This American Life starts up on Showtime this Thursday, March 22nd, and one of the first four episodes features an entire segment animated by Chris Ware. If you haven't seen Ware's art before, then you've been missing out. He's been feature in The New York Times Magazine, was in the "Masters of American Comics" touring museum exhibit, and is an artist who really captures angst well. Whoever thought that would be considered a huge plus.

You can watch Ware's This American Life segment here. I really enjoyed the way it captures the spirit and theme of the radio show. Give it a whirl and let us know what you think.

[Thanks, Mike]

As we've previously reported, This American Life is coming to Showtime, and we were lucky enough to get a look at the first four episodes. It's no secret that I had high hopes for this show, and was all set to have them crushed, trampled, and stomped upon. However, I'm happy to report that that my hopes are still intact, at least after having seen four episodes. There's still room for my hopes to be smashed into a million crystalline fragments down the road.

First off, if you've never heard an episode of This American Life, it's high time that you head to iTunes and subscribe to their podcast. It's one of the best radio shows I've ever heard, and presents stories from Americans that you'll never hear anywhere else. It's pure documentary work where the hosts and interviewers don't overshadow the subjects, and features as much humor as it does touching drama. A real gem on the radio dial, and it's a labor of love on Public Radio International, which is more famous for its content, and not for the fortunes they pay their hosts.