Finding Michael, part one
This Is Uncomfortable
Marketplace
4.6 • 3.6K Ratings
🗓️ 12 May 2022
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When Stephanie Stone’s older brother Michael died, their family didn’t have the money to pay for his burial. His body went unclaimed, and the county where he was living made arrangements. Years later, Stone doesn’t know where he was laid to rest. In this episode, we follow Stephanie’s quest to find her late brother and dig into what it reveals about the economic and emotional toll of losing a loved one. Next week, we’ll join in the search.
If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | So as a journalist, I spent a lot of time poking around for story ideas. |
| 0:07.6 | And one of the places I often turn to is Reddit. |
| 0:10.6 | And last year in particular, I found myself going back each day to this forum called |
| 0:15.0 | the Reddit Bureau of Investigation. |
| 0:20.4 | I thought it was just fascinating. |
| 0:22.6 | It's this place on the internet where anyone can go post a problem or a mystery they want |
| 0:27.2 | solved. |
| 0:28.2 | And other strangers, these self-proclaimed web sleuths, they dig around trying to find |
| 0:33.0 | answers. |
| 0:34.4 | And some of the problems are serious. |
| 0:36.5 | Like, hey, can you help me find this guy who robbed my house? |
| 0:40.7 | Or I need help because I think I'm getting stopped. |
| 0:44.4 | In other times, the posts are a lot more playful. |
| 0:47.1 | Like, can anyone help me track down this teddy bear from the 90s? |
| 0:50.7 | Or this random video I once saw in high school? |
| 0:53.5 | Anyway, one day I was sifting through the forum when I came across this one post. |
| 0:58.1 | From a woman named Stephanie Stone. |
| 1:01.2 | It looked like a lot of people had read Stephanie's post, but no one was really able to help. |
| 1:06.4 | The things she was trying to solve was so deeply personal. |
| 1:10.6 | And it was a problem that never crossed my mind before. |
| 1:13.8 | But after reading her post, I couldn't stop thinking about it. |
| 1:18.1 | So that next morning, I messaged her, and after a couple exchanges, we decided to get on |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Marketplace, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Marketplace and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.