Favorite Things Friday: This American Life

This American Life by Chicago Public Radio.

I love Ira Glass and This American Life (TAL) so much that I'm having trouble finding the words to tell you how great it is. I have to start somewhere, so I guess I'll start at the beginning.

I'm totally obsessed with NPR--National Public Radio. I listen to it in the car. I listen to it at work. It is what wakes me up in the morning. Somewhere along the way of being obsessed with NPR, Abel and I heard This American Life. Most likely this was on a Saturday afternoon drive to my parents' house in Pennsylvania. Right away, we were hooked. Now, we each have at least 20 episodes (free downloads, by the way!) of the hour-long series on our ipods at any given time.

One our L O N G drives to Ohio, to visit his family, we listen to 3-4 episodes. (Well, we used to, now that all depends on how much Lucas sleeps.) TAL got me through the hours long weekly IV infusions I had to get this summer. I listen to TAL when I get my butt out of bed for a morning walk. I know some people depend on pumping music to keep them going, but I get so into these fascinating stories that I want to keep walking so I can keep listening!

TAL is impossible to describe. But, I don't feel bad about that fact because their own About Us page acknowledges the challenge of the question"What is This American Life?":

There's a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It's mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always. There's lots more to the show, but, like we said, it's sort of hard to describe....

So, my best advice is to listen for yourself. Find them on a station near you or download the free podcast. I promise you three things:

1. The hour will fly by.
2. Within 48 hours, you'll say to someone "you won't believe what I heard on This American Life...."
3. You'll be hooked.