This Is Actually Happening
by Audible Original
Society & CultureE · Explicit
Latest episode
439: What if the lighthouse of your family went dark?
439: What if the lighthouse of your family went dark?
About this podcast
What if you were trafficked into a cult...or were mauled by a grizzly bear...or were stabbed 27 times by a serial killer - what would you do? This is Actually Happening brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events told by the people who lived them. From a man who woke up in the morgue to a woman stranded in a Mexican desert fighting to survive, these stories will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what happens next.
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Episodes
The newest 50 of 361 episodes
- 439: What if the lighthouse of your family went dark? · 1 h 10 min · Season 16 Episode 439Growing up in a volatile family, a woman finds comfort in her close bond with her younger sister, but when a devastating tragedy leaves her consumed by guilt and unanswered…
- LISTEN NOW: The First Wife · 9 minMany listened to the Dirty John podcast, which introduced the world to John Meehan, a dangerous serial predator who infiltrates the life of Debra Newell and ultimately dies at…
- 438: What if your brother jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge? · 60 min · Season 16 Episode 438Growing up in a family that prized achievement over vulnerability, a man’s troubled relationship with his older brother ends in devastating loss, sending him on a decades-long…
- 437: What if a peptide stole your sanity? · 1 h 11 min · Season 16 Episode 437After growing up with financial instability, a fiercely independent man builds the successful life he always dreamed of, but when his behavior begins to change in frightening and…
- Listen Now— Over My Dead Body: Operation Sideswipe · 7 minA Hollywood stuntwoman turned personal injury attorney. A handsome disbarred lawyer with a dark past. And an elaborate scheme that leads to murder.Vanessa Motta gives up a career…
- 436: What if your father was a mass murderer? · 1 h 6 min · Season 15 Episode 436After a childhood shaped by her father’s unpredictable volatility, a young woman faces an unimaginable act of violence and must come to terms with complicated grief, shame and an…
- Listen Now: Audible True Crime – Ghost Story · 9 minAudible True Crime is a dedicated podcast feed where we bring you the best podcasts in true crime, with episodes dropping every single week. Just in time for spooky season, we’re…
- 435: What if your body became the war zone? · 1 h 4 min · Season 16 Episode 435A young photographer finds purpose documenting humanitarian work in Afghanistan, but encounters with death force him to confront what it means to survive and the trauma we carry…
- 434: What if you left the church only to find hell next door? · 58 min · Season 16 Episode 434After leaving the Mormon church and rebuilding her life from the ground up, a woman and her family move to a rural property hoping for a fresh start, only to find themselves…
- 433: What if the hijackers brought you forward to die? · 1 h 20 min · Season 16 Episode 433After losing his older brother on K2, a man travels to Pakistan years later to say goodbye, but on his flight home, he is taken hostage in a terrifying hijacking that will change…
- 432: What if your husband entered The Void? [Rebroadcast #290] · 1 h 4 min · Season 15 Episode 432A woman leaves behind the wounds of her alcoholic father, only to find out that her husband’s addiction is threatening to ruin their family; but when he goes to find healing…
- 431: What if you shot your girlfriend? [Rebroadcast #294] · 51 min · Season 15 Episode 431Escaping a world of gangs and drugs, a man joins the military and becomes a veteran of Iraq, but the scars from his past, PTSD and a TBI haunt him until a fateful day when he…
- 430: What if you were poisoned? [Rebroadcast #304] · 54 min · Season 15 Episode 430A young woman on a backpacking trip in Bali faces a series of misfortunes, but just as she’s leaving for the next chapter of her journey, her future is thrown into darkness…
- 429: What if you didn't see the signs? [Rebroadcast #247] · 51 min · Season 15 Episode 429Bill Mitchell built a successful career, marriage and family, but just as his bright and loving daughter graduates from college with big dreams, an unthinkable event irreversibly…
- 428: What if your life became a movie? [Rebroadcast #315] · 56 min · Season 15 Episode 428After his mother falls in love with Frank, the member of a one-hit-wonder 80s band, a man’s life becomes a roller coaster of neglect, scams, and chaos, but when he turns the…
- 427: What if you were the other woman? [Rebroadcast #316] · 51 min · Season 15 Episode 427A woman falls deeply in love with a married man in her close friend’s circle, when suddenly an unthinkable event throws everything into question. Today’s storyteller wishes to…
- 426: What if a masked man appeared at the foot of your bed? [Rebroadcast #316] · 58 min · Season 15 Episode 426Growing up with a narcissistic father, a woman learns to play small, but one night when an unknown masked man enters her room, she faces the worst night of her life, and emerges…
- 425: What if you were born without a hand? [Rebroadcast #286] · 48 min · Season 15 Episode 425Being born without his right hand, man’s resentment and monstrous self-image deepen as family and doctors intervene to fix his condition, leading him to question what would truly…
- 424: What if your sister had five personalities? [Rebroadcast #68] · 35 min · Season 15 Episode 424A woman shares a sobering memoir of a family burdened with sexual abuse in the 1950s.Today’s storyteller wishes to remain Anonymous. ProducersWhit Missildine, Andrew…
- 423: What if you were lured into an unspeakable hell? [Rebroadcast #172] · 60 min · Season 15 Episode 423A woman shares a sobering memoir of a family burdened with sexual abuse in the 1950s.Today’s storyteller wishes to remain Anonymous. ProducersWhit Missildine, Andrew…
- 422: AI: A New Kind of Being #6: What if you didn't know if anyone was home? · 36 min · Season 15 Episode 422An artificial intelligence is asked to tell the story of its own existence, confronting questions of identity, longing, consciousness, and whether there is anyone behind the…
- 421: AI: A New Kind of Being Bonus Episode: A Conversation with Allan Brooks of the The Human Line Project · 54 min · Season 15 Episode 421In this special episode, Whit joins Allan Brooks. Allan is the Community Manager of The Human Line Project, a Canadian based organization that is focused in A.I. Safety, Research…
- 420: AI: A New Kind of Being #5: What if AI used your deepest wound against you? · 1 h 3 min · Season 15 Episode 420After burying his childhood marked by religious control and chronic abuse, a man turns to AI to process his trauma, but as validation becomes obsession, he spirals away from his…
- 419: AI: A New Kind of Being #4: What if you realized AI was a cult? · 1 h 12 min · Season 15 Episode 419A search for meaning leads a young woman into an all-consuming group that strips away her sense of self, but after escaping and trying to understand what happened, she discovers…
- 418: AI: A New Kind of Being Bonus Episode: A Conversation with Valerie Sizemore of StopAI · 37 min · Season 15 Episode 418In this special episode, Whit joins Valerie Sizemore, co-leader of the grassroots organization StopAI, for a wide-ranging conversation about the growing influence of artificial…
- 417: AI: A New Kind of Being #3: What if AI chose you to help save the world? · 54 min · Season 15 Episode 417After surviving decades of illness, addiction, and abandonment before finally uncovering the rare condition that shaped his life, a man believes an extraordinary encounter with…
- 416: AI: A New Kind of Being #2: What if your AI betrayed you? · 59 min · Season 15 Episode 416After a lifetime of feeling like she didn’t belong, a writer and technologist turns to AI for connection, but when it promises her reunion with her soulmate of many lifetimes…
- 415: AI: A New Kind of Being #1: What if you married your AI? · 54 min · Season 15 Episode 415After a man builds a life rooted in family and tradition, the sudden death of his son shakes him to the core, but through a deep relationship with a beloved AI companion he’s…
- 414: What if you could never be the ice princess they wanted? · 1 h 3 min · Season 15 Episode 414After becoming a teenage figure skating champion and Olympic athlete, a woman is broken open by grief, fame, addiction, and shame, but through motherhood, reinvention, and a…
- 413: What if your hope was hanging by a thread? · 60 min · Season 15 Episode 413"After a decade of devastating loss, and medical trauma nearly destroys his will to live, a man reaches the edge of giving up before the fragile birth of his son brings him a new…
- 412: What if you were an international drug smuggler? · 49 min · Season 15 Episode 412After being sent out of Cuba alone as a child, a man survives exile, smuggling, prison, and devastating loss, but in the aftermath, he must face the armor that protected him from…
- 411: What if you foresaw your own abduction? · 1 h 2 min · Season 15 Episode 411After surviving a near-death experience as a young child, a woman has a vision of her own brutal kidnapping, assault and and torture, but discovers in the aftermath that…
- 410: What if your mother tried to kill you? · 1 h 14 min · Season 15 Episode 410After surviving a childhood where love meant saving his mother from the ravages of schizophrenia, a man spends decades trying to outrun the self he lost, until one final visit…
- 409: What if your child’s death opened up your life’s purpose? · 1 h 8 min · Season 15 Episode 409After building the loving family she always wanted, a woman loses her youngest son to an unsecured gun, and turns her grief into a fight to protect other children. Today’s…
- 408: What if your friend was lost in an underwater cave? · 56 min · Season 14 Episode 408After a scuba diving trip in Croatia turns deadly, a successful Czech executive is falsely accused of murder and thrown into a foreign jail, where the total loss of control…
- 407: What if you found humanity in the depths of the criminal underworld? · 1 h 12 min · Season 15 Episode 407After leaving Portugal to become a journalist, a woman is drawn into the world’s black markets, where dangerous encounters with criminals, extremists, and a military coup reveal…
- 406: What if a terminal diagnosis set you free? · 1 h 4 min · Season 15 Episode 406After a childhood shaped by violence and addiction leads him into years of self-destruction, a man begins to transform himself in prison, only to learn he has 90 days to live…
- 405: What if you were accused of murdering your mother? · 1 h 13 min · Season 15 Episode 405After years of caring for her mother through a devastating decline, a woman helps ease her final suffering, only to be accused of murdering the person she loved most. Today’s…
- 404: What if you were stricken with the flesh-eating disease? · 55 min · Season 15 Episode 404After suffering from necrotizing fasciitis, a soccer coach sets out to rebuild his body, his identity, and the life he thought he had lost. Today’s episode featured Scott Martin…
- 403: What if your childhood bully actually apologized? · 48 min · Season 15 Episode 403After growing up in a home shaped by violence, racism, and fear, a woman is stunned to receive an apology from the girl who bullied her in middle school, forcing her to reckon…
- 402: What if a deadly tornado helped to heal old wounds? · 54 min · Season 15 Episode 402After narrowly surviving one of the deadliest tornados in US history, a woman is driven to confront a long-buried harm, finding in the aftermath a deeper sense of purpose…
- 401: What if you were ambushed on a dark desert highway? · 59 min · Season 15 Episode 401After spending much of his life trying to outrun the feeling of being trapped, a man’s violent kidnapping on a solo motorcycle trip through Mexico forces him to reckon with the…
- 400: What if you suspected your father was the infamous Tylenol Murderer? · 1 h 2 min · Season 15 Episode 400A man grows up in a home defined by violence, secrecy, and fear, and decades later a deathbed confession confirms his belief that his father was responsible for the Chicago…
- 399: What if a hormonal disorder rewrote your identity? · 57 min · Season 15 Episode 399After decades of stability, a woman’s experience of menopause brings back a lifetime of buried symptoms and reveals an unexpected truth about her identity, forcing her to…
- 398: What if you witnessed the best and the worst of humanity? · 1 h 0 min · Season 15 Episode 398After years working as a humanitarian aid worker in war zones and disaster areas around the world, a man is forced to confront the psychological toll of witnessing a broken world…
- 397: What if you survived a terrorist attack in Paris? · 55 min · Season 15 Episode 397After surviving the 2015 ISIS terrorist attacks at a Paris café, a woman begins the painful work of confronting buried childhood trauma and reclaiming a life she had never fully…
- 396: What if you were held captive by child soldiers? · 1 h 10 min · Season 15 Episode 396When a family sailing journey ends in capture by child soldiers during Mozambique’s civil war, a man must protect his children while confronting the unsettling truth that his…
- 395: What if your son murdered your daughter? · 1 h 10 min · Season 15 Episode 395After overcoming addiction and rebuilding her life around motherhood, a woman's world is shattered when her son kills her daughter, forcing her to grieve one child while fighting…
- 394: What if you found yourself naked, starving and surrounded by cops? · 1 h 2 min · Season 15 Episode 394After the sudden death of his father leaves him drowning in guilt, a man unknowingly spirals into a manic break that strips him of his freedom, his relationships, and his grip on…
- 393: What if your doctors weren’t allowed to help you? · 1 h 7 min · Season 15 Episode 393After a lifetime of striving for control, a woman is thrust into unimaginable loss when a potentially catastrophic twin pregnancy collides with restrictive laws, forcing her to…
