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This American Life

Center national news. Over-indexes on Social Security & Medicare (118.3×) and Artificial Intelligence & Technology (8.1×).

As described by the publisher
Each week we choose a theme. Then anything can happen. This American Life is true stories that unfold like little movies for radio. Personal stories with funny moments, big feelings, and surprising plot twists. Newsy stories that try to capture what it’s like to be alive right now. It’s the most popular weekly podcast in the world, and winner of the first ever Pulitzer Prize for a radio show or podcast. Hosted by Ira Glass and produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago.
14
Episodes transcribed
Oct 2025Jul 2026 covered
7
Episodes analyzed
16 tone reads — one per figure per episode
Mixed
No clear favorite or target
thin read

What This Tone Is Based On

The tone scores on this page come from analyzing how this show covers each political figure it mentions. Below is the breakdown of how many of those reads were positive, neutral, or negative.

Positive213%
Neutral425%
Negative1063%

Net media tone Very Negative across 16 figure-in-episode tone reads (not audience/impressions).

How This American Life Differs from Other Shows

Overall this show runs more critical than the rest of the media — mean tone -0.33 vs the media's -0.13.

Coverage Volume

Transcribed episodes per week — last 26 weeks

Sentiment Trajectory

Average weekly tone toward figures — green favorable, red critical

Show organizations & places →
Organizations
Chicago Public Radio5
NPR5
PRX5
Supreme Court4
Places
United States10
New York6
Washington DC5
Florida3
Mexico3
New York City3