This American Life

186: Prom

<p>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 d...

568: Human Spectacle

<p>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: Wha...

306: Seemed Like A Good Idea at the Time

<p>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 ...

564: Too Soon?

<p>It can be hard to know the right moment for something to happen. </p><ul><li>Prologue: When Jordan was going into his senior year of high school in small town Utah, he and ...

828: Minor Crimes Division

<p>People taking it upon themselves to solve the tiny, overlooked crimes of the world. </p><ul><li>Prologue: Host Ira Glass bikes around Manhattan with Gersh Kuntzman, in sear...

827: All the King's Horses

<p>The things we break and the ones we can't fix. </p><ul><li>Prologue: Ira tells the stories of three things that broke–two of them in his own family. (8 minutes)</li><li>Act...

826: Unprepared for What Has Already Happened

<p>People waking up to the fact that the world has suddenly changed. </p><ul><li>Prologue: Jackson Landers tells the story of a very strange decision he made one summer day. (...

825: Yousef

<p>A series of phone calls to a man in Gaza named Yousef Hammash, between early December and now. He talks about what he and his family are experiencing, sometimes as they are...

824: Family Meeting

<p>Your mother and I have something we want to talk with you about. </p><ul><li>Prologue: A family sits down to discuss one thing. But then the true purpose of the meeting eme...

823: The Question Trap

<p>An investigation of when and why people ask loaded questions that are a proxy for something else. </p><ul><li>Prologue: Host Ira Glass talks with producer Tobin Low about t...