March 9th 1987 began as a normal day for railwayman Wesley MacDonald as he made up a train of 50 cars of ore at a mine in northern Canada. But that all changed when the brakes failed to hold the load and Wesley suddenly found himself aboard a runaway train. This programme tells the story of what happened next, featuring actual audio footage of the radio communication between him and the rail traffic controller as he wrestles with the decision on whether to jump or take his chances onboard.
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This American Life - 399: Contents Unknown
"Stories of filling in the blank. A man finds himself in a train station in India, with no idea how he got there or who he is. His memory gone, he has no choice but to let other people—police, doctors, friends, family—create an identity for him. In another story, people bid blind on the contents of abandoned storage units up for auction. (One tip: If you see large bags, go low; it’s someone’s old clothes.)"
Starts with the WWIII instruction set with Ron Rosenbaum, my journalistic hero!
From http://thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=399
Tagged with this american life contents unknown npr podcast pri ron rosenbaum