The Man Who Calculated Death

Suzanne sits down with Executive Producer Jon Cryer to discuss the origin of the podcast, how the experience of producing the series has changed their view of World War II, and what's to come in Season 2.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Suzanne and Stephanie view footage and documents from a 1944 press conference in London hosted by the English War Minister, explaining the design and engineering needed for V1 bombs to fly; including Robert Lusser's simple invention of a Rube Goldberg-like device that made the flying bombs so deadly.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Suzanne and Stephanie walk the halls of a children’s home where their mom described her mother’s ghost haunting her every night. The sisters begin to wonder: can they ever truly finish the memoir without knowing who was responsible for their grandmother’s death? Suzanne decides to try to solve the mystery once and for all. After initial frustration, she finds an ally in Colonel Matt Dietz, a fighter-pilot-turned-WWII-historian, and together, they uncover the incredible truth.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Suzanne and Stephanie stumble around a small cemetery in Bavaria, searching for their grandmother’s grave. The next day, the owner of the farmhouse where she died tells the sisters about the devastation that rained down from the sky on a cold March afternoon in 1945 and the sisters revisit the moment Gabriele learned her mother was gone. Then, as the farmer takes the sisters on a tour, showing them bomb craters and shrapnel, they stumble upon a clue that points in a new, and unexpected, direction.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the aftermath of the fire bombing, Robert Lusser’s family finds shelter in an abandoned mansion while he heads to a remote island in the Baltic Sea. This is where he must perfect his "wonder weapon" - a never before seen flying bomb that will become the world's first cruise missile. In their search for how their grandfather managed this achievement, Stephanie and Suzanne go behind the locked gates of a ruined military base with an engineer-turned-historian who knows exactly who their grandfather was - and what he did.This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp: Your well-being is worth it. Visit www.BetterHelp.com/THEMAN to get 10% off your first monthSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Suzanne and Stephanie begin at their mother’s childhood home in Augsburg, where they’re faced with a difficult question: as granddaughters of a man who created a weapon of mass destruction for the Nazis, what responsibility do they bear? From tattered letters, photographs, and home movies from their mother’s early days, the sisters piece together their grandfather’s life, and their grandparents’ love story. Then, they discover a well kept family secret with dangerous undertones.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 2013, journalist Suzanne Rico gets the call. Her mother, Gabriele, is dying. As time ticks down, Gabriele reveals an unfinished memoir about her World War II childhood–and makes a daunting last request: “Finish what I started.” When Suzanne and her sister, Stephanie, dive into their mother’s turbulent past, they come face to face with the truth of their own ancestry for the first time, including mind blowing mysteries that swirl around inventor Robert Lusser–their grandfather–and his work for the Third Reich. As they struggle to bring closure to something as intimate as a memoir, they have no idea of the revelations in store, or the reckoning they will require.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.