Ira Glass

Ira Glass is the host and producer of the public radio program "This American Life," from Chicago Public Media and distributed by Public Radio International. He began his career as an intern at National Public Radio's network headquarters in Washington, D.C., in 1978, when he was 19 years old.Over the years, he worked on nearly every NPR network news program and held virtually every production job in NPR's Washington headquarters. He has been a tape cutter, newscast writer, desk assistant, editor and producer. He has filled in as host of "Talk of the Nation" and "Weekend All Things Considered."Under Glass's editorial direction, "This American Life" has won the highest honors for broadcasting and journalistic excellence, including the Peabody and duPont-Columbia awards, as well as the Edward R. Murrow and the Overseas Press Club awards. The "American Journalism Review" declared that the show is "at the vanguard of a journalistic revolution." It has won critical acclaim and attracted continuous national media attention over the years. In 2001, Time named Glass Best Radio Host in America. Glass' creative talents reach beyond public media.In 2007 Riverhead published "The New Kings of Non-Fiction," a collection of narrative nonfiction essays chosen by Ira Glass. A feature film, "Unaccompanied Minors," based on a story from the radio show was released by Warner Brothers in December 2006. The show has put out its own comic book, three greatest hits compilations, a paint-by-numbers set, a radio decoder toy, and a DVD created with cartoonist Chris Ware, and has broadcast two stage shows live in HD to hundreds of movie theaters nationwide. From 2007-2008, a television adaptation of "This American Life" aired on Showtime, garnering two Emmy awards.