Hey, it's Rachel. Way before I started hosting shows for NPR, I was a reporter on the National Security

Beat. And as part of that, I talked with dozens of active duty service members and veterans

who were trying to find their way through the trauma of war, the violence they had witnessed,

and the killing they did themselves in combat. Things have changed a lot over the last 20 years.

Today, there's far less stigma attached to PTSD and way more help available for combat vets.

But there are other government employees who are also required to take the lives of others,

but without much support or mental health resources. These are the workers who are involved with

executions in state prisons and for the federal government. Today on up for Sunday, we're going to

get a rare glimpse into that kind of work. The people who did it and the consequences it has had

on their lives. Stay with us.

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I'm Rachel Martin. This is up for Sunday. NPR investigative reporter Kiara Eisner has spent a year

and a half tracking down people involved in executions and listening to them reflect on the

toll their jobs have taken on their physical and mental health. As you figured out by now,

this episode is going to be hard to hear for some folks. And we're going to talk about some of the

details of how an execution is carried out.

I'm joined now by Kiara Eisner. Hey Kiara. Hi Rachel. So of all the things one could report on,

...