What is This I Believe?

 

What is This I Believe?

 

This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values that guide their daily lives. These short statements of belief, written by people from all walks of life, are archived here and featured on public radio in the United States and Canada, as well as in regular broadcasts on NPR. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow.

 

 

Featured Essay of the Week

The Long Road to Forgiveness
	As a child, Kim Phuc’s village in South Vietnam was bombed with napalm. A famous photo showed Kim running from the attack, naked and screaming. In the painful recovery from her burn wounds, Kim found that true healing came through forgiveness. Click here for the full essay

 

 

Special Feature: Patriotism

 

As we mark another Independence Day, it’s an appropriate time to reflect on the nature of patriotism, and the beliefs it can inspire among Americans from all walks of life.  Click the links below to see what these essayists had to say. 

 

1. America Gives My Life Meaning
2. Custodians of the Constitution
3. A Universal Ideal
4. Beautiful Country

 

Click here to read previous Special Features

 

 

 

 

The Essay Shuffle

A random selection of interesting essays that may inspire you to write your own.

1. The Strength That Comes from Groups
2. The Gift
3. The Web of All Existence
4. The Legacy of a Lost Father
5. A Life Ideal, But Much Less Real

 

• Search our essay database—Browse through the tens of thousands of other essays that have been submitted to This I Believe.

 

This I Believe en Espanol

 

A Spanish translation of our This I Believe book has just been published in Spain by Plataforma Editorial. It is translated by the noted translator Horacio Vázquez-Rial. To read an excerpt from the book, an essay by novelist Isabel Allende, please click here. To order the book, please click here.

 

 

 

 

 

The History of This I Believe

 

At the dawn of the Cold War and the height of McCarthyism, Americans from all walks of life bravely spoke their beliefs on the original This I Believe.   Now, a new documentary tells the fascinating history of the series hosted by Edward R. Murrow.  Listen to the program including essays by Harry Truman, Margaret Mead, William O. Douglas, Eleanor Roosevelt, Albert Einstein and other prominent figures of the day.