The Question Trap

#823 - 2 February 2024

An investigation of when and why people ask loaded questions that are a proxy for something else.

The Words to Say It

#822 - 26 January 2024

What it means to have words—and to lose them.

Embrace the Suck

#821 - 19 January 2024

People finding themselves in situations that are worse than they thought and deciding to really go with it.

It Wouldn’t Be Make-Believe If You’d Believe In Me

#820 - 22 December 2023

A major political party in a major swing state bets on a new leader: a total political outsider. How does that work out for them?

Special Bonus Podcast — Yousef’s Week

#819 - 20 December 2023

One of our producers, Chana Joffe-Walt, had a series of conversations with a man in Gaza over the course of one week. They're so immediate – and particular to this moment in the war in Gaza – that we're bringing them to you now, outside of our regular schedule.

Stand Clear of the Closing Doors

#818 - 15 December 2023

In the last year and a half, New York City has scrambled to try and provide shelter and services to over 150,000 migrants. We take a look at how that’s going.

The Cavalry Is Not Coming

#817 - 1 December 2023

When you realize that help is not on the way, what do you do next?

Poultry Slam

#816 - 24 November 2023

During the highest turkey consumption period of the year, we bring you a This American Life tradition: stories of turkeys, chickens, geese, ducks, fowl of all kinds—real and imagined—and their mysterious hold over us.

How I Learned to Shave

#815 - 17 November 2023

Things our dads taught us, whether they intended to or not.

Parents Are People

#814 - 10 November 2023

What happens when you realize the people in charge don’t have the answers.