I love this show so much! It really introduced me to podcasts around 14 years ago. I love that they offer a curse free option. I do have one ask though. I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, our nickname is “Mormons” or “LDS”. In the most recent episode our correct name was not mentioned one time. Please try to use our whole name at least once when referring to us in the future. Again I really love this show and listen every week!

I love this American life and have for a decade. I miss when the shows felt more varied and cozy - it used to be personal essays, short stories, reporting on silly situations, and reporting on serious situations. Now it feels flat and all serious reporting about the major political issues of the day. These stories are somewhat interesting but kind of feel like any other political podcast.

Interesting stories that without fail blame ‘the right’ for any and all problems exposed.

Used to love this pod… unlistenable… they are bought & Paid for by Holliweird elite e.g. Ari Emmanuel… Do better… so disappointed

A left wing political show dressed up as something else. If you are a left-winger, you'll still waste your time if you listen to this antisemitic garbage.

A fun 1 hr podcast, following a standard format, where I typically am both entertained and educated. One of my regular podcasts.

My only complaint is that I constantly have to adjust the volume because Ira Glass does this thing where he speaks at a progressively quiet tone & then at the start of the next sentence, it seems like he comes back with a booming loud tone

Love TAL. The stories are different week to week but they somehow bring comfort in the shared humanity of it all. Will be happy to keep supporting the creation of this show.

I have been a Life Partner since the inception and am just now catching up on episodes. They add great color to an already great show. Everyone should join for great content and to support the show we love.

When the world feels ridiculous and awful and I want to hide from it, Ira Glass and this show a much needed reset. Whether I need a good laugh or a good cry, this is it. Also, extra points for the music selection - it’s always on point. Thanks Ira!

Since I started listening to this show 5 years ago, I find myself always able to contribute to a conversation with this “oh one interesting story I heard”. Literally they talk about everything and have me laughing and crying every week. I will die on a hill saying this is the best podcast ever.

I’ve been listening to this show since probably 2009 or 2010. Act 4 of the episode 378 “This I used to believe” got me hooked. Pants Pants Revelation.

I have been listening to This American Life since high school in the 90s. I have periodically donated. I love the show so much I feel like they’ve put out so many important journalistic pieces as well as lighthearted, heartwarming, heart wrenching media. The problem is I am a chronically without funds person. I would love to be a life partner, but I just can’t afford it. If there’s anyway the people at TAL could offer lower tiers for donating I would really love to contribute like $5 a month. I am gonna ask for the yearly life partner subscription for Christmas though. Thank you for all the important work you do. I love you Ira 🤓

My world view has been changed, shaped and shifted around over the years listening to TAM and always for the better. It helps inject some hope into my life while educating me on things big, small and often intangible. Big fan, always. 🖤

It’s rich that TAL is asking for paid subscriptions in a time when their show content has fallen off a ledge. I am a longtime listener and I would love to support this show if it was anything at all like it used to be. Unfortunately, the majority of episodes now are stories told based on current events or through a political lens. If you go back to classic episodes, pre-2016, you’ll find a deep library of offbeat, slice of life stories, very well told. No agenda, no obsession with current events, just compelling stories. If TAL could find its way back to that, I’d be happy to support. But current content isn’t worth a dime. I get plenty of political and current events commentary elsewhere. Be unique like you once were, don’t get lost in the sea of same.

Wish I’d discovered TAL when I was younger so I could have been enjoying this for a longer period of time. Reminds me of pre-television days when people would gather round the radio for story time.

In this week’s episode it was mentioned that someone interviewing Ira was shocked that he has seen Gilmore Girls. What? Have you listened to a single episode of This American Life? Of course Ida has seen all of Gilmore Girls. It is the most obvious thing about Ira. But. Big fan of the show. Have listened to every episode since 1990. This American Life doesn’t miss.

I love many of the older episodes of this show, particularly the ones with quirky, touching stories that are all connected in a thoughtful way. But when the show veers too much into politics it becomes something else entirely. There are so many shows that take a deep dive into political issues. What this show did/does particularly well is take meaningful, thoughtful short or sometimes longer trips into individuals’ lives and personal stories and perspectives. I would recommend the show go back to its roots and cut the direct political analysis out. One can find political analysis that is just as insightful from many other sources; what made this show unique is the format and perspectives of the human interest stories.

If you’re looking for a left leaning biased show you’re in the right place.

Wow, this is a cool story, wish you guys still did stories like this, instead ofl political stuff

When this podcast is good, it is very very good. But if anything can obtain a left leaning political slant… it feels very patronizing and preachy. The second I see or hear something that I know can go political, I stop listening. But I love the stories that are just about life and people’s stories. It is sad because I might listen to their preferred perspective more if I felt like it was more balanced. But as it is, I can’t listen because I know it is just going to be propaganda. And when I do listen, it makes me roll my eyes. I don’t need any more of that in my life.

I miss the quirky stories. I am so disappointed with how political each episode is now. I don’t need or want any more downer political stories. I’m plenty aware and beyond my limit. I need the irreverent, interesting, well-crafted episodes of the former TAL. miss it. I can’t listen anymore. Another loss to make me sad. Also, I bought the This American Life app years ago when it was first offered. I rarely pay for apps but I wanted to support the show and was excited for access to the archive. The deal was, if you paid for the app, you got access to the whole catalog of past shows. I didn’t realize at the time that the purchase was conditional and I would have to pay again for the same thing. This time in the form of a monthly subscription I can’t afford. Disappointing.

not really a big fan of being paywalled after listening for more than a decade. ive contributed in the past but cannot to all of these individual podcast hosts. its really annoying.

They really should rename this podcast to, “This American Repeat.” Podcast need a “repeat” attribute like TV DVRs so we don’t download repeats. If you’re going to lazily deliver repeats, you should at least remove the ads! Unfortunately, unsunbscribe is my only option to not get endless repeats ...

I have been a fan and a listener of TAL for literally decades. Sadly, after this year, I am now a former listener. What was once a quirky and often insightful view on life in America has become anIslamic terrorist supporting trope, way outside the bounds of fairness or even truth and reality. Sadly, Ira Glass has become an “as a Jew” antisemite. I understand that. Life appears to be so much easier for a Jew who aligns himself with the people who want to annihilate us. You have bought into the far left end of the political horseshoe. Sadly “the good Jew” game has never worked, as those of us (yes, me too) who tried it through the centuries have learned the hard way. I have deleted the podcast and hope you find your way back home.

Used to be so great, now it’s a hyper-partisan political dumpster fire. Ah well, such is this American life. Hope they turn it around :/

I loved this podcast when I first started listening but it has become more political, one-sidedly so, over time so I’m out

Used to be my favorite podcast but it’s become far too woke.

I have loved this show for many years. I don’t believe I can listen to another episode. The reporting on Mahmoud Khalil was so one sided. I do understand that many believe he should not of been detained. That is understandable. But the truth is he is at the very least a Hamas sympathizer. War is terrible but this episode along with the 51 days epsisode did not recognize the hurt and pain Israel has gone through. I strongly believe Khalil recognizes Hamas as a legitimate government in Palestine

Ira Glass is an American treasure. I’ve grown up listening to TAL and I’ll be listening to it as long as it exists, which I hope is always.

Remember when TAL was about telling stories? Now every single episode is out to save the world by its slightly veiled political agenda. I don’t feel very right or very left but TAL is hyper left and it gets old. Even when they do have someone right leaning it is a straw man, some ignorant hillbillies. It’s very condescending, very tiring. I listened to every single episode for years but I just stopped listening. I stopped in today hoping for a story but just more of the same divisive us and them stories. I guess Ira has done everything a person can hope for and now needs to “use his influence for gooood”! Sigh, blah, boring.

Used to be my favorite show when it was only on NPR. for whimsy, engaging satisfying stories about American life. Over the last 10 years ( yes I do keep coming back hopeful for a hidden gem ) EVERY SHOW seems to have a political bend. Yes, politics is a part of the American life, but there are interesting stories out there that don’t have to go down this road every time. Please. My brain needs a rest from politics. Give us back the day in a life stories that made this once a great show about the American experience.

All these negative comments because people can’t sit with the fact that America is complicit in genocide. Sorry to ruin your privilege in your cozy little corner of the world while YOUR TAX DOLLARS are murdering hundreds of thousands of people!! This is why Americans will always be hated by the world- because we are a self-absorbed, selfish, and SICK society.

Good podcast

TAL has exposed me to so many topics and experiences. Whether they leave me laughing or crying, I always feel a little more evolved for having listened. Thank you!

Before you dismiss my review as the rantings of a right wing NYer, I will disclose that I am left wing in my political views. But on this episode, Ira Glass sets out to defend the Palestinian population in the West Bank territories without providing accurate historical context, or truly any context. This may be because he himself did very little homework and does not know enough background about the people, places, and events he features. But that is not a good excuse. He weakens the position of the left by doing such a poor job. It reminds me that today on both sides of the political spectrum, listeners hear certain buzz words and they automatically nod in agreement and believe wholeheartedly. We’re losing our ability to think critically. Now that I’ve heard Ira speak so breezily, casually and completely without nuance and depth on a topic I know deeply, I have begun to wonder about his credibility on other topics he’s discussed on his show that I know less about. And one final question- in what way does this episode connect to the show’s title, This American Life? The left is losing its way, talking in an echo chamber and repeating the same arguments over and over without breaking any ground or offering any credible suggestions. Mr Glass, do a little more actual research if you think this is such an important topic. Taking a trip to the West Bank is great, but it shouldn’t constitute the extent of your reporting work.

I used to listen to this faithfully, but I can't ignore how bad it has gotten. Why do you make so many episodes pushing propaganda about the Middle East? This is supposed to be stories about America. No wonder NPR is getting defunded. At this point, you have no one to blame but yourselves.

Only reports on one side. I was a huge fan for years. Sad and shameful how it’s been since Oct 7th.

I’ve been listening to TAL for decades and also enjoy other NPR shows regularly. However the constant insertion of Israel and Gaza episodes turns me off. Maybe crate a separate feed or show for this topic an stick more to topics related ro American Life. Yes, I know Israel Gaza has an American nexus, but there not what I want from This American Life.

This American Life is the GOAT. It’s evolved over time. Deal with it! Thanks so much for your ongoing stories from Palestinians. It’s such a unique and intimate perspective.

This American life is unarguably one of if not the best podcasts of all time. But I have to give it such a low ratings because in the last year we’ve gotten almost exclusively reruns and episodes about the war in Gaza. Listen, I believe the war is an important issue. But this show used to be about American life! Please bring back feel good stories from America!

As a pro-Israel Jew, I find myself crying to the empathetic stories about Gaza. I just love this program. I’m so enthralled by it every week.

This podcast is amazing!

I’ve listened to the show for decades, and it was endearing. The people features drew me in. But now, those are far and few between. Remember the name of your podcast and go back to giving us glimpses of American life. I would pay for that.

Please don’t make the chaos graph a subscribers only episode. This is essential to hear. Please.

I love old This American Life episodes…but the fact that they rerelease them every week rather than producing new things is a bummer. To make it worse when a new episode *does* pop up about once a month it’s usually a serious/sad slog…I miss this feed bringing me discovery and joy =\

This show is never a miss. Sometimes I realize I’ve been smiling for an hour straight. Stories that will cling to you, people you’ll remember and voices you grow to adore. I love this show.

I am a longtime fan. This show is the best.

Pretty gross to esteem these grown women who are unrepentant about being cruel in high school. Allure? Please.

Where would we be without Ira? I feel that over the years Ira & company has brought so many people into my world that I never would have encountered otherwise. Some times it’s funny others truly heartbreaking but always memorable. Thank you