CNN’s Digital Studio Crosses The Nation To Find ‘Great American Stories’

America’s first 24-hour news network has now gone in search of America’s most curious tales. CNN has launched a web series called Great American Stories, in which it brings viewers short documentaries on a variety of eclectic topics.

Great American Stories has launched with an initial slate of five episodes. Subjects run the gamut, covering everything from from a team of collegiate video game players to a West Virginia town where cell phones are banned. The series’ title, as well as its mission to shine light on the underexplored corners of the country, are reminiscent of NPR’s long-running radio show This American Life. One of Great American Stories’ first episodes even shares its subject with a recent This American Life installment by profiling the residents of Whittier, Alaska, who all live together in one big building.

CNN produced Great American Stories through its digital wing, which it launched in April 2014. New episodes will premiere throughout September, with new ones arriving each Wednesday on CNN’s website and across its network of mobile apps and social media accounts.