Cryonics | Immortality On Ice | S48-E1

American Innovations

Wondery

Steven Johnson, History, Kids & Family, Education For Kids, Science

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2021

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Not everyone chooses burial or cremation after death. Some believe in cryonics, freezing their bodies in the hopes of being reanimated sometime in the future. Bob Nelson, a TV repairman with no scientific background, made history when he froze the first human being. But as Nelson would discover, freezing someone is easy; keeping them frozen is a lot harder.

You can binge all episodes of American Innovations exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Find Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to an episode of a Wondery Plus exclusive series.
0:03.6	To continue listening, join Wondery Plus and enjoy Ad Free Listening to over 40,000 episodes,
0:08.9	early access to your favorite podcasts and more.
0:11.6	Find Wondery Plus in the Wunderie app or on Apple Podcasts. Los Angeles, California, 1967.
0:25.0	30-year-old Bob Nelson stands inside a phone booth, nervously running a hand through his thinning hair.
0:35.2	Nelson has a problem, and when he does, his first call is usually to the most trustworthy person he knows,
0:42.2	his pot-smoking, hippie friend, and sometimes secretary, Sandra Stanley.
0:47.0	Hello?
0:48.0	Hey, it's me. I need a favor.
0:51.0	I know I've asked you to store some pretty weird things at your home in the past couple of years,
0:56.4	but this one's going to be the weirdest."
0:59.3	Sandra groans before Nelson can get his next words out. She already knows the nature of his request.
1:05.4	Oh no, no, come on Bob. I'm in a real fix here, and it's just temporary. Can I count on you?
1:12.3	Fine, but I want to raise.
1:14.0	We'll talk.
1:15.0	Bob!
1:16.0	With a help of an assistant,
1:18.0	Nelson loads an enormous wooden container
1:20.0	into the back of his Ford-Ranchero pickup truck and secures it with heavy rope.
1:25.0	His secretary has every reason to be concerned.
1:28.0	Inside the container is the body of Dr. James Bedford, the first human being in history to be cryonically frozen after death.
1:38.0	Elson's original plans for storing Dr. Bedford have fallen through.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.