This American Life (TAL)

This American Life (TAL) is a weekly hour-long  program produced by Chicago Public Radio and hosted by Ira Glass.

For me, discovering TAL changed what I thought radio was. These guys use the medium of radio as The Sopranos and The Wire use television – with beautiful craft perfectly suited to its medium. Apparently TAL had a bit of telly stint themselves, doing a couple of series with writers like Haruki Murakami (!). However, now it's just radio, and it works as radio.

Each show consists of between two or five parts (sometimes only one) and is generally based around a theme. The parts consist of interviews, essays, and short stories. The contributors are A List literati - the show launched the career of David Sedaris for example.

You can download one episode a week for free from iTunes and it will disappear off your iPod after a week or so. Older shows can be streamed online via the show's website, or purchased from iTunes store for $US0.95 per episode. It's a brilliant show produced on a tight budget and they are always appealing for donations. I donate. I don't mind paying skilled people for something that enhances my life.

Here's some examples of the sorts of themes covered by TAL over the last year:

  ·  How regulation (or lack of it) caused the GFC

  ·  People's stories of infidelity

  ·  Hamlet as performed by prison inmates

  ·  Stories of people who have been the 'Fall Guy'

Highly recommended. Funny, insightful, touching, educational, intelligent yet not so dense it requires total concentration. What more can a commuter want?

Comments

[mark amery]

I have become a big fan this year. I love to listen to TAL whilst doing the housework. The infidelity one was a peach. Love M

[Beaut Commute]

You lucky, lucky thing. I also think, after listening to a recent show on Pennsylvania State being a 'Party School' that you just couldn't do that on TV. It would seem like a cross between 'Our World' and 'Wild On' .The New Yorker (is my blog eating itself?) had this to say. I don't necessary agree about the smugness. : http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2007/04/16/070416crte_television_franklin

[Gemma]

My fave radio series! I just scored myself Series 1&2 of the TV version of TAL and am very much looking forward to watching them...
Earlier this year I was immensely privileged to sit in on a session with TAL's production team (including Ira, Julie and Nancy) and hear them share their production secrets.
It was fascinating hearing why they cancelled the TV show after just 2 series, even though they won Emmys for it. It's because, unlike radio, it is very hard to recreate things that have already happened for TV... otherwise, you'd be making drama. Plus, they always had a larger - much larger - audience for the radio show and they were concerned about the toll that the TV series was taking on the core product and the core audience.
I guess Radio killed the TV Star!