The Heimlich Maneuver | S18-E1
American Innovations
Audible
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 15 August 2019
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the 1960s, choking was a national epidemic. In the United States alone, close to 4,000 people were dying from choking every year. Lobster, ham, and hamburger were common culprits. But steak was by far the greatest offender.
Coroners called for a solution to these “Cafe Coronaries,” and the medical community responded with weird and dangerous gadgets: vacuum tubes and long tweezers. But Dr. Henry Heimlich knew this problem required something else; a simple technique that anyone can use to save the lives of choking victims—the Heimlich Maneuver.
The Heimlich Maneuver would save the lives of thousands of people, including Carrie Fisher, Cher, New York Mayor Ed Koch, and at least one American President. And yet, Dr. Heimlich would spend a decade fighting for the legitimacy of his life-saving maneuver.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to an episode of a Wondery Plus exclusive series. |
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| 0:11.6 | Find Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple |
| 0:14.2 | podcasts. It's late afternoon on June 6th, 1976, and Ronald Reagan is flying home from a weekend campaigning in Ohio. He's surrounded by his staff and his wife |
| 0:35.7 | Nancy. Everyone on the plane is on edge. It's been a long and bitter campaign. |
| 0:47.7 | In two days, Ohio, New Jersey, and California will hold their primary elections. They are the last three states in the country to do so. Reagan is just behind incumbent President Gerald Ford for the Republican |
| 0:57.0 | nomination. Reagan sits forward in a seat pouring over the pile of index cards on the table in front of him. |
| 1:05.1 | Despite an exhausting two-day sprint through Ohio with stops in Akron, Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland, |
| 1:11.1 | and more, Reagan refuses to rest. He's determined to make sure his talking points for |
| 1:16.4 | tomorrow's campaign stops are perfect. |
| 1:18.9 | Could someone get me a can of Coke and something to eat, a bag of peanuts or something? Sure thing, boss. |
| 1:27.0 | Tomorrow we'll be a mad dash through California, making as many stops as possible. |
| 1:32.2 | Reagan has a comfortable lead in the polls in his home state, |
| 1:35.0 | but it's a must win if he wants any chance of winning the national nomination. |
| 1:40.0 | Reagan pours over his prep cards, |
| 1:42.0 | making sure each adjective is precise, each verb forceful, each |
| 1:46.6 | pause effective. |
| 1:48.9 | All of a sudden, he drops his pen. |
| 1:52.1 | Nancy looks over at her husband. |
| 1:54.0 | Ronnie, are you okay? |
| 1:56.0 | What's happening? |
... |
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