23 Weeks 6 Days

from Radiolab · host WNYC Studios

When Kelley Benham and her husband Tom French finally got pregnant, after many attempts and a good deal of technological help, everything was perfect. Until it wasn't. Their story raises questions that, until recently, no parent had to face… and that are still nearly impossible to answer. This hour, which we first released in 2013, we spend the entire episode on the story of Kelley and Tom, whose daughter was born at 23 weeks and 6 days, roughly halfway to full term. Their story contains an entire universe of questions about the lines between life and death, reflex and will, and the confusing tug of war between two basic moral touchstones: doing no harm...and doing everything in our power to help. Kelley has written about her experience in a brilliant series of articles in the Tampa Bay Times. If you want to know more about what we talk about in the update tacked onto the end of this episode, check out the links below: This Photo Here (https://zpr.io/ZvMD42u9hzuu) Plus This Video Here (https://zpr.io/8ewZUD368TzP) Check out the book that Tom and Kelley wrote about Juniper here: Juniper: The girl who was born too soon. (https://zpr.io/8ewZUD368TzP) And when you're done listening to the episode, be sure to check out the video below--but be warned, it does contain spoilers. 23 Weeks 6 Days Video EPISODE CREDITS: Reported by Jad Abumrad Produced by Matt Kielty and Jad Abumrad Update produced by Pat Walters and Anisa Vietze with mixing help from Jeremy Bloom Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Signup (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)! Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today. Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected]. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 11, 2026

Embed this episode

Attribution link and audio player

What this episode covers

A tiny baby, born at 23 Weeks and 6 days—roughly halfway to full term. And a whole universe of medical and moral questions.

Distinct summary based on available episode metadata or transcript content.

Ready to play

23 Weeks 6 Days

0:00 1:03:27

1×

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

No similar episodes found.

Similar Podcasts

Pickle WNYC Studios Is it ever okay to tell a lie? What makes a real friend? And here’s a question: How much is a person’s life worth? Yikes, that’s a tough one! Join the cast of Pickle as we explore life’s stickiest wickets, with the help of curious kids – and the occasional elephant. It’s philosophy, made fun. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of podcasts including Radiolab, Snap Judgment, On the Media, Death, Sex & Money and many others.© WNYC Studios The Other Latif WNYC Studios Radiolab reporter Latif Nasser always believed his name was uniquely his own. Until he makes a shocking discovery that he shares his name with another man: Detainee 244 at Guantanamo Bay. The U.S. government paints a terrifying picture of The Other Latif as Al-Qaeda’s top explosives expert, and an advisor to Osama bin Laden. Nasser’s lawyer claims that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and that he was never even in Al-Qaeda. This clash leads Radiolab’s Latif into a years-long investigation, trying to uncover what this man actually did or didn’t do. Along the way, Radiolab’s Latif reflects on American values and his own religious past, and wonders how his namesake, a fellow nerdy, suburban Muslim kid, traveled such a strikingly different path. Note to Self WNYC Studios Is your phone watching you? Can texting make you smarter? Are your kids real? Note to Self explores these and other essential quandaries facing anyone trying to preserve their humanity in the digital age. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts, including Radiolab, Death, Sex & Money, Snap Judgment, Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin, Nancy and many others.© WNYC Studios Terrestrials WNYC Welcome, nature lovers, to the home of the Terrestrials podcast and family-friendly Radiolab episodes about nature. Every other week, host Lulu Miller will take you on a nature walk to encounter a plant or animal behaving in ways that will surprise you. Squirrels that can regrow their brains, octopuses that can outsmart their human captors, honeybees that can predict the future. You don’t have to be a kid to listen, just someone who likes to see the world anew.You’ll hear a range of nature stories on this podcast. Sometimes these will be brand new Terrestrials episodes, full of original songs (by “The Songbud” Alan Goffinski) that tell a fantastical-sounding story about nature that is 100% true. Sometimes these will be our very best, shiniest, furriest, leafiest Radiolab episodes about animals or plants or nature. The stories that drop here will always be family-friendly and safe for kids. They will always be sound-rich and full of the vivid, gripping storytelling you’ve come to expe

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Radiolab?

This episode is 1 hour and 3 minutes long.

When was this Radiolab episode published?

This episode was published on September 11, 2026.

Can I download this Radiolab episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.

URL copied to clipboard!