826: Unprepared for What Has Already Happened

This American Life

People waking up to the fact that the world has suddenly changed.

• Prologue: Jackson Landers tells the story of a very strange decision he made one summer day. (6 minutes)
• Act One: Elena Kostyuchenko tells the story of how she was probably poisoned after reporting on Russian’s invasion of Ukraine, and how she kept not believing it was happening. Bela Shayevich translated this story from Russian and reads it for us. (21 minutes)
• Act Two: A recording of comedian Tig Notaro in the process of trying to catch up to the present and absolutely not being able to. (8 minutes)
• Act Three: Producer Zoe Chace with a political fable that she noticed playing out last week in North Carolina. (11 minutes)
• Act Four: Producer Tobin Low finds a group of people with a special relationship with the idea of catching up. (10 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org