logo
episode-header-image
Jul 16
14m 52s

My Iron Lung: Remembering Martha Lillard

RADIO DIARIES & RADIOTOPIA
About this episode
A few years ago we did a story about Martha Lillard, a woman who had spent most of her life sleeping in a device called an iron lung. Martha had caught polio in the early 1950s, and, like many polio survivors, she had difficulty breathing on her own. Her iron lung was a big metal ventilator that fit her entire body inside and used bellows to suck air in and ... Show More
Up next
Aug 13
Guest Spotlight: Phonograph
This week we're featuring an episode of Phonograph, a podcast that deconstructs the history and art of audio storytelling.The hosts of Phonograph recently invited Radio Diaries' Joe Richman on their show to talk about "24 Hours at the Golden Apple," a classic episode of This Amer ... Show More
31m 8s
Jun 16
Soweto 1976
Fifty years ago, a group of schoolchildren in South Africa changed history.For decades, the whites-only government of South Africa had brutally enforced a policy of racial segregation known as apartheid—and had crushed any opposition just as ruthlessly. By the 1970s, an entire ge ... Show More
15m 50s
Jun 4
30 Years of Teenage Diaries
This year marks 30 years since we first worked with teenagers to record stories about their lives. Over the years, people have often asked us, whatever happened to them? What happened to Juan, Amanda, Melissa, Frankie, and Josh?We’re going to find out.In honor of three decades, w ... Show More
16m 4s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
Acting Out
Malcolm talks with Ben Naddaff-Hafrey, host of The Last Archive, about the forgotten origins of a major social science, the missing chapter in Ella Fitzgerald’s life, and what it all has to do with the prison just down the street from Malcolm’s office. Listen, and check out the b ... Show More
36m 34s
Apr 2018
Resettled
From Iraq to Texas: a doctor's chronicle of rebuilding life from the ground up as a refugee. (Original, Arabic). Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more ... Show More
27m 34s
Sep 2018
Stuck Off The Realness
Prodigy made up half of the hugely influential hip-hop duo Mobb Deep, but spent his life in excruciating pain due to a debilitating disease called sickle cell anemia. On this episode, the hosts of WNYC's The Realness podcast chronicle Prodigy's struggle with the disease, share th ... Show More
32m 25s
Feb 2022
The Freemason
A family secret, hidden for decades by a grandfather in Iraq, gets uncovered by his grandson - who chooses to revive a potentially dangerous legacy.This episode was produced by Alex Atack and Tamara Juburi, and edited by Dana Ballout with additional support from Nadeen Shaker and ... Show More
36m 40s
Mar 2024
377: Peter Tilden—Sitting in a Puddle of Tilden
<p class="MsoNormal">The writer, producer, and veteran radio broadcaster drops by to regale us with stories from the entertainment trenches, explains why he created the podcast <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/really-no-really/id1668887882"> <strong><em>Really? no, ... Show More
1h 27m
Apr 2018
Resettled (English)
From Iraq to Texas: a doctor's chronicle of rebuilding life from the ground up as a refugee. (English, dubbed version) Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo ... Show More
28m 5s