Oklahoma City

Far From Home

Each year on April 19th, residents of Oklahoma City commemorate the anniversary of the 1995 bombing in their city, which prior to September 11th bore the distinction of being the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. On this episode of Far From Home, I dig into my archives to share two stories I produced about the bombing from back when I was a reporter at a small public radio station in Oklahoma.

First I look back at how Muslim Americans were falsely blamed in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Then I share the story of former Oklahoma City police officer Jim Ramsey, who won his department’s Medal of Valor for his role on the day of the bombing, before guilt and depression got the best of him.

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On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian documents fascinating stories from far-flung places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org