My new birthday is on April 23rd - that’s on the third day. So what do you do about this weird combination. A story told to hundreds of thousands of people all across the country. RK: So you were worried that you opened up the Sentinal and it would say uh……. They were about to talk, right? JJ: This is a little bigger than normal. So this really gets into the different viewpoint on the proverbial deck of cards and who’s dealing them. But everything changed on that demarcating day, April 23rd. Paperâ, co-authored by Ravi Gupta, one of our sources for the episode: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03291-y. JJ: And then maybe a month later I get another call and this one I was able to answer and they say: “Well, we’ve done tests and you are, JJ: the ideal person in this 8 million person registry to donate for this patient.”, JJ: “And will you do it?” And I was like “Absolutely.” So…. So this was truly the culmination of, from the moment I signed up this felt like the zenith of this entire thing, JJ: At Texas Christian Universitd. And for a fun quick read, check out this WIRED article about the surprising origin of the trillion dollar coin. A slice that no one talks about? And she runs into a dilemma we've talked about before. Listen to their full episode here. Looking back at the show now, a half century later, itâs hard NOT to see so many of our preoccupations â privacy, propriety, publicity, authenticity â through a funhouse mirror, darkly. Want to learn more about some of the covid case studies? Podcasts. RK: And so in hearing her account you’re just thinking what that she’s not… Where does she fall… Where does this idea lose you? That’s so interesting. One way to speed up the development process is a controversial technique called a human challenge trial, in which human subjects are intentionally infected with the virus. WOMAN: And then hearing the whole 3 days thing… I was like oh my god, that’s wow. This episode contains strong language and graphic violence. Producer Sarah Qari brings us her version of the Christmas classic nobody ever dreamt theyâd want to hear: The Twelve Numbers of COVID. JJ: Hi can I [X?] This episode was reported by Annie McEwen and produced by Annie McEwen, Matt Kielty, and Sarah Qari, with sound design by Jeremy Bloom. *Thank you for your interest in joining the Be The Match Registry! It’s phenomenally good. JJ: Stranger and stranger. JJ: And yeah so I looked at all of his pictures and his wife who was a model and these kids who were so adorable and I tried to find as much as I can. Join the bone marrow registry. Um one they put Jim on the bone marrow registry in the hopes that he can find a donor. JJ: Right. And then my leg starts hurting, really badly. SW: Now during this part of the show Jim says -. Also thanks to: Elissa Schneider, Wisam Naoum, Martin Manna, Ashourina Slewo, Eli Newman, Zoe Clark, Erin Roselio, Jess Kamm Broomell, Will Doran, John Zogby, Matt Dickinson, Tom Jensen, Ross Grogg, Joel Andrus, Jonathan Tilove, Steve Contorno, Heaven Hale, Jeff Shapiro, Nicole Cobler, Marie Albiges, Matt Dole, Robin Goist, Katie Paris, Julie Womack, Matt Dole, Jackie Borchardt, Jessica Locklear, Twinkle Patel, Bobby Das, Dharmesh Ahir, Nimesh Dhinubhai, Jay Desai, Rishi Bagga, and Sanjeev Joshipura. But according to the experts, weâre not out of the woods yet; weâll need several vaccines to satisfy the global demand. And I didn’t recognize the number. JJ: … refusing it, there is a special place in hell for me. Paperâ, co-authored by Ravi Gupta, one of our sources for the episode: Weâre all still processing what happened on January 6th. , all the while asking: are these slices even real? Would you risk your life to save others? One day, without thinking much of it, Jennell Jenney swabbed her cheek and signed up to be a donor. This hour of Radiolab asks if it's possible for anyone to lead a life without deception. JM: Your bone marrow transplant is scheduled for April 23rd. JM: Yeah I can hear you guys. So they give this drug the nurses nickname “shake and bake.”. Until we heard the piece weâre featuring today. JJ: Exactly. So you have a needle in both arms and you pretty much sit still for 6 hours until they suck all the blood out of your body, put it into a machine and give you back what they don’t need. Cloud State Universityâs Cru Chapter, and Mandy Naglich. Male voice: - good to see all of your faces. Like maybe maybe this was meant to be? JM: But at the same time it doesn’t make anything different in the fact that it’s still what it is, you know. I just can't do it. SW: tons of bands on different stages all over the place. And, of course, because Jennell was there right after he did the personal journey back to God. I remember just just to think there’s somebody - there’s somebody out there that might be my person. AM: And what is it… How are you feeling when you watch this? JJ: the second half of the show is about us. But what he was preparing me for was, a death. I think that even on our best day I think that we fall short. Do you both… Could either of you live with that version of what just happened to you? SW: So our producer Latif Nasser actually started talking to Jennell about what exactly she wanted to do and then they decided that we should just all get in the studio -- Jim and her and all of us -- and see if we could hash it out. RK: Do you have her bigness thing? So do you say “we,” as in like we are going to do a version of that? You’re so cute. JJ: Part of me… And at that time especially thought that I’m up here again as this pretty hard and fast proof for a very compelling narrative for a lot of people and their faith that I don’t particularly share at all. Today, Annie McEwen pulls us down into a deep-sea mystery, one of international intrigue that asks you to consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, your deepest beliefs could be as solid as...air. In the sense that I don't believe in the tenets of Christianity. I would have done it, regardless of what it was, if the whole theme of your show was how great the Dallas Cowboys were and it got everyone to join the bone marrow registry, I would have gone up there with a Cowboys hat. Will you do it? About. It is a true experience in a way. A global pandemic. In the days after the US Presidential election was called for Joe Biden, many supporters of Donald Trump are crying foul. You never know what might happen when you sign up to donate bone marrow. That was probably the main motivation. I want it to be true. Be The Match is a global leader in bone marrow transplantation and connects patients with their donor match for a life-saving marrow or blood stem cell transplant. I was at one point doing that. And a key piece of evidence? I cannot believe this is - isn’t this nuts? Share this on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Share this on Twitter (Opens in a new window). RK: Mmm-hmm. You might save a life⦠or you might be magically transported across a cultural chasm and find yourself starring in a modern adaptation of the greatest story ever told. Tennyson had been out hiking in the mountains, just outside of Boulder. And you know I'm I'm going to go learn how that's done. It was the early 80s, the height of the Cold War, when something strange began happening off the coast of Sweden. JM: I don’t know I have to really process it. But the reason why is more interesting than youâd expect. 30 1. JM: Yeah I turned down a professional baseball contract to go play at the University of Texas in Austin. RK: The I believe part is where you… is where you stand. He wasnât too bad off, considering, and was sent home. secure human rights or is it a dangerous overreach? Itâs some of the most visceral reporting weâve heard anywhere on this historic moment. JM: She said there’s one person, that we’ve been able to identify on the planet. SW: And over the next couple weeks Jennell’s cells enter Jim’s body, they get into his bone marrow, and they start producing new, white blood cells. Would he dispute the results if he loses? And we decided we could just do a show with him and Jennell the next night. Post comment. Radiolab You never know what might happen when you sign up to donate bone marrow. I love you too. I think that altruistic like -. JJ: Jennell Jenney - jennelljenney@gmail.com, RK: Not long ago our editor Soren Wheeler and I, we got into a conversation with this woman. Original art for this episode by Zara Stasi. Listened to this story last night...http://www.radiolab.org/story/match-made-in-marrow/ it was memorable. JJ: A 10 by 10 white tent with just a little table in front. Jeremy Bloom provided original music. And I’m not not acknowledging is good, I just think that for the Christian it’s not about being good or bad. LN: But I… I guess like Jennell, do you want to just kind of talk through what… What you’ve we’ve been thinking? RK: Well let’s make this a little more complicated. JJ: So, essentially Latif and I have been talking about what would be the best way for me to kind of tell my side of the story. JM: And one of my really good friends during this time, his name was Tennyson. JJ: Um, well, you’re the much better speaker than me but what I can say is that I encourage all of you to consider signing up…. And not long after seeing each other on Facebook, they hopped on a phone call. Like yeah, it’s really overwhelming. 16 comments 100% Upvoted JJ: Yeah, absolutely. But they havenât always been so, you know, supreme. JJ: So yes, this is all being thrown at me, SW: So is he saying all of this to you by the pool? My mind begins to spin. And that’s really what’s going to get you through conflict so yeah…, RK: And is it because you’re in this big ocean of the world and the two of you are just little little dots in there and so whatever you think it’s still you’re in a big ocean and there you are together? This episode was reported by Latif Nasser and Sarah Qari, and was produced by Matt Kielty, Sarah Qari, and Pat Walters. RK: Will you… Will you know… Was there any part of you that said I shouldn’t be here or you all there? I said I - can I please bring you out to Dallas Texas. Basically producing a whole new immune system. There was probably like a thousand people, all college students. SW: A story that sits right smack dab in the middle of one of the biggest cultural divides in our country right now. Thereâs plenty of speculation about what Donald Trump might do in the wake of the election. He made a cigarette appear. JM: You get this wicked concoction of stuff and then being let out. Support Radiolab by becoming a member today at. 00:23:40 But you know, we’re being honest that was nothing compared to what Jim got at the end of his show. and as far as his profession I was like oh he appears to be some sort of magician so I guess we'll talk about that later. And she wanted us to help her find a way to finally tell her story. … Hear about Radiolab, the podcast, anybody? Team. Spoiler: they donât. And he did. Produced by Matt Kielty and Molly Webster. He could potentially receive this and reject this violently and pass away. What happened next happens all the time. So what you’re doing -. This is such a beautiful, and really literal story being told to me that about like hey, maybe there is a god. Until we heard the piece weâre featuring today. But what about everyone else? You can check out Martin Bazantâs COVID âcalculatorâ, And for more on the proposed Santa vaccine deal, see Julie Wernau and her colleagues' reporting at the Wall Street Journal. Add to My Podcasts. Do you feel small? You might save a life⦠or you might be magically transported across a cultural chasm and find yourself starring in a modern adaptation of the greatest story ever told. SW: Jim just couldn’t get himself to believe in the existence of a God like that, or really any God. Radiation-induced MRI signal changes in bone marrow are the earliest detectable changes in bone. That’s really blasphemous, but I can’t think of a better way to say it. We all know theyâre hierarchical. Match Made in Marrow by Radiolab. The police thought maybe suicide. JM: Yeah so I was … my parents went to the Lutheran Church. JJ: By the way, my - my patient’s name is Jim. I really just wasn’t ready to know exactly who he was And then I was also worried that maybe this guy is like a real piece of crap? JM: I didn’t want to be the guy that said well I’m a Christian because my friends were. SW: Jim says he started popping Advil uh every day. Can we actually just print more money? I’m just kidding. And in a very real way they are replacing that part of Jim that determines who he is with someone who he clearly isn’t and so there’s a real chance that the body will just short-circuit. RK: I’m Robert Krulwich. And - and also even the kind of need - like somebody out there dependent on me on kind of that almost otherworldly level. And I got on Facebook. Border Trilogy While scouring the Sonoran Desert for objects left behind by migrants crossing into the United States, anthropologist Jason De León happened upon something he didn't expect to get left behind: a human arm, stripped of flesh. And he was just doing trade show stuff at a booth. Or -, JM: I mean I - It’s process right you follow and then I think the puzzle pieces are kind of all swirling and coming together. SW: She’s now appeared at the end of the show dozens of times, all around the country, playing the role of Jim’s personal savior. JM: Yeah he was probably the closest male friend I’ve ever had. JJ: There was a part of me that felt… a little bit of an impostor. Match Made in Marrow. Podcasts That You Will Like â Radiolab: âMatch Made in Marrowâ Today: One of the best podcasts around tells an interesting story about the connection between a bone marrow donor and the life she savedâ¦and the interaction of faith in the whole equation. JM: And I considered myself more of a producer. JJ: Sort of. Super excited. There were 8 million people. You saved his life. SW: He’s just like I don’t know feel what what they’re feeling, and he started to think to himself -. She said I went and got a tattoo of a jigsaw puzzle piece.On the very spot where they stuck that I.V. JM: Yeah I mean… having given thought to that … I believe that there is some sort of you know, mind personality…. Denver Ceremony station recordings were created by media maker Nathaniel Kramer, with help from Daniel Cooper. SW: A table with a sign on it that said -. Which… That doesn’t make sense to me. Original art for this episode by Zara Stasi. Match Made in Marrow â Radiolab â Podcast â Podtail Match Made in Marrow You never know what might happen when you sign up to donate bone marrow. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production or haematopoiesis. And that blade of grass says why me? Support Radiolab by becoming a member today at Radiolab.org/donate. You never know what might happen when you sign up to donate bone marrow. Christina Greerâs book is Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream, and Corey Fields book is Black Elephants in the Room: The Unexpected Politics of African American. and your body just starts convulsing. JJ: I’m gonna do something… Yeah. JJ: Sure, well when I was 18, I went to a concert. This ⦠And yet your belief is that unless she accepts Jesus, that in some sense she is outside of grace and you know, I don’t know what you believe about hell and heaven, but that she might be punished. Special Thanks to: Bertram van Munster, Fred Nadis, Alexa Conway, the Eastern Airlines Employee Association and Eastern Airlines Radio, Rebecca Lemov, Anna McCarthy, Jill Lepore, Cullie Bogacki Willis III, Barbara Titus and the Funt family. SW: Just before Christmas of 2008, Jim checked into the hospital. SW: Jim had Leukemia, which is cancer of the blood cells. And even right now, on this stage, there is a part of me that…In front of all of you that i’m sure a lot of you were at this show last night. RK: Yeah but how could… It can’t be both. So I did end up eventually sending this email or whatnot, I think around October. SW: And all thanks obviously to Jennell. Bigger than Jesus. I looked at [unintelligible] and she’s here tonight. That’s when you - I think you know what you believe to be true, uh is - in co - in adversity that’s - that’s when you found out. So, after a major polling effort to determine who exactly their undecided ladies were, Clinton turned his focus toward the most important swing vote in the election: the soccer moms. It doesn’t… Like the why me is still a true thing. You might save a life⦠or you might be magically transported across a cultural chasm and find yourself starring in a modern adaptation of the greatest story ever told. Out of all the databases, everything, there is one. I’m going to be here another night … … We’re gonna be here tomorrow. just cause I .. SW: And while Jennell is feeling achy and sick, inside of her, her bone marrow is pumping out a bunch of new baby blood cells. JJ: Just like 150 people signing up right now. Maybe I missed a point, I’m sorry. What are the police for? But what I… so… putting it like that - i know where you want to go with this…. I’m just going to say that. I don't believe really in the tenants of any established religion I've ever seen. A century-old quirk of math called Benfordâs Law. JM: They maintained my scholarship as a medical redshirt. You might save a life⦠or you might be magically transported across a cultural chasm and find yourself starring in a modern adaptation of the greatest story ever told. SW: In the video you see Jim sort of standing at the bottom of this escalator at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport. JJ: Essentially right, which is a pretty good mix in hindsight. SW: At that point, Jim he made it clear that he definitely wasn’t condemning Jennelle because she didn’t have a relationship with God but then we took a different approach we started talking about the unlikeliness of this whole story which is one of the things Jim talks about in his show and so at that I decided I should jump in... SW: So, at this point actually, I decided to jump in... And I say this and I really say this only because it is our job as a show that when we hear a story like this we dig in, wwe investigate and we do that from a frame that is really focused on math, facts, science - that whole world, a much more mechanistic worldview. SW: But it was a story that wasn’t hers. RK: The prayers is for - the prayers is called “Are you there?” That’s the prayer. I told you you could leave. So at that moment, yeah he’s telling me this and Yeah and he's like well you know you're here in Texas for this weekend I believe and would you be willing to come on stage for one of my shows? JJ: It took them a couple of weeks to give my info to my patient and vice versa. JJ: Right. Like who gets it or what happens? JJ: When his blood was literally poisoning his own body somebody substituted their blood on his behalf so he could be reborn I guess. MAN: Think about it. RK: Here is for you the hardest thing. But at the very top is good. Soren, could you just run the… I asked you like how you felt in that first round and this is what you told me in the interview. SW: And all Jennell had to do standing in front of that tent was sign some papers and swab her cheek, because with a bone marrow donation they actually have to figure out whether you’re a genetic match with someone who would receive the donation. JM: There was a - there’s a real cigarette there. You never know what might happen when you sign up to donate bone marrow. It was a phone call to my landline. And then he explains that right when he was on the edge of death, JJ: that at his lowest point, this thing happened. Are there people inside them that might swing this election? You might save a life⦠or you might be magically transported across a cultural chasm and find yourself starring in a modern adaptation of the greatest story ever told. SW: Meaning what, like that now you believe in God? Lies, liars, and lie catchers. JM: However, I wasn't having that experience. SW: Yup, sitting in Jim’s backyard by the pool and he’s basically telling her his whole story about his whole loss of faith, and the cancer, and how she saved his life and then he tells her that right after she saved him, he started doing the magic show again, the show that he used to do with Tennyson. It's just he is telling me that our story saved him spiritually as well and he sees this as like definitive proof that there is a God. SW: No, the argument lurks behind this is that these things happen and it is just chance. SW: with a bone marrow transplant is taking a healthy immune system out of one person and putting it into another person whose immune system is you know - cancer or or messed up in some kind of way. One in…. Come on up here. I mean without you this wouldn’t happen. And Jim says he would be standing there on stage watching these people in the audience who are feeling this real connection with God. A century-old quirk of math called Benfordâs Law. The way that I donated bone marrow wasn’t actually the real -. Itâs some of the most visceral reporting weâve heard anywhere on this historic moment. JM: I’m sure that in her mind she’s thinking oh my gosh, I just saved a Christian magician from Texas’s life. JM: I feel tiny. Cloud University... RK: Hear me ok? Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib proposed an ambitious relief. It was at the Anaheim Convention Center of all places an optometric convention, both my parents are optometrists. JM: Yeah. RK: That’s better than the sea analogy, I think…, JM: I could keep going. WNYC Studios. It was produced by Annie McEwen, with help from Bethel Habte and Alex Overington. On April 23rd the nurses they come inside of your room to celebrate your second birth. With the capital G and underlined too. Additional music for this episode by Podington Bear. Which is a valid point. In the 18th century, two feuding Frenchmen inspired a one-sentence law that helped launch American human rights litigation into the 20th century. I was like oh maybe he’s worded it that way and… I didn’t find anything of course. JJ: Yeah… all of these kids in the audience, who are definitely my age as well, at that point, are seeing my being on stage as the... Quite possibly the biggest proof they’ve ever had that there is… A god. Part war game part choose your own adventure, Rosaâs Transition Integrity Project doesnât give us any predictions, and it isnât a referendum on Trump. And 2, just to keep him alive while he waits, they start putting him on round after round of chemo. SW: They had dinner with the family, and then you know once everybody else was heading off to bed um - Jim and Jennell started to talk. Cloud, Minnesota. SW: So, we actually got to see Jim’s show and I have to say he’s a pro. We’re going to give you guys a chance to take off. Like maybe a 100 people there or so with the help of the Religious Studies program at St. The question led her to a wild story of a stabbing on a New York City subway train, and the realization that, according to the law, the police donât always have to protect us. Dr. Matthew J. Matasar, Dr. John Hill, Stephen Spellman at CIBMTR, St. To hear more about the court's origin, their rulings so far, and their upcoming docket, check out David Remnick and reporter Kate Klonickâs conversation in the New Yorker Radio Hour podcast feed. JM: Yes sir, yeah. JM: You know. RK: So I don’t even know like… I guess why don’t we just find out like where you’re from and where you were raised. RK: Did you look that up in the in the, in the... JJ: Oh of course. You have to love the judge that may not love the woman who saved your life. There’s something I feel that’s like bigger than myself that’s happening and I don’t really - I mean I can’t really explain it yet at that point but I know there’s like - okay here’s a - there’s a big thing. SW: But, for Jennell, she said that feeling was outweighed just by the number of people. SW: And so Jennell just pointed out that the National Bone Marrow Registry would be there that night and encouraged everybody to, you know, sign up and have a chance to save a life and do something good. Check out her work at: In the days after the US Presidential election was called for Joe Biden, many supporters of Donald Trump are crying foul. Listen to Match Made in Marrow, an episode of Radiolab, easily on Podbay - the best podcast player on the web. JJ: And um - I think if I remember correctly we were just outside by the pool and just talking and figuring out who each other was and you know I was like so you know, magician? You never know what might happen when you sign up to donate bone marrow. I would always love to help Jennell figure… I mean help her put it all together and like.. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. JJ: It was a phone call and I remember very specifically, it was a voicemail, because I hadn’t had a the chance to answer it and they said something to the extent of you know, “Hi, we’re from the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry. JJ: Yeah there is parts of me, there is little fibers of my being that are like wow, if this is a sign, if there is a god, I’m a real jerk. This episode was reported by Matt Kielty and Heather Radke, and produced by Matt Kielty. He had lymphoma, and the disease plus his drugs weakened his immune system, making him particularly susceptible to the virus. One day, without thinking much of it, Jennell Jenney swabbed her cheek and signed up to be a donor.