WEBVTT - Introducing: Unread

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, I'm Chris Stedman. I'm an author, activist, and I

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<v Speaker 1>teach in a department of religion and philosophy. I can be,

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<v Speaker 1>as he might be able to guess from all of that,

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<v Speaker 1>a little too serious sometimes. Back in two thousand nine,

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<v Speaker 1>I met a guy named Alex. He definitely wasn't too serious.

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<v Speaker 1>I a little on our little pol tour. I will

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<v Speaker 1>throw a foul pool Comma Hollows. He was unlike anyone

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<v Speaker 1>I'd ever met. I'm looking tornado chasing in East Colorado

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<v Speaker 1>and a tornado just hit the ground fifteen miles away.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm excited. I'm a big boy. I'm a scientist. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>a meteorologist, a true individual, entirely and unapologetically himself. I

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<v Speaker 1>think Alex is probably the most anthentic person that anyone

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<v Speaker 1>who has ever come across, but definitely me, I could

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<v Speaker 1>say that for sure. Alex completely changed my life, as

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<v Speaker 1>he did for everyone who ever met him. Everybody was

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<v Speaker 1>so conventional and like no one did anything ever to

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<v Speaker 1>like shake it up, and then Alex cable off. He

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<v Speaker 1>really shook up my whole world. Ten years later, in

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<v Speaker 1>Alex shook up our worlds again when he sent out

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<v Speaker 1>a handful of scheduled emails saying he had ended his life.

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<v Speaker 1>This person who had changed my whole world was suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>no longer in it, and I couldn't understand how it

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<v Speaker 1>had happened or why. But he left something behind for me,

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<v Speaker 1>a small detail near the end of his email that

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<v Speaker 1>at first appeared random and trivial, a link to a

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<v Speaker 1>private SoundCloud page. When I opened the link, I found

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<v Speaker 1>two audiophiles of him talking to someone he had met

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<v Speaker 1>in a Britney Spears fan for him almost a decade earlier,

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<v Speaker 1>someone who went by the name Alice and who happens

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<v Speaker 1>to sound just like Britney Spears. If I ever said

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<v Speaker 1>her name, yeah would Alex was obsessed with Brittany Wing.

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<v Speaker 1>I know you kind of clue what to do with

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<v Speaker 1>But he wasn't just a fan. She was everything to him.

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<v Speaker 1>Her life choices were like not only hilarious and like

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<v Speaker 1>entertaining to him, but also so relatable and like. I

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<v Speaker 1>think that he felt like he knew her and that

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<v Speaker 1>they were friends or something. You know. At first, the

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<v Speaker 1>idea that they actually might have been friends seemed too

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<v Speaker 1>unreal to be true, But then Alex was totally unreal

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<v Speaker 1>in the weeks after his death, I couldn't stop wondering

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<v Speaker 1>why Alex left me these clips, And despite my immense

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<v Speaker 1>seriousness and skepticism about most things in life, I also

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't stop wondering if the person in these audio files

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<v Speaker 1>might have actually possibly been Brittany. Either way, it began

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<v Speaker 1>to feel clear that Alex, including these files and his

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<v Speaker 1>email to me wasn't random. I think that, like, there's

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<v Speaker 1>a reason why he left you those files. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know if I can exactly like pinpoint what it is,

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<v Speaker 1>but I mean, it'll be cool if we could find out.

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<v Speaker 1>So I went looking for answers, enlisting the help of

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<v Speaker 1>a super sleuth. Can you would teach me how to

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<v Speaker 1>be an investigative journalist in like the next thirty minutes.

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<v Speaker 1>That'd be super helpful. Yes, I can. Anybody who lives

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<v Speaker 1>on the Internet right now is probably decent at searching

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<v Speaker 1>for stuff. You could do it. A fellow Britney fan

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<v Speaker 1>who also talked to Alice, I remember you would go

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<v Speaker 1>to tiny Chet because you just wanted to spend some

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<v Speaker 1>time at the time. This girl she would come in,

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<v Speaker 1>and she sounded exactly like Britney would. And the thing

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<v Speaker 1>that really was fun and she never claimed to be Brittany,

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<v Speaker 1>which only like gave her credit to be Brittany. She

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<v Speaker 1>would come in and she would just talk random everyday stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>She would love as Brittney. She would be as Brittney

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<v Speaker 1>you know everything, signature she would do. A former MTVVJ

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<v Speaker 1>who was on the ground floor for Britney's meteoric rise.

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<v Speaker 1>I can absolutely see someone like her who's face and

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<v Speaker 1>name and image. She's a little bit lost control of

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<v Speaker 1>talking anonymously to somebody and saying what she really thinks,

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<v Speaker 1>in not having to second guess it, and figuring out

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<v Speaker 1>who she is outside of the industry that has sprung

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<v Speaker 1>up around her name. Yeah, I mean that. That actually

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<v Speaker 1>seems really healthy. And a small group of people who

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<v Speaker 1>got emails from Alex to his sister and some of

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<v Speaker 1>his best friends. They quickly became my inner circle after

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<v Speaker 1>he died, and they both encouraged me to go looking

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<v Speaker 1>for this mysterious figure and helped me along the way.

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<v Speaker 1>People are very passionate over this. That was one thing

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<v Speaker 1>I found. There are a lot of posts for someone

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<v Speaker 1>just asks who has banana alice, and it's pretty hilarious

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<v Speaker 1>to see. There are so many passionate responses saying it's

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<v Speaker 1>not Brittany, this was from so long ago. It's just

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<v Speaker 1>someone pretending who cares. Leave it alone. Unread as a

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<v Speaker 1>show about trying to find your way after losing someone

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<v Speaker 1>who changed your whole world, especially when they've left a

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<v Speaker 1>digital trail behind full of bread crumbs that might add

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<v Speaker 1>up to something or might not mean anything at all.

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<v Speaker 1>Where with the trail Alex left leave me? Do you

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<v Speaker 1>feel like that name of Charlie and always studying in

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<v Speaker 1>Philadelphia in the office, surrounded by like putting strings in

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<v Speaker 1>between one of my favorite teams ever. And that's the

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<v Speaker 1>kind of belly picture you making this podcast? On June tenth,

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<v Speaker 1>join me as I go down the rabbit Hole on Unread.

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<v Speaker 1>All four episodes dropped that day. Listen and subscribe to

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<v Speaker 1>Unread on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you get your favorite shows for two