Writer's Bone

This episode originally aired on the As Told To podcast on Sept. 8, 2026.
John Feal is a native New Yorker and Army veteran who worked as a demolition supervisor at Ground Zero until an 8,000-pound beam crushed his left foot during the clean-up. As he struggled with his own post-9/11 trauma, and scrambled to get out from under his also-disabling medical bills, he watched his fellow responders suffer and die from cancer and other ailments caused by the dust in the air they were told was safe to breathe.
Forgotten by a broken healthcare system and lawmakers who had promised to #NeverForget, and inspired by the men and women who continued to suffer in the fallout from that fateful day, he resolved to fight.
In I Will Follow You Anywhere: The True Story of the 9/11 Responders Who Took on Congress, he shares his remarkable story of grit and resolve, alongside the accounts of his fellow responders, presenting their shared "recipe" for getting things done—including the passage of the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.
Working with ghostwriter, developmental editor, and book coach Charles Daly, himself a maritime first responder on the Atlantic coast of Ireland, John offers a rogue approach to the ground game of representative government, empowering readers in all walks of life to take on the system and win.
Join us as John and Charlie commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, and discuss how they worked together on their compelling new book—"A graphic but powerful reminder of the horrors of that day," according to Booklist, "and the horrors that first responders have faced ever since."
Learn more about our guests:
John Feal Instagram
John Feal Threads
John Feal Facebook
Charles Daly website
Charles Daly LinkedIn
Charles Daly Instagram
Please support the sponsors who support our show:
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Author Courtney Maum (The Year of the Horses, Before and After the Book Deal) joins Daniel Ford on the show to chat about her most recent novel Alan Opts Out.
To learn more about Courtney Maum, visit her official website.
This episode is sponsored by The Darling Killers Podcast and  Libro.fm.

Nick Harmer, founding member and bassist for Death Cab for Cutie, joins Daniel Ford to discuss the indie rock band's latest album "I Built You a Tower."
To learn more about Death Cab for Cutie, visit their official website and check out their "Tiny Desk Concert" on NPR.
Photo credit: Shervin Lainez
This episode is sponsored by The Darling Killers Podcast and  Libro.fm.

Host Caitlin Malcuit discusses a joint United Nations – Red Cross call for rules on lethal autonomous weapons, President Barack Obama's "lethal presidency," and ICE spending major dollars on Boston Dynamics robot dogs.
Then, former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall chats with Daniel Ford about his book Lethal Autonomy. 
This episode is sponsored by The Darling Killers Podcast and  Libro.fm.

*in our best Batman voice*
Author Daniel Dockery answers our signal and chats with Daniel Ford about I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series.
*lightning strikes*
To learn more about Daniel Dockery, visit his official website.
This episode is sponsored by The Darling Killers Podcast and  Libro.fm.