Show guide
4989 American Life is Utaco’s native-speed, all-Japanese take on life in the US and US–Japan quirks — the real thing, for when you’re ready to stretch. Here’s how to study with it in Wakatta.
About the show
Utaco talks at natural, native speed, entirely in Japanese, about daily life in America and the little differences between the US and Japan. It’s clear for a native-level show but genuinely fast — around N2 — so it’s a real step up from learner-focused podcasts.
How to use it in Wakatta
In Wakatta the show is ready to play, and every episode is a tappable transcript with furigana. Tap any word for its reading and meaning, save the ones worth keeping, and review them later with the exact sentence and audio — so you actually understand what you hear instead of listening past it. (Don’t see a show you love? Search for any podcast in the app.)
What a transcript looks like
今日はお茶を淹れます。
淹れます iremasu · to brew (tea)
Every episode becomes a transcript like this — tap any word for its reading and meaning.
Recent episodes
- ep.373/ MacとWindows、言語切り替えがイライラする問題 · 2026-06-30
- ep.372/ フリーウェイ運転中に嬉しいこと · 2026-06-19
- ep.371/ 6って指でどう表現する？ · 2026-06-13
- ep.370/ 夏がきた！新しい仕事もきた！ · 2026-06-05
- ep.369/ 最高のライブ！最悪な運営？LA日本音楽フェス · 2026-05-29
- ep.368/ やっぱり苦手、英語での電話 · 2026-05-11
Tap an episode to open it in Wakatta and read along with the transcript.
Common questions
What level is 4989 American Life?
It’s upper-intermediate — around N2. Utaco speaks at natural native speed, so it’s a real stretch, but the topics are approachable. In Wakatta it comes with a synced transcript and furigana, so you can read along and tap anything you miss — which makes native-speed audio much more manageable.
About the creator
Utaco is a Japanese host who, since 2019, has chronicled the everyday realities and culture-shocks of living in the United States in natural Japanese, with free episode scripts on her site.
Read along in Wakatta
Wakatta turns real Japanese podcasts into tappable transcripts — tap any word for its reading and meaning, and review what you save with the original audio.
