There was a political dimension to this: as the Bush administration tripped over itself in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and the follies of the Iraq and Afghan Wars became ever more apparent, This American Life was perfectly positioned to reach into the heart of these major stories and record the shifting ground under life in these United States. It might be that no one takes you seriously until you’ve been at work for a decade, or it might just be that this was the moment Gen X became a silent majority of the culture industry. While much of the show’s first 10 years turned around the show’s home base of Chicago, once in New York, the show went global. During this period, production of This American Life moved from Chicago to New York (on account of the show’s brief experimentation with television), and the program became a force beyond itself. First, episodes 300 to 400 (released from roughly 2006 to 2010) indeed constituted a kind of “golden age” for the show. Surveying the following list, two things become apparent. And so, to make a list of the best episodes of This American Life, is to spotlight the work of the many staff and producers who make the show. The variety of styles on display in This American Life has separated the program from a traditional newsmagazine, whether that be 60 Minutes or one found in print. What makes a good This American Life story? The show’s submissions page narrows it down to two principles: “There are characters in some situation, and a conflict,” and “ stories raise some bigger question or issue, some universal thing to think about.” But I would argue that the key ingredient is the contributor. Many other producers from that period: Starlee Kine, Brian Reed, Hillary Frank, Scott Carrier, Jonathan Goldstein, and former intern PJ Vogt, to name just a few, have gone on to create acclaimed podcasts of their own. Two of the biggest names in the podcasting boom - Serial’s Sarah Koenig and Gimlet Media’s Alex Blumberg - were deeply involved with the show’s golden age. Over the last 25 years, the show founded and led by Ira Glass has built a vast network of producers and writers who have set standards across all genres of audio production. First broadcast in November 1995, This American Life is the most influential precursor to narrative podcasting as it exists today.
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