UnFictional
A Shock to the System
Sometimes, all we need is a good, hard push over the edge. This week, four stories of people who got a shock to the system – sometimes, literally.
By Bob Carlson • • 29m ListenPhoto courtesy of NOAA Photo Library
In this episode
4 storiesLightning strikes once
First, the story of a lightning strike. On July 27, 2014, a bolt of lightning struck Venice Beach in Los Angeles. Nick Fagnano, a 20-year-old student, died from the strike. Robert Kilroy, a chiropractor and lifeguard, was also at Venice Beach that day and was struck by the same bolt.
Read the story6 minParasite
Writer and perennial science nerd Bryan Kett has the story of finding himself at college, and, once again, at the bottom of the social totem pole. But, for once, it was his love of biology that turned things around for Kett – at first, anyway.
Read the story6 minRetreat from sanity
Next, Sara Irving reluctantly goes on a meditation retreat. It turns out to be a bit of a nightmare – but also, somehow, exactly what she needed.
Read the story8 minShock and aww
Finally, a story of electric shocks – real, literal, electric shocks. That's how Daniel's grandfather landed a first date with his grandmother. And it was the story of that fateful date – and those fateful shocks – that gave Daniel what he needed to make a romantic plunge of his own.
Read the story8 min