Parents' Guide to This American Life

This American Life Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

By Carla Thornton , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 12+

Radio show podcasts contain 15-year slice of American life.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 12+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

age 8+

Based on 2 kid reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Data are sold or rented to third parties.
  • Data are shared for third-party advertising and/or marketing.
  • Data are collected by third-party advertising or tracking services.
  • Data are not used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 1 ):
Kids say ( 2 ):

Public broadcasting at its best, This American Life has entertained with topical and personal-essay broadcasts since 1995. This app, which collects all 400-plus hour-long radio shows under one roof and automatically adds new ones each week, is a treasure trove. A kind of audio version of 60 Minutes, each show explores an aspect of American life via issues or interesting individuals, some famous but most of them regular people, including kids. There are episodes on bullying, babysitting, and a bonus Showtime program on kids trying to learn standup comedy.

App Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

This American Life Poster Image

You May Also Like...

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate