This American Life on Vox

Last month we introduced you to a new Showtime series called The Tudors.  Today we’re excited to announce that Vox’s partnership with Showtime continues with a program that many of you already know and love:  This American Life!

It’s likely that you know the radio show - it’s been around since 1995 and airs on over 500 public radio stations around the country - or maybe you’ve tuned into their weekly podcast.  Hosted by Ira Glass, TAL is primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, although it has also featured essays, memoirs, field recordings, short fiction, and found footage.  The mood of the show ranges from gloomy to ironic, from thought-provoking to hilarious, and each half-hour episode explores a single theme or topic through the unique juxtaposition of first-person storytelling and whimsical narrative.  (Hm, sounds a little like Vox huh?)

The first episode of the television series premiered on March 22nd, and future episodes air on Thursdays at 10:30 PM ET/PT.  Head over to the Showtime website to watch the first episode for free.  

The fine folks from TAL have set up a blog for This American Life, as well as a This American Life group as a place for you to talk about the stories and themes in each week's episode. And it's a way for you to share your own funny, surprising, dramatic, true stories with the world.  Each week they will put up a theme or question that's central to the next episode of the TV show, and will ask you to share stories that explore that idea. The themes relate to the TV version of This American Life, so they'd love to see you tell your tales in video clips, but feel free to use audio, images or the written word as well.

The current theme is “my way”: stories about people who stubbornly defy conventional wisdom, with mixed results.  Read this post, watch the clips, get inspired, and then share your stories in the TAL group.

-- Krissy