This Is Actually Happening-logo

This Is Actually Happening

Wondery

What if your mother left to follow a cult… or you woke up in a morgue… or if your boat got caught in a storm and began to sink -- 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 finds out a celebrity crush isn’t who she seems 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. New episodes come out every Tuesday for free. Listen 1-week early and to exclusive past episodes - all ad-free - with Wondery+ or Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

Play Button

Location:

Oakland, CA

Networks:

Wondery

Description:

What if your mother left to follow a cult… or you woke up in a morgue… or if your boat got caught in a storm and began to sink -- 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 finds out a celebrity crush isn’t who she seems 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. New episodes come out every Tuesday for free. Listen 1-week early and to exclusive past episodes - all ad-free - with Wondery+ or Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

Language:

English

Episodes

262: What if you were mauled by a grizzly bear?

1/24/2023
While hunting in the Canadian wilderness, a man accidentally comes between a grizzly bear cub and its mother and a terrifying a fight for his life ensues that will change him forever. Today's episode featured Jeremy Evans. You can find many more details about Jeremy and this story in his incredible memoir, 'Mauled: Lessons Learned from a Grizzly Bear Attack', published by Rocky Mountain Books. To contact Jeremy you can reach out to his Publicist at genevieve@rmbooks.com or contact Jeremy...

Duration:00:49:38

Wondery Presents: Frozen Head

1/23/2023
Hosted by Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart from the hit show Morbid. When 90-year-old Laurence Pilgeram drops dead on the sidewalk outside his condo, you might think that’s the end of his story. But, really, it’s just the beginning. Because Laurence and others like him have signed up to be frozen and brought back to life in the future. And that belief will pull multiple generations of the Pilgeram family into a cryonics soap opera filled with dead pets, gold coins, grenades, fist fights,...

Duration:00:03:52

261: What if your mother was a victim of a secret government experiment?

1/17/2023
A woman learns shocking truths about what happened to her mom when she was young, while caretaking her mentally ill father and grappling with revelations that haunt the family forever. Producer: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Twitter: @TIAHPodcast Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Website for Andrew Waits: www.andrdewwaits.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happening Wondery Plus: All...

Duration:00:58:30

261: What if your mother was a victim of a secret government experiment?

1/17/2023
A woman learns shocking truths about what happened to her mom when she was young, while caretaking her mentally ill father and grappling with revelations that haunt the family forever. Producer: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Twitter: @TIAHPodcast Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Website for Andrew Waits: www.andrdewwaits.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happening Wondery Plus: All...

Duration:00:58:00

260: What if your husband claimed you were dead?

1/10/2023
After a chaotic upbringing ending with her parents’ divorce, a woman falls into the hands of a man whose promises are too good to be true. Today's guest requested to remain anonymous, but if you'd like to reach out to her, you can email at journeyforward808@gmail.com. Producer: Whit Missildine, Sara Marinelli Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Twitter: @TIAHPodcast Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon...

Duration:00:52:21

Introducing: Something Was Wrong

1/9/2023
A Seattle-based celebrity photographer and hairstylist accused of criminal abuse is the focus of the latest season of top-rated Iris Award-Winning true-crime podcast Something Was Wrong from Tiffany Reese. Season 14 of Something Was Wrong features first-hand accounts of alleged abuse from eleven survivors who share their in-depth stories for the first time. They detail the physical, verbal, and emotional abuse they’ve suffered at the hands of this photographer which dates back as far as...

Duration:00:05:26

What if your singular dream fell to pieces? - [Rebroadcast - #134]

1/3/2023
After devoting his life to a singular passion, a man develops a rare condition that threatens to crush his dreams forever. Today’s episode featured Stefan Weiner. As a musician, he goes by Stefan Alexander and you can hear more about his music on his website at www.stefanalxndr.com, on Instagram @stefanalxndr, or look for Stefan Alexander on any music platform. Producer: Whit Missildine Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Twitter: @TIAHPodcast Website:...

Duration:00:43:07

What if you were tortured in an Iranian prison? - [Rebroadcast - #238]

12/27/2022
A teenage Russian immigrant in Iran is jailed and tortured during the Iranian Revolution of 1979, but when a prison guard falls in love with her, she’s forced to weigh the price of her freedom. Today's episode featured Marina Nemat. You can find out more about Marina and her story by going to marinanemat.com. There you can find contact information and more about her two books, 'Prisoner of Tehran', and 'After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed.' Her books are also available on Amazon, Simon &...

Duration:01:13:21

What if everyone pretended you were dead? - [Rebroadcast - #212]

12/20/2022
A man searches to find love for himself and his family after facing the dark consequences of being disfellowshipped by the Jehovah’s Witness. This episode is part of our 2022 holiday rebroadcast series. Originally airing on November 16, 2021, this episode was removed from the catalog shortly after it was released, and is being restored today, both here as a rebroadcast episode and in the back catalog, for the first time in over a year. Producers: Whit Missildine, Jason Blalock Social...

Duration:00:52:52

259: What if you survived a serial killer?

12/13/2022
While pregnant and navigating a rocky relationship, a woman coming home from a local fair stops for a soda one night and suddenly faces the brutal terror of a notorious serial killer. Today's episode featured Jane Boroski. Jane is the only survivor of the Connecticut River Valley killer who murdered at least seven people, whose identity still remains unknown and the case remains unsolved. Jane has started her own podcast called "Invisible Tears" in which she shares more of her own story,...

Duration:01:05:48

258: What if you fell in love with a vampire?

12/6/2022
After suffering the horrific abuses of his Southern grandmother, father and mother, a teenage boy discovers his own queer identity through a fantasy world, but when it becomes all too real, everything he believes is called into question. Today’s episode featured Michael. If you’d like to reach out to him, you can email at vVsanctionVv@hotmail.com. Producers: Whit Missildine Content/Trigger Warnings: graphic domestic abuse, abuse of a child, mention of rape, mention of drinking blood,...

Duration:01:01:57

257: What if you didn't know who to believe?

11/29/2022
After leaving the Jehovah’s Witness faith of her childhood, a woman redefines her life with her husband and child and becomes a loving foster parent for many, but as one of her foster children comes of age, the chaos threatens to unravel the entire family. Today's guest requested to remain anonymous. But if you'd like to reach out to her, you can email at Friends13459@gmail.com. Producers: Whit Missildine, Sara Marinelli Content/Trigger Warnings: child endangerment, sexual assault...

Duration:00:59:52

Introducing: I Hear Fear

11/28/2022
Nothing is as terrifying as the sounds we hear in the dark. The slow creak of a door opening late at night... or a whisper in a room when you thought you were alone... or a distant scream in the wind. One noise at the wrong time or place can scare us for days. Each episode of I HEAR FEAR plunges the listener into a tale inspired by real events, from a deadly dance party to a cursed film set. Join host and two-time Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan for six immersive stories designed to jangle...

Duration:00:05:52

256: What if you prepared your boyfriend's body?

11/22/2022
After losing her father at a young age, a woman begins apprenticing as a funeral director, but when tragedy strikes again, the loss takes an exponential toll. Today’s episode featured Kelsie. You can find out more about her on Instagram and Twitch: @HumanPterodactyl Content/Trigger Warnings: mental illness, suicidal ideation, suicide, graphic medical descriptions, explicit language Producers: Whit Missildine, Jason Blalock Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Twitter:...

Duration:00:57:43

255: What if they didn't ask and you couldn't tell?

11/15/2022
A man growing up in the closet joins the military under “don’t ask, don’t tell” and numbs his identity with alcohol, but after becoming a nurse and after COVID wreaks havoc, his downward spiral hits a new rock bottom that will decide his life or death. Today’s guest requested to remain anonymous, but if you’d like to contact him, you can email at M2980737@gmail.com. Content/Trigger Warnings: murder of an animal, domestic abuse, miscarriage, bullying, alcoholism, addiction, self-harm,...

Duration:00:54:51

Amazon Music Presents COLD: The Search for Sheree

11/14/2022
Sheree Warren left her job in Salt Lake City on a mild October evening in 1985. She told a coworker she was headed to meet her estranged husband, Charles Warren, at a car dealership. But she never made it, Sheree vanished. When a young mother disappears under unexplained circumstances, police always turn suspicious eyes towards the husband. And although there was distrust around Charles Warren, he wasn’t the only suspect when Sheree went missing. She also had a boyfriend, a former cop named...

Duration:00:10:03

254: What if your father annihilated the family?

11/8/2022
A woman grows up in a home chronically terrified by her father’s abuse, but when her parents split and he starts another family, she learns of the true, horrifying danger she was in her entire life. Today's episode featured Lisa Nikolidakis. You can read much more about this story in her incredible memoir, No One Crosses the Wolf. You can also find out more about Lisa on Instagram @lisanik or on Twitter @lisanikol, and check out her other award-winning essays, at...

Duration:01:12:16

Wondery Presents: The Vanished

11/2/2022
The Vanished is a true crime podcast that explores the stories of those who have gone missing. The Vanished goes beyond conventional news reports to take a deep dive into the story of a different missing person each week. Host Marissa Jones brings you exclusive interviews with family members, friends, law enforcement and experts on mainstream cases, as well as little known ones. Listen in, to hear what The Vanished will uncover next: wondery.fm/TIAH_TheVanished See Privacy Policy at...

Duration:00:05:52

253: What if you couldn't even remember the crash?

11/1/2022
As a teenager struggling with severe depression and anxiety, a woman finds dance as her only outlet, but on a night that is lost to memory, a horrific accident transforms her body, her brain and her identity. Today's episode featured Desiree Ford. You can find out more about her on Instagram @fesireedord. Out of their experience of the accident, Desiree and her mother have also begun holding workshops and speaking engagements for resilience training to help others adapting to major life...

Duration:00:44:29

252: What if you watched your mother disappear?

10/25/2022
A man tries to put the pieces of his life back together after growing up with a mother who suffered from severe OCD and anorexia. Today’s guest requested to remain anonymous, but if you’d like to reach out to him directly you can email him at viking0531@gmail.com. Content/Trigger Warnings: severe eating disorder, anorexia, OCD, sexually explicit material, mention of suicide, explicit language Producers: Whit Missildine, Jason Blalock Social Media: Instagram:...

Duration:00:45:41

See More