Ira Glass

The first suicide hotline in the United States was created in the early 60s by a guy in San Francisco who was a priest and also a journalist. And it was just him answering the phone at first. Ads on matchbooks and sides of buses said, thinking of ending it all? Call Bruce. Which, by the way, was not his real name. His real name was Bernard Mays.

The first suicide hotline in the United States was created in the early 60s by a guy in San Francisco who was a priest and also a journalist. And it was just him answering the phone at first. Ads on matchbooks and sides of buses said, thinking of ending it all? Call Bruce. Which, by the way, was not his real name. His real name was Bernard Mays.

The first suicide hotline in the United States was created in the early 60s by a guy in San Francisco who was a priest and also a journalist. And it was just him answering the phone at first. Ads on matchbooks and sides of buses said, thinking of ending it all? Call Bruce. Which, by the way, was not his real name. His real name was Bernard Mays.

But of course, the power of anonymity is so important to any hotline. People would call, and sometimes he could help them precisely because he had no connection to their life at all. Like, they could say anything to him. In those pre-internet days, that was completely new, to harness that kind of anonymity, the intimacy of it, this way, over the phone.

But of course, the power of anonymity is so important to any hotline. People would call, and sometimes he could help them precisely because he had no connection to their life at all. Like, they could say anything to him. In those pre-internet days, that was completely new, to harness that kind of anonymity, the intimacy of it, this way, over the phone.

But of course, the power of anonymity is so important to any hotline. People would call, and sometimes he could help them precisely because he had no connection to their life at all. Like, they could say anything to him. In those pre-internet days, that was completely new, to harness that kind of anonymity, the intimacy of it, this way, over the phone.

These days, of course, there are all kinds of hotlines for people in all sorts of situations. Prayer hotlines, psychic hotlines, also hotlines for homework help, for new moms. There's a hotline for owners of three-legged dogs, and another one specifically for anybody who swallows one. You know those little round button batteries? That hotline also handles any kid who pushes it up their nose.

These days, of course, there are all kinds of hotlines for people in all sorts of situations. Prayer hotlines, psychic hotlines, also hotlines for homework help, for new moms. There's a hotline for owners of three-legged dogs, and another one specifically for anybody who swallows one. You know those little round button batteries? That hotline also handles any kid who pushes it up their nose.

These days, of course, there are all kinds of hotlines for people in all sorts of situations. Prayer hotlines, psychic hotlines, also hotlines for homework help, for new moms. There's a hotline for owners of three-legged dogs, and another one specifically for anybody who swallows one. You know those little round button batteries? That hotline also handles any kid who pushes it up their nose.

Today we're going to devote our entire show to one phone call that happened on one hotline. A very unusual hotline. And then we have everything that followed from that one call. It takes you inside this world that I think either you're already in this world or it's totally invisible to you. Like it's all around you. You don't even register that this world is there.

Today we're going to devote our entire show to one phone call that happened on one hotline. A very unusual hotline. And then we have everything that followed from that one call. It takes you inside this world that I think either you're already in this world or it's totally invisible to you. Like it's all around you. You don't even register that this world is there.

Today we're going to devote our entire show to one phone call that happened on one hotline. A very unusual hotline. And then we have everything that followed from that one call. It takes you inside this world that I think either you're already in this world or it's totally invisible to you. Like it's all around you. You don't even register that this world is there.

Mary Harris tells what happened. She's the host of Slate's daily news podcast, What Next? We first broadcast today's show last year. One quick note, some parts of this phone call might not be great for young children to hear. I suppose I'm going to give you this warning before mentioning that part about pushing batteries up your nose. But anyway, here's Mary with Act One, The Call.

Mary Harris tells what happened. She's the host of Slate's daily news podcast, What Next? We first broadcast today's show last year. One quick note, some parts of this phone call might not be great for young children to hear. I suppose I'm going to give you this warning before mentioning that part about pushing batteries up your nose. But anyway, here's Mary with Act One, The Call.

Mary Harris tells what happened. She's the host of Slate's daily news podcast, What Next? We first broadcast today's show last year. One quick note, some parts of this phone call might not be great for young children to hear. I suppose I'm going to give you this warning before mentioning that part about pushing batteries up your nose. But anyway, here's Mary with Act One, The Call.

We hear from that man in a minute. Stay with us.

We hear from that man in a minute. Stay with us.

We hear from that man in a minute. Stay with us.

This is American Life. Mary Harris picks up her story where we left off.

This is American Life. Mary Harris picks up her story where we left off.