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Staring Down Fate

WUNC | By Anita Rao,
Frank Stasio
Published August 30, 2016 at 12:24 PM EDT

Host Frank Stasio speaks with filmmaker Jeff Mittelstadt.

Chris Lucash spent close to three decades working with the endangered red wolf population in North Carolina. He was present when the first wolves were released back into the wild in the late 1980s and helped support the wild population as it grew to its peak in the 2000s.

In June of 2015, Lucash was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, and he passed away just one year later.

The forthcoming documentary "Staring Down Fate" follows Lucash in the last year of his life as he grapples with knowledge that the program he helped build may be coming to an end. It also explores potential causes of ALS, including environmental pollutants that he was exposed to in his daily work.

Host Frank Stasio previews the project with filmmaker Jeff Mittelstadt.

Check out the trailer: https://vimeo.com/152450459

Chris plays chess with his son, Noah, on a day out with the family; including his daughters Amie and Eden and his wife Alisa.
Jeffrey Mittelstadt, WildSides /
Chris plays chess with his son, Noah, on a day out with the family; including his daughters Amie and Eden and his wife Alisa.
Chris eventually needed a cane and later leg braces to walk as ALS affects his motor neurons. His experience with ALS and his work with the red wolf program are documented in the forthcoming film 'Staring Down Fate.'
Jeffrey Mittelstadt, WildSides /
Chris eventually needed a cane and later leg braces to walk as ALS affects his motor neurons. His experience with ALS and his work with the red wolf program are documented in the forthcoming film 'Staring Down Fate.'
Chris holds a red wolf pup in the wild as he and his colleague prepare to take a blood sample and insert identifier chips into the pups from this wild den.
Jeffrey Mittelstadt, WildSides /
Chris holds a red wolf pup in the wild as he and his colleague prepare to take a blood sample and insert identifier chips into the pups from this wild den.
Chris' son, Noah, stands on top of his father's truck and watches as Chris releases a pair of red wolves back into the wild.
Jeffrey Mittelstadt, WildSides /
Chris' son, Noah, stands on top of his father's truck and watches as Chris releases a pair of red wolves back into the wild.

Copyright 2016 North Carolina Public Radio
Anita Rao
Anita Rao is the host and creator of "Embodied," a live, weekly radio show and seasonal podcast about sex, relationships & health. She's also the managing editor of WUNC's on-demand content. She has traveled the country recording interviews for the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps production department, founded and launched a podcast about millennial feminism in the South, and served as the managing editor and regular host of "The State of Things," North Carolina Public Radio's flagship daily, live talk show. Anita was born in a small coal-mining town in Northeast England but spent most of her life growing up in Iowa and has a fond affection for the Midwest.
See stories by Anita Rao
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio