This American Life This American Life

889: There’s Something About Hail Mary

Jun 21, 2026 · 1h 6m

Summary

This episode features two distinct stories. First, Aura recounts her struggle with mysterious, debilitating symptoms and her desperate turn to an unproven, potentially lethal IV treatment that unexpectedly cured her. The second segment follows defense attorney Greg Warchuk’s race against time to save serial killer suspect David Wood from execution in Texas. Warchuk investigates claims of police misconduct and fabricated witness testimony, uncovering new leads just weeks before Wood’s scheduled death.

Topics discussed

Squarespace sponsorship and show intro Ora's struggle with unexplained symptoms and Lyme disease The decision to try risky IV chelation therapy Introduction to Serial's 'The Last 12 Weeks' series George Hall's confession of fabricated witness testimony Greg Warchuk's race against the execution date Review of evidence against David Wood and the 'Skeeter' clue The defense team's legal strategy and past appeals Interview with Ramona Desmukes at a Whataburger Ramona's claims about Judith Kelling and police misconduct Investigating Mike Plyler and the 'Skeeter' identity Promotion of 'The Last 12 Weeks' podcast and Squarespace ad Act 2 intro: The plural of Hail Mary Vigil outside Otay Mesa detention center Detainees throwing bottles with notes over the fence Conditions in detention and response from CoreCivic Credits, acknowledgments, and Life Partners promotion
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