About this episode

The episode explores moments of trying to help others and the consequences that follow.

Moments when it seems obvious what to do for someone else, so of course you jump in and try to help — and what happens after that. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. (00:00:00) Prologue: Devon Taylor tells host Ira Glass about a time she confronted people who stole $100 from her. (12 minutes) (00:12:01) Act One: We get to an age when we find ourselves taking care of our parents, whether they want us to or not. Writer Kristen Roupenian wrote this piece of fiction based on something real that happened to a family she knows. (20 minutes) (00:33:37) Act Two: Two chatbots, stuck in a loop, each trying to help the other. Will they ever break free? (20 minutes) (00:55:48) Act Three: In Utah, some communities have been fighting measles outbreaks for 14 months. These are some of the longest-running outbreaks in the country. But one of our producers, Miki Meek, heard about how school nurses in a town called Vernal helped end its outbreak in just six weeks. Miki finds out how they did it. (9 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org / This American Life privacy policy . / Learn more about sponsor message choices .

People in this episode

Host: Ira Glass

Guest: Devon Taylor

Topics covered

• helping others
• family dynamics
• health outbreaks
• fiction
• technology
• community

Keywords

• help
• family
• chatbots
• measles
• outbreak
• fiction
• community health

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: This American Life

Places: Utah, Vernal

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