Oliver Sipple
Radiolab

Oliver Sipple

Jun 5, 2026 · 1h 3m

About this episode

<p>One morning, Oliver Sipple went out for a walk. A couple hours later, to his own surprise, he saved the life of the President of the United States. In a story we reported back in 2017, we explain how in the days that followed, Sipple’s split-second act of heroism turned into a rationale for making his personal life into political opportunity. What happens next makes us wonder what a moment, or a movement, or a whole society can demand of one person. And how much is too much? </p> <p>Through newly unearthed archival tape, we hear Sipple himself grapple with some of the most vexing topics of his day and ours - privacy, identity, the freedom of the press - not to mention the bonds of family and friendship. </p> <p><i>Special thanks to Jerry Pritikin, Michael Yamashita, Stan Smith, Duffy Jennings; Ann Dolan, Megan Filly and Ginale Harris at the Superior Court of San Francisco; Leah Gracik, Karyn Hunt, Jesse Hamlin, The San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive, Mike Amico, Jennifer Vanasco and Joey Plaster.</i><br><br><strong>EPISODE CREDITS:</strong><br> Reported by - Reported by Latif Nasser and Tracie Hunte<br> Produced by - Produced by Matt Kielty, Annie McEwen, Latif Nasser and Tracie Hunte.</p> <p><i>Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. </i><a href="https://radiolab.org/newsletter" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i>Signup</i></a><i> (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!</i></p> <p><i>Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of </i><a href="http://members.radiolab.org" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i>The Lab</i></a><i> (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.</i></p> <p><i>Follow our show on </i><a href="http://instagram.com/radiolab" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i>Instagram</i></a><i>, </i><a href="http://twitter.com/radiolab" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i>Twitter</i></a><i> and </i><a href="http://facebook.com/radiolab" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i>Facebook</i></a><i> @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing </i><a href="mailto:radiolab@wnyc.org" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i>radiolab@wnyc.org</i></a><i>.</i><br><i>Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.</i></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>