This is Planet Money from NPR.

The other day I got on the Zoom with a Planet Money listener named Rachel D'Zombac.

So I understand you have a story about Planet Money changing lives.

Yes, I'll start at the beginning.

But in 2017, I was living in Berkeley, California.

She was working on her PhD and a friend walks into her office.

He said, hey, did you hear that Jeff was on Planet Money?

Jeff Lackie, her old friend and ballroom dancing partner from college.

He was a guest on a show we did about free range chickens being eaten by eagles.

Jeff's job, you may remember, was shooting off these explosives to scare the eagles away

and make them ruin less products, so to speak.

And there they go.

As you see on the backside of that tree, there he goes, one right now.

We can move him with the bird bangers.

And when you were listening, you know, where you feel in butterflies.

I think I was more so feeling intrigued because his life was so different from mine.

I was sitting in an office writing code to do optimization functions and he's out in

a field trying to navigate this bald eagle population problem.

And then a few weeks later, Rachel says, you know what, why not reach out?

Sends him a text.

I think the text said nothing more than, hey, I heard you on Planet Money.

I hope you're doing well.

...