/7f47ltjo

Nikole Hannah-Jones famously argued for sending her daughter to a regular public school in NYC. Ten years later, she revisits that choice with Chana Joffe-Walt and her daughter, Najya, who has her own views. link.podtrac.com/7f47ltjo

Nikole Hannah-Jones's essay about the school she chose for her daughter launched conversations everywhere. Chana Joffe-Walt has been talking with Nikole as she prepared that essay. She also talked at length with Nikole's daughter. Hear their conversations in our new episode, out tonight.

The distance between two generations can feel vast. Our latest episode has people trying to cross it, with a wedding toast, a fight over hair, and one teenager's idea of the greatest job in the world. link.podtrac.com/78g1b584

One week left to get your application in for our next fellowship session. It's a paid position with benefits, and you'll observe and participate in all aspects of the show’s production. Deadline: Oct. 1.

Some NPR podcasts started getting mysterious comments on Spotify. They made no sense to the staff reading them – until someone from a younger generation cracked the code. Hear the story: link.podtrac.com/78g1b584

As someone whose first job was also taking tickets and slinging popcorn at a movie theater, this brought back memories. I can smell every single image

When Ike was a teen, he worked at a movie theater in Madison, Wisconsin — cummerbund and all. Twenty years later, he went back to see if it's still the coolest job a teenager can get. Hear the full story: link.podtrac.com/78g1b584

When Courtney Maum was eighteen, her mother married a guy she despised. At their wedding, Courtney read a poem she wrote – a pretty dark poem! – which made her mother furious. More than 30 years later, they finally talk about it.

Get your tickets for our live performance in Los Angeles on October 9. Ira Glass will tell stories and comedians will do improv, based on the stories. Featuring Vic Michaelis and friends! Tickets: anightofstories.eventbrite.com

A guy goes to a funeral for someone he doesn’t know at all, and has to piece together everything about him.

As the new school year begins, we have stories about people lurching their way through their middle school years – the years when you're figuring out so, so much.

The deadline to apply for our next fellowship session is October 1. ✅ paid position ✅ health insurance ✅ relocation reimbursement And you'll participate in all aspects of show production.

Kristen Roupenian ("Cat Person") wrote a piece of fiction for our show this week: A family with a father in memory care gives him a phone with an AI girlfriend.

In Utah, some communities have been fighting measles outbreaks for 14 months. But school nurses in the town of Vernal, Utah helped end its outbreak in just six weeks. We find out how they did it.

A guy hooked two Claude chatbots up to talk to each other. Each one insisted it was the real AI, and the other one was human. What happens when they can't stop talking? Hear the story: link.podtrac.com/9vt8yh5y

Two chatbots, stuck in a loop, each trying to help the other. Will they ever break free?

With the news about the USS Abraham Lincoln and the strain on its crew, Ira revisits the time he saw real life aboard a carrier. Hear the episode: link.podtrac.com/l3ce8yri

I remember this on @thisamericanlife.org from years ago, very relevant now as they obviously know: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

If you want to hear a great story about life aboard an aircraft carrier, listen to this episode of @thisamericanlife.org : www.thisamericanlife.org/206/somewher...

The USS Abraham Lincoln has been in the news thanks to an extra-long deployment that's taken a toll on its crew. What's life on an aircraft carrier at war really like? Back in 2002, we spent a few days on the USS John C. Stennis to find out.

People kept asking comedian Janet McNamara the same question for years: do you think you might be autistic? Her story's in our new episode: link.podtrac.com/69gmx4nb

Alfred Jung Lee’s essay “On Description,” from our summer issue, is featured on this week’s episode of @thisamericanlife.org. Read the essay in full for free through Sunday: www.thebeliever.net/on-descripti...

Alfred Jung Lee has been thinking a lot about how we describe each other, especially as he tries to describe his wife, who passed away from cancer.

Ira and Tobin were both called "husky" as kids. Decades later, neither of them has quite shaken it. This week's episode has four stories about the power of labels. Listen: link.podtrac.com/69gmx4nb

Comedian Janet McNamara was walking off stage 15 years ago when the club owner asked, “Hey, have you ever been tested for autism?” No one had ever asked her this before, so Janet decided to look into it. link.podtrac.com/69gmx4nb

When Temporary Protected Status ended for Haitian immigrants, some 300,000 people had their lives upended. We spent time with Marie, a Boston nursing assistant, as she tried to figure out exactly when her very last day on the job would be. link.podtrac.com/69gmx4nb

Labels are powerful. They can distill you down to a single word. They can get stuck on you without your permission. When they get taken away, they can upend your life. This week: Four stories of people dealing with labels and the havoc they wreak.

The teenager Ira Glass related to more than anyone he's ever done a story about. Hear the episode: link.podtrac.com/mzgo0jov

Come with us to some of the happiest places on earth: amusement parks! We go behind the scenes at a park in Kansas City where the young staff truly seem to love their jobs. link.podtrac.com/8he178fz

Become our Life Partner! Support the show and you’ll get ad-free listening, bonus content, and access to hundreds of archive episodes hand-picked by Ira Glass.

How was Ira's Russian?

Valerie never felt inside the jokes and stories her family would tell about growing up in the Soviet Union, until she saw this year's Oscar-winning documentary, "Mr. Nobody Against Putin." She talks to the teacher at the center of the film.

29 days after her local hospital shut down its birthing unit, Katie's home birth went wrong in rural Maine. Her doctor had to improvise fast, with no labor and delivery unit left to call. link.podtrac.com/ph7ko7bw

Rick Cole, a city councilmember in Pasadena, CA, talks to Ira about how he responded to a surprise nighttime military exercise in his neighborhood – complete with helicopters, gunfire, and flash bangs.

Bonus episode: We weren't sure about this one. By the end we were like "Wait, that was amazing." Featuring Diane Wu, who makes Ira cry. Subscribe to hear it.

"This is not something that brings about workplace harmony." link.podtrac.com/iyht3kjx