The Man Who Calculated Death

In 2013, journalist Suzanne Rico gets the call. Her mother, Gabriele, is dying. As time ticks down, Gabriele reveals an unfinished memoir about her World War II childhood–and makes a daunting last request: “Finish what I started.” When Suzanne and her sister, Stephanie, dive into their mother’s turbulent past, they come face to face with the truth of their own ancestry for the first time, including mind blowing mysteries that swirl around inventor Robert Lusser–their grandfather–and his work for the Third Reich. As they struggle to bring closure to something as intimate as a memoir, they have no idea of the revelations in store, or the reckoning they will require. Listen to episodes of THE MAN WHO CALCULATED DEATH exclusively and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting www.wondery.com/links/the-man-who-calculated-death.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Suzanne and Stephanie Rico dig through their deceased mother's office searching for clues to their dark legacy--a flying bomb built in World War II by a brilliant Nazi grandfather they've never met. We learn more about their mother's extraordinary life, her death, and how the sisters' quest to understand their own troubled ancestry began. When the tantes, Aunt Heide and Aunt Traute, help create an itinerary through Germany, the odyssey will take Suzanne and Stephanie from the remote ruins of a military base to an underground concentration camp to the Bavarian farmhouse where their grandmother died in 1945.  Follow THE MAN WHO CALCULATED DEATH on the Wondery App. This is episode 1 of THE MAN WHO CALCULATED DEATH. To listen to more episodes join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting www.wondery.com/links/the-man-who-calculated-death now!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Suzanne and Stephanie begin at their mother’s childhood home in Augsburg, where they’re faced with a difficult question: as granddaughters of a man who created a weapon of mass destruction for the Nazis, what responsibility do they bear? From tattered letters, photographs, and home movies from their mother’s early days, the sisters piece together their grandfather’s life, and their grandparents’ love story. Then, they discover a well kept family secret with dangerous undertones.Follow THE MAN WHO CALCULATED DEATH on the Wondery App. This is episode 2 of THE MAN WHO CALCULATED DEATH. To listen to more episodes join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting www.wondery.com/links/the-man-who-calculated-death now!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.