Carlson’s War: A Veteran’s Story

Hosted by Ayesha Rascoe and featuring reporting from NPR correspondent Quil Lawrence, the program tells an uplifting story of combat veteran Dave Carlson and his path from combat PTSD, addiction, and prison, to a new life. He now helps others overcome the obstacles he faced.

Part 1: What does it mean to live through war? And can someone who's experienced war ever get over it? These are questions NPR's Quil Lawrence has been asking himself for years. A decade ago, Lawrence did a story on David Carlson, a veteran who'd excelled at being a soldier but struggled at home with PTSD, drugs and finally incarceration. Could Carlson find a way out or would the trauma of war come to define his life?

This episode was produced by Andrew Mambo and edited by Jenny Schmidt and Andrew Sussman. It was fact-checked by Sarah Knight and the engineer was Kwesi Lee. Music by Quil and Tim Lawrence.

Part 2: In part two of Carlson's War, we find Dave Carlson locked up in prison while tormented by PTSD from his time serving in Iraq. Alone and in pain, Carlson reverts back to a combat mindset and finds himself in a dark place. From here, Carlson sets out on a mission to turn his life around. What can we learn from one veteran's journey to recovery?

This episode was produced by Andrew Mambo and edited by Jenny Schmidt and Andrew Sussman. It was fact-checked by Sarah Knight and the engineer was Kwesi Lee. Music by Quil and Tim Lawrence.