Jeremiah Crowell

This is a story about people who have to look at chaos and try to make sense of it while it's still happening and how hard it is to get that right.

This is a story about people who have to look at chaos and try to make sense of it while it's still happening and how hard it is to get that right.

It's about the stories we tell ourselves and the price we pay when we tell the wrong ones. We're going to go inside one of the largest FBI investigations in history to figure out why we all lost track of this case and to explore the aftershocks we still feel today. From Wolf Entertainment, this is Aftermath, the hunt for the anthrax killer. Episode 1, Isolated Incident.

It's about the stories we tell ourselves and the price we pay when we tell the wrong ones. We're going to go inside one of the largest FBI investigations in history to figure out why we all lost track of this case and to explore the aftershocks we still feel today. From Wolf Entertainment, this is Aftermath, the hunt for the anthrax killer. Episode 1, Isolated Incident.

I want to go back to the beginning of this story, to a time when most Americans never gave much thought to face masks or deadly particles in the air. It's October 2nd, 2001, three weeks after the attacks of 9-11, and we're in suburban Florida. It's the middle of the night, and a man named Robert Stevens wakes up feeling sick. He has chills and a fever. Robert Stevens is 63.

I want to go back to the beginning of this story, to a time when most Americans never gave much thought to face masks or deadly particles in the air. It's October 2nd, 2001, three weeks after the attacks of 9-11, and we're in suburban Florida. It's the middle of the night, and a man named Robert Stevens wakes up feeling sick. He has chills and a fever. Robert Stevens is 63.

He's a newspaper photo editor who lives in Lantana, Florida. That's a coastal town about an hour north of Miami. He's raised a few kids and is getting close to retirement. But when he wakes up that night, he feels disoriented, dizzy, and things seem to be getting worse. His wife, Maureen, is worried.

He's a newspaper photo editor who lives in Lantana, Florida. That's a coastal town about an hour north of Miami. He's raised a few kids and is getting close to retirement. But when he wakes up that night, he feels disoriented, dizzy, and things seem to be getting worse. His wife, Maureen, is worried.

Dr. Larry Bush was chairman of infectious diseases and chief of staff at the JFK Medical Center in West Palm Beach, the hospital closest to Robert and Maureen Stevens' house.

Dr. Larry Bush was chairman of infectious diseases and chief of staff at the JFK Medical Center in West Palm Beach, the hospital closest to Robert and Maureen Stevens' house.

Robert's condition gets worse. He goes into a coma. Larry and his team suspect that he has meningitis, an infection that makes the brain swell. So he looks at Robert's spinal fluid.

Robert's condition gets worse. He goes into a coma. Larry and his team suspect that he has meningitis, an infection that makes the brain swell. So he looks at Robert's spinal fluid.

In a healthy patient, Larry shouldn't see much of anything.

In a healthy patient, Larry shouldn't see much of anything.

Larry can't get his head around this. Most of us are now familiar with anthrax largely because of this case. But back then, in 2001, this was nuts. Most people didn't think about anthrax at all. And for doctors, it was something you read about in textbooks, not something you expected to see in a patient.

Larry can't get his head around this. Most of us are now familiar with anthrax largely because of this case. But back then, in 2001, this was nuts. Most people didn't think about anthrax at all. And for doctors, it was something you read about in textbooks, not something you expected to see in a patient.

But it just doesn't make sense. Anthrax is a natural bacteria that usually only infects livestock. Cattle tend to catch it in dry rural areas. They eat or breathe in anthrax cells called spores while they're grazing. So it's not like a guy in suburban Florida is going to just accidentally breathe this stuff in while going about his life.

But it just doesn't make sense. Anthrax is a natural bacteria that usually only infects livestock. Cattle tend to catch it in dry rural areas. They eat or breathe in anthrax cells called spores while they're grazing. So it's not like a guy in suburban Florida is going to just accidentally breathe this stuff in while going about his life.

And if he did somehow, he'd be the first person in the entire U.S. in almost 25 years. And that person had gotten it from inhaling anthrax spores off of wool shipped over from Pakistan. Larry runs more tests.

And if he did somehow, he'd be the first person in the entire U.S. in almost 25 years. And that person had gotten it from inhaling anthrax spores off of wool shipped over from Pakistan. Larry runs more tests.