Newsjunkie

This American Life

Aug 14, 2026

WBEZ Chicago · Weekly · Distributed by PRX · 500+ public radio stations · 3.5 million weekly broadcast listeners · 13 million weekly podcast downloads

Overview

This American Life is a weekly public radio program and podcast produced in Chicago and distributed nationally by PRX. Founded by Ira Glass at WBEZ, it is organized around a different theme each week, with a mix of reported journalism, personal essays, documentary audio, and fiction, typically structured in three or four acts. It reaches approximately 3.5 million listeners on broadcast radio through 500-plus public radio stations and an additional 13 million listeners via its podcast feed each week, making it one of the most widely heard programs in American public radio and one of the most downloaded podcasts in the country. It has been produced by its own independent nonprofit entity since 2015, when it separated from WBEZ, though it remains a WBEZ co-production. It is distributed by PRX.

History and Format

This American Life began on WBEZ in Chicago, initially under the title Your Radio Playhouse. Glass, then in his early thirties and a veteran of NPR's Washington bureau, created the program around the idea that personal narrative — stories told in the first person, with strong characters and a clear narrative arc — could carry the weight of serious journalism and attract audiences that conventional news radio did not reach. The format he developed, structured around a weekly theme with multiple acts contributed by different producers and storytellers, became one of the most widely imitated in American audio.

In 2015, This American Life separated from WBEZ and incorporated as an independent nonprofit organization, retaining WBEZ as its home station and co-producer. Distribution moved from Public Radio International (PRI) to PRX. The separation was motivated by a desire for institutional independence and financial flexibility as the podcast economy transformed the economics of audio journalism. The program had by then become the most downloaded podcast in the United States — a position it maintained for years before the podcast landscape fragmented.

The program is known for its role as an incubator of subsequent major public audio journalism projects. Serial — the 2014 true-crime podcast that redefined the genre and is widely credited with triggering the modern podcast boom — was a spinoff of This American Life, produced by Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder, both TAL veterans. Radiolab, S-Town, The Trojan Horse Affair, and numerous other major podcasts have direct personnel connections to the program. Brian Reed, who co-created S-Town and Question Everything, and Robyn Semien, who co-founded Placement Theory with Reed, both came from This American Life.

Host and Key Staff

Ira Glass has hosted This American Life since its founding in 1995 and remains the program's public identity. He began his career at NPR in Washington in the 1970s and worked in various production roles across the network before founding the show at WBEZ. He serves as executive editor as well as host. Sarah Koenig, a longtime producer and contributing editor at TAL, hosted Serial and continues to produce for the program. Julie Snyder, another long-tenured producer, co-created Serial. The production staff numbers approximately 35–40 people.

Affiliate Stations (Selected)

This American Life airs on more than 500 public radio stations across the United States. A selection of major affiliates:

WBEZ 91.5 FM

Chicago, Illinois (home station)

WNYC 93.9 FM

New York, New York

KQED 88.5 FM

San Francisco, California

KCRW 89.9 FM

Santa Monica, California

WBUR 90.9 FM

Boston, Massachusetts

WAMU 88.5 FM

Washington, D.C.

KPCC 89.3 FM

Pasadena, California

WHYY 90.9 FM

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

WBUR 90.9 FM

Boston, Massachusetts

KPLU / KNKX 88.5 FM

Seattle / Tacoma, Washington

KUER 90.1 FM

Salt Lake City, Utah

KSTX 89.1 FM

San Antonio, Texas (Texas Public Radio)

Audience and Demographics

This American Life reaches approximately 3.5 million listeners weekly on broadcast radio, carried by more than 500 public radio stations, and an additional 13 million listeners per week through its podcast feed — making the combined weekly audience one of the largest of any public radio program. Podcast listeners skew younger than the broadcast audience, extending the program's reach into demographics that have largely shifted away from scheduled terrestrial radio. The program's audience is documented as disproportionately college-educated, urban, and politically engaged, reflecting the public radio audience broadly. Internationally, the podcast is distributed without restriction and has a documented following in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

Main Sponsors

This American Life is supported by a combination of underwriting from corporations and foundations, listener memberships, and grants. Its public radio funding model uses the standard underwriting language required of noncommercial broadcasters rather than conventional advertising. Major recurring sponsors and funders have included:

Squarespace

ZipRecruiter

Mailchimp

Audible

Capital One

MacArthur Foundation

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Luminary (podcast subscription platform, former)

Listener members — individuals who contribute directly to the program through thisamericanlife.org — constitute a significant share of its revenue and are actively solicited during fundraising periods.

Selected Notable Episodes

Ep. 355 · 2008

The Giant Pool of Money

Co-produced with NPR's Planet Money (then in development). Widely cited as one of the clearest explanations of the 2008 mortgage crisis produced by any news outlet. Credited with helping launch Planet Money as a standalone program. Winner of a Peabody Award.

Ep. 397 · 2010

Retraction (the Mike Daisey episode)

In January 2012 TAL aired Ep. 454, "Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory," a monologue by performer Mike Daisey about alleged labor abuses at Foxconn in China. In March 2012 the program dedicated an entire episode — "Retraction" — to retracting the story after discovering Daisey had fabricated key details. Ira Glass interviewed Daisey on air about the fabrications. One of the most documented public corrections in public radio history.

Ep. 533 · 2014

Serial (pilot)

The first episode of Serial aired as part of This American Life before Serial launched as an independent feed. Sarah Koenig's investigation of the 1999 murder conviction of Adnan Syed in Baltimore became the most downloaded podcast in history at the time of its release.

Ep. 600 · 2016

Will I Know Anyone at This Party?

The 600th episode, exploring themes of belonging and outsiders, aired during the 2016 election year. Marked as a milestone anniversary production.

Recognition

Multiple years

Peabody Awards (6 total as of 2024)

Including for "The Giant Pool of Money" (2008), coverage of Hurricane Katrina, and other episodes. Among the most Peabody-decorated programs in public radio history.

Multiple years

Edward R. Murrow Awards · duPont-Columbia Awards · RADIOs (Public Radio Program Awards)

Consistent recognition across the major public radio and journalism award categories since the late 1990s.

2023

Most downloaded podcast in United States (sustained, multi-year)

Held the top position on the U.S. podcast charts for an extended period before the fragmentation of the podcast landscape.

This American Life

Home station: WBEZ 91.5 FM, Chicago, Illinois

Production: This American Life (independent nonprofit, incorporated 2015) · co-produced with WBEZ

Distributor: PRX (formerly Public Radio International / PRI)

Host: Ira Glass · Executive Editor: Ira Glass

Website: thisamericanlife.org