This American Life

628: In the Shadow of the City

March 15, 2026

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The episode "628: In the Shadow of the City" explores stories from liminal spaces on the outskirts of civilization, ranging from Chicago's industrial dumps to uninhabited islands near New York City. 
  • Alex Zharov's misadventure in Jamaica Bay highlights the surreal experience of being shipwrecked and facing life-threatening peril while remaining within sight of a major metropolis like New York City. 
  • The story of Mr. Chen in Nanjing, China, reveals an extraordinary, solitary effort to prevent suicides on a bridge, contrasting the immense scale of human despair with one man's persistent, fact-based intervention. 

Segments

Chicago’s Industrial Edge
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(00:00:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Chicago’s far south side featured a desolate area near landfills and junkyards where debris from demolished Louis Sullivan masterpieces ended up.
  • Summary: Charlie Gregerson grew up near Chicago’s old city dump, nicknamed Mount Piscini, where debris from famous buildings like the Stock Exchange building and the Garrick Theater was bulldozed into the rubble. Bulldozers flattened the garbage, sometimes leaving architectural ornaments like Louis Sullivan terracotta pieces sticking out of the dirt. This area, once planned for canals, is now topped by a golf course offering a view of downtown.
Introduction to Episode Segments
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(00:03:29)
  • Key Takeaway: This American Life Episode 628, “In the Shadow of the City,” is structured in three acts covering adventures on the edge of civilization.
  • Summary: The program introduces its theme of secret stuff happening just out of sight near cities. Act One, “Brooklyn Archipelago,” details an excursion gone wrong in Jamaica Bay. Act Two, “Troubled Bridge Over Water,” focuses on a man attempting to stop suicides in China. Act Three covers a local controversy regarding factory emissions that residents actually want to keep.
Alex Zharov’s Boat Trip
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(00:05:11)
  • Key Takeaway: A planned 40-minute pleasure cruise in Jamaica Bay turned into a multi-hour ordeal for 17-year-old Alex Zharov and his friends after the captain became incapacitated.
  • Summary: Alex Zharov, a self-described psychedelic artist, set out on Roman’s sailboat with two friends, intending a short trip under the Rockaway Bridge. Roman, the boat owner, fell overboard after drinking cognac and became unable to navigate, leaving the two sober friends in charge of the boat. After drifting, running low on gas, and firing off flares, the boat ran aground in the shallows of an island.
Castaway on Ruffle Bar Island
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(00:13:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Alex Zharov swam alone to a nearby landmass, believing it was civilization, only to find himself stranded on Ruffle Bar island, where he sustained a severe bleeding injury while trying to salvage a jet ski.
  • Summary: Despite his friends’ warnings, Alex stripped to his underwear, packed essentials in a mayonnaise jar, and swam to the next island to find help, only to realize he was also stranded. He attempted survival tasks like making a flag and building a raft, but his efforts were thwarted, culminating in a deep cut from glass while digging out a jet ski carcass. The injury caused heavy bleeding, preventing him from swimming back due to fear of sharks.
Rescue and Aftermath
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(00:20:51)
  • Key Takeaway: Alex Zharov was rescued after seven hours by a helicopter, while his friends had been enjoying their time waiting and delayed signaling rescue until their cigarettes ran out.
  • Summary: The island where Alex was stranded is Ruffle Bar, a short boat ride from Brooklyn, which holds a history of failed developments. Alex’s friends, Roman and Glubachansky, waited until sunset and ran out of tobacco before signaling a nearby police helicopter, forgetting to mention Alex was missing until they were safe. Alex, upon rescue, was in a near-wild state from exhaustion and dehydration, yet maintained his adventurous perspective, even hoping to find badgers.
Chicago’s Chocolate Bridges
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(00:45:31)
  • Key Takeaway: Chicago residents experience a unique, beloved phenomenon where industrial bridge air occasionally smells distinctly of chocolate due to the nearby Blommer Chocolate Company factory.
  • Summary: Jorge Just describes how New Yorkers disbelieved his claim that Chicago bridges sometimes smell like chocolate, a scent caused by cocoa dust emissions from the Blommer Chocolate Company plant on the west side. The EPA intervened after a complaint, finding the factory in violation for excessive cocoa dust, leading to the installation of filtering equipment. Ultimately, the Chicago plant closed years later due to rising operational costs, not the regulatory action.