This American Life

This American Life
Other namesYour Radio Playhouse
GenreRadio short stories and essays
Running timec. 60 minutes
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Home stationWBEZ
SyndicatesPublic Radio Exchange, CBC Radio One (Canada), ABC Radio National (Australia)
TV adaptationsThis American Life
Hosted byIra Glass
Created byIra Glass
Torey Malatia
Produced by
Executive producer(s)Ira Glass
Edited by
Senior editor(s)Emanuele Berry
Recording studioChicago, Illinois (1995–2007)
New York City, New York (2007–present)
Original releaseNovember 17, 1995 (1995-11-17) 
present
No. of episodes859 (as of April 25, 2025)
Audio formatStereo, iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts (defunct)
Websitewww.thisamericanlife.org
Podcastfeeds.thisamericanlife.org/talpodcast

This American Life is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays, memoirs, field recordings, short fiction, and found footage. The first episode aired on November 17, 1995, under the show's original title, Your Radio Playhouse. The series was distributed by Public Radio International until June 2014, when the program became self-distributed with Public Radio Exchange delivering new episodes to public radio stations.

A television adaptation of the show ran for two seasons on the Showtime cable network between June 2007 and May 2008.