20 for 20 Podcast

20 for 20

Iron Light Labs
For the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, this podcast tells 20 stories of heroism that will make sure our country doesn't forget that fateful day and its meaning. Our host Niels Jorgensen served as an FDNY firefighter for almost 22 years until a forced medical retirement because of the leukemia he contracted from cleaning up Ground Zero. Niels also drove the truck in the Emmy-nominated Rescue Me with Denis Leary.
The First-Ever Group Conversation About Responding On 9/11
FDNY Ladder Company 114, nicknamed Tally Ho, heroically served on 9/11. We hear from four of the six on-duty members who responded to the attacks in a unique group conversation, which they had not yet done before. Out of this crew, three have gotten cancers from Ground Zero's toxic environment and two have gotten multiple cancers. Our host Niels Jorgensen was a proud member of Tally Ho.
Jan 6, 2022
1 hr 41 min
Alison Crowther: My Son Saved 12 Lives
Alison’s son Welles was 24 years old on 9/11 and saved at least 12 people in the South Tower before it collapsed on him. She didn’t know about his heroic actions that day until several survivors said that a stranger wearing a red bandana saved their lives, and she knew that it had to be her son who always carried one. He’s famously been called “The Man in the Red Bandana” ever since.
Dec 30, 2021
49 min
Ken Kendrick: How The President's First Pitch And Baseball Helped With Healing
After 911, Major League Baseball temporarily postponed its season. With several iconic moments, its return helped America to heal. Arizona Diamondbacks’ principal owner and managing general partner Ken Kendrick tells this story and in particular President Bush’s first pitch in their first World Series game at Yankees Stadium, only 49 days after the attacks.
Dec 23, 2021
28 min
Joe LaPointe: Organizing 9/11's Funerals
FDNY firefighter Joe LaPointe was off-duty on 9/11 and raced down to Ground Zero. After the attacks, so many funerals needed more leaders to coordinate them, and Joe was suddenly thrust into a new calling. Since 2007, he's been the Commanding Officer of the Ceremonial Unit, organizing every wake and funeral of all FDNY firefighters & EMS personnel and all those who've died from 9/11 related illnesses.
Dec 16, 2021
45 min
Nancy Carbone: The Friend of Firefighters
Nancy Carbone felt compelled to do something after 9/11 and started by collecting items that firefighters needed. They later told her what was most needed is a counseling center that their work wouldn’t know about. “Friends of Firefighters” was born inside of a former firehouse. The group has helped countless firefighters heal from the trauma of 9/11 and other tragedies.
Dec 9, 2021
55 min
Michael Daly: The FDNY Chaplain, My Friend, Who Died With His Firefighters
Michael Daly is the author of “The Book of Mychal”, the biography of the most loved FDNY Chaplain, Father Mychal Judge. Father bravely entered the World Trade Center with those he served and died with them. One of the most fascinating characters in our history, he was close friends with firefighters, AIDS patients, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, alcoholics, and the homeless.
Dec 2, 2021
1 hr 49 min
A Thanksgiving Message
Today we give thanks for your loyal listenership, for the opportunity to preserve these tragic and beautiful stories, and for every American whose served this great country.
Nov 25, 2021
2 min
Michael Benfante: The Reluctant Hero
After the World Trade Center's North Tower was hit, Michael and his colleague John Cerqueira physically carried wheelchair-bound Tina Hansen down 68 floors to safety. They escaped just minutes before the building collapsed. Reluctant to be recognized as a hero, there's so much more to his story that the media doesn't cover, but we do here.
Nov 18, 2021
50 min
Sonia and Joe Agron: The Relentless Volunteers
Sonia is a former EMS technician, and Joe is a police officer who responded on 9/11 (his birthday). She didn't see him until 9/12 and thought he had died. They both helped with the cleanup of Ground Zero for months and have both contracted illnesses & cancers from the toxic environment. Despite all of this heartache, they share their story as volunteer tour guides at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and refuse to have the terrorists steal their voices.
Nov 11, 2021
34 min
Tim Brown: I Lost 93 Friends on 9/11
Tim Brown is an elite first responder who served in the FDNY for 20 years and was a founding member of the Department of Homeland Security. He said a final goodbye to several of his friends right before they went up the World Trade Center and knew they wouldn’t be coming down. Through a series of miracles, Tim survived 9/11 and believes he was kept alive to honor the stories of these fallen heroes.
Nov 4, 2021
1 hr 19 min
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