This American Life

Bonus episode: George Saunders reads a short story we featured in the early days of our show — a darkly comic tale about a salesman who trades in virtual reality memories. thisamericanlife.supercast.com/?utm_campaign=…

M. Gessen's new five-part series, “The Idiot,” is the latest season of @serial. You heard the first episode on our show this week. Hear the rest of the story wherever you get your podcasts. serial.lnk.to/RM5obK

On our show this week, M. Gessen tells Ira about the surprising events that prompted them to begin reporting on their own family. link.podtrac.com/lh0xy9nr

M. Gessen's son described their cousin Allen as "an egg who knows how to talk to people." M.'s description was less charitable. serial.lnk.to/RM5obK

M. Gessen turns the true crime lens on their own family — and says it made for a better podcast. Ira Glass wanted to know what that was like. Listen to "The Idiot," the new season of Serial, out now. serial.lnk.to/RM5obK

M. Gessen returns to our show with a true-crime story that takes place entirely within their own family. A story from the team at @serial and @nytimes. link.podtrac.com/lh0xy9nr

This week's episode — all interviews with Ira's parents — started as a bonus for Life Partners subscribers. That's the kind of thing they get: personal and behind-the-scenes stories that don't make it into the regular feed. If this sounds like your kind of thing, we'd love to have you. And we need you. Your support is what lets us keep making stories with the level of care we give them. Join today: bit.ly/4svtyGO

This week, Ira revisits a series of interviews he did with his own parents that changed his relationship with them in ways he never saw coming. Listen to our new episode: "Call Your Parents." link.podtrac.com/r12ywz3z

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: April 1. thisamericanlife.org/fellowships

This episode about Ira and his parents started as a bonus episode for Life Partners — it's the kind of personal and behind-the-scenes material we make exclusively for subscribers. Become a Life Partner to support the show and get access. thisamericanlife.supercast.com/?utm_campaign=…

In the early days of the radio show, Ira did a series of interviews with his parents that completely changed his relationship with them. This week, he returns to those interviews. link.podtrac.com/r12ywz3z

Ready to be a Life Partner? Support us and unlock ad-free listening, special bonus content, plus hundreds of handpicked archive episodes chosen personally by Ira Glass. thisamericanlife.supercast.com/?utm_campaign=…

The plan was simple: a 40-minute pleasure cruise with two friends. But what should have been an easy evening on the water turned into an overnight ordeal — leaving Alex lost, stranded, and bleeding on a deserted island within sight of the Empire State Building. link.podtrac.com/mbs6efr9

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

This week's episode almost had a very different title. "Give a Little Whistle" is out now: link.podtrac.com/bfpm7zmm

"No matter what we saw the [ICE] cadets do in these scenarios, they still graduated. We could tell a cadet up and down that they were going to get themselves killed in the field or get arrested or violate the law...but it didn't matter...they could still graduate, no matter what we saw them do." link.podtrac.com/bfpm7zmm

Immigration officials have been doing a lot of things lately that are hard to explain. When asked why, the answers aren't frank — they're talking points, many of which don't turn out to be true. Two lawyers who work for ICE just lifted the curtain. Hear them on our new episode, out now. link.podtrac.com/bfpm7zmm

Two lawyers who work for ICE step forward and lift the curtain on what is really happening inside our immigration system right now. link.podtrac.com/bfpm7zmm

NYC: See Ira Glass live with Judge John Hodgman and Bailiff Jesse Thorn — comedy, pop culture obsession, and fake legal wisdom at The Bell House this Saturday, March 7. ticketmaster.com/judge-john-hod…