Editing This American Life (section)

== Adaptations ==

===Television===
{{Main|This American Life (TV series)}}
Discussions of a television adaptation of ''TAL'' date back to at least 1999.<ref name="slate">{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/id/29923/entry/29924|title=A Weeklong Electronic Journal|work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|author=[[Ira Glass|Glass, Ira]]|date=June 1999|access-date=March 3, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070125233247/http://www.slate.com/id/29923/entry/29924/|archive-date=January 25, 2007}}</ref> However, the show's creative team was unsure of what the show would "look like" and, with so much money on the line, turned down offers.<ref name="Benson">{{cite journal |last1=Benson |first1=Heidi |title=Storytelling's new frontier / Ira Glass' quirky, smart radio show has sent ripples across the airwaves. Now it's coming to television. |journal=SFGate |date=March 21, 2007 |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Storytelling-s-new-frontier-Ira-Glass-quirky-2608792.php |access-date=April 9, 2019}}</ref> In January 2006, [[Showtime (TV channel)|Showtime]] announced it had [[green-light|greenlit]] six episodes of a new series based on ''TAL''.<ref name="sho">{{cite press release|url=http://www.sho.com/site/announcements/060120amlife.do|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202121558/http://www.sho.com/site/announcements/060120amlife.do|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 2, 2013|title=Showtime Greenlights TV Adaptation of ''This American Life'' |publisher=[[Showtime (TV channel)|Showtime]] |date=January 19, 2006|access-date=March 3, 2007}}</ref> The announcement noted that each half-hour episode would "be hosted by Ira Glass and [...] explore a single theme or topic through the unique juxtaposition of first-person storytelling and whimsical narrative."<ref name="sho" />

For budgetary reasons, Glass and four of the radio show's producers left Chicago for New York City, where Showtime is headquartered.<ref name="nymag">{{cite news|url=https://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/16762/|title=A Chicago Radio Hit Moves to New York, and TV|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|author=Ladd, Chris|date=May 1, 2006|access-date=March 3, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304110025/http://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/16762/|archive-date=March 4, 2007}}</ref> In January 2007, it was announced that Glass had completed production on the show's first season, with the first episode set to premiere on March 22. Originally the series had a contract for a total of 30 shows over the four years,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/hottype/2006/060203_1.html|title=Going Coastal|publisher=Chicago Reader|author=Miner, Michael|date=February 3, 2006|access-date=March 3, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305211740/http://www.chicagoreader.com/hottype/2006/060203_1.html|archive-date=March 5, 2007}}</ref> but after two seasons Glass announced that he and the other creators of the show had "asked to be taken off TV", largely in part to the difficult schedule required to produce a television program.<ref name="wbez">[[WBEZ]] official blog: "[http://apps.wbez.org/blog/?p=6109 Exclusive: Ira Glass dishes on end of 'TAL' TV. Will he return to Chicago?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923152357/http://apps.wbez.org/blog/?p=6109 |date=September 23, 2009 }}"</ref> He went on to state that the show is officially "on hiatus", but would like to do a television special at some point in the future.<ref name="wbez" />

The episode "The Anatomy of Doubt" based on reporting by [[ProPublica]] and [[The Marshall Project]] was adapted into the [[Netflix]] series ''[[Unbelievable (miniseries)|Unbelievable]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/netflix-unveils-trailer-for-unbelievable-a-limited-ser-1836491788|title=Netflix unveils trailer for Unbelievable, a limited series based on Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting |last1=Colburn|first1=Randall|publisher=AV Club|date=July 18, 2019}}</ref>

===Film===
Stories from ''TAL'' have been used as the basis of movie scripts. 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.current.org/people/peop0216glass.html|title=This American Life Negotiates 'First-Look' Deal with Warner Bros.|work=[[Current (newspaper)|Current]]|author=Mike Janssen|date=September 2, 2002|access-date=March 3, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306235707/http://www.current.org/people/peop0216glass.html|archive-date=March 6, 2007}}</ref> One film to have emerged from the deal is ''[[Unaccompanied Minors]]'', a [[2006 in film|2006 film]] directed by [[Paul Feig]] and based on "In The Event of An Emergency, Put Your Sister in an Upright Position" from "Babysitting".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/article.php/200611223minorsclip|title=Six Minutes of Paul Feig's Unaccompanied Minors|work=[[/Film]]|author=Sciretta, Peter|date=November 23, 2006|access-date=March 3, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220554/http://www.slashfilm.com/article.php/200611223minorsclip|archive-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref> Ira Glass and longtime ''TAL'' producer Julie Snyder<!-- BEWARE: Current article with this name is not about the same person, but rather a radio personality in Canada.--> were both executive producers on the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0488658/reference|website=IMDb|title=Unaccompanied Minors|accessdate=December 7, 2021}}</ref> In June 2008, [[Spike Lee]] bought the movie rights to [[Ronald Mallett]]'s memoir, whose story was featured in the episode "My Brilliant Plan".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/news/ni0249463/|title=Lee To Make Movie About Black "Time Traveler"|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]]|author=Wenn.com|date=June 18, 2008|access-date=June 19, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314181619/http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0249463/|archive-date=March 14, 2016}}</ref> Potential Warner Bros films from ''TAL'' episodes include "Niagara", which explored the town of [[Niagara Falls, New York]], after those who sought to exploit the [[tourism]] and [[hydroelectricity|hydroelectrical]] opportunities of the area left; "Wonder Woman" (from the episode "Superpowers"), the story of an adolescent who took steps to become the [[superhero]] she dreamed of being, well into adulthood; and "Act V", about the last act of ''[[Hamlet]]'' as staged by inmates from a [[Types of US federal prisons|maximum security prison]] as part of Prison Performing Arts Adult Theatre Projects. [[Paramount Pictures]] and [[Broadway Video]] are in production on ''Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill'', a film based on the ''TAL'' story in the episode "My Experimental Phase".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.current.org/radio/radio0317tal.html|title=Hollywood Finds Kernels for Movies in This American Life|work=[[Current (newspaper)|Current]]|author=Janssen, Mike|date=September 23, 2003|access-date=March 3, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306224712/http://www.current.org/radio/radio0317tal.html|archive-date=March 6, 2007}}</ref>

''This American Life''{{'}}s 168th episode, "The Fix Is In",<ref name=e168>{{Cite episode | title = The Fix Is In 
 | url=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/168/the-fix-is-in | access-date =July 7, 2020 | series=This American Life | first =Ira | last  =Glass | station  =WBEZ Chicago | date  =September 15, 2000 | number=168 | transcript  =168: The Fix Is In| transcript-url =https://www.thisamericanlife.org/168/transcript}}</ref> inspired screenwriter Scott Burns to adapt [[Kurt Eichenwald]]'s book about business executive and FBI informant [[Mark Whitacre]], titled ''[[The Informant (book)|The Informant]]'', into a [[The Informant!|major motion picture]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flickdirect.com/movies/movie-reviews-detail.aspx?id=239|title=The Informant Review, The Informant|publisher=FlickDirect|date=September 16, 2009|access-date=March 19, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227065307/http://www.flickdirect.com/movies/movie-reviews-detail.aspx?id=239|archive-date=February 27, 2012}}</ref> The film was directed by [[Steven Soderbergh]] and stars [[Matt Damon]].<ref>''This American Life''.</ref> Glass has stated that the radio show has no financial stake in the film, but noted that he appreciated how well the movie stuck to the original facts.<ref name=e168/>

''This American Life''{{'}}s 361st episode's, "Fear of Sleep", section "Stranger in the Night" featured an excerpt from [[Mike Birbiglia]]'s one-man show, "Sleepwalk with Me". This inspired Glass to work with Birbiglia for two years on a movie based on this segment. The film version of ''[[Sleepwalk with Me]]'' screened at the [[Sundance Film Festival]] on January 23, 2012, to favorable reviews, winning the "Best of NEXT Audience Award".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/sleepwalk-with-me|title=Sleepwalk With Me |work=This American Life Blog |access-date=March 30, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503041207/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/sleepwalk-with-me|archive-date=May 3, 2012}}</ref>

In May 2011, [[Walt Disney Pictures]] announced it was adapting a movie from a 2009 episode titled "The Girlfriend Equation".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geektyrant.com/news/2011/5/31/disney-getting-romantic-with-the-girlfriend-equation.html|title=Disney getting romantic with THE GIRLFRIEND EQUATION|work=Geek Tyrant|date=May 31, 2011 |access-date=April 22, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203033436/http://geektyrant.com/news/2011/5/31/disney-getting-romantic-with-the-girlfriend-equation.html|archive-date=February 3, 2014}}</ref>

The 2018 film ''[[Come Sunday (film)|Come Sunday]]'' was based on a 2005 ''TAL'' story called "Heretics," about controversial [[Tulsa]] preacher [[Carlton Pearson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/come-sunday-2018|title=Come Sunday|website=RogerEbert.com|first=Glenn|last=Kenny|date=April 13, 2008|accessdate=December 7, 2021}}</ref>

In 2019, [[Lulu Wang (filmmaker)|Lulu Wang]] adapted her autobiographical story called "What You Don't Know" from the 2016 episode "In Defense of Ignorance" into ''[[The Farewell (2019 film)|The Farewell]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/7/15/20687669/the-farewell-interview-lulu-wang-a24-spoilers|title=The Farewell director Lulu Wang navigates the spoilers of her own life|last=Han|first=Karen|date=July 15, 2019|website=Polygon|language=en|access-date=November 5, 2019}}</ref>

The 2019 film ''[[Ode to Joy (film)|Ode to Joy]]'' was adapted from a ''TAL'' story by Chris Higgins called "I've Fallen in Love and I Can't Get Up."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/about/faq|website=This American Life|title=FAQ| date=November 10, 2017 |accessdate=December 7, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3009772/reference|website=IMDb|title=Ode to Joy|accessdate=December 7, 2021}}</ref>

===Live tours===
''This American Life'' has taken the radio show on the road three times since 2000;{{citation needed|date=March 2012}} material recorded on each of the three tours has been edited into an episode which aired on the radio shortly after the tour. Other episodes include segments recorded live.
* "Music Lessons", recorded at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco during the 1998 Public Radio Conference in San Francisco. Performers include [[Sarah Vowell]], [[David Sedaris]] and [[Anne Lamott]]. Music includes elementary school students from the San Francisco Unified School District as well as "Eyes on the Sparrow" with Renola Garrison vocals and Anne Jefferson on piano.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
* "What Are You Looking At?," recorded in December 1998 at [[The Town Hall (New York City)]]. Performers include [[Sarah Vowell]] and [[David Rakoff]], with music by [[They Might Be Giants]]. 
*"Advice", recorded in 1999 in Seattle and at HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. Performers include [[Sarah Vowell]], [[Dan Savage]], and Cheryl Trykv with music from the Black Cat Orchestra.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}}
* "Birthdays, Anniversaries and Milestones", recorded in December 2000 in Boston (Berklee Performance Center), New York, Chicago (Merle Reskin Theatre), and Los Angeles. Performers included [[Sarah Vowell]], [[Russell Banks]], [[David Rakoff]], Ian Brown, and [[OK Go]].
* "Lost in America", recorded in May 2003 in Boston, Washington, D.C., Portland, Denver, and Chicago. Performers included [[Sarah Vowell]], [[Davy Rothbart]], and [[Jonathan Goldstein (author)|Jonathan Goldstein]]. [[Jon Langford]] of [[the Mekons]] led the "Lost in America House Band" during the show.
* "What I Learned from Television", recorded in February and March 2007 in New York City (February 26 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center); Boston (February 27 at the Boston Opera House); Minneapolis (February 28 at the Orpheum Theatre); Chicago (March 1 at the Chicago Theatre); Seattle (March 7 at the Paramount Theatre); and Los Angeles (March 12 at Royce Hall, UCLA). Directed by Jane Feltes, performers on this tour included [[David Rakoff]], [[Sarah Vowell]], [[John Hodgman]], [[Dan Savage]], [[Jonathan Goldstein (author)|Jonathan Goldstein]], and [[Chris Wilcha]]. In New York, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, and Minneapolis, [[Mates of State]] were the [[house band]], while in Los Angeles, [[OK Go]] performed between acts.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}}

===Digital cinema===
On May 1, 2008, ''This American Life'' was the first major public media program to use [[digital cinema]], distributing a one-hour-long program titled ''This American Life&nbsp;– Live!'' to select cinemas. PRI originally conceived of the idea to serve stations around the country.<ref>[http://www.current.org/radio/radio0806thisamericanlife.shtml Current.org | Popcorn available with this Ira Glass show] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617120053/http://www.current.org/radio/radio0806thisamericanlife.shtml |date=June 17, 2011 }}, 2008</ref> ''This American Life Live!'' was presented exclusively in select theatres by [[National CineMedia]]'s (NCM) Fathom, in partnership with BY Experience and Chicago Public Radio, and in association with Public Radio International.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pri.org/About/press-releases/tal-live-release.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613145514/http://www.pri.org/About/press-releases/tal-live-release.html|url-status=dead|title=PRI.ORG &#124; This American Life – Live!|archivedate=June 13, 2011}}</ref>

On April 23, 2009, ''This American Life'' broadcast a second theater event, titled ''This American Life&nbsp;– Live! Returning to the Scene of the Crime''. Contributors included Mike Birbiglia, [[Starlee Kine]], Dan Savage, David Rakoff, and [[Joss Whedon]].

On May 10, 2012, ''This American Life'' broadcast a third theater event, titled ''Invisible Made Visible''. Contributors included David Sedaris, David Rakoff, [[Tig Notaro]], [[Ryan Knighton]], and Mike Birbiglia, who made a short film with [[Terry Gross]].

On June 7, 2014, ''This American Life'' recorded a fourth live event titled ''The Radio Drama Episode''. Contributors included Carin Gilfry, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mike Birbiglia, Joshua Bearman, and Sasheer Zamata.  The episode was broadcast on radio and the podcast on June 20, 2014.

===Podcast===
From 1998 to 2005, the program could be accessed online in two formats: a free [[RealAudio]] stream available from the official show website, and a DRM-encrypted download available through [[Audible.com]], which charged $4 per episode. In early 2006, the program began to offer [[MP3]] copies of each episode, which could be streamed from the show's website using a proprietary Flash player.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Aware that more people were listening through headphones and so could hear mistakes more clearly, the production sought to improve the mixing and editing.<ref name="Cridlin">{{cite web |last1=Cridlin |first1=Jay |title=Ira Glass talks podcasts, films and bringing 'This American Life' to life |url=https://www.tampabay.com/arts-entertainment/2020/01/15/ira-glass-talks-podcasts-films-and-bringing-this-american-life-to-life/ |website=Tampa Bay Times |access-date=July 7, 2020 |language=en |date=January 15, 2020}}</ref>

Since October 2006, the program has offered a free podcast feed to the public. Under this arrangement, each show is made available to podcast feeds and aggregation programs Sunday evening at 8 p.m. ET, allowing radio stations a 43-hour window of exclusivity to carry the episode. After seven days, the link to the MP3 is removed from the podcast feed. Older shows can be streamed online via the show's website, or purchased from Apple's [[iTunes Store]] for $0.95 per episode.

Since the move to MP3 files in 2006, the show has relied on an extremely lightweight [[digital rights management]] system, based on [[security through obscurity]] and legal threats. While the show episodes are removed from the podcast RSS feed after a week, they remain on ''This American Life''{{'}}s server, accessible to anyone who knows the location. On at least three occasions, Internet users have created their own unofficial podcast feeds, [[deep linking]] to the MP3 files located on the ''This American Life'' webserver. In all three instances, the podcast feeds were removed from the Internet once representatives from Public Radio International contacted the individuals responsible for creating the feeds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://redjar.org/jared/blog/archives/2006/06/21/unofficial-this-american-life-podcast-is-no-more/|title=Unofficial This American Life Podcast Is No More|access-date=September 28, 2008|last=Benedict|first=Jared|date=June 21, 2006|publisher=the future is yesterday|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202020420/http://redjar.org/jared/blog/archives/2006/06/21/unofficial-this-american-life-podcast-is-no-more/|archive-date=December 2, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2006/06/20.html|title=A Takedown Request from This American Life|access-date=September 28, 2008|last=Udell|first=Jon|date=June 20, 2006|publisher=Jon's Radio|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929053044/http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2006/06/20.html|archive-date=September 29, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://paranoia.dubfire.net/2007/06/emotional-blackmail-takedown-remove.html|title=An Emotional Blackmail Takedown: Remove The Podcast, Or We Shoot This Puppy|access-date=September 28, 2008|last=Soghoian|first=Christopher|date=July 17, 2007|publisher=Slight Paranoia|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929173730/http://paranoia.dubfire.net/2007/06/emotional-blackmail-takedown-remove.html|archive-date=September 29, 2008}}</ref>

{{as of|2012|3}}, a typical podcast episode was downloaded 750,000 times.<ref name="retracting">{{cite web|url=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/blog/2012/03/retracting-mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory|title=Retracting Mr. Daisey Goes to the Apple Factory|date=March 16, 2012|first=Ira|last=Glass|author-link=Ira Glass|publisher=This American Life Blog|quote=The response to the original episode, 'Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory,' was significant. It quickly became the single most popular podcast in This American Life's history, with 888,000 downloads (typically the number is 750,000) and 206,000 streams to date.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328152430/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/blog/2012/03/retracting-mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory|archive-date=March 28, 2013}}</ref>

===Mobile apps===
In February 2010, Public Radio Exchange launched a mobile app on [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s iTunes Store. This app contains MP3 audio of the podcast.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/this-american-life/id348530331|title=This American Life By Public Radio Exchange (PRX)|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|access-date=October 16, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208033203/https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/this-american-life/id348530331|archive-date=December 8, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://appshopper.com/entertainment/this-american-life|title=This American Life|publisher=AppShopper.com|access-date=October 16, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015033812/http://appshopper.com/entertainment/this-american-life|archive-date=October 15, 2014}}</ref>

In October 2016, ''This American Life'' launched an app called Shortcut to allow listeners to share short audio clips on [[social media]], similar to the way [[GIF|gifs]] allow social media users to share video clips.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/10/this-american-life-shortcut/|title=This American Life Is Making Podcasts as Shareable as GIFs|last=Locke|first=Charlie|date=October 12, 2016|magazine=Wired|access-date=January 24, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202022600/https://www.wired.com/2016/10/this-american-life-shortcut/|archive-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref> [[Stephanie Foo]] served as project lead, collaborating with developers Courtney Stanton and Darius Kazemi of [[Feel Train]]. In the app, listeners can select an audio clip of up to 30 seconds to post to social media, where the audio plays and displays a transcription of the clip. The app's initial iteration operates on ''This American Life''<nowiki/>'s archives, but the project code will be released as [[open-source software]], available for other audio projects to adopt.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/new-tool-american-life-will-make-audio-sharable-gifs-180960729/|title=A New Tool From This American Life Will Make Audio as Sharable as Gifs|last=Shavin|first=Naomi|date=October 11, 2016|work=Smithsonian Magazine|access-date=January 24, 2017}}</ref>

===Other media===
Some<!--more than one? --> of the show's episodes are accompanied by multimedia downloads available on ''This American Life'''s website. For example, a [[cover version]] of the [[Elton John]] song "[[Rocket Man (song)|Rocket Man]]" was produced for episode 223, "Classifieds", and released as an MP3.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

Four two-disc [[Compact disc|CD]] sets collecting some of the producers' favorite acts have been released: ''[[Lies, Sissies, and Fiascoes: The Best of This American Life]]'' was released on May 4, 1999; ''[[Crimebusters + Crossed Wires: Stories from This American Life]]'' was released on November 11, 2003; ''Davy Rothbart: This American Life'' was released in 2004; and ''[[Stories of Hope and Fear]]'' was released on November 7, 2006.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

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.

The cover of "The Lives They Lived" edition of ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'' published on December 25, 2011, read "These American Lives" after a special section of the magazine edited by Glass and other staff of the show.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/22/magazine/the-lives-they-lived.html|title=The Lives They Lived|date=December 22, 2011|work=[[The New York Times Magazine]]|access-date=December 20, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111222221753/http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/22/magazine/the-lives-they-lived.html|archive-date=December 22, 2011}}</ref>