This American Life

I was introduced to the program by a friend while I was visiting LA. We were coming home after drinks with a friend and we sat on his couch flipping the channels. Nothing was on so he decided to show me a particular episode that he had been talking about at dinner. I had some drink and smoke in me and I was feeling like I was going to melt into the couch for a good nights sleep before having to drive back up north. It wasn't until after I heard the premise of the show explained in the beginning that I new that I was going to be too interested to sleep.
The show started off as a radio program in Chicago on NPR. It climbed in popularity and was adapted into a television show televised on Showtime (if you don't have cable it's OK keep reading there will be a solution).
The show we watched was about the name John Smith. It is the most common male name in America and the program focused on I believe 7 different men with the name, all at different points in their lives. It was brilliant. From the concept of the entire program to the way all the stories were told and interwoven to create such a feel good story. I was hooked. The next day I arrived back in the Bay and started searching for ways to get my hands on the program. No one I knew subscribes to Showtime so I was forced to find an alternate route (to those of you who don't have showtime either this is where it gets good).
I went onto iTunes -yes it is the greatest thing in the world I KNOW-and found that you can buy both seasons of the tv show as well as subscribe to the podcast! It is stupendous.
Each episode has masterful storytelling and always has a good message. There is never a moment of easy thrills or cheap attention gimmicks.

It is the new Chicken Soup for the Soul and I recommend you figure a way to get yoru hands on this because it is a great experience.