I know, I know. I am one of the last people on earth to fall madly in love with This American Life. But, at least I finally woke up and started listening to this gem of a radio show. This program has helped me realize that life truly is stranger than fiction. Half the time, while listening to a story, my mouth is hanging open in disbelief that these are not characters from a movie or book. Usually, if I really love an episode, I’ll listen to it again with my husband and enjoy it even more the second time because I have someone to share the amazement or sadness or complexity of the narrative, and then of course analyze it to death.
Here are my all-time favorite TAL episodes (so far)…
1. House on Loon Lake (#199)
2. Switched at Birth (#360)
3. My Experimental Phase (#268)
4. Save the Day (#402)
What are your favorite This American Life episodes?
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
i love TAL!!! it’s so difficult to pick a fav. i did really enjoy Return to the Scene of the Crime (we went to AMC white marsh to see it), but generally I prefer it as a radio show – not the tv show. the two recent ones on healthcare are interesting.
Hey Kim! I haven’t seem the TV show yet. I have to admit that I’m sort of in love with just listening to the radio format. There is something magical about it. Thanks for the recommendations. I’ll be sure to check out those episodes:)
after seeing return to the scene of the crime we tried the tv show from netflix and hated it. it really took away from the experience for us. the one episode where they went through the human life by telling the story of multiple john smiths was cool, but other than that we really prefer listening to it and imagining it ourselves. also, most of the tv stories are on the radio too. return to scene of the crime was done for radio and therefore what you saw was very different than what you saw in the tv versions.
Hi Kim,
That’s what I’ve heard from most people. I think that TAL is magical BECAUSE it is a radio show. In my opinion, it would lose it’s essence as a tv program. If it isn’t broke…:)
I loved Loon Lake and Switched at Birth (what were those folks thinking?!) as well! I also can’t get out of my head, Telephone #90, Break Up #339 (that little girl talking about her parent’s divorce breaks my heart), and #352 The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar. Such a great program – i will just have to have a listen to your other favorites to check them out…thanks for the post!
Thanks so much for your recommendations, Jodi! Can’t wait to check out those episodes:)
I too have to recommend Break Up #339. That’s the 1st episode of TAL I ever listened to and it still resonates with me (at the time I had just gone through a break up).
Sam- Sounds like votes are pushing me toward #339:) Luckily, I have some long car trips coming up!