FAQ
There are many ways to listen to our episodes—on podcast apps, here on our website, or on the radio. Visit the How to Listen page for details on each.
Each episode is posted on Sunday evening, following the national broadcast. New episodes are free for ten weeks on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Radio Public, Stitcher, etc. Our entire archive — all 600+ episodes — is available to stream or download on our app. You can also stream all episodes on our website or download archived shows from iTunes or Amazon for only $0.99 an episode.
With our apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android, you can download an unlimited amount of episodes for offline listening, track which episodes you’ve heard, bookmark episodes for later listening, and enjoy other cool features.
Email [email protected]
Google re-hosts audio files rather than pulling from a producer’s RSS feed. This makes it difficult to have accurate, centralized listening metrics.
Yes. Most of the money makes its way back to the show.
Transcripts become available the week after broadcast, normally on Monday. Links to transcripts are located on each episode page.
We receive tons of email, and we're thrilled because we know it means that lots of people are listening to the show. The trouble is, this also means we can’t respond to everyone's email personally. So, we ask that you take some time to research your question by searching the Archive. Use that search engine! You can filter by year, tag, and contributor. You can also search by keyword.
Torey ran our home radio station, WBEZ Chicago back in the mid-1990s. He invited Ira Glass to come start a national show at WBEZ, and was Ira’s partner in getting the show off the ground. They worked closely for years to raise money and convince public radio stations to pick it up. The show simply never would’ve existed without Torey.
Visit our Submissions page.
We wrote this guide to making radio.
We use the Marantz PMD 661 and Zoom H6 digital audio recorders, set to record 16 bit WAV files. In the field we prefer the Audio Technica 835B shotgun microphone, and a few different kinds of Lectrosonics wireless microphones. In the studio we use the Shure KSM32 mic. We edit on Macs using Pro Tools. See our Make Radio page for a lot more info on making your own stories.
Here’s information on fellowships.
Yes. Most recently Russell Cobb's 2005 story about Carlton Pearson, “Heretics,” has been adapted into a movie, Come Sunday, which we produced with Endgame Entertainment for Netflix. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Carlton, along with Martin Sheen, Condola Rashad, Jason Segel, and Lakeith Stanfield. Joshua Marston directed, Marcus Hinchey wrote the screenplay. It premieres at Sundance in 2018.
Chris Higgins's story about cataplexy, “I've Fallen in Love and I Can't Get Up,” has been turned into a comedy, Ode to Joy, directed by Jason Winer and starring Martin Freeman and Morena Baccarin.
Susan Burton's melancholic essay about being trapped in an airport with her sister at Christmas was turned into a 2006 kids comedy Unaccompanied Minors. In 2012, Mike Birbliglia and Ira Glass co-wrote Sleepwalk With Me, based on a story that Mike told on the radio. Mike directed and starred in it. It won an audience award at Sundance and was released theatrically by IFC Films.
Usually we have anywhere from five to ten stories in development for film or TV.
Email [email protected].
In 2007 and 2008, we did a television version of This American Life for Showtime. You can watch the show on Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Showtime, and you can download Season One and Season Two on iTunes. DVDs of both seasons are on sale online and in our store.
Our regular weekly broadcasts are closed to the public, but host Ira Glass performs numerous solo shows throughout the year, recreating the sound of the show on stage. We also occasionally perform an episode on stage. The most recent was “The Radio Drama Episode.” You can watch all three of our live shows on our Video page or buy them on our store. Right now we have no live shows planned, but you can stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on Facebook and Twitter.
It can take up to three weeks for items to arrive. Also, orders are sometimes split if they include posters, mugs, or other fragile items. If something seems really late, email us at [email protected]. (Please include your order number if you have it.)