Podcast: This American Life

The cover of the DVD says: Funny. Dramatic. Surprising. True.

This American Life is all that and then some. Broadcasting since 1995 on WBEZ (Chicago), and hosted by Ira Glass, TAL usually has two or three acts, each a story on a chosen theme. Sometimes Glass interviews the subjects, but the show has some other great producers and field reporters, too.

You can listen to TAL on NPR, or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes (where the episodes are offered free for the first week after airing). You can also listen free through the TAL website -- here's a page of their favorite episodes.

I second their recommendations of "Giant Pool of Money", the most accessible analysis of the mortgage crisis I've heard; "Prom", about teenagers trapped in the basement of their prom while a tornado destroys the town above; and "Music Lessons", with live readings by David Sedaris, Anne Lamott, and Sarah Vowell.

Not on the favorites page, but you gotta hear it, is "Mistakes Were Made", about a man who agreed to cryogenically freeze several people, with unbelievable results.

So what's up with the DVD? This American Life has enjoyed two seasons on Showtime, and lost none of its charm with the addition of video. It's available on NetFlix (season 1, season 2).

Recommended highly!

[image via Dave Hill's Internet Explosion]
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