The Best Episodes of This American Life Season 2

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
   

   8.2/10(43 votes)

   #1 - Escape

   S2:E15/4/2008

   Two teenage boys in Philadelphia look for ways to impress girls; and a young man fights for his independence from his mother.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown
2. 

   7.0/10(23 votes)

   #2 - Two Wars

   S2:E25/11/2008

   An Iraqi comes to America after leaving his war-torn country and sets out on a trip across America and lets the U.S. citizens ask questions about any subject; a Bulgarian man decides that an argument with his wife, about lawn upkeep, goes back more than 20 years.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown
3. 

   7.0/10(21 votes)

   #3 - Going Down in History

   S2:E35/18/2008

   Stories of people trying to make — and remake — history, while others go down in history in ways they never intended. Two Wisconsin convicts gain local fame for almost escaping prison using dental floss. High school students pose for smiley yearbook snapshots, which capture nothing of the dramas in their lives. And a man with a 30-year obsession with one particular bird unveils the grainy, Big Foot-style video evidence that he saw it.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown
4. 

   6.0/10(25 votes)

   #4 - Underdogs

   S2:E45/25/2008

   A group of teenage boys, in New York City, learn how to fight back against bullies in an old fashioned way; two boxers from Tennessee who have known each other, since they were kids, must face each other in a fight that they can't lose.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown
5. 

   6.5/10(25 votes)

   #5 - Every Marriage Is a Courtroom

   S2:E56/1/2008

   Cartoonist Chris Ware animates a true story that demonstrates that every marriage—even the happiest—is a courtroom. But most of the episode is devoted to the slow-motion disintegration of one couple's marriage. The husband's obsession with a legal battle forces the most basic marital questions into the open: what do I need? And what can I put up with?

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown
6. 

   8.4/10(41 votes)

   #6 - John Smith

   S2:E66/8/2008

   The story of one life, told through the lives of people from all over the country, all named John Smith. Baby John Smith is 11 weeks old, in South Carolina, and his parents are still reeling from the sonograms that all predicted he would be a girl. By the time he's 23, John Smith in Laramie, Wyoming, has made some mistakes and is appearing in front of a judge. At 46, he's in Texas, welcoming his oldest son back from Iraq. In-depth portraits of people growing up, growing old, and figuring out how to be fathers, husbands, and men in America today.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown
TRENDING NOW
The 20 BEST Episodes of This American Life
READ
7. 

   6.4/10(10 votes)

   #7 - No Respect

   S2:E75/28/2009

   This episode examines comedians and their audiences. It includes segments about performing for a rowdy crowd, and a piece about Mike Birbiglia's worst gig ever.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown