About this episode
Americans take more than 20 billion elevator rides every year — and keeping them safe is an expensive proposition. Zachary Crockett makes small talk. SOURCES: Frank Christensen , president of the International Union of Elevators Constructors. Shannon Moore, service mechanic for the International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 8. Brian O'Connell , senior vice president of the Eastern U.S. at Otis Elevators. Stephen Smith , executive director of the Center for Building in North America. RESOURCES: " Elevators ," by Stephen Smith (Center for Building in North America, 2024). " Elevator and Escalator Fact Sheet ," (National Elevator Industry, 2020). " The Evolution of Elevators: Physical-Human Interface, Digital Interaction, and Megatall Buildings ," by Stephen Nichols (Frontiers of Engineering, 2017). Lifted: A Cultural History of the Elevator , by Andreas Bernard (2014). EXTRAS: " Up and Then Down ," by Nick Paumgarten (The New Yorker, 2008). " World's Tallest Towers ." Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.