An Update from Ira

Ira Glass provides an update on the "This American Life Partners" paid subscription, launched a year ago to address changing podcast economics. He states that the subscription has been a "huge success," funding nearly 25% of the show's budget, and expresses gratitude to subscribers. Glass then announces a new goal: to increase listener funding to 50% of the budget to protect the show from future economic shifts. He explains that the show's production process, which involves extensive research, story development, multiple drafts, professional fact-checking, and detailed audio mixing, is expensive and differs significantly from most podcasts. He also notes that the decline in federal funding for public radio stations, which pay for the show, further impacts their finances. Glass encourages listeners to become "Life Partners" to support the show's high production standards, offering incentives like an ad-free version, a "Greatest Hits" archive, and bonus episodes, and directs them to thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners or the Apple podcast app to sign up.