I can’t remember a lot of details but it was a story about a kid in Wales whose adults thought he should be a great soccer/football player but he wasn’t.

So fun to hear people I've forgotten about or who are no longer with us... Sandra Tsing Loh, Dishwasher Pete, David Rakoff, etc.

We're digging through the archives! This week's episode is #466 Blackjack (12-06-08) (Download)

Description: A woman gambles away her inheritance and then sues the casino, saying they're to blame.

It's an episode of This American Life where a guy is consumed with finding and fighting back against internet scammers/Phishers.

So I'm listening to the episode in the title, in act 2 an original radio play by David Sedaris titled 'Animal Court', at around the 33 minute mark a witness is introduced...a Grasshopper and this Grasshopper's voice is IDENTICAL to the character 'Butters' from South Park...so much so that I almost cannot believe it isn't performed by the same person (I don't know this yet...or even how to verify it though I'm sure Matt or Trey from SP wouldn't have done it so perhaps it's more a result of the voice pitching software they use).

Either way, when I heard it I was like "WHAT?!" and now all I can envisage whilst hearing this drama play out is Butters Stotch testifying in Animal Court.

I recently got around to trying to Shazam the songs in between the stories of episode 553, but Shazam just tells pulls up the episode itself. Not very helpful for what I'm trying to get at.

Do they make the in between music just for the show or is there some way of getting at the titles of theses works?

It’s a piece of fiction about an emotionally abusive relationship. The narrator wakes up in the morning and everything is beautiful and they want to savor the glory of the morning, but their partner is in a foul mood and starts a fight because the narrator hogged the covers while they were sleeping. I can’t remember the rest of it but it really stuck with me and transformed my understanding of how to treat your partner.

I remember listening to this episode in summer 2021 but it wasn’t live.

Help?

Hello! Recent Life Partner via Spotify and wondered

A) on Spotify, can the 250 be found anywhere separate or are they just in the general episode feed

B) if they are in the general episode feed, is there a list available of Ira’s handpicked 250 anywhere so I can go through and listen?

Thanks!

Yesterday’s episode is not in my podcast player’s This American Life Partners feed. Anyone else?

Paid. I’m a subscriber. Amen.

Where in the very beginning Ira mentions his smoking habit and having a lung disease or a lung condition, I feel like he said COPD but I also feel like I maybe dreamt it? Or was it his father? Am I crazy? I want to know because I'd like to know how he's doing now.

I was telling a friend, I can't listen to the podcast on the bus because some episodes make me so sad. Has anyone else gotten teary-eyed at an episode or segment?

The time he calls Mötley Crüe “chicken”. (#839 Meet me at the fair)

Do you have a favorite?

What is the episode where at the end they play "Mum" by Prince Tui Teka?

We're digging through the archives! This week's episode is #164 Crime Scene (00-07-07) (Download)

Description: Crime scenes and the stories they tell.

Has anyone been able to find the parole room podcast that inspired the latest episode? I’d love to give it a listen. I can’t seem to find it anywhere!

Do we have any fans of Jonathan Goldstein’s Heavyweight? If you didn’t already know, it was canceled at the end of 2023 soon after Spotify took over the reigns.

The storytelling has the same style as TAL, which makes sense since Jonathan was cut from the same cloth.

I’m asking here because the audience is bigger… would listeners be willing to pay the same $8 / month for Heavyweight as we do for TAL? I really don’t know how that might help them economically but thought I’d get some discussion. I miss his show.

Edit: Seems like the majority consensus would be yes, we’d pay a subscription. A couple notes:

• Maybe a few bucks per month
• Unsure if there’s enough content to justify more
• Some will pay more simply to sustain the show

What happened to Scott and his relationship with Ira/TAL? His stories were some of my favorites. He recently came out with a four part series on his podcast HOME OF THE BRAVE on Beirut but before that there were three years where I can’t find his stories.

Rachel here!

I’ve been getting nostalgic about my 15 Minutes of Fame when I was in the robot baby segment of Ep. 549: Amateur Hour. I noticed some people wondered about how Paige and I are now that we are all grown up, so AMA!

For those that may have missed it, Scott Carrier is back making episodes of his podcast Home of the Brave after a three year hiatus. He's in Lebanon now and is uploading short interviews with people there about the war. It's good to hear his voice again.

The first minute of “a big announcement” had me geared up to hear some devastating news. I’m so relieved that it was about a subscription service and not a cancellation, retirement, etc.

Given the prolific body of work they have and continue to put out, I kinda take this show for granted. At this point, it feels like such an institution as to be immune from going under, but Ira will presumably retire one day…which never occurred to me until now

We're digging through the archives! This week's episode is #390 Return To The Giant Pool of Money (09-09-25) (Download)

Description: We mark the anniversary of the economic collapse.

I can’t, I just cannot listen to any segments with Zoe Chace. Her voice is absolute torture. I guess it’s an accent, but it seems like she leans so hard into it.

Just venting. Sorry Zoe.

My phone has been buzzing with podcast app notifications for a bunch of 20 sec episodes in the Serial stream. They seem to be the same - to listen to more episodes, subscribe to NYT.

So, has one of the most well known podcasts just gone behind a paywall?