Last Day

Who’s to blame in the aftermath of a tragedy? This week, we meet a family asking that question after their beloved son died when his college failed to intervene.    Resources:   To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about suicide and violence prevention visit: https://lastdayresources.simvoly.com/.    Stephanie Wittels Wachs is the host. Jackie Danziger is our supervising producer. Our producers are Kegan Zema and Giulia Hjort. Hannah Boomershine and Erianna Jiles are our associate producers. Andi Kristinsdottir is our audio engineer. Music is by Hannis Brown. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This season of Last Day is created in partnership with the Kendeda Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Levi Strauss & Co, and Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.   Follow Stephanie on Twitter and Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. If you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, please join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/lastdaypodcast.    By the way, we have two whole other seasons! Go listen to them wherever you’re listening right now. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.   Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Violent crime is up in American cities. Does that mean it’s time to return to the aggressive policing of the 90s? Not exactly. How can we make our cities safer and empower communities with the tools they need to save more lives? This week, we travel from Atlanta to Los Angeles to Chicago to meet seasoned leaders who are taking an innovative approach to harm reduction, violence interruption, and violence prevention. Plus, we explore where police fit into all of this.    Resources:   To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about suicide and violence prevention visit: https://lastdayresources.simvoly.com/.    Stephanie Wittels Wachs is the host. Jackie Danziger is our supervising producer. Our producers are Kegan Zema and Giulia Hjort. Hannah Boomershine and Erianna Jiles are our associate producers. Andi Kristinsdottir is our audio engineer. Music is by Hannis Brown. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This season of Last Day is created in partnership with the Kendeda Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Levi Strauss & Co, and Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.   Follow Stephanie on Twitter and Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. If you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, please join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/lastdaypodcast.    By the way, we have two whole other seasons! Go listen to them wherever you’re listening right now. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.   Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing up in an Atlanta neighborhood that’s been “thrown away” and “forgotten,” Derriontae’s survival hinged on joining a gang and packing heat, so you might be surprised to also find him practicing yoga and tending to a vegetable garden. In this episode, we get our hands dirty at an urban farm dedicated to tackling the root causes of gun violence and poverty. It has all the signs of a feel-good story, but things aren’t as simple as they seem.    Resources:   Support Gangstas to Growers Pick up a bottle of Sweet Sol Hot Sauce   To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about suicide and violence prevention visit: https://lastdayresources.simvoly.com/.    Stephanie Wittels Wachs is the host. Jackie Danziger is our supervising producer. Our producers are Kegan Zema and Giulia Hjort. Hannah Boomershine and Erianna Jiles are our associate producers. Music is by Hannis Brown. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This season of Last Day is created in partnership with the Kendeda Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Levi Strauss & Co, and Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.   Follow Stephanie on Twitter and Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. If you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, please join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/lastdaypodcast.    By the way, we have two whole other seasons! Go listen to them wherever you’re listening right now. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.   Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re pulling apart the idea of a “bad neighborhood” and learning about community trauma. We travel to Southwest Atlanta, where Sharmaine Brown’s son, Jared, was killed after being struck by a stray bullet. We dig into deescalation, changing identities, and old school parenting.   Resources:   To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about suicide and violence prevention visit: https://lastdayresources.simvoly.com/.    Stephanie Wittels Wachs is the host. Jackie Danziger is our supervising producer. Our producers are Kegan Zema and Giulia Hjort. Hannah Boomershine and Erianna Jiles are our associate producers. Music is by Hannis Brown. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This season of Last Day is created in partnership with the Kendeda Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Levi Strauss & Co, and Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.   Follow Stephanie on Twitter and Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. If you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, please join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/lastdaypodcast.    By the way, we have two whole other seasons! Go listen to them wherever you’re listening right now. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.   Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do you do when the thing that makes your kid the happiest is also putting him in danger? Larry and Shannon Martell took the guns away after their son Austen suffered a traumatic brain injury - but you have to go back to normal eventually, right? In this episode, we travel to a Montana town of 272 people, sit down with a dad who wouldn’t have talked to us a year ago, and cry harder than we ever have before.  Resources: To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about suicide and violence prevention visit: https://lastdayresources.simvoly.com/.  Stephanie Wittels Wachs is the host. Jackie Danziger is our supervising producer. Our producers are Kegan Zema and Giulia Hjort. Hannah Boomershine and Erianna Jiles are our associate producers. Music is by Hannis Brown. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This season of Last Day is created in partnership with the Kendeda Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Levi Strauss & Co, and Everytown for Gun Safety. Follow Stephanie on Twitter and Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. If you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, please join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/lastdaypodcast.  By the way, we have two whole other seasons! Go listen to them wherever you’re listening right now. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts. Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 1, our team travels to Montana, where cowboy culture reigns supreme, everyone is armed, and 86% of firearm deaths are suicides. There, we meet a couple that represents all the contradictions at the root of America’s gun debate: One is a suicide prevention advocate, and the other is the most adamant Second Amendment supporter we’ve ever met. Plus, our team tries out shooting some big-ass guns.    Resources:   To learn more about the people and organizations featured in this episode and access critical information about suicide and violence prevention visit: https://lastdayresources.simvoly.com/.    Stephanie Wittels Wachs is the host. Jackie Danziger is our supervising producer. Our producers are Kegan Zema and Giulia Hjort. Hannah Boomershine and Erianna Jiles are our associate producers. Music is by Hannis Brown. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This season of Last Day is created in partnership with the Kendeda Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Levi Strauss & Co, and Everytown for Gun Safety.   Follow Stephanie on Twitter and Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. If you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, please join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/lastdaypodcast.    By the way, we have two whole other seasons! Go listen to them wherever you’re listening right now. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.   Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gun violence in America is a public health crisis, but the reality is that guns aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. So, how can we learn to live more safely in a country that has more guns than people? In this season of Last Day, we try to answer this question by traveling to Montana and Georgia. We talk to families who have lost loved ones to gun suicides and stray bullets and discover tangible solutions to reducing gun-related deaths, all while gaining perspective on gun culture across the US.   If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. Contact one of the resources below for a free, confidential conversation with a trained counselor anytime. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 Crisis Text line: Text “Connect” to 741-741 The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386 SAMHSA Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990   Want to learn more about secure gun storage? Check out Everytown Support Fund's guide here: https://everytownsupportfund.org/guide-to-secure-gun-storage-devices/.   Season 3 of Last Day is created in partnership with The Kendeda Fund, Everytown Support Fund, The Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Jed Foundation, and Levi Strauss & Co.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Season 2 Finale! We started this season on a bridge but told you not to get caught up in the romantic notion of saviors and last minute interventions. Suicide isn’t about one moment in time. But if you or someone you love is suicidal, a single moment can be the difference between life and death. So, this week we’re doing a toolkit episode all about crisis response. What do you do when help is needed right now? This week, we role play with a suicide hotline employee, give the Cliff’s notes version of QPR suicide prevention training, and hear about what happens when therapists go on strike.    This episode features a host of talented people, including Tara Consolino (director of suicide prevention and substance abuse, Detroit V.A.), Dr. Julie Goldstein Grumet (director, Zero Suicide Institute at the Education Development Center), Dr. John Draper (executive director, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), Susan Whitney (licensed marriage and family therapist, Kaiser), and Sal Rosselli (president and co-founder, National Union of Healthcare Workers).   Resources from the episode: Read up on QPR from the QPR Institute and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center Zero Suicide Institute, their general toolkit, and population-specific toolkits  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  Lifeline’s 5 Steps to Help Someone in Crisis #Bethe1To NUHW Kaiser Don’t Deny campaign webpage NUHW Care Delayed, Care Denied white paper Learn more about SB 855 via CapRadio   If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. Contact one of the resources below for a free, confidential conversation with a trained counselor anytime.    National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 Crisis Text line: Text “Connect” to 741-741 The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386   Season 2 of Last Day is created in partnership with The Jed Foundation. The Jed Foundation (JED) empowers teens and young adults with the skills and support to grow into healthy, thriving adults. You can find tips, tools and resources for taking care of your emotional health available at: www.jedcares.org/lastday   To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/last-day shortly after the air date.   Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know 1 in 4 suicides involve alcohol? Some studies actually place it closer to 40%. Where is the line between having a drink to decompress and getting black out drunk because you don’t want to exist? This week, we talk to Ana Marie Cox and Air Britt, about how alcohol helped them feel comfortable in their own skin...until it didn’t anymore. How do you go from waking up wanting to die, to feeling grateful every day that you’re still here?   This episode features Ana Marie Cox, host of With Friends Like These, and Air Britt, Senior Director of the SAFE (Stop The Addiction Fatality Epidemic) Project.   Resources from the episode: Listen to Air’s episode of In Recovery, another Lemonada original  Tune into Air’s podcast, Beauty in the Grit Check out Ana’s podcast, With Friends Like These Wondering if your alcohol use is becoming a problem? Take the CAGE quiz When Someone You Care About is Struggling With Addiction Find an AA meeting near you   If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. Contact one of the resources below for a free, confidential conversation with a trained counselor anytime.    National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 Crisis Text line: Text “Connect” to 741-741 The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386   Season 2 of Last Day is created in partnership with The Jed Foundation. The Jed Foundation (JED) empowers teens and young adults with the skills and support to grow into healthy, thriving adults. You can find tips, tools and resources for taking care of your emotional health available at: www.jedcares.org/lastday   To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/last-day shortly after the air date.   Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Stephanie and Jackie are switching roles to answer a simple question: Was I a suicidal teen girl? We start in a closet, revisit a high school therapist, talk to a self-injury expert and watch a tortured student film festival entry. And crying. There’s lots of crying.    This episode features: Dr. Robin Hornstein & Dr. Janis Whitlock     Resources from the episode: Cornell Self-Injury & Recovery resources Healing Self Injury: A Compassionate Guide for Parents and Other Loved Ones, by Elizabeth E. Lloyd-Richardson & Dr. Janis Whitlock  Hornstein, Platt & Associates Counseling & Wellness Centers in Philadelphia Manage Self Harm with the Calm Harm App  Self-Injury Outreach & Support resources Self Harm Crisis Text Line resources  Text “TWLOHA” to 741-741 if you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm.   If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. Contact one of the resources below for a free, confidential conversation with a trained counselor anytime.    National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 Crisis Text line: Text “Connect” to 741-741 The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386   Season 2 of Last Day is created in partnership with The Jed Foundation. The Jed Foundation (JED) empowers teens and young adults with the skills and support to grow into healthy, thriving adults. You can find tips, tools and resources for taking care of your emotional health available at: www.jedcares.org/lastday   To follow along with a transcript and/or take notes for friends and family, go to https://www.lemonadamedia.com/show/last-day shortly after the air date.   Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.