Mo News - The Interview

2,753 people died at the World Trade Center site on September 11th, 2001, including members of the FDNY and NYPD, and hundreds who were working in the towers or visiting that day, plus the crew and passengers of the two hijacked planes that struck the buildings. We wanted to remember the real people behind those numbers. And for that, Jill spoke to Erin Jackman, whose sister Brooke Jackman had just turned 23 when she was killed on September 11th. She was working on the 104th floor of the North Tower at Cantor Fitzgerald, a job she had only started two months earlier. Erin recalls the frantic search for Brooke in the hours and weeks after the attacks, including her family’s visits to hospitals and putting up missing-person posters near Ground Zero. She also shares who Brooke was beyond the attack: a devoted sister and friend, an avid reader, and an aspiring social worker whose memory inspired her family to create the Brooke Jackman Foundation, a children’s literacy nonprofit providing books, school supplies, and family literacy programs. For more information: ⁠Brooke Jackman Foundation⁠.

As part of Mo News’ special coverage marking 25 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Jill Wagner sits down with John Feal, a former Ground Zero demolition supervisor who was injured during the cleanup efforts. In the decades since, he founded the FealGood Foundation and became a leading advocate for first responders, survivors, volunteers and others who were injured or sickened by exposure to toxic dust at Ground Zero. In his new book, I Will Follow You Anywhere, Feal recounts the years-long fight to pass legislation like the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act: how his team organized their relentless lobbying efforts in Congress, built relationships across party lines, and refused to let perfect become the enemy of the good. He also talks about his close relationship with comedian Jon Stewart, and the lessons he learned from lawmakers like Nancy Pelosi about navigating Washington. Feal also reflects on the responders and survivors who have died or continue to live with 9/11-related illnesses, the ongoing fight to expand healthcare coverage, and what he hopes a younger generation will remember about the attacks on September 11th and the days that followed. Jill Wagner (⁠@jillrwagner⁠) is an Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist. She's the Managing Editor of Mo News. Jill previously worked as a correspondent for CBS News, Cheddar News, and News 12. She also co-founded the Need2Know newsletter, and has made it a goal to drop a Seinfeld reference into every Mo News podcast.

What happened inside Air Force One as America came under attack—and inside the Situation Room a decade later as the U.S. closed in on Osama bin Laden? As we mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell gives us hisfirsthand account of both defining moments and everything in between. Morell was President George W. Bush’s intelligence briefer on September 11th and later helped President Obama assess whether bin Laden was really hiding in Pakistan before the raid that killed him. Morell recounts what Bush was asking as Air Force One moved between secure locations, how he identified al-Qaeda as the likely perpetrator and why bin Laden was able to escape from Afghanistan. He also takes us inside the deliberations over the Abbottabad raid—including the warning he gave Obama about how uncertain the intelligence remained.The conversation examines the failures that preceded 9/11 and what the Clinton and Bush administrations could have done differently. Morell also addresses conspiracy theories about that day, why bin Laden would view himself as partly successful given the state of the world 25 years later, how 9/11 should be taught to a new generation, and the biggest threat facing the country today.

The Lindsay Clancy trial has sparked a national conversation about postpartum psychosis and maternal mental health. In this episode, Mo News Producer Sari Soffer sits down with Dr. Noa Sterling, an OB-GYN and mental health expert, for a broader conversation about the Clancy trial, postpartum mental illness, and why many women fall through the cracks in the existing medical system. The conversation covers the differences between intrusive thoughts, postpartum depression, anxiety, and psychosis; risk factors like sleep deprivation and bipolar disorder; and the challenges of diagnosing and treating serious postpartum mental health conditions. They examine the systemic barriers for new mothers including a fragmented health system, lack of sustained support, and the burden to coordinate their own care during a time of intense struggle. They also discuss what better postpartum care could look like. Dr. Noa Sterling is also the creator of a paid app called Obi, which helps women through pregnancy and postpartum. She has made the following resources available free for the Mo News audience: - Mental Health Support Guide: Everything You Need to Know: https://www.obipregnancyapp.com/your-mental-health-support-guide-start-here/ - A Letter to the Partner of Someone Struggling With Their Mental Health Postpartum: https://www.obipregnancyapp.com/to-the-partner-of-someone-struggling-with-postpartum-mental-health/ If anything in this conversation resonated with you or someone you love, Postpartum Support International's HelpLine is ⁠1-800-944-4773⁠, call or text, and 988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Many of us have felt stuck professionally, like we’ve lost our spark, or are too old to follow our dreams. Entrepreneur David Thurston's new memoir, The Spiral Staircase: Why I Stepped Off a Rocket Ship to Build a Cathedral, is filled with insight and advice to help you get back on track. Jill sat down with Thurston, where he provided lessons from his own career journey. Thurston built a hair color brand called Pulp Riot from scratch, scaled it globally, and sold it to L’Oréal for nearly $100 million, all in under two years. But then, at the peak of success, he walked away, took a year off, and asked himself: What kind of company, and what kind of life, do I really want to build? Four years later, David and Alexis bootstrapped a new hair color brand, Danger Jones, which is taking on the industry’s largest color houses by focusing on the professional artist community rather than traditional corporate marketing. The conservation is an honest look at what it takes to create something new, take on the biggest players in the industry, and create “work-life fusion” – not necessarily “work-life balance.” And why all the money in the world doesn't buy happiness.  Jill Wagner (⁠⁠⁠@jillrwagner⁠⁠⁠) is an Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist. She's the Managing Editor of Mo News. Jill previously worked as a correspondent for CBS News, Cheddar News, and News 12. She also co-founded the Need2Know newsletter, and has made it a goal to drop a Seinfeld reference into every Mo News podcast.