This American Life app review: access the entire archive of episodes of the hit public radio station

This American Life

Price: $2.99

This American Life by Public Radio Exchange (PRX) was updated on April 5, 2013. With this app, you will be able to stream and listen to any episode of This American Life at any time, as well as having access to tons of extra special footage and additional content.

 

User Experience

The episodes appear to stream very smoothly with little in the way of buffering hiccups. The design of the interface is very simple and is similar to the iOS music player, so navigation feels very natural and familiar.

The audio and picture quality of the radio show episodes and extra footage are both pretty decent. This is a radio show so not everything is crystal clear but it definitely makes for enjoyable listening.

 

Features

This app grants you unlimited access to the entire episode archive of the popular radio station, This American Life. The app enables you to stream any episode you like, and if you want to download episodes, they are priced at $0.99 each.

In addition to the episodes, you will also find additional content like video out-takes from the This American Life television show, a behind-the-scenes look with the producers of the show, interviews with Ira Glass and Terry Gross, and much more.

The episodes can be searched according to their name, or by the name of a favorite contributor.
Alternatively, you can just start from the beginning and listen to them in order. Furthermore, episodes can be saved to a Favorites list, and you can share episodes with friends and family online via Facebook and Twitter.

And if all of that wasn’t enough, this app also includes access to the show’s blog and a countdown to the live show each week, which can be watched from within the app.

 

Update Info

This American Life is currently running on Version 2.40.5. The latest update included the addition of a feature enabling you to restore playback of the current episode upon closing and reopening the app.

 

Customer Ratings and Feedback Comments

This American Life currently has 19 customer ratings with an average rating of 4.5 out of five stars. Customer feedback has generally been very positive, with users commenting on their appreciation of the ability to save where they’re up to on an episode when the app closes.

Other comments include positive remarks about the quality of playback and the speed of buffering, as well as the general ease-of-use of the app itself.

Personal Comments by Reviewer

If you’re looking for a news or current affairs show, this probably isn’t the app you’re looking for. However, if you’re curious to learn about the lives and stories of real American people then be sure to check out This American Life.

The content of the radio show itself is unquestionably good, and this app certainly serves the show well. I like the basic approach that has been taken with regards to the interface and layout because it keeps things nice and simple so you can easily find the radio show episode or video you want.

 

Pros

• Full streaming access to every episode of the This American Life radio show
• An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at what happens on the set
• Listen to the show live every week by streaming it through the app

 

Cons

• This American Life is a rather niche radio show, so it is not for everyone

 

For: iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad with iOS 4.3 or later. This American Life is optimized for iPhone 5.