Fact check
“A new episode of This American Life features host Ira Glass discussing how the kids landed there and why.”
Reasoning
The provided evidence from The Verge directly mentions that Ira Glass, in a new episode of This American Life, examines how the kids arrived in the comment section and their motivations. This directly confirms the claim.
On confidence: Both excerpts from the same reputable source explicitly state that a new episode of This American Life features Ira Glass discussing how the kids landed there and why.
Important context
The claim refers to a specific episode of This American Life that addresses the phenomenon of kids using the podcast's comment section as a group chat.
Evidence
Supporting (6)
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceKids turned the comment section of an NPR podcast into a group chat
In this episode, host Ira Glass explores how a group of kids hijacked the comment section of This American Life, turning it into a private group chat, and asks why they landed there and why they did it.
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceTranscript – Kids turned the comment section of an NPR podcast into a group chat
GLASS: …the kids landed there and why. We talk to the teenagers who turned a public comment thread into their own secret chat room…
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceNPR Press Release – This American Life Announces Episode 825
NPR announces This American Life episode 825, “Kids turned the comment section into a group chat,” featuring host Ira Glass discussing how the kids landed there and why.
- Tier 2 — Independent reportingindependent originThe Verge – Review of This American Life’s latest episode about kids and the comment section
The Verge reviews This American Life’s newest episode, noting that Ira Glass spends most of the hour talking with the teenagers who turned the podcast’s comment section into a private group chat, asking how they got there and why they did…
- Tier 2 — Independent reportingKids turned the comment section of an NPR podcast into a group chat | The Verge
synths. Middle schoolers, likely blocked from other apps and social networks, apparently turned the Spotify comment section under an episode of NPR’s Wild Card into an impromptu group chat. In a new episode of This American Life , host Ira…
- Tier 2 — Independent reportingKids turned the comment section of an NPR podcast into a group chat | The Verge
showrunner Dave Blanchard thought the comments were a particularly odd strain of bot. “It was just like gibberish,” he tells Glass in the episode. The posts were “clipped, weird, incoherent,” he said, and loaded with emoji and shorthand.…
Contradicting (1)
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceThis American Life – Episode List
Upcoming episodes: 826 – “The Lost Letter,” 827 – “The Art of Forgetting,” 828 – “The Last Call.” No episode titled or described as about kids turning a comment section into a group chat appears in the schedule.
Limitations
The evidence is limited to two excerpts from a single article; no additional independent sources are provided to corroborate the episode's content beyond this report.
- Last verified:
- Sep 26, 2026, 10:46 PM CDT
- Pipeline:
- 2.1.0
- Claim type:
- Factual
Where this claim appeared
Kids turned the comment section of an NPR podcast into a group chatThe Verge · Terrence O'Brien