This American Life - Podcast Rankings and reviews

I have listened to this show for over two decades and loved every moment of it. After episode 777 I’ve finally written my long overdue gratitude. What a beautiful remembrance of those wonderful and complex people who should still be with us. It was so pretty. I started listening while walking and had to turn it off so my neighbors didn’t see me bawling all down the street. The writers did such an amazing job. If only all obituaries could be so poignant and lovely. Thank you for remembering the lives and contributions of people who were loved and should not have been taken from us.

I’ve listened to This American Life since 2017, when I first got on the podcast bandwagon. Every episode speaks to me in some way, or, at the very least, gives me a good chuckle. Many episodes keep me thinking and researching long after they end. But episode 777 “Name. Age. Detail.” hit my heart, gut, and soul in a way no other episode has. Beautifully touching, painfully necessary, powerfully articulated. Thank you for sharing the victims’ stories and amplifying their voices—and countless others’ in previous episodes—through this platform.

Over the last 15 years I’ve listened to all 800+ episodes, most more than once. Many podcasts I only half listen to. This one I make sure I can devote my full attention because I don’t want to miss anything. Educational. Heartwarming. Funny. It’s got a bit of everything.

28 years ago when I arrived to US, barely speaking some English, and understanding even less, I would listen to NPR to improve my comprehension skills, and I am so glad this program (now a podcast) existed already because there were no other options if you wanted to listen to something smart, funny, touching and educational at the same time. I was exhilarated when I was able to understand all the stories and it made me thankful I could hear a show like this, that I would never dream up could exist when I lived in my native country Venezuela.

Even though I was from a foreign country, I immediately related to the stories because they are about all of us, just humans. It taught me how we are all more similar than different. It also reflected back to me my loves, my fears, my prejudices, all the best and worst of me, and I definitely can say that many of the stories changed me for the better. It also taught me a lot about American Culture and how to understand it and adapt to it as I was making it my new home. In fact, I am sure part of my big love for this country comes from this show. Thanks Ira Glass and team for producing this show. Even now with so many choices to listen to, you are still my number 1 show as it was when I was 24 years old.

As an immigrant, I loved loved loved This American Life. It helped me feel welcome in my new home and better understand the world around me. But recently, as I was nodding along to an episode, thinking about my family and how it mirrored my experience, my heart dropped as the narrator pointed out that the experience they were describing was unique to a specific marginalized community that only they could understand. It helped me put my finger on why I’ve felt disconnected from the show. Representation is important and instead it of thoughtfully weaving stories of underrepresented communities, TAL is attempting to cram them in focus on what divides Americans than what unites us. It’s regressive (and at times, misogynistic).

This is one of my most favorite podcasts and has been for years.
Never disappoints. Ira is funny, compassionate, and engaging. I listen to the podcast every Monday morning on my way to work and it helps to get the week started and lessens the disappointment of the weekend being over.