What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

On the morning of April 19, 1995, a former US Army soldier parked a rented Ryder truck in front of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building, located in downtown Oklahoma City. Inside the truck was everything he needed to carry out his plan of terrorism and mass murder. He had a large bomb, which he created using agricultural fertilizer and some chemicals, including diesel fuel. After parking the car, he got out and walked toward his getaway car, a yellow Mercury Marquis. He ignited a timed fuse, and a second fuse as backup. Inside the building, in one of the office conference rooms, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board had just begun a 9 am meeting when the bomb exploded. The blast effect was equivalent to over 5000 pounds of TNT, and could be heard and felt 55 miles away. The blast either destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a 4-block radius. 86 cars were either burned or destroyed, and a large section of the Federal building had been reduced to rubble. News crews were shocked when they first viewed the damage from their helicopter. Inside the building, 163 people were killed. Additional casualties were one person in the nearby Athenian building, one woman in a parking lot across the street, two people in the Oklahoma Water Resources building, and a rescue worker who was struck on the head by falling debris. In total, 168 people died that day. 19 of those were children. Almost 700 other people were injured. My guest today, Amy, was in the Federal Building that morning. She worked on the third floor, at the Federal Employees Credit Union. In this episode, you’ll hear her talk about what happened to her that day. But just as amazing is what has happened to her SINCE that day. Amy’s website: AmyDowns.org Amy’s book: Hope is a Verb: My Journey of Impossible Transformation Amy’s TEDx talk: How Hope Can Change Your Life This episode is sponsored by the Sleep Meditation for Women podcast – listen to help you fall asleep and stay asleep. Also mentioned in this episode is the School of Podcasting – that’s where you go to launch, grow, and even monetize your podcast. Go to SchoolofPodcasting.com/what and use the coupon code WHAT to get 20% off either a monthly or yearly membership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As I walk or bike through my neighborhood, one of the saddest things I often see is a flyer stuck to a telephone pole or electric pole, telling about a lost dog. We have a couple of little dogs, Lilly and Fenway. They’re both Yorkies. And believe me, they are family. I can’t imagine the stress and anxiety and sadness if we suddenly discovered one of them were missing. So that’s what I think about when I see one of those flyers. Some family, in a neighborhood near to where I live, is living with the fact that they don’t know where their dog is. Or where their cat is. And they don’t know if their family pet will ever come home again. So I think we can all agree, losing a dog is traumatic. But what if your dog didn’t just escape and get lost… What if your dog was actually stolen? That’s what Barbie suspected when her dog, Scooby, went missing. If your dog gets away: · Drive slowly around the neighborhood. Your dog might hear and recognize the sound of your car or your voice, and might be close by. · Put a sign in your yard. Include a photo of your pet, along with your phone number. The sign will be seen by pizza deliveries, the mail carrier, and the kids in the neighborhood. · Leave unwashed clothing outside, near your house. · Hang flyers around the neighborhood and go door to door to let everyone know. Also, post online in local groups such as Next Door. · Visit local shelters regularly. Don’t just call – go there in person. This episode is sponsored by the Sleep Meditation for Women podcast – listen to help you fall asleep and stay asleep. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp online counseling. Get 10% off your first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few things are scarier than being attacked by a shark. Australian Mick Fanning was in a professional surfing competition, which was being broadcast live around the world. Viewers watched as a shark approached him and he was quickly rescued by nearby safety crews – the only damage was the leash that connected him to his surfboard had been chewed through. In 1963, Rodney Fox was competing in a spearfishing tournament. A great white shark attacked and bit him around his midsection, puncturing his diaphragm, crushing his rib cage, and leaving many of his organs exposed. He survived with surgery and around 400 stitches. One summer on the Jersey Shore, five shark attacks happened in 10 days, resulting in four deaths. That period is often thought to be the inspiration for the classic movie, Jaws. As scary as it sounds, the reality is that shark attacks are quite rare. In fact, your odds of being attacked by a shark are around 1 in 11 million. Of course, that’s not much comfort if you’re one of the unlucky people to actually experience a violent attack by a shark. Just ask Brook. If you would like to help Brook with her ongoing recovery, here is her GoFundMe account. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp online counseling. Get 10% off your first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. This episode is sponsored by StoryWorth. Preserve your loved one’s memories in a keepsake book, and get 10% off your first order at StoryWorth.com/WHAT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’ve lived in places where the winter is really cold. Personally, I can say I prefer to live here in Florida, where it’s usually relatively warm. I don’t miss shoveling snow, or driving on roads that are icy, and it’s been a long time since my fingers and toes felt numb from the cold temperatures. I know some people prefer a colder climate, and I’m fine with that. The world is more interesting because we are all different. But when you live in an area where there’s cold weather and lots of snow, one of the things that makes it more bearable, and even fun, is to ride on a snowmobile. These things are a blast. For an avid snowmobiler, there is nothing better than a sunny day and a wide open field of fresh snow. And my guest today, Andrew, definitely falls into that category – he is a huge fan of snowmobiles. He goes out riding every time he gets a chance. And he’s one of those guys that sees a hill, and he knows that with enough speed, he can get his machine to go airborne. That’s his thrill, and he’s been doing it for years. But there was this one day, he went flying up a hill and caught air, without realizing that there was someone on the other side of that hill. Someone on a snowmobile, coming TOWARD Andrew, who also was about to fly through the air, at the exact same time. And in that split second, while they were both in the air, Andrew realized that the other driver was someone he knew very well. This episode is sponsored by the Disturbed: True Horror Stories podcast. Get it on any podcast app, or at DisturbedPodcast.com. This podcast is sponsored by Better Help online counseling – get 10% off your first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a bonus episode of What Was That Like. If this were a regular episode, you’d be hearing someone telling a story of how they survived a mass shooting, or when they got attacked by a grizzly bear, or that time they won $100,000 on Wheel of Fortune. We have guests on with all kinds of crazy stories, and they tell exactly what happened, first hand. But this episode is different. A while back, I asked my listeners to send in their stories about a specific topic: childbirth. What happened, what went right, and in some cases, what went wrong. This is real life, and not every story has a happy ending. I really enjoyed hearing these stories, and to those who sent one in, thank you. And if you have a story about something unusual that’s happened to you, not necessarily related to childbirth, but anything unusual or interesting, hang around and at the end I’ll tell you how we might be able to use that here on the podcast in a future episode. Here is Sylvia’s story about her experience with Postpartum Psychosis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We live in a pretty amazing time. Private citizens are going to outer space, cars are able to drive themselves to places without a human, all kinds of crazy things that our grandparents would never have imagined. I love hearing about the advances in science and technology. And what we’re talking about today might seem like it’s always been around, but it’s actually fairly new. We’re talking about the idea of surrogacy. Being a surrogate mother means you carry someone else’s baby for them. And the first surrogate pregnancy just happened in 1985. Scientists and doctors just figured this out recently, during my lifetime! We’re talking today with Emily. She lives in Canada, and she was a surrogate. I could tell when we first spoke that she was kind of an upbeat, positive person. I wanted to know how surrogacy works, why she wanted to do it, if she got paid for it, all those things. She answered my initial questions, then we got into her story. So today, we’re going to chat with Emily as she takes us on this journey of when she decided to be a surrogate mother for a young couple there in Canada. She had never done this before, but she had some basic expectations of how it was supposed to work. But what actually happened was not what she expected at all. Emily on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyf_27/ Emily email - [email protected] Resources:Surrogacy.ca (Canada) Surrogate.com (US) PAIL Network - https://pailnetwork.sunnybrook.ca/BabyStepsFoundation.org October – International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month October 15 – Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day This podcast is sponsored by Better Help online counseling – get 10% off your first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. This podcast is sponsored by the LOL with Kim Gravel podcast – inspiring, uplifting conversations with intelligent people. Find it on any podcast app, or at LOLKim.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you have a best friend? I have a best friend. His name is Tim. He and I grew up together in Ohio. We went to the same school, same church, we would sleep over at each other’s house all the time. And we each have younger brothers, and they were also good friends, and our parents were really close as well. Of course I’m in Florida now, and Tim still lives up in Ohio. We haven’t seen each other in years, but we still communicate by phone and on Facebook pretty regularly. Tim’s the kind of guy that if I told him I had some kind of emergency and needed him here, he’d be on the next plane. And I’d do the same for him. That’s just what best friends are supposed to do. My guest on the podcast today is Alex, and his story kind of illustrates that. He was out working one day with a group of guys. This was in the summer, and they were working on a mountain that in the winter functioned as a ski slope. They were using chainsaws and getting the long mountain slope cleared of trees and other debris. Alex ends up getting seriously injured. But it wasn’t his chainsaw that caused his injury. And he didn’t get hit by a falling tree. Alex was run over from behind by an unmanned 1800 pound ATV, and he found himself trapped underneath it. He couldn’t get out; he couldn’t even move. And since he didn’t know if anyone else had seen this happen, he suddenly felt very alone. Then, his best friend Greg showed up. Alex’s podcast website: https://thebuildersjourney.com Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255 Suicide Prevention Text Line: 741741 This podcast is sponsored by Better Help online counseling – get 10% off your first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. This podcast is sponsored by Green Chef, the #1 meal kit for eating well – get $100 off including free shipping, by visiting GreenChef.com/WWTL100 and use promo code WWTL100. This podcast is sponsored by A Life’s Story podcast – incredible true stories of amazing people. Binge all 14 episodes of Season 1 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most adults remember where they were on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. In New York City, there were some thunderstorms the night before, but that day, 9/11, had started out beautiful and sunny, with clear skies. Then people started noticing that some large passenger planes were flying too low. When the first building was hit, there was confusion. Even the office workers who were in the building didn’t know exactly what had happened, just that there was an explosion and lots of smoke. The New York metropolitan area is home to the busiest airport system in the United States, with 3 major airports: JFK, Newark, and LaGuardia. On that morning, the air traffic controllers were also communicating about what they were seeing, and trying to figure out what was happening. On the ground, there were many 911 calls coming in. Firefighters were deployed from stations all over the city, as well as police officers from the NYPD and the Port Authority. One of the people involved on that day is my guest for this episode, Tim Brown. He was a New York City firefighter for 20 years, and that knowledge and experience lead to a job working in the Mayor’s office. He was specifically equipped to know what to do when any big emergency happened. He was one of the people who were in charge. But like everyone else on that morning 20 years ago, he had no idea what he was about to experience. Tunnel to Towers Foundation: https://t2t.org Facebook https://www.facebook.com/fftimnyc Website: http://www.fftim.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timbrown682/ Tim Brown email: [email protected] This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp online counseling – get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS This episode is sponsored by A Life’s Story podcast – available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I was watching a video online recently. I don’t remember where it was, probably in a subreddit. It was recorded on a security camera in some business. There’s no sound, but you can pretty much tell what’s going on. These two men are standing there, and they are obviously in some kind of argument. You know how, even when you can’t hear what someone is saying, it’s easy to see that they’re upset just because of their body language? That’s what this was. I don’t know if they were two customers, or a manager and a customer, doesn’t really matter. But they were angry. And they were getting up in each other’s face, but neither of them had touched the other one yet. It looked like it might evolve into a fist fight, but for now it was just a verbal confrontation. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a third person enters the view of the camera. He comes up behind one of the guys, and, from behind, hauls off and closed-fist punches him right in the head. And he’s out cold. Of course, he never had a chance to defend himself, or even to brace for the hit, because he never saw it coming. That’s what’s called a sucker punch. It just comes out of nowhere and knocks you right out. That’s kind of what we’re talking about in today’s podcast episode. But this story has nothing to do with a physical fight or anyone being hit in the head. I’m talking about an emotional sucker punch. This is when someone looks you in the eye, and they deliver some kind of news that you were not expecting at all, and what they just told you suddenly changes your whole life. As in, you know nothing is going to be the same going forward. That’s what happened to Victoria one Saturday morning, when a former neighbor showed up on her doorstep. Warning about this episode. Some of the content may be triggering, and isn’t suitable for children. So if you have kids in the car, you might want to skip this one or listen to it later. This episode is sponsored by A Life’s Story podcast – life stories of incredible people. Listen to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp online counseling – get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s something I find really fascinating, and that’s learning about the wildly different ways people react in a sudden emergency situation. Imagine you’re in a restaurant and the main dining room is full of people. Everyone’s talking, servers are buzzing around to their various tables, people are enjoying their food. Then suddenly at the table next to you, a middle-aged man clutches his chest, yells out in pain, and falls from his chair. It’s pretty clear he’s having a heart attack. He’s still conscious and breathing, but he is clearly in distress. And what does everyone do? No doubt, there will be a person who will yell out for someone to call 911. There will be people who see what’s happening, and their first reaction is to quickly look around the room, like they’re looking for help. There might be someone who goes to the man and tries to do CPR. Incidentally, if someone is still awake and breathing, you don’t need to do CPR. I can guarantee that many of the people at the nearby tables will not do anything – they’re definitely going to watch and see what happens, but they won’t take any action themselves. And there will be some people who will immediately get up and get away from what’s going on. Their brain tells them they need to leave. I know this, because I’ve seen it happen. And there will be some people who remain calm, and try to help. They’ll make sure someone has called for paramedics (or they’ll just take out their phone and make the call). They’ll get the man into a comfortable position, maybe talk to him, maybe check his pulse. These are the people you want to have around when something happens. But that’s the interesting thing about this. If you’ve never been in a situation like that, you don’t really know for sure how you’ll react. My guest today, Jen, doesn’t have to wonder about that. She knows how she reacts. That’s because one day at work in a retail clothing store, she turned around and was facing the barrel of a gun. Jen’s podcast is called I NEED BLUE – www.IneedBlue.net This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp online counseling – get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. This episode is sponsored by Felix Gray blue-light glasses. Get yours at FelixGrayGlasses.com/WHAT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a bonus episode on an off-week Friday. Today you'll hear Jessica's story of what happened to her fiancé Mike. Jessica and Mike have been together for seven years, and have five children. After a short family vacation, Mike got sick and was unexpectedly diagnosed with Covid. He was unvaccinated. If you would like to help, a GoFundMe account has been set up. Music credit: Almost in F by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3354-almost-in-f License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s story takes place off the coast of Somalia, a country in Africa. If you look at Africa on a map, you’ll see Somalia on the east coast, right on the water of the Indian Ocean. In fact, of all the countries in Africa, Somalia is the one with the longest coastline. And for the Americans listening, to give you an idea of how big it is, Somalia is almost the same size as the US state of Texas. But here’s the thing about Somalia. It’s considered to be one of the poorest countries in the world. I mean, here in Florida, we have homeless people. Some of you know, I work with a group here to help the homeless population get the things they need. But in Somalia, literally half of the people in that country don’t have a home or any kind of permanent residence. This means there are millions of people who are desperate, and hungry, and they’re vulnerable to abuse. And just on the north side of Somalia is the Gulf of Aden. This is a very popular water route for large ships carrying lots of cargo, headed either to or from the Suez Canal. In fact, each year there are around 20,000 of these ships passing by. That’s more than 50 ships every single day. So there’s a certain sector of the Somali population who sees all this valuable cargo going by each day, and they see an opportunity to make money. These are modern day pirates. They see many of these big ships as easy targets. I mean if there’s a large cargo ship carrying manufactured goods, they just want to get from point A to point B. They typically aren’t equipped to fight off or defend their ship from being hijacked and held for ransom. But today we’re going to hear a story from Robert. There was a time he was on one of those big ships, off the coast of Somalia. The pirates saw it as easy money. What they didn’t see was that Robert’s ship, the one being attacked, was a warship in the US Navy. This episode sponsored by BetterHelp online counseling – get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS. Reach more prospects by being a guest on podcasts! The Monetize the Mic conference, August 10-11, 2021, will teach you how to do that. Get your tickets at this affiliate link: WhatWasThatLike.com/conference Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I remember the first time I was ever exposed to domestic violence. My home life growing up was very much non-violent. I was the oldest of 3 boys, and of course we fought sometimes just like all brothers do. But really it was more arguing than fighting. We never got violent with each other. And my parents? I could never imagine either of them even thinking about hitting the other. It’s just not something that would ever be considered. They had been married for 56 years when my dad passed away in 2016. So I guess you could say I grew up pretty sheltered from that kind of thing. I just never saw it. But there was a time when I had a regular job, working in an office with probably 30 or 40 other people. This was quite a few years ago, and it was here in Florida, in downtown Tampa. I went in to work one day, and that morning I was surprised to see one of my co-workers, a young lady probably around 25 or so, had come to work with a bad black eye. Actually it was more than her eye – much of one side of her face was bruised and swollen. And when I saw her, in my sheltered little world I actually wondered what had happened. I didn’t ask her about it, because we weren’t what you would call “close” friends, and it was really none of my business anyway. But later on as I heard others discussing it, I realized that she had been beaten by her boyfriend. And at first I was really surprised – like why would anyone do that? She’s such a nice girl, always smiling, always friendly. Didn’t make sense. Then I got angry. I imagined what it would be like if someone did that to my wife, or one of my kids. So that was my first exposure to the results of domestic violence. But the reality is that it’s very, very common. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, more than 1 out of 3 women and 1 out of 4 men in the US will experience rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner. That’s the situation that Shareen found herself in. She was in constant fear of Jerome’s anger and his violence. And she didn’t think there was any way out for her. Finally, she confided in a co-worker – and neither of them had any idea of the terrifying experience they were in for that day. If you’re in an abusive or violent relationship, please tell someone. If you don’t have a person in your life you can talk to directly, here in the US you can get in touch with the National Domestic Violence Hotline. You can call them at 800-799-7233, or you can text the word START to 88788, or you can chat live with someone on their website at THEHOTLINE.ORG. If you need website hosting, the company I use and recommend is Siteground (affiliate link). For jewelry that’s beautiful AND earth friendly, go to AnaLuisa.com/WHAT and use the promo code WHAT for 10% off any item. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a perfect world, a child should be able to trust an adult. Children are dependent on adults for healthy food, medical attention, an education, and a safe environment. Children should be able to expect their parents to love them and protect them from any harm. But we don’t live in a perfect world. For my guest today, Michael, he and his siblings lived in a small home in Tampa, Florida. They desperately needed protection from harm. But the harm was coming from their parents. It was mostly his mother, Jamie Hicks. And because they were all home schooled, the abuse went undetected. In our conversation, Michael described some of the things he and the other children experienced from their abusive mother. And their father who did almost nothing to stop it from happening. There was a time when Child Protective Services was called out and investigated the family, but they weren’t able to put the pieces together enough to figure out what was going on in that house. So Michael and the other older children decided to come up with a plan to escape. Warning: this episode contains graphic descriptions of violence against children. Listener discretion is advised. This episode is sponsored by Felix Gray – for the best blue light filtering glasses on the market today, go to FelixGrayGlasses.com/WHAT. This episode is sponsored by HelloFresh, America’s #1 Meal Kit. To get up to 14 free meals and free shipping, go to HelloFresh.com/WWTL14 and use promo code WWTL14. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DNA technology is pretty amazing, and it’s gone mainstream. I recently submitted a DNA kit with one of the companies called 23andme. I got the results back, and they gave me a list of 1500 people who were all “somewhere” in my family tree. And I’ve even gotten in touch with some of them. Here’s an example. When I was a kid, we lived in Ohio but we had a lot of family in Virginia because that’s where my dad was from. I had a great uncle who lived in Virginia, and he was in the market for a dog. Well, it turns out our dog had just had a litter of puppies and we had a dog available. This puppy was a mixed breed but probably mostly black lab, and he was all black except for a little bit of white right on the tip of his tail. So we named him Tippy. I’m a real animal lover and I loved Tippy. This was when I was probably about 9 or 10 years old. We drove to Virginia and brought him with us, because he was of course going to live with my uncle. I remember the day we were leaving, and the last time I saw Tippy. I was really sad. Okay, now fast forward to a few weeks ago, when I got the results back from the DNA test. I got in touch with a young lady who was actually the granddaughter of my uncle in Virginia. I mentioned to her the story about Tippy (mainly because it’s one of the stories that stands out from my childhood). Later that day, she emailed me a picture of my uncle – and there was Tippy, in that picture. She said she remembered my great uncle, her grandfather, having that dog and what great companions they were. So I thought that was pretty cool. But that’s nothing compared to the story you’re about to hear from today’s guest, Monica. She’s 40 years old, she lives in the Midwest, and she has gone through her whole life, in a lot of ways, just like lots of other people. She grew up in a typical family environment, with her mom and her dad, so of course she knew who her family was. But then she discovered that what she thought was true for 40 years, wasn’t actually the truth at all. Links: 23andme.comAncestry.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember that Seinfeld episode where George is at his girlfriend’s mother’s house, and he sees a partially eaten éclair in the kitchen trash can, and he picks it up and takes a bite? Of course, someone sees him do it, and he tries to explain, and all sorts of hijinks ensue because that’s the world of TV sitcoms. My guest on today’s episode, in a way, plays that role in real life. He’s well-educated, fully employed, married, and is certainly able to afford buying groceries. But he doesn’t spend any money on food, since he’s able to get his food for free. And his freezers and pantry are full. Ricky’s food doesn’t come from inside the grocery story, but rather from the large bin behind the store. Want to learn more about the unusual subculture and community of dumpster divers, and see what kinds of things they find each day? Check out their subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DumpsterDiving/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you travel internationally, do you ever get nervous when you come back to your own country and have to go through all the questions about where you’ve been, your reason for travel, and what you’re bringing back into the country? This is stressful for a lot of people, even those who have not done anything wrong. My guest in this episode is Emily. She lives in Toronto, and a few years ago she spent some time in the Caribbean. She flew back into her home airport, and had to go through that process of being asked all the questions. Like a lot of people, this really stressed her out. But in Emily’s case, she had good reason to be nervous. Under her dress was roughly $150,000 in cocaine. That was a bad day for Emily. She told me the whole story, including how that experience led her to what she’s doing today. Follow Emily, and try some of her amazing popcorn: website: comebacksnacks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comebacksnacks/ Facebook: http://facebook.com/comebacksnacks YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoBFKhNnSi2dA_WXTDaRP2w This episode is sponsored by BetterHELP – professional counseling, done securely online. Get 10% off your first month by using this link: BetterHELP.com/WHATWAS This episode is sponsored by Ana Luisa – timeless, earth-friendly jewelry starting at just $39. Get 10% off by using this link: AnaLuisa.com/WHAT and use the promo code WHAT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peekskill, New York. Angela Correa was 15 years old. She was a student at Peekskill High School, with an interest in photography as a hobby and perhaps eventually a career. On November 15, 1989, she went missing, and an area-wide search was conducted. Two days later, Angela’s body was found. She had been beaten, raped, and strangled to death. Police began an investigation, and questioned some of the other students at Angela’s school. Based on some tips, they began to question one of her fellow students, 16 year old Jeff Deskovic. After a long session with a polygraph examiner, Deskovic confessed to the murder. He was charged and convicted, and sentenced. He was in prison for 16 years. Just one problem with this story: he didn’t do it. Jeff Deskovic is my guest on the show today, and we talked about a lot of things, including why he would confess to a murder that he didn’t commit, and what it was like to be a sensitive, 17 year old boy living in prison next to violent criminals. And best of all, what he’s been able to do since he got out. Deskovic Foundation: https://www.deskovicfoundation.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejeffreydeskovicfoundation/ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/deskovicfoundation/featured Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeskovicFDN Jeff’s TedX talk: https://www.deskovicfoundation.org/deskovic-tedx-talk Documentary “Convicted” on Amazon Prime: https://www.deskovicfoundation.org/deskovic-tedx-talk This episode sponsored by Felix Gray blue-light glasses and HelloFresh, America’s #1 meal kit. Music credit: Drone in D by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1200044 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monica was divorced, and now a single mom with two little kids. She wasn’t looking for a relationship. Kevin was a nice guy, and he’d never been married. When they first met, there was a chemistry between them, but Monica was reluctant. Fortunately, Kevin was persistent. This is their story, and it’s a good reminder for all of us – when you have someone you love, be sure to appreciate the time you have with them now. Because sometimes the unexpected can change everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I was a kid and even as a young adult, I had no fear of heights. I was always climbing trees, climbing all over the roof of our house, never had a second thought or any fear about it. Then, when I was 30, something happened that changed that. I fell off a ladder. You can get the full story by listening to the podcast. The thing is, what happened to me wasn’t even that bad. But imagine you’re walking along a trail, and there’s no guardrail next to it, and the other side of that trail is a 100 foot drop, which is about 30 meters, and the bottom of that is rocks. And suddenly you get too close to the edge, and you start to lose your footing. That’s what happened to Gil. This episode is sponsored in part by BetterHELP – professional counseling done online. As a What Was That Like listener, you can visit https://betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month. Music for this episode: We Always Thought the Future Would Be Kind of Fun by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/darkglow/ Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re talking about the concept of being alone. Many people all around the world have been recently exposed to some form of loneliness or isolation because of the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic. This problem started a little over a year ago, but for a lot of people it seems like it’s been longer than that, because they’ve had to stay at home in order to avoid getting infected. Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued the announcement to residents of the UK, back in March of 2020, that the primary key to mitigating the spread of the virus, and eventually defeating it, was to stay home. These were the most stringent restrictions in Britain since World War 2. Very few people thought we would still be dealing with this a year later. Being isolated at home, either by yourself or perhaps with some family members, can lead to some mental health issues. And that includes the possibility of depression. At least we have some ways to connect, using Zoom, Facetime, or some other audio/video communication. But it’s just not the same as being with people. Our guest today, Woniya, is actually pretty good at being alone. And we’re not talking about just being stuck at home. She was brought to a remote spot in the Arctic, nowhere near civilization – just a middle-of-nowhere place, and she was left there to fend for herself. She had to build her own shelter, find her own food, and somehow stay warm in the unbelievably cold Arctic winter. Woniya was a contestant on the reality show called Alone. This was Alone season 6, and it was called Alone in the Arctic. Right now, which is March of 2021, that whole season is available on Netflix. I highly recommend that you watch it, before listening to this episode. What we talk about here will make a lot more sense when you’ve seen what Woniya had to go through, and how she handled herself out there – for 73 days. I think you’ll agree with me that she’s pretty amazing. And if you want to learn some of the skills that she used to survive, click the link below for the Spring Online Gathering, and use the promo code WWTL15 for a discount off the enrollment fee (promo code expires April 1, 2021). Spring online gathering: https://academy.buckskinrevolution.com/springbrog website: www.buckskinrevolution.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqeQWXKz7vpLnu8Sde7Xrg Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/buckskin_revolution/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Buckskin-Revolution-276888169854940/ Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/woniyabuckskinrevolution Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you’re a police officer, one of the things you learn as part of your training is that there’s no such thing as a routine encounter, or a “regular” traffic stop. In most cases, you don’t know the person you’re about to interact with, or if they have a criminal history, or how desperate they might be. My guest today, Daril, found that out the hard way. He was a rookie officer, working the morning shift on a weekend, and he wasn’t necessarily expecting anything exciting to happen. But then he unknowingly crossed paths with a career criminal who had recently escaped from prison, and that man was determined to do anything to avoid being captured. Daril's book about his police career: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Chameleon-Life-Story-Supercop/dp/1646063252/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0 Daril's website: https://www.thebluechameleon.net/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Personally, I’ve never had a fear of flying. In fact, I really like it. I’m not sure if it’s the flying itself, or maybe it’s the fact that the flying just means I’m probably going somewhere to see people or have fun. But I’ve never had that feeling like “Oh…what if the plane just falls from the sky and we all die.” I don’t think I’ve ever worried about that. Which might be kind of odd, since I do have a fear of heights, but that only started after I fell off a roof. But that’s another story. And if you’re on a flight and you’re sitting next to someone who is just terrified, it doesn’t really matter if you tell them how safe it is to fly in an airplane. I mean, there are around 100,000 flights that happen every single day all around the world. There’s really nothing to be afraid of. But what if you’re on a flight…and there is actually cause for concern? Like, the pilot sees a thunderstorm ahead that you’ll be flying through, or maybe something is not working right on the plane, and he makes the announcement that the plane might be in trouble. That would probably scare most people. That’s what happened on a commercial flight from Phoenix to Dallas a couple of years ago. The pilot didn’t say what the problem was specifically, but he came over intercom and gave the passengers the instructions to brace for impact. Fortunately, the pilot was able to land the plane safely and no one was injured. But I’m guessing a few prayers went up, and some phone calls were made to loved ones. Can you imagine how happy those passengers must have been when they finally felt the wheels touch down on that runway, and they knew they were safe. My conversation today is with Matt. Matt is a licensed airplane pilot. And there was one day when he was flying a small plane, and it was just him – no passengers. He took off and got up to cruising altitude, and for a while everything seemed fine. What Matt didn’t know was…that plane would never touch down on an airport runway again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If this is your first time discovering the What Was That Like podcast, you need to know that this is NOT a normal episode. On this show, each episode is usually a conversation with a regular person who has been through some type of extremely unusual situation (such as a plane crash or a mass shooting). The guest comes on the show and tells the story of what happened, first hand. Check out some of the past episodes – I think you’ll like it. But this is a bonus episode, and it’s different. A bunch of listeners called in their questions for me, and I answered them. A couple of things that came up, in case you’re interested: Photo album of homeless people getting bikes Dave Jackson’s podcast episode about his dog, Dudley Big thanks to all those who sent in their questions! We’ll do this again sometime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trains are a big part of American culture, because they are really fascinating in so many ways. If you stand next to one, you realize – they are just so BIG. And they have so much power, to be able to pull all that weight. And wow, are they LOUD. Not just the sound of the engine, and the steel wheels on the track, but that horn – you can hear it even if you’re nowhere near the railroad tracks. Kids and adults of all ages are fascinated by trains. And they are fun to watch, as they rumble by. Maybe you get a wave from the engineer. It’s great entertainment, as long as everything works like it’s supposed to work. Deneen was with her two little girls one day, at a railroad crossing, watching the train go by just a few feet from the front of their car. Then she realized that something was very wrong, and that train was about to crash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

December 26, 2004. That was the day a huge earthquake happened. In fact, it’s the third-largest earthquake ever recorded, and it had the longest duration of faulting that has ever been observed – between eight and ten minutes. But there was something different about this earthquake. It happened underwater. It took place in the Indian Ocean. The epicenter was off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The result of this enormous earthquake happening under the ocean was that it created massive waves of water, up to 100 feet, or about 30 meters, high. These waves arrived without warning. More than 227,000 people woke up that morning and went through their normal routine, not realizing it was their last day to be alive. I remember when it happened. It was a Sunday, the day after Christmas. Of course it was the leading news story all over the world. I heard how the story unfolded, how the underwater earthquake happened, and the unbelievable numbers as the death toll kept rising. It was an incredible tragedy. But I was in the US, and that horrific scene was on the other side of the world. It didn’t seem real. But for my guest today, Aaron, that scene was very real. He was there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s the most scared you have ever been? I’m not talking about being on a crazy roller coaster ride, or watching a scary movie. What we’re talking about on this episode is the kind of fear that just grips you, and controls you, and won’t let you think about anything else. I asked some of the listeners of this podcast that very question recently, in our private Facebook group. And at the end of this episode, you’ll be able to hear some of their answers – and there’s quite a variety. Turns out being scared can show up in our lives in a lot of different ways. And our guest today, Kira, has experienced that kind of gut-wrenching fear. She was on a downtown street, alone. It was dark, because it was 3:30 am. She was walking to work, and thought everything was okay. But she suddenly realized, she was not alone. Mentioned in this episode: the Noonlight app. It’s free for both iOS and Android, at Noonlight.com (there are paid versions with additional features). You can contact Kira at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alaska is home to a lot of wildlife, including bears. Dan loves the outdoors. You name just about any outdoor activity, and he has done it. Hiking, camping, boating, climbing, and his main obsession – fishing. In his time outdoors, Dan has had more than one encounter with a bear. Typically, they just run off when they see a human. But there was one day when Dan unexpectedly crossed paths with an angry grizzly bear. It was a day he’ll never forget. Music at the end of this episode is part of the song Comatose Rider, written and performed by Dan Bigley. Let’s take a walk, by the river sideFish in the basket, red dog by my sideFeels like so long ago, I was 25 years old I cannot see, through the visions in my headFeels like I’ve been for so long in my bedSeems like the more I learn, the more my life seems newAnd you’re coming into view ChorusI don’t know how I got to the top of the mountainI don’t know, but I believe that its trueI don’t know how I got to the top of the mountainBut its got something, something to do with youIts got Something to do with youIts got everything to do with youSomething to doWith you VerseWhen it feels like, the desert sun and the canyon wrenAre a million miles awayI can hear you voice inside my head, whisper its gonna be OK ChorusI don’t know, how I got to the top of the mountainI don’t know, but I believe that its trueI don’t know how I got to the top of the mountainBut its got something, something to doWith youIts got something to do with youIts got everything to do, with youSomething to doWith you… Guitar solo OutroOh, are you feeling aliveOh, are you feeling aliveOh, are you feeling aliveOh, are you feeling so alive so alive singingOh, so alive, singingOh, yes I’m feeling so alive so alive, singingOh, so aliveOh, so alive Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was an early morning in Indiana. Steven, 18 years old, was on his way home from an overnight shift at work. Around 6:30 am, he got into the first car accident of his life – a minor fender bender – and was exchanging information with the other driver. He had no idea that his second crash, a much bigger one, was about to happen. Music credit: Industrial Cinematic by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3909-industrial-cinematic License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to an article in Business Insider magazine, one of the most stressful jobs in the US is being a 911 dispatcher. Out of 600 listed occupations, a 911 emergency operator’s job ranked at #13 for stress levels. They’re trained to remain calm on every call, regardless of how panicked the caller might be, or what’s happening on the other end of that phone line. But what about when a call comes in, and the caller is someone you know? My conversation today is with Mariah. One day, she received a text message in which her brother, Nate, was threatening suicide. Mariah and her boyfriend immediately started driving to where Nate said he was, at the back of a local forestry. On the way, Mariah called 911 to get help – and the voice that answered “911, what is your emergency?” was a voice that she knew very well. If you are having suicidal thoughts, please call this number: 800-273-8255 anytime night or day to talk with someone. Your life is worth living. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brandon spent 17 years working as an equestrian stuntman. But he didn’t grow up on a farm, and he didn’t spend his youth around horses. Back then, he was more interested in playing hockey. But he and his family did enjoy visiting Renaissance Fairs, and he met the right person at the right time. He got the opportunity to start learning how to be a stuntman – first working on the ground as a “squire”, then later helping to train the horses, and eventually to work as a stunt rider. But his very first “stunt riding” experience was not what he expected. Do you have questions for Brandon? He’s in the What Was That Like private Facebook group – join us over there at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook. You can also follow Brandon on Instagram (stickfigurehero) and Twitter (stickfigurehero). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you worry about your privacy on the internet? Do you ever think about how much someone could find out about you, if they wanted to? Have you wondered if your life could be destroyed, over the internet, by a stranger? Maybe you should. Monika was happy. She was a successful real estate agent. She used social media to connect with friends, and family, and clients. Just like everyone else does. But one day, without realizing it, she made a mistake. And she had no idea what was about to happen. Photo courtesy of Margo Gray, WAFF 48 in Huntsville, Alabama Mechanolith by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4031-mechanolith License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Very few things in life could be more traumatic or horrifying than discovering a suicide. Remember how shocked we all were back in August of 2014, when police announced that legendary actor and comedian Robin Williams was found by his personal assistant, having committed suicide. There are so many factors to consider in that case, but I remember that when this happened, I kept thinking about how that person, his assistant, felt as she entered that room and discovered him on that Monday morning. She had worked with him for over 20 years, and it was more than just an employer – employee relationship. They were also close personal friends. It’s hard to imagine going through something like that. Our guest today is Liz. She has experienced this as well. But the suicide she discovered was not her boss, or just a close friend. It was her husband. Going through that would be bad enough. But for this podcast episode, Liz has even another story that is almost completely unrelated to her husband’s suicide. She’s been through a lot, and now she works trying to help people who have gone through similar tragedies. Check the links below for information on her book, and the work she’s doing. A warning: this episode contains descriptions of graphic violence against a child. It’s definitely not suitable for everyone. If you’d like to support this podcast and get access to all of the exclusive bonus episodes, you can do that at WhatWasThatLike.com/support. Special thanks to J.T. Tschirhart for doing the voiceover for the message from Levi Aron. Episode links: Dr Liz website: https://DrLizLifeLaunch.com YouTube: https://youtu.be/yGFm6oiUdFg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizette.bataille.3 Dr Liz’s book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V3N3YL5/ Leiby Kletzky Memorial Fund info: https://patch.com/new-york/ditmaspark/leiby-kletzky-memorial-fund-b8221f9f Suicide Hotline: 800-273-8255 – available 24 hours a day, every day Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you remember when you were young, and going through your teenage years? Didn’t time seem to go by a lot more slowly back then? All those years, waiting, and looking forward to that one big day when you’re finally out on your own. Now that was something to be excited about, right? You’d have your own car, your own place, you could come and go whenever, you could stay up as late as want, it would be like heaven on earth! Of course, now that we’re past that stage in life, we know that being out on your own and responsible for yourself is not always the paradise and freedom that we might have anticipated. My guest today, Terri, was right at that breakthrough stage. Leaving home for the first time, being on her own, even moving hundreds of miles away – it was all very exciting. But then as soon as she moved in to her new place – the very first day she was there, actually – she found out that the real world can bring with it some unexpected and horrific things. It was a day she’ll never forget. If you like the show, please consider becoming a supporter. That not only tells me you enjoy the podcast, it also means you can get access to all the other bonus episodes that are only available to patrons. There are different levels of support and all the details are at WhatWasThatLike.com/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we have a really fun episode that is going to make you smile. My guest today is Robin, and Robin likes to have fun. She’s different. And she’s on today’s show to tell us about an experience she had – she was hired by the Oscar Mayer hot dog company to drive the Wienermobile. And I realize some people might not be familiar with the Wienermobile, especially those outside the US. What we’re talking about here is a large vehicle that is designed to look like a giant hot dog. Yes, this is an actual street-legal vehicle, 27 feet long (about 9 meters). If you’re in the US, you might be surprised some day and see one traveling on a street, right there in your city. And while this kind of vehicle seems like it would be unique, there are actually SIX of them traveling the country at any given time. They show up at grocery store grand openings, theme parks, pickle festivals, all kinds of events. And the drivers give out merch such as Wienie Beanies, Wienermobile Hot Wheels cars, and the ever popular Wiener Whistles. Well, my friend Robin decided that she wanted to be a Wienermobile driver. So today she’s going to talk about how she made herself stand out from the other ONE THOUSAND applicants and got the job, and what the job is actually like. And a couple of other things – Robin lives in New York City. You’ve heard of The Moth, right? Really popular podcast. In New York, they regularly do storytelling competitions, and Robin has competed in these. They’re called Story Slams. And she has actually won! And at the end of this episode, I asked her to tell me about the time she was able to meet the comedy legend, Jerry Stiller. Great story. So I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. If you’d like to support the show, and get access to all the bonus exclusive content, you can do that at WhatWasThatLike.com/support. YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/user/YumsTheWordShow Robin’s blog – https://www.robingelfenbien.com/blog Robin’s website – https://www.robingelfenbien.com/ Recess with Auntie Robin - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2579481095698218 Is the Wienermobile in your area? https://khcmobiletour.com/wienermobile Podcast - http://www.yumsthewordshow.com/ Instagram – https://instagram.com/robin.gelfenbien Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today is September 11. Today is the day we remember and honor those who lost their lives here in America on September 11, 2001. 246 innocent people aboard the four planes that were hijacked. 2,606 people in the World Trade Center and the surrounding area. 343 of these were firefighters, and 71 were law enforcement officers. 125 people in the Pentagon. In today’s episode, we’re going to hear from two people who were there. Lori Brody and her brother, Scott, both worked at the World Trade Center. She survived; he did not. Lori will tell us what happened to her that day, and in the years since. Joe Falco was a New York City firefighter. He was working to save lives at the World Trade Center, and was injured when the buildings collapsed. May we never forget those who were lost on September 11, 2001. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every sporting activity involves some degree of risk. Risk of injury or even risk of death. I bike about 10 miles each morning and I’m pretty careful. And I record video with a GoPro mounted on my helmet for every ride, which was inspired by my interview with William, episode 20 of this podcast if you want to check that out. But I know that no matter how careful I am, there is still the small possibility that something could happen. Same with almost anything else – running, playing tennis, swimming, you name it. But for most people, when you think of the question, “What is the most dangerous sport?”, the answer that comes to mind is skydiving. It just seems like common sense that jumping out of a plane is really dangerous, right? But in reality, just driving a car is a LOT more dangerous. In fact, statistics show that if you decide to go and do a skydive, you’re 24 times more likely to die in a car accident on the way to the drop zone than you are to die while you’re skydiving. But, the unexpected does happen. Today we’re going to hear from Eric. Eric lives here in Florida and he and I have known each other for years. We’re mostly connected through the ultrarunning community, even though I don’t think either of us actually runs ultramarathons currently. Eric is an avid skydiver. One day Eric was skydiving with about 10 other people. It was a fairly routine jump when they exited the plane, but one person had a serious problem with his main parachute. Then he had a serious problem with his reserve parachute. As you probably know, there isn’t a third parachute. Somehow, Eric was able to see what was happening from thousands of yards away. And he ended up saving someone’s life that day. He also got that whole thing on video. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today you are going to hear from James. He’s a young man who lives in England, and he has quite a scary story about something that happened to him one day at work, in 2019. He and his partner were cutting down a huge tree, and things did not go as planned. I’ll let James fill in the details. And at the end of today’s episode: A new podcast for you to check out – Minds of Madness You can sign up for my email newsletter Raw Audio episode 4 is live Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It gets pretty cold in Mason City, Iowa in the winter. Just ask Gael - he lives there. Gael is 18 years old. One day last December, on a particularly freezing day, he was on his way to a class. Just a routine day, driving along, and he’s approaching a bridge that goes over a big river. Except he doesn’t make it to the bridge. Instead, he finds himself in the middle of the river, and the water is rising in the car. And somehow, during the crash, his phone got lost. But a young lady named Siri was still listening. This episode includes the 911 call that Gael made, while trapped in his car in the river. A warning about this episode, if you use an iPhone – during the story, Gael will use that lady’s name. You know, the lady in the iPhone whose name starts with “S” and he tells her to call the police. So be aware of this, so that YOUR phone doesn’t hear that instruction and make a phone call to your local police department. And after today’s story, we’ll get a sneak preview of Raw Audio 3, as well as some of the reviews that have come in recently. Bridge photo courtesy Amy Fleming/KIMT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s something that you and I do every day, all day. We make decisions. That’s something that we literally do all day. In fact, some sources say the average person makes 35,000 decisions every day. I don’t know how accurate that number is, but I’m sure it’s a lot. Most of them we don’t really even think about consciously. Which shoe to put on first, how much toothpaste to put on the toothbrush, which checkout line at the grocery store – those are all kind of subconscious. The bigger decisions we do think about – what to have for lunch, what kind of car do I buy, those are more deliberate. You even make a choice about what podcast you want to listen to – and I’m happy to tell you right now, when you choose this podcast, you have made the right choice! But what if you were suddenly in an emergency situation, and you didn’t know if you were going to make it out alive, and you were faced with making the decision of how you prefer to die? That’s the spot Lesli found herself in one day. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and she’s been through a pretty incredible experience. She survived, thanks to a couple of men named Bill – one was her friend, and the other was a stranger. And you’re about to hear her tell me what happened. It was crazy enough that she was invited to Ellen’s show to talk about it. And be sure to hang around til the end, because after our conversation I’ll have a sneak preview of the new bonus episode, Raw Audio #2, which are 911 audio stories and exclusive content, and it’s live and available right now for patrons of the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katmandu, the capital city of Nepal. April 25, 2015. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck without warning. In the end, nearly 9,000 people lost their lives, and close to 22,000 were injured. Entire villages were destroyed, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. And not far from the epicenter was Mt Everest. There were a lot of people on the mountain that day, and 19 climbers were killed. Michael Churton is an adventure filmmaker based out of New York City. He’s done work for National Geographic, NBC, ABC, Discovery, and the Science Channel. He’s been doing this for more than 20 years. Michael was at Mt Everest Base Camp when the earthquake happened. And he was right in the path of the deadly avalanche that was triggered immediately after. And even though he survived, not all of his teammates came back. Michael was on the mountain to document an adventure. But what happened that morning has turned that project into a documentary that he’s currently working on, to tell what happened on Mt Everest’s deadliest day on record. This film is called Bound To Everest, and you can see the trailer on his website. And if you want to support this podcast, and get exclusive access to bonus episodes, you can do that at WhatWasThatLike.com/support. Website – https://BoundToEverest.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/michael.churton Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/michaelchurton/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/churtz Email - [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is an off week for the What Was That Like podcast, but I’m here to introduce you to something new for the show that I’m pretty excited about. Today you’re going to hear a bonus episode to kick off a new, ongoing series. These episodes are called Raw Audio. One of the most popular features in some of the episodes for this podcast have been the 911 calls. When you hear the voice of a person calling the 911 emergency number and describing what’s going on, it can feel like you’re right there with them. These are not actors reading lines on a script, and they’re not re-enactments for a TV show. These are real-life moments, recorded as it happens. I’ve wanted to incorporate more of those 911 calls into the show, but it’s just not always practical for each episode. So I decided I would create some new episodes, and the actual FOCUS would be on that emergency call. You’ll hear the backstory on what was happening, and you’ll hear the 911 emergency calls that took place, and you’ll hear what happened afterward. Unfortunately, not all of these stories have a happy ending. So the first episode is happening right now, and this episode is available to everyone. After today, future Raw Audio episodes will only be available to patrons, through my Patreon page. Any supporter at the $5 level or higher will have exclusive access to these new episodes. So if you haven’t yet signed up, you can do that at WhatWasThatLike.com/support. In today’s premier episode, you’ll hear: an off-duty officer on the phone with the 911 operator, as someone is breaking into his house, where his two young children are sleeping a man calling the emergency number from his car, while he is driving with his family some restaurant employees calling for help after one of their co-workers is attacked As I said, these are intense. They are not for the faint of heart. But if you want true life, real life stories, that’s what you’ll get with these exclusive episodes. I mean, the regular episodes you hear on this show are crazy enough, and those will continue as always, and they will always be free. But the Raw Audio ongoing series takes it to the next level. So see what you think of today’s show, and if you want to support the show and hear every episode, get over to WhatWasThatLike.com/support and become a patron. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest for this episode is Dave, and Dave recently found himself $113,000 richer, and he attributes that to some practice, some luck, and a pretty good talent for solving word puzzles. He won that money by being a contestant on Wheel of Fortune. We discussed: How he prepared for the game How he actually got on the show as a contestant The special instructions he was given What Pat Sajak and Vanna White are REALLY like How he’s handling taxes on his winnings And there’s a bonus story toward the end of our conversation about how Dave actually saved someone’s life (unrelated to his game show appearance). Here’s Dave winning cash, a trip to Barbados, and a new BMW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf80KRDaKaQ And if you’d like to join the other listeners who support this podcast, you can do that at WhatWasThatLike.com/support. Music credit: Scheming Weasel (faster version) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If this is your first time listening to this podcast, you need to know this is not a typical episode. Usually, each episode is a conversation with someone who has been through some type of extremely unusual situation, and that person comes on the show and tells what happened, first hand. Not this week. This week our country is in turmoil because a black man in Minneapolis died at the hands of the police. The video of that happening in broad daylight has – again – shown that racism in America is alive and well. So I have to do something different here on this podcast, for this episode. Some people run for office to get elected and try to bring change from the inside. Some people hold signs. Some people go through police academy and become skilled police officers. I know that, because they are my close family members. Some people riot in the streets. I’m not here to comment on any of those things. For me, what I have is this podcast. It reaches a lot of people. So this is how I’m using it for this particular episode. When something like this happens, you see it on your TV or your computer or your phone and you read the story. But those are just words on the screen. There’s distance between you and what happened. With this episode, I want to put you at the scene. I’m going to present you with three true stories today. In each one of these stories, a person of color died at the hands of the police. What puts us at the scene is the phone call that was made when it happened. My hope today is that what you hear makes it more real. These are not just names in the newspaper or on the evening news. These are people, and what happened to them needs to be known. We need to be aware of this reality, and we need to find a solution to this problem. Because what we’ve been doing so far isn’t working. For more information about these three people: Atatiana Jefferson - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Atatiana_Jefferson Botham Jean - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Botham_Jean Breonna Taylor - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Breonna_Taylor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s your biggest fear? As humans, we have found that there are a lot of things we’re afraid of. Spiders, needles, flying in an airplane, thunderstorms, public speaking. Or death, that’s a big one. For some people, one of their biggest fears is having to go to prison. Of course, no one wants to go to prison. And most people don’t expect that they would ever have to spend time there. But consider this scenario. You’re a model citizen. You’ve never been arrested. Your worst run-in with the law is a speeding ticket. You’ve never used drugs. But then, you find out that your business partner has been doing some double billing for insurance payments, and as one of the owners of the company, you’re responsible. Insurance fraud. Or one day you’re driving home from work, and you have just a brief moment of inattention, and you clip someone riding a bicycle, and they die. Vehicular manslaughter. Your lawyer tells you your best option is to take a plea deal. And that means you’re going to spend some time in prison. Maybe several years. Pretty scary. That’s the situation that Dan found himself in. The plea deal he was offered meant that he could spend up to 60 months in prison. Five years of his life. He hoped it would be less than that, but he knew for sure that prison time was in his future. And he didn’t have any idea what to expect. He didn’t know what the inside of a prison looked like, what would happen on his first day, or if he would even be in an environment that was safe or dangerous. He actually made a video, asking his friends and family if anyone could offer him any advice. Fast forward six years – now Dan is the one offering that advice to people who are scared and heading to prison. He has his own business, working as a Prison Consultant. In this podcast episode, Dan told me all about his own prison experience, and how he works with his clients to get them prepared for their time in prison. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbkyics5l0ddag_3VIAL7Eg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RDAPDan/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rdapdan/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RDAPDan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rdapdan/ Website: https://www.federalprisontime.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever found yourself in some kind of weird situation or predicament, and you actually have no idea how you got there? And you’re asking yourself, “What just happened?” This is something I find really fascinating – when our brain is trying to figure out the reality of what is going on, but it just doesn’t have enough information to make sense of it. So the end result is usually confusion. But in some cases, it can be terrifying. Our guest today is Deb, and that’s what happened to her one day while she was downhill skiing with her friend Gary. It was a beautiful day, she’s in fresh snow, and she’s having a great time just flying down the mountain. But suddenly and without any warning, she just stopped. She’s on her back and unable to move. Then she finds that breathing is getting more and more difficult. There’s no one else around. And she has no idea what just happened. She figured out what happened eventually, of course. And get this – Ski Patrol took longer than they should have to get to her, because they couldn’t find her. And Deb says that mistake is what allowed her to survive this whole ordeal. If you like these stories and want to be one of the very special listeners who support the show, visit WhatWasThatLike.com/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s bonus podcast episode is being released in an “off week”, outside of the regular every-other-Friday schedule. This is being done to introduce you to the podcast called This Is Actually Happening. The host of This Is Actually Happening is Whit Missildine. He and I recently connected after realizing that our two podcasts are very similar – people telling their stories of unusual experiences, first hand. This week, we are trading episodes. He recently published my episode “Tyson was Abducted” for his show, and today I’m broadcasting his episode, which deals with a person who was struck by lightning. This is how Whit describes This is Actually Happening: “What is the most extraordinary event in your life that changed everything?” Over the last 6 years, no single question has fascinated me more. We live our everyday lives with a sense that we know who we are, what we want and what will happen. But at some point in our lives, many of us will experience something unthinkable – a massively unpredictable disruption that rattles our sense of self at the core. Who are we then? How do we recover? What do we become? I have explored these questions in over 100 interviews for This Is Actually Happening – a bi-weekly podcast that probes the extraordinary, life-altering events that shape the lives of ordinary people. We meet a woman who’s sister has five personalities, a son who was shot by his father, a man who wakes up in the morgue. Through stories like these, we gain intimate access to the chaotic interiors of the human story. With no narration or host interjections, This Is Actually Happening is a highly distilled, heavily edited, first-person show that cuts straight to the heart of the narrative. This episode is exactly the type of story I cover for each episode of WWTL so I think you’ll enjoy it. And I would like to get your feedback – just email me at [email protected]. This Is Actually Happening can be found on any podcast app, or at the website Permatemp.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Kimberly. Recently, Kimberly tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, also known as Coronavirus. She is a doctor. Note: No information on this website or this podcast should be construed as medical advice. The host is not a doctor. The guest for this episode is in fact a doctor, but she is in no way offering any medical advice here. If you have any questions concerning your health, you should consult your own physician. Kimberly was aware early on of how the COVID-19 virus was spreading, and she took extraordinary measures to avoid getting infected. She was concerned for herself, her husband and their 3 year old daughter. But even more so, she worried about the possibility of her parents contracting the virus; in particular, her father, who already has health issues that would make COVID-19 especially dangerous for him. But in spite of her efforts, she tested positive. And her case has been a rather severe and drawn-out one. She described her symptoms each day as she fought the virus for over a month. Just when she would think she was recovering, it would return. Kimberly agreed to come on the podcast and tell her story because she wants others who have tested positive to know they are not going through it alone. And to advise those recovering to take things slowly. Kimberly kept a journal of her journey through this experience, and you can read that here: https://medium.com/@drkimberlykruse/your-test-was-positive-d2638fbbe450 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve all experienced embarrassment at some point. It’s not something anyone enjoys or wants to go through. But there’s another level of embarrassment: humiliation. I think it’s safe to say to say that very few people have experienced the level of embarrassment or humiliation that William has. Imagine being on the most popular talent show in the country – American Idol – and failing badly. The judges laugh at you and send you home. One of them even calls your singing “grotesque”. Then the video of that terrible audition gets broadcast on television, and ends up going viral worldwide. So your huge failure is seen by millions of people everywhere, and your name becomes synonymous with that bad performance. That’s what happened to William. What I just described is what most people know about William Hung. But there’s a lot more to his story, which you’re about to find out. If you’d like to join the other listeners who support this podcast, you can do that at WhatWasThatLike.com/support, and I thank you. William Hung links: Website Facebook Instagram Twitter Champion by Choice (Amazon affiliate link) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Tyler lives here in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. David is the person who introduced me to James Bain. James was arrested at age 19 as a suspect in a horrible crime, which you’ll learn about in a few minutes. He was convicted for that crime, and sentenced to prison. He spent 35 years in prison as part of his punishment for that crime. James was released from prison on December 17, 2009. David figured out how to get in touch with him, and invited him to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers football game. They've been close friends ever since. What’s interesting about this is the story behind WHY James was released. It’s not because he finished his prison sentence, or because he convinced the parole board that he was ready to enter society again. James was released because after he had spent 35 years in prison, DNA evidence cleared him of being connected with the crime. He was innocent. It’s kind of hard for me to even wrap my mind around being out of normal society for 35 years. I mean, that was the mid 1970s. No one had computers, no one had cell phones. Even a lot of televisions being sold then were still just black and white. So you can imagine it was quite a revelation for James when he was released and saw how the world and technology had changed over 35 years. David introduced me to James a few months ago, at the 10 year anniversary of the day James was released from prison. I asked him if he would like to come on the podcast and tell his story. I hope you enjoy it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices