This American Life

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This American Life (TAL) is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ in Chicago and distributed by Public Radio International. TAL is hosted by Ira Glass and is primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, although it has also featured essays, memoirs, field recordings, short fiction, and found footage. A TAL television series is in production and is tentatively scheduled to air on the Showtime cable network.

1 Format
2 Moving into television
3 History
4 Awards
5 Other media
6 Current and former staff
7 Other contributors
8 References
9 See also
10 External links

[edit] Format

Each week's show loosely centers on a particular theme. Examples of themes include "The Cruelty of Children", "Hoaxing Yourself", "Accidental Documentaries" and "Fiasco!". The theme of the show is explored in several acts. Shows usually consists of two to five acts, however sometimes an entire program can consist of a single act. A notable exception "20 Acts in 60 Minutes" broke the normal convention and fit 20 acts into a single hour. Each act is produced by a different contributor in conjunction with a staff producer, some editors of the show, and some freelancers.

Since every episode's content varies, it is very hard to describe a typical TAL episode. The mood of the show can range from gloomy to ironic, thought-provoking to hilarious. The show often tackles very current and often controversial events like hurricane Katrina in “After the Flood”. It also exposes listeners to issues of which they have likely never heard such as the island nation of Nauru in "The Middle of Nowhere". Often it features stories which explore aspects of human nature, such as "Kid Logic", which presented pieces on the faulty reasoning of children. TAL pieces are often constructed from first-person testimonials.

[edit] Moving into television

A This American Life television series is in production and is tentatively scheduled to air in "the first few months of 2007" on the American cable network Showtime. According to the official TAL website the series will be shot to look like a movie in widescreen with movie-like cinematography. Although the TV format will not be replacing the radio format, Public Radio International has agreed to let TAL cease producing new radio shows for 12 months to accommodate the TV show's production. However, Glass may continue producing new episodes to maintain radio presence. With the new format also comes a new locale; TAL is leaving its longtime home of Chicago for New York, where Showtime is headquartered. TAL is currently filming 6 episodes of the TV show and has a contract to make 30 shows over the next four years. [1]

[edit] History

Ira Glass created the show and has served as the producer and host since it debuted on November 17, 1995. The show was originally titled Your Radio Playhouse, but changed its name with the March 21, 1996 episode. The reference to each segment of the show as an "act" is a holdover from its original "playhouse" theme. The show began national syndication in June 1996 and currently airs on 509 public radio stations in the United States, reaching an estimated 1.6 million listeners each week. The show helped launch the literary careers of contributing editor Sarah Vowell and essayist David Sedaris.

[edit] Awards

1996, Peabody Award
2001, Susan Burton receives the Third Coast International Audio Festival Best New Artist award for act 1 (Tornado Prom) of episode 186 ("Prom")
2002, Jonathan Goldstein, Alex Blumberg and Ira Glass receive the Third Coast International Audio Festival Gold Award for Best Documentary for act 3 (Yes, There is a Baby) of episode 175 ("Babysitting")
2002, Alix Spiegel receives the Livingston Award for National Reporting for episode 204 ("81 Words")
2003, Susan Burton and Hyder Akbar receive the Third Coast International Audio Festival Silver Award for Best Documentary for episode 230 ("Come Back to Afghanistan")
2004, Nancy Updike receives the Scripps-Howard National Journalism Award for her hour-long documentary about private contractors in Iraq: episode 266 [2] "I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help"
2005, Nancy Updike receives the Edward R. Murrow Award for news documentary for episode 266, "I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help"

[edit] Other media

As of October 16, 2006, a (free) weekly podcast is available. To download or subscribe to the podcast, all you need is a RSS aggregator application, like iTunes. This free podcast replaces the previous contract TAL had with Audible.com for paid subscriptions.

Some of the show's episodes are accompanied by multimedia downloads available on This American Life's website. One notable mention is a remake of the Elton John song "Rocket Man" that was produced for episode 223, "Classifieds," [3] and released as an MP3. The song was performed by a "one day band" composed of musicians looking for work in the classifieds. The band, consisting of various performers (one played a Theremin), only met and practiced for one day before recording the song.

Two 2-disc CD sets collecting some of the producers' favorite acts have been released: Lies, Sissies, and Fiascoes was released on May 4, 1999, and Crimebusters & Crossed Wires was released on November 11, 2003.

A 32-page comic book, Radio: an Illustrated Guide (ISBN 0-9679671-0-4), documents how an episode of TAL is put together. It was drawn by cartoonist Jessica Abel, written by Abel and Glass, and first published in 1999.

In 2002 the show signed a six-figure deal with Warner Bros. giving the studio two years of "first-look" rights to its hundreds of past and future stories. In the first year of the deal, at least four scripts were developed based on the following stories:

"Niagara", which explored the town of Niagara Falls, New York, after those who sought to exploit the tourism and hydroelectrical opportunities of the area left;
Wonder Woman (from "Superpowers"), the story of an adolescent who took steps to become the superhero she dreamed of being, well into adulthood;
"Act V", about the last act of Hamlet as staged by inmates from a maximum security prison.

It is unknown whether any of these will actually make it to the silver screen.

"Unaccompanied Minors" is a 2006 film directed by Paul Feig based on "In The Event of An Emergency, Put Your Sister in an Upright Position (from "Babysitting"). It is about several companies involved in the babysitting business for snowbound children at O'Hare International Airport;
"Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill" is the name of a movie that is in production (from "My Experimental Phase") starring Sacha Baron Cohen. This movie is said to be in the scripting stage, in which Tina Fey is heavily involved.