This American Life

- Season 2

(2008)

Teenage boys find ways to impress girls using a mode of transport obsolete since the 19th century; a young man's fight for independence from his mother would be normal for most kids, except for some special circumstances.

Two foreigners in the U.S., in the aftermath of two very different wars, try to make sense of life here.

A pair of convicts almost escape prison using dental floss; high school students pose for yearbook snapshots, which capture nothing of the drama in their lives; a man with a 30-year obsession with one particular bird.

Two boxers in Tennessee who've known each other all their lives face off in a match that neither can afford to lose.

Tales of troubled marriages include an animated true story by cartoonist Chris Ware; and a real-life look at a husband whose legal obsession causes serious trouble with his spouse.

The true life stories of several Americans with the name John Smith, from an 11-week-old boy whose parents expected a girl, to a 46-year-old Texan, welcoming his son home from Iraq.

A bonus second-season edition comprised of material produced for the This American Life web site, a look at comedians and their audiences includes segments about unknown comics performing for a rowdy crowd at a club in the middle of nowhere, and a piece about Mike Birbiglia, a standup with a scathing routine about his worst gig ever.