20 for 20
For the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, this podcast tells 20 stories of heroism that will make sure our country doesn't forget that fateful day and its meaning. Our host Niels Jorgensen served as an FDNY firefighter for almost 22 years until a forced medical retirement because of the leukemia he contracted from cleaning up Ground Zero. Niels also drove the truck in the Emmy-nominated Rescue Me with Denis Leary.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 51 minutes
- Episodes
- 21
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2022
The First-Ever Group Conversation About Responding On 9/11
FDNY Ladder Company 114, nicknamed Tally Ho, heroically served on 9/11. We hear from four of the six on-duty members who responded to the attacks in a unique group conversation, which they had not ye…
01:41:26 |
Thu 06 Jan 2022
Alison Crowther: My Son Saved 12 Lives
Alison’s son Welles was 24 years old on 9/11 and saved at least 12 people in the South Tower before it collapsed on him. She didn’t know about his heroic actions that day until several survivors said…
00:49:54 |
Thu 30 Dec 2021
Ken Kendrick: How The President's First Pitch And Baseball Helped With Healing
After 911, Major League Baseball temporarily postponed its season. With several iconic moments, its return helped America to heal. Arizona Diamondbacks’ principal owner and managing general partner K…
00:28:02 |
Thu 23 Dec 2021
Joe LaPointe: Organizing 9/11's Funerals
FDNY firefighter Joe LaPointe was off-duty on 9/11 and raced down to Ground Zero. After the attacks, so many funerals needed more leaders to coordinate them, and Joe was suddenly thrust into a new ca…
00:45:13 |
Thu 16 Dec 2021
Nancy Carbone: The Friend of Firefighters
Nancy Carbone felt compelled to do something after 9/11 and started by collecting items that firefighters needed. They later told her what was most needed is a counseling center that their work would…
00:55:05 |
Thu 09 Dec 2021
Michael Daly: The FDNY Chaplain, My Friend, Who Died With His Firefighters
Michael Daly is the author of “The Book of Mychal”, the biography of the most loved FDNY Chaplain, Father Mychal Judge. Father bravely entered the World Trade Center with those he served and died wit…
01:49:43 |
Thu 02 Dec 2021
A Thanksgiving Message
Today we give thanks for your loyal listenership, for the opportunity to preserve these tragic and beautiful stories, and for every American whose served this great country.
00:02:47 |
Thu 25 Nov 2021
Michael Benfante: The Reluctant Hero
After the World Trade Center's North Tower was hit, Michael and his colleague John Cerqueira physically carried wheelchair-bound Tina Hansen down 68 floors to safety. They escaped just minutes before…
00:50:42 |
Thu 18 Nov 2021
Sonia and Joe Agron: The Relentless Volunteers
Sonia is a former EMS technician, and Joe is a police officer who responded on 9/11 (his birthday). She didn't see him until 9/12 and thought he had died. They both helped with the cleanup of Ground …
00:34:43 |
Thu 11 Nov 2021
Tim Brown: I Lost 93 Friends on 9/11
Tim Brown is an elite first responder who served in the FDNY for 20 years and was a founding member of the Department of Homeland Security. He said a final goodbye to several of his friends right bef…
01:19:00 |
Thu 04 Nov 2021
Robert John Burke: The Actor Who Became A Firefighter
Robert John Burke, who goes by Bobby, has been in programs like Tombstone, RoboCop 3, Law and Order: SVU, Gossip Girl, and Rescue Me. Even more important to him are his friendships with FDNY heroes w…
01:34:22 |
Thu 28 Oct 2021
Niels Jorgensen: My Own Story w/Bill Courtney
Niels Jorgensen, host of “20 for 20”, was reticent to share his own story as part of this series on heroes. However, the team thought it’s important context for why he’s doing this – it’s also one he…
02:03:42 |
Thu 21 Oct 2021
Brian Clark: I Was One of Only 18 Survivors Where The South Tower Was Struck
The terrorists crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into floors 77 to 85, right where Brian Clark worked. Miraculously, he’s alive to tell his story and also that of a stranger named Stanley Praimnath …
00:49:49 |
Thu 14 Oct 2021
Caryn Pfeifer: My Husband Was A Gentle Giant
FDNY firefighter Ray Pfeifer was off duty on 9/11 and felt tremendous survivor's guilt about the entirety of his on-duty crew dying. Ultimately, he wouldn't be spared from the wreckage either, gettin…
00:36:00 |
Thu 07 Oct 2021
Shirley Brooks-Jones: I Was Midflight During 9/11… And It Changed My Life
Shirley Brooks-Jones was on one of the 38 planes in the sky during the terrorist attacks and forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland. This small Canadian community of around 14,000 residents welcomed …
00:46:54 |
Thu 30 Sep 2021
Mariah Jacobsen: Discovering My Connection to a 9/11 Hero
Mariah was 16 years old on the morning of 9/11 and had a strange feeling one of her birth parents died in the attack. At 19 she could legally discover who they were, and what she learned was unbeliev…
00:36:50 |
Thu 23 Sep 2021
Ted Anderson: “You Never Leave A Fallen Comrade Behind, Ever”
Lieutenant Colonel Paul “Ted” Anderson was inside of the Pentagon when it was struck by a plane during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Ted not only helped people escape, but then returned into the burnin…
00:37:38 |
Wed 15 Sep 2021
John Feal: The Bulldog Who Forced Congress
John Feal was a demolition supervisor at Ground Zero. During the cleanup 8,000 pounds of steel dropped on Feal’s foot, leading to partial amputation. After he was denied compensation for his injury b…
00:39:43 |
Thu 09 Sep 2021
David Braca: My Dad Led His Coworkers Praying into Their Deaths
Many had made fun of Al Braca for his faith, but in their final moments he brought light to the darkness that surrounded them. The story of a bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald, the company which lost …
00:20:30 |
Tue 31 Aug 2021
Mak Hanna: Our Team of 5 Civilians Saved Over 50 Lives
And only Mak is alive to honor their stories. With his best friends Frank De Martini and Pablo Ortiz, he worked for the World Trade Center’s construction division on the 88th floor.
00:21:46 |
Tue 31 Aug 2021
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