Freedom House Ambulance Service

Football helmets can prevent devastating injuries, but they may also help make an inherently violent game feel safer than it really is. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podca ... Show More

A closer look at the messy, beautiful bricks hiding across Chicago. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, ... Show More

Comedian, writer, and podcaster Jamie Loftus has always known about Alcoholics Anonymous. As a kid, she loved the album where her dad kept all his AA chips — that little piece of plastic that marks a day, a month, a year of sobriety. Now as an adult, Jamie wanted to understand wh ... Show More

As recently as 1965, if you had a medical emergency, the people who showed up at your door would be volunteer firefighters, police officers, or undertakers with a hearse. Today, the story of how a group of Black men from Pittsburgh changed that. Kevin Hazzard’s book is American S ... Show More

Margaret talks with Kaveh Hoda about the down-and-out Black men who created the world's first modern paramedic service, way more recently than you'd imagineSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

This episode of “Intention to Treat” tells the story of the Freedom House Ambulance Service — a group of Black laypeople in Pittsburgh who underwent intensive training to become the first paramedics in the United States. A full transcript of this episode is available at nejm.org/ ... Show More

Paramedics are not EMTs. Or fire fighters. Or cops. But they do ride around in ambulances (and drive) to help to save lives. It's a stressful job and in this classic episode we shine a light on this noble profession. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Today, if you or someone you know experiences a medical emergency, you dial 9-1-1 and a squad of trained medical professionals arrives at your door. But just 55 years ago, that was not the case.Emergency calls were generally dispatched to funeral homes simply because their vehicl ... Show More

Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two paramedics from Norway and Australia to learn about the demands and rewards of working as part of the emergency response. Randi Simensen was awarded Ambulance Worker of the Year in 2023 and has 20 years' experience working as a paramedic at Oslo Unive ... Show More

Saving Lives