This American Life Airs 500th Episode This Weekend

By Jessica Mlinaric in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 13, 2013 8:00PM

This weekend PRI will air the 500th episode of This American Life. To commemorate the past 17 years of stories of the thematic, magazine format radio program, Ira Glass and staff have collected their favorite moments from over the years to share in hour 500.

Among stories from every corner of the country, Chicago featured frequently throughout the years. We’ve gathered five essential This American Life episodes that every Chicagoan should hear.

25: Basketball - June 7, 1996
"The Bulls are the lens through which we view all of our experiences now," Ira quips as in the midst of playoff mania. He examines the love of the game and visits fans in a South Side barbershop during an unmatched era of Chicago sports.

84: Harold - November 21, 1997
Two decades after the death of Chicago's first black mayor, this episode follows the political and racial struggles endured by Harold Washington. More importantly, it questions how much Chicago has really changed as a result.

172: 24 Hours at the Golden Apple - November 17, 2000
There's no place like the local diner to really get a slice of life. Documenting one day and night at Lakeview's 24-hour Golden Apple diner, this episode paints a picture of Chicago through the regulars, waitresses, drunks, and cops who grace its counter.

223: Classifieds - October 11, 2002
Back in the days before Craigslist, Chicago's hopes, desires, and missed connections appeared in black & white in the classifieds. This episode reads between the lines of the Sun-Times and Reader classifieds to reveal the profile of a city.

487: Harper High School, Part One - February 15, 2013
In one of TAL's most poignant episodes, producers spent five months at West Englewood's Harper High School where 29 students had been victims of gun violence. The two-part series examines violence in Chicago through the moving stories of students, teachers, and the community.