This American Life Live At Bam

The Peabody Award-winning public radio series that combines journalism with opinion, fiction and biography becomes this highly anticipated TV series hosted by Ira Glass.

It’s This American Life’s wildest, most ambitious live show ever! Nearly 50 actors, singers, dancers, musicians and comedians joined Ira Glass onstage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Opera House on June 7th, 2014 to try some things they'd never tried before. The result? Journalism turned into opera, into plays, into a Broadway musical. Comedy from Mike Birbiglia, and SNL’s Sasheer Zamata. Songs from Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields. Dance from Monica Bill Barnes & Company.

It features all sorts of things that are way too visual to be on the radio: dance, animation, illustration, an interactive musical performance, photographs, a short film, and David Sedaris in clown makeup. Along with Sedaris, there are stories by the now-famous Tig Notaro, Glynn Washington, Ryan Knighton and David Rakoff. Lots of the stories are funny. David Rakoff's is particularly touching. He talks about the abilities he’s lost during his fight with cancer, and then, gracefully, beautifully, does a solo dance onstage. It was the last story Rakoff ever wrote for the radio show. He died three months later, in August. OK Go provides music. Monica Bill Barnes & Company dance. Ira Glass tells a story using things he normally can't: photos. Mike Birbiglia casts Terry Gross in a surprising, hilarious little movie.

Xmas cake: def. Japanese slang for an unmarried woman over 25, or stale dessert.

In late 2009, the staff of This American Life went on stage to talk for the first time as a group about how the show is put together. Get answers to burning questions like: how close to disaster was the 2008 live show? What is the connection between This American Life and Matt Damon? Will we ever do a swim suit edition of the show? Includes a rare interview with our boss, Torey Malatia, about being made fun of at the end of every episode.

AMERICAN INDIAN GRAFFITI: THIS THING, LIFE is an ensemble drama about four Native Americans whose lives intertwine with one another, taking place over one summer. STEPHANIE, a recent high school graduate, has been rejected by the colleges she dreams of attending. To make matters worse, she learns her mother tried to abort her when she was born. With this new knowledge, she struggles to overcome her lifelong feelings of guilt and rejection. RACHEL, Stephanie's best friend, learns that her life plans are not taking the path she desires, and her friendship with Stephanie has become severed. Because of these things, she believes there's nothing to help her overcome the pain and agony she feels from the death of her mother and brother, not realizing that her refuge is in finding forgiveness for the man who caused their death. STEVE, at the age of twenty-three, has become a famous artist. All of his life's dreams have come true, causing him confusion and fear of not having any more goals.

In this cinematic masterpiece of cinema Ira Glass sits behind some radio gear and speaks into a microphone, to tell the stories of criminals, and the crime scenes they returned to, after having committed crimes at those places. The all-star cast includes Dan Savage and Mike Birbiglia, and Starlee Kine. Plus pictures and a cartoon by Chris Ware, more pictures by this guy Arthur Jones, and a special musical performance by Joss Whedon, creator of Dr.Horrible's sing along Blog and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and not really a musician at all, but more of a hugely famous TV person. Together on stage for one night, these individuals have everything to lose, and even more to gain! So sit down, get up to get some juice, sit down again, and enjoy the film that was such a hit that it played in movie theaters for two days - This American Life: Return to the Scene of the Crime. Bonus features include: behind the scenes photos, audio commentary, and the popular pre-show puzzles.