Stories of people's last words before death. Their one last shot at figuring things out, summing things up. One last moment of asserting the fact of our existence, at the moment of our annihilation.
Actions Speak Louder
Sarah Vowell tells the story of Page Smith and Eloise Pickard Smith. They were married for over five decades, and died a day apart. It's a story of people attempting to surround death in a web of words, of very eloquent people and their last words, and of what last words can and cannot accomplish. (13 minutes)
The Unknown Soldier
Forty-five people read Luc Sante's story The Unknown Soldier, in which we hear about people's final moments, final thoughts. (7 minutes)
Song:
“Who By Fire” by Leonard Cohen, performed by House of Love
How The Living Use The Dead
Writer Greil Marcus explains what rock fans use dead rock stars for. (4 minutes)
Song:
“L'Anarchie Pour le U.K” by The Sex Pistols, performed on the accordion
Black Box
We go through transcripts from those black box flight recorders recovered from airplane crashes to see what people say. One pilot declares "I love you" to someone, another is doing his job like always and suddenly says, "uh-oh." It's an interview with Malcolm McPherson, author of The Black Box: All-New Cockpit Voice Recorder Accounts of In-Flight Accidents. (13 minutes)
What Goes Through Your Head
Writer Tobias Wolff reads his story "Bullet in the Brain" from his collection of stories The Night in Question, about a bank robbery and a man who's shot, and what he thinks about before he dies. (13 minutes)
Related
If you enjoyed this episode, you may like these
Act Five: The Happiest Death Worker
Meema Spadola with Lou Zeidberg.
Act Four: Handing People Their Dreams
Ali Davis literally hands people their fantasies, in her job at a Chicago video store with a huge porn section.
Act Five: Karen
Karen Hahn, who works for Custer Battles at the airport, started out there screening women passengers—and learned a lot from their handbags.
Staff Recommendations
Arms Trader (2009)
The U.S. government spent two years on a sting operation trapping an Indian man suspected of being an illegal arms dealer.
I'm From the Private Sector and I'm Here to Help
Nancy Updike goes to Iraq to try to figure out what it's like to be a private citizen working in the middle of a war zone.