Paul Alexander, one of two people in the U.S. still relying on an iron lung to survive, died on March 11, 2024 at the age of 78. Paul contracted polio in 1952 at six years old, and has had to rely on an iron lung — a big metal ventilator that encases the body from the neck to toes — since then. We spoke to Paul a few years ago about his life and the lessons he’s learned from living under uncommon circumstances. So, this week on the podcast, we’re sharing some of that conversation, as well as revisiting the story of the now the only person in the U.S. still relying on an iron lung to survive: Martha Lillard.
***
This story has support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and listeners like you. Music from Blue Dot Sessions, Epidemic Sounds and the song “Iron Lung” by Taylor Phelan and the Canes. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook @radiodiaries, and visit us at radiodiaries.org.
The Song That Crossed Party Lines
Campaigning While Female
Serving Time 9-5: Diaries from Prison Guards
Matthew and the Judge
Prisoners of War
Last Witness: Mission to Hiroshima
Nelson Mandela at 100
Busman’s Holiday
Last Witness: The General Slocum
Last Witness: Surviving the Tulsa Race Riot
Fly Girls
Strange Fruit, Revisited
Crime Pays
The Green Book
Deported: Weasel’s Diary
Nine Months Before Rosa Parks
A Voicemail Valentine
The Story of Jane
The Dropped Wrench
Majd’s Diary: Two Years in the Life of a Saudi Girl
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Criminal
Ear Hustle
Song Exploder
The Truth
the memory palace