This American Life: The Bridge
originally aired May 7, 2010Act One, Bridge Over Troubled Water
We posted last December about the Cliffs of Tojimbo in Japan, a popular tourist destination but also suicide hotspot, and the man who made it his mission to talk down and counsel would-be jumpers.
Act One of This American Life‘s episode The Bridge follows a similar situation in China, where Chen Sah patrols a four-mile long bridge thronged by thousands of pedestrians every day and averages one suicide per week. In standard This American Life fashion, the story is at once tragic, hopeful and bewildering, as reporter Mike Paterniti is embroiled in his own rescue of a jumper, a young man whom Chen then scolds and threatens to punch in the face for being a coward.
One reply on “TAL: Trouble Bridge Over Water”
This is presents an interesting perspective on the psychology of suicide and those who become involved in suicide prevention.