main menu

The producers of Public Radio International's highly popular radio show This American Life took an ambitious step to take the show to the small screen. This is the first season of their Showtime television series.

The concept of This American Life is that for each show they pick a theme and bring you a variety of different stories on that theme. (FYI, the stories are usually documentaries, but not always.) This season explores themes such as stubborness, unintended consequences, making dramatic changes to your life, etc.

Chris and I have been big fans of the radio show This American Life (TAL) for many years. In fact, we always had an in-joke that our test to see whether we could be friends with a new couple was whether they liked TAL or not. Our best friends have always been fellow TAL junkies.

So, it's both exciting and strange to see TAL in a new medium. One thing is that I feel like the radio version seems more intimate. I feel a little more open to the stories being presented when I can only hear it---and I care about the people more. Something about not being able to see the people and make judgments based on their appearance is helpful.

Another thing is that the radio version seems to tell the stories with more depth. I think the radio episodes are longer. At least they feel longer.

Another thing is that the television version is more mature. It's not rated or censored and this allows the crew more leverage to tell stories that were impossible to tell on the radio, but it's also a little jarring to hear profanity on the show when you're not used to it. It's not offensive per se, just that it feels strange in the new medium. ("This is not my American Life!" --to be read in a Talking Heads voice.)

All those things aside, my final opinion is that I liked the television version. As usual, TAL makes me think about my world in new ways and consider new ideas/perspectives that I had never thought of before. Many of the episodes have left me thinking about them for several days afterwards.