Paul Alexander, one of two people in the U.S. still relying on an iron lung to survive, died on March 11, 2024 at the age of 78. Paul contracted polio in 1952 at six years old, and has had to rely on an iron lung — a big metal ventilator that encases the body from the neck to toes — since then. We spoke to Paul a few years ago about his life and the lessons ... Show More
Sep 17
Signal Hill: What's Inside the Moon
This week we're sharing a story from the audio magazine Signal Hill.The story, "What's Inside the Moon," is about the poet Kenneth Koch and a group of elementary school students he taught to write poetry in the 1960s. Half a century later, producer Jess Shane tracked down the stu ... Show More
46m 48s
Dec 2021
EP139: Trapped Inside a Tube: The Iron Lung Story and H.P. Rama, The Accidental Hotelier
On this episode of Our American Stories, Daryn Glassbrook of the Mobile Medical Museum tells the story of the iron lung, a device used to keep people with advanced polio alive in the first half of the 20th century. Indian American hotelier H.P. Rama the story of the ethical dilem ... Show More
38m 16s
Apr 2022
EP276: Trapped Inside a Tube: The Iron Lung Story and Benjamin Rush, Founding Father and Father of American Psychiatry
On this episode of Our American Stories, Daryn Glassbrook of the Mobile Medical Museum tells the story of the iron lung, a device used to keep people with advanced polio alive in the first half of the 20th century. New York Times bestselling author, Harlow Giles Unger, of twenty- ... Show More
38m 14s
Jun 2025
Information Inoculation: Defending Against Medical Myths: The real reason polio is so dangerous | Dan Kwartler
In 1952, polio was everywhere: killing or paralyzing roughly half a million people annually. Yet just 10 years later, paralytic polio cases in the US dropped by 96% and we were on track to get rid of polio for good. But in recent years, the virus started striking back. So, what’s ... Show More
34m 45s