Things do not seem fine at all, but it’s hard to say why.

This American Life

696: Low Hum of Menace

Some information is so big and so complicated that it seems impossible to talk to kids about. This week, stories about the vague and not-so-vague ways we teach children about race, death, and sex.

557: Birds & Bees

People squirming in a world where everything is rated and reviewed.

695: Everyone's a Critic

Cryptic messages on a cell phone and a teeter totter at a construction site: these are clues people found, trying to make sense of a death.

646: The Secret of My Death

People looking everywhere to find a place—any place—where, for once, they don't have to be the odd man out.

694: Get Back to Where You Once Belonged

We return to our story about Abdi Nor from 2015, with some big news about his life today. When we first broadcast the story, Abdi was a Somali refugee living in Kenya desperately trying – against long odds – to get to the United States. Then he got the luckiest break of his life: he won a lottery that puts him on a short list for a U.S. visa. But before he could cash in his golden ticket, the police started raiding his neighborhood, targeting refugees.

693: Abdi the American

In these dark, combative times, we attempt the most radical counterprogramming we could imagine: a show made up entirely of stories about delight.

692: The Show of Delights

Stories of other universes that are just like our own, but with one small difference.

691: Gardens of Branching Paths

For the holidays, stories of families finally addressing the thorny thing they’ve never really talked about.

690: Too Close to Home

There's a lot that can be gained from unearthing the past -- learning about oneself, learning about others. But, it doesn't always go how you'd expect.

689: Digging Up the Bones

This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.

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This American Life

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