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Little-known and surprising stories of how all sorts of institutions began.

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Recently Aired

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[View archive](/archive)

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](/855/thats-a-weird-thing-to-lie-about)

Unnecessary and outrageous lies that make you wonder — why lie about that in the first place?

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](/854/ten-things-i-dont-want-to-hate-about-you)

Zach Mack and his dad try to mend a rift between them in a very unusual way. 

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](/758/talking-while-black)

Stories about Black people who found themselves caught in the middle of the country's shift away from diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Recommended

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Okay. It’s hundreds of episodes. Thousands of stories. We help you dig through the archive.[View all](/recommended)

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](/recommended/new-to-this-american-life)

[New to _This American Life_?](/recommended/new-to-this-american-life)

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“When I’m trying to explain our program  to someone who doesn’t know it, I stammer a bunch of words like ‘entertaining,’ ‘funny,’ ‘surprising plot twists,’ ‘true stories but not boring I swear’ … and then I just give them this list.” — Ira Glass

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